Irish Field Archery Federation

The home of Field Archery in Ireland

IFAF Instructors

Introduction

At present IFAF are introducing an Instructors programme to allow Instructors and prospective Instructors to progress their coaching skills, which will in turn benefit archers in Ireland and the sport in general.

The programme will follow closely the IFAA instruction structure so that Instructors will have a standard that will enable them to apply for the Level 3 Instructors course run by IFAA.

Level 1 & 2 Instructors will be certified by IFAF, Level 3 & 4 will be certified by IFAA.

All Instructors will be recertified on a 3-yearly basis in line with Garda Vetting and IFAA policies, any Instructor not complying with the instructors requirements, will not be re certified.

Garda Vetting will be administered on behalf of IFAF by the Vetting Officer and supported by the Vetting Panel members. The Vetting Officer and Panel will liaise with the Head Coach and Coaching Admin to ensure the timely notification of Vetting Application statuses to the Coaching team.

The Coaching Admin will support the Head Coach in the organising of training courses and be a point of contact for the IFAA Coaching Forum and the IFAF Committee to help support and streamline training activities.

Clubs will require a Level 1 Instructor (or higher) to sign off all new archers, in the interim any club who does not have a Level 1 Instructor, will be able to ask a certified Level 1 Instructor from another club to do the sign off. If a club is unable to get a Level 1 Instructor to help, they can contact the IFAF Head Coach for help to facilitate a sign off.

It is envisaged that all IFAF clubs will have at least 1 certified Level 1 Instructor in the future, this is to comply with the laws around children and vulnerable people in sport.

The first round of Garda Vetting and the Safeguarding 1 course will be covered by IFAF. Subsequent Garda Vetting renewals will also be paid for by IFAF. The cost of renewing Safeguarding 1 certification will be at the expense of the Instructor, either as a private individual or via the club in which they are providing training. Without current certification, IFAA Instructors cannot provide training to new or existing members of IFAF.

The ideal situation that IFAF are working toward, is at least one Level 1 Instructor in every club and a Level 2 also in the bigger clubs, a Level 3 in each area( yet to be determined) to facilitate the training of Level 1 and 2 Instructors without the need for people to travel huge distances to attend a course.

Only a Level 3 of 4 Instructor will be considered for the position of Head Coach within IFAF, this will be decided by the IFAF Committee and the vacating Head Coach.

Foundation (Level 1)

A Level 1 Instructor can deliver the basic beginners  safety course, covering, safety, basic form, equipment, range etiquette and inform the new archer on how to become a member of a club and archery organisation. 

Any archer with a minimum of 2 years membership of IFAF and at least 18 years of age may apply for a Level 1 course using the online application form, once they fulfil the requirements of the IFAA Instruction Protocol.

Requirements, Level 1:

  • 2 years membership of IFAF
  • Garda Vetting
  • Safeguarding 1
  • Submission of yearly coaching logs.
  • To be actively coaching.
  • To be proactive in promotion of Archery as a sport.

Applicants for a Level 1 course will have to be Garda Vetted and complete a Safeguarding 1 course before they can attend the course..

Once an application for a Level 1 course is received by the Head Coach, an acknowledgement will be sent to confirm receipt of the application and if the applicant fulfils the criteria they will be put on the next available course which will be advised by the Head Coach.

The IFAF vetting officer will send out vetting information approximately 6 weeks before a course is run to all applicants on that course. It is a legal requirement that all coaches are vetted.

Information about cost and venue for a course, will be sent out to all applicants on a course approximately 6 weeks before a course by the Head Coach.

Applications are dealt with on a first come, first serve basis.

Intermediate (Level 2)

The Level 2 instructor will be able to bring on a new archer from the basic beginners safety course and develop the archers’ skill and knowledge of his/her equipment and also prepare them for club and local competition

Level 2 course applicants will be accepted from Level 1 Instructors who have been coaching for at least 18 months at Level 1 and who have submitted coaching logs to the Head Coach, 

All IFAA Level 1 requirements will also apply, including up to date Garda Vetting and Safeguarding 1 cert.

Requirements, Level 2:

To fulfil the criteria of the IFAA Instruction Protocol and the IFAF requirements below.

  • Valid IFAA Level 1 Instructor certification
  • Minimum of 18 months experience coaching at the Level 1 standard
  • Garda Vetting
  • Safeguarding 1 or higher
  • Valid classification card with classification scores (Field/Hunter)
  • To be actively coaching.
  • Submission of yearly coaching logs.
  • To show a good working knowledge of all bow types (Recurve-Compound-Trad Classes)
  • To show a good working knowledge of sighted and unsighted styles
  • To be practicing and teaching the KSL/NTS sequence
  • To be proactive in promoting the sport of Archery.

Advanced (Level 3)

The Level 3 Instructor is certified by IFAA and will be able to prepare an archer for international competition with more in depth information on form, equipment and nutrition. A Level 3 Instructor can also run courses for  the certification of Level 1 & 2 Instructors.

For a Level 2 Instructor to progress to Level 3 all relevant criteria described for Level 1 and 2 instructors apply, along with an assessment by the IFAF committee and Head Coach. Places are limited for a Level 3 course and IFAA will have the final say on who will be accepted on a course. When IFAA advises IFAF of a Level 3 course taking place, all Level 2 coaches will be informed and invited to send in an application  for the Level 3 course, however, application does not guarantee acceptance onto a course. 

The IFAF committee and Head Coach will meet to assess the suitability of candidates applying for a Level 3 course. The assessment will include reviewing the coaching logs,if submitted on time (by the end of January) every year, to confirm if the instructor has been actively coaching and promoting the sport of Archery, continuous membership to IFAF, and up to date Garda  vetting and Safeguarding 1 certification.

 Requirements, Level 3:

To fulfil the criteria of the IFAA Instruction Protocol.

  • IFAA Level 2 Instructors certification
  • 1 years experience coaching at the Level 2 standard.
  • Garda Vetting
  • Safeguarding 1
  • Submission of yearly coaching logs.
  • To be actively coaching.
  • To be proactive in promotion of Archery as a sport.

Master (Level 4)

Level 4 Instructors will have extensive knowledge of the sport of Archery, equipment and form, with the ability to bring archers onto the highest levels of international competition. The Level 4 Instructor can run courses for the certification of Level 1, 2 & 3 Instructors

Level 3 coaches that IFAA consider suitable will get an invitation from the IFAA Forum to attend a Level 4 course, this is the only way a Level 3 coach can progress to Level 4.

 Requirements, Level 4:

To fulfil the criteria of the IFAA Instruction Protocol.

  • IFAA Level 3 Instructors certification
  • 1 years experience coaching at the Level 3 standard.
  • Invitation from IFAA
  • Garda Vetting
  • Safeguarding 1
  • Submission of yearly coaching logs.
  • To be actively coaching.
  • To be proactive in promotion of Archery as a sport.