Responding to the growing demand for oversight and accountability, in 2018, Sport Canada mandated all national sport organizations to implement enhanced standards for the screening and training of coaches. With a goal of creating safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments where athletes can flourish, EC acted on this Canadian sport directive by creating the EC Coach Status program.
In doing so, EC understands there have been challenges in the roll out of the program as well as some misunderstanding in the requirement for it. To meet compliances and to reach the required standards that are commonplace for other sports in the country, moving to mandatory certification for competitive coaching by 2025 remains the goal.
At the bottom of this page, you can find graphics depicting the coach status requirements for the 2023 season. Simply put, Registered Status is the minimum for Bronze and Silver shows and Licensed for Gold and Platinum events. The second clarifies the temporary coaching fees for anyone without the required status at each level of event.
Coach Status can be obtained in your MyEC account and checked periodically by logging into a coach’s ECampus. Coach Status is valid only when ALL individual requirements are current, including insurance certificates and Screening Disclosure, which both expire annually.
If you don’t find answers to questions you have about coaching in competitions in the below or require assistance at any time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Coaching team – we are here to help!
Here are a few Q&A’s to help understand what to expect for coaching at EC sanctioned competitions in 2023:
Q: How will Coach Status be Validated at Competitions?
A: For the 2023 season, organizers will be validating Coach Status with the list of EC registered and licensed coaches they can access through the EC Competition Organizer portal. Stewards have the capability to check and validate coach status as well, should they wish to do so. However, it should be noted that is not an expectation or requirement that stewards are validating status as their role and focus is on maintaining the safety and health and welfare of participants in and around the field of play.
Q: What if a coach does not have Coach Status – can they still coach at an EC Sanctioned Show?
A: From January 1 through June 30, 2023, Canadian coaches will be permitted to participate in EC-sanctioned events regardless of EC Coach Status. If a coach does not hold status, or the appropriate level of status for an event, as of July 1, 2023 they will be required to purchase Temporary Coach Status (TCS). See below to find out how TCS can be purchased.
Q: How is Temporary Coach Status obtained?
A: Coaches complete a TCS Form and submit this to the show office with appropriate payment. The show office will not issue numbers to athletes of any coach with insufficient coaching status until the TCS form and fee has been submitted. The TCS Form will be available online and coaches are encouraged to complete and print the form before arriving at the show office to expedite processing. TCS Forms submitted without payment are incomplete. The TCS fee may not be added to a trainer split or applied to one or more athletes’ show bill without written consent from those included on the split and/or bill(s). This fee is to be incurred by the coach and not the athlete(s). To be eligible for Temporary Coach Status you must be an EC Sport License holder.
Q: Why do we need a Temporary Coach Status?
Recognizing some coaches will not have completed their EC Coach Status requirements when enforcement begins, the EC Board approved Temporary Coach Status (TCS) for the 2023 show season. Temporary Coach Status (TCS) will come into effect on July 1, 2023. The mid-year implementation of TCS provides coaches with a window of time to achieve EC Licensed Coach status between the date of announcement and the date of implementation. For more questions about TCS see this document.
Q: What are the consequences of a coach not holding any status after July 1?
After July 1st, if someone provides the name on their entry of a coach that does not hold the appropriate status (licensed, registered, or temporary) – then that coach will not be in compliance with EC rules and consequences will be determined for both coach and rider (e.g. point invalidation or not in good standing status).
Q: What if someone puts a name as coach on their entry form, but they are not their coach?
A: If someone is found to have provided false information on their entry form, their points from the event in question may be invalidated. Example: An athlete indicates on their entry that they are self-coached, but in fact are being coached by an individual that does not hold the required credentials for the event.
Q: I am self-coached and don’t have a coach that attends competitions with me, do I have to have status?
A: All athletes are permitted to be self-coached, which will not require them to hold status including TCS. Self-coaching also does not affect amateur status in any way.
