Athletics NI Coaching Qualifications 

Athletics NI offer a range of coaching qualifications accredited by British Athletics that provide leaders, assistants and coaches with insurance cover in the case of an accident. Individuals who successfully complete these awards and return a clear Access NI check are issued with a British Athletics leadership/coaching license. This insures them to operate within the limitations of this license, which varies depending on the award undertaken.

There are two pathways options available for an individual that wishes to start supporting participants/athletes in achieving their goals:

Track & Field / Performance Pathway

Individuals who want to support Track & Field, children under the age of 12 or athletes who aspire to high performance should follow the Track & Field / Performance pathway. This includes coaches who wish to work with performance focused endurance athletes who aspire to compete at a high level. If you want to work predominantly with individuals who run for fitness then the Running for Fitness Pathway will be more suitable.

The awards available on the pathway are as follows:

Running for Fitness Pathway

Individuals who wish to work with groups of participants focused on running predominantly to get fit should take the Running for Fitness Pathway. This pathway only insures you to work with athletes from 12 years up and focuses on the benefits of running for fitness. If you wish to work with athletes between 8-12 years old you should take the Track & Field pathway because it focuses more on the multi-skill side of youth development, which research suggests helps young people do better in sport at older ages.

The awards available on the fitness pathway are as follows:

Having completed CiRF, coaches can the cross back over to the Track & Field pathway if they wish to learn more about developing young performance focused endurance runners from 14-18 years old through the:

Booking Terms and Conditions

All courses will run if a minimum number of 12 candidates are confirmed by the registration closing date. Course registrations will close on the advertised date, or as soon as the course is full. Maximum numbers are 16 on CiRF, Athletics Coach and Coaching Assistant and 28 on LiRF. Please register at your earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

Booking Terms & Conditions for Coaching Courses

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When will you be holding the next Coaching course?

Visit the Upcoming Courses page for further details on the next LiRF, CiRF, Coaching Assistant & Athletics Coach courses. If you do not see a suitable date or course available, please fill out the Expression of Interest (link) form to receive primary communications on when the next course will become available.

Upcoming Courses

My club want to pay my course for me, how can they do this?

Athletics NI affiliated clubs can buy vouchers from Athletics NI, which can then be given to individual members to cover the cost of their course. For more details, contact: coaching@athleticsni.org

Voucher Purchase Process

I have completed my course, how do I get my Coaching License?

In order to get your Coaching License you must have a current Access NI Enhanced Check and the complete the relevant UKA Duty of Care Courses (Online Safeguarding Module for all existing coaches or from April 2022, a mandatory module including Safeguarding & First Aid training will be included as part of LiRF & Coaching Assistant for newly qualifying coaches.) You can find full details of what is required on our 'Access NI' page.