Why do we have so few water polo courses and tutors?
Pippa Jones – the ‘Water Polo Tutors Voice’ has been trying to increase the number of tutors for 15 years.
The problem – posted Jan 2010
Tutor training is expensive, the returns are low and most of the people considering doing it are already working full time and coaching. It costs £1500 to do a tutors course and in addition there are travel and hotel costs. So the true cost is nearer £2000 and then there is the cost of renewing the licence.
A newly qualified tutor would have to deliver three level 1 courses before they would start to recover their costs, at the current rate of courses in the UK this could take 3 years.
A person can make a reasonable living as a swimming teacher/coach and tutor, but not as a water polo tutor.
In the UK for 2010 there is one level 2 course in Basingstoke and two level 1 courses Sheffield & Bolton School advertised.
Water polo does not own the process; therefore everything is done in the best interests of swimming. Water polo and the other disciplines have to make it 'fit' their needs. Water polo gets brought in at the stage when decisions have been made and the ASA need someone to 'look it over'. Water polo then throws up its hands in horror, but it's too late to change most of it by then.
The change to full UKCC qualifications moves forward in dribs and drabs and water polo appears to be powerless to change this situation.
Please reply to the company secretary at the bottom of this page if you have any ideas as to how we can improve this situation.