Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Australian Embassy and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) joined forces to present the Australian Strength and Conditioning level one coaching course for female coaches from around Indonesia.

In the latest sports workshop hosted by the Australian Embassy, some of Indonesia`s top female coaches gained an internationally recognised coaching accreditation through training provided by the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA), the Australian embassy said in a press statement here Thursday.

Head of the Women and Sports Commission Pusparani Hakim is a strong advocate for increasing female participation in sport, and teaching them the required skills to ensure they can be effective contributors to Indonesia's sporting landscape.

"Traditionally in Indonesia the physical training of athletes has been male dominated, but through this course we would like to give female coaches the skills and educational background so they can lead the physical training of their athletes," said Hakim.

"We have run 6 ASCA Level 1 courses over the past few years in Indonesia, for well over 100 Indonesian coaches, but these courses have been dominated by male coaches and the number of female participants who have completed the course would be less than 10."

Australian Charge dAffaires, Dr David Engel, said the number of accredited female coaches is a step in the right direction for Indonesian sport.

"Increasing the pool of talented Indonesian sports coaches with international accreditation will go a long way to ensuring Indonesia's sporting stars remain competitive with the world's best. By giving Indonesia's female coaches the opportunity to become internationally accredited, we will see more women becoming involved in sport at the top levels," said Dr Engel.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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