"Youth Sports Training Code of Conduct" will be implemented to clarify the qualification requirements for coaching personnel

China News Service, Beijing, October 28 (Zhang Su Shilei) The "Youth Sports Training Code of Conduct" issued by the State Sports General Administration of China will be implemented on November 1 this year. The "Standards" consist of seven chapters and 30 articles, aiming to further improve the governance of youth sports training and promote the healthy and orderly development of the industry.

In recent years, the scale of the youth sports training market has continued to expand. However, under the rapid development, there are also problems such as outstanding venue hazards, uneven levels of coaches, and pre-payment disputes.

Some experts said that the "Standards" draw a clear bottom line for youth sports training in terms of venue facilities, coaching qualifications, fee management, and safety guarantees. "It will not only give non-standard sports training institutions nowhere to hide, but also allow sports training institutions that run schools in a down-to-earth manner to obtain fairer competition opportunities."

As the youth sports training industry continues to develop, coach qualifications are receiving increasing attention. The methods of obtaining relevant certificates, applicable groups and usage requirements have become matters of concern to practitioners.

The "Standards" clarify that coaches of youth sports training subjects should hold certificates, including sports coach professional title certificates, social sports instructor technical level certificates, and sports skill level certificates issued by national individual sports associations, etc.

It is understood that the sports coach professional title certificate focuses on professional technical level and coaching performance evaluation, the social sports instructor technical grade certificate is mainly for the mass sports guidance service field, and the national individual sports association sports skill grade certificate highlights the evaluation of special sports skills.

Article 14 of the "Specifications" lists "other relevant certificates stipulated in laws and regulations applicable to youth sports training" as the sixth category of coaching qualifications. Some experts said that units such as the Sports Culture Development Center of the State Sports General Administration, the Institute of Sports Science of the State Sports General Administration, socialized sports organizations’ physical training and vocational training and the Sports Home Platform can be regarded as professional training projects that meet the requirements based on the fact that their training subjects carry out business in accordance with the law, the curriculum system meets the needs, the teachers and assessment procedures are standardized, and the certificate information can be authentically queried.

The outside world has noticed that the "Standards", on the basis of the original requirement for teaching personnel to hold certificates to work, clarify that those with criminal records such as sexual assault, abuse, trafficking, violent injury, etc. are prohibited from entering. It also requires that in-service teachers in primary and secondary schools and kindergartens are not allowed to be hired.

Some observations pointed out that the control of teachers has deepened from "who is allowed to enter" to "who is prohibited from entering". The "Standards" have achieved multi-dimensional specification refinement and upgrading around educating people.

"Youth sports training not only teaches sports skills, but also is an important carrier for cultivating rule awareness, willpower, and team spirit." Huang Haiyan, dean of the School of Management of Beijing Sport University, wrote an article pointing out that only by focusing on educating people and effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of young people can the industry develop steadily and long-term.

All parties also look forward to strengthening departmental coordination, giving full play to the professional role of individual associations, improving local implementation mechanisms, and promoting the implementation of the "Specifications" to be effective. For example, we should use the "Standards" as a starting point to improve departmental coordination mechanisms, further clarify the regulatory responsibilities of education, market supervision, public security and other departments in their respective fields, gradually form a more hierarchical institutional system, and promote the continuous optimization of the industry governance structure.