Certificate in Applied Sport and Recreation (Level 4)

Jan Beaumont. Picture / Greg Bowker

The course

The Certificate in Applied Sport and Recreation is designed to provide a solid, grass roots understanding of sport and recreation. It has a strong industry focus and provides students with a range of employment pathways into many areas of sport and recreation, one of which is the secondary school sports co-ordinator role.

Other options include recreation programmers, sport-specific coaches, coaching co-ordinators, event managers, aquatic centre employees, sport development officers, and recreation centre facilitators. Many students also continue into diploma study or into the Unitec Bachelor of Sport degree.

The level-four programme covers anatomy and physiology, aquatic recreation, coaching, community recreation, outdoor education, sport and exercise training and how to teach sports skills.

Community recreation, during which students must design and deliver a programme from scratch, particularly emphasises the administrative and logistical skills required for sports co-ordinator roles. The programme's workload is divided evenly between practical and theoretical.

Work placement is an important part of the course, with students placed, where at all possible, for four weeks in a role of their choice. Students also participate in a number of outdoor activities, including kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing and abseiling.

There are no academic entry requirements but applicants must include information about their potential to work safely with community groups in a variety of settings and show a practical commitment to sport and recreation.

The course costs approximately $3900.

What graduates think
Jan Beaumont
Sports co-ordinator at Botany Downs Secondary College
Graduated November 2004

I have a huge passion for health and fitness, so co-ordinating sports in a school gives me wonderful opportunities to encourage as many students as possible to participate in a variety of sporting options.

The sports co-ordinator organises sport in the school, particularly extramural sports, which includes sourcing competitions and liaising with external sports organisations.

My original occupation before having a family was PA/secretarial work so the co-ordinator role, which is quite logistical, gives me the chance to use some of those skills while using skills learned at MIT.

The most positive aspect of the MIT course was work placement. I was fortunate to be placed at three different secondary schools and work alongside sports administrators and co-ordinators. This reinforced my desire to work in a school with an emphasis on student contact.

While I am not using all the skills I developed, the course certainly prepared me well. For example, the Outdoor Education paper and Community Recreation paper will be invaluable in my present position for organising school camps and events.

And although I do not have to coach I now have much more respect for coaches and relate to their responsibilities with a lot more empathy, which hopefully makes me more aware of how I can help them.

MIT was very supportive after the course ended. They kept in contact through phone and email advising of possible job opportunities and also offering to be referees if necessary.

What employers think
Chris Saunders
Acting Principal
Botany Downs Secondary College

Secondary school sport is in a precarious state. It relies almost entirely on the goodwill and voluntary commitment of teaching staff and, to a lesser extent, members of the community. It is something unique to New Zealand and its survival to a large extent will depend on the future work of well-qualified and dedicated sports co-ordinators.

The professional school sports co-ordinator is a relatively new position. It is highly specialised and demanding - not a job for an untrained enthusiast. The course Jan completed at MIT is a good one. It cannot prepare someone totally for a sports co-ordinator's role, but the combination of theory and practical work it offers is very appropriate.

We were looking for someone with people skills which are important for working with all groups associated with school sport.

Jan is enthusiastic about secondary school sport, has initiative and can work independently. All of these qualities are vital for her to be successful in a demanding job. She is also competent with computer technology. Jan also did a work placement at this school as part of her course and was a local resident. 

The qualification

 Certificate in Applied Sport and Recreation (Level 4)
Manukau Institute of Technology School of Sport
Tel: (09) 968 8000

www.manukau.ac.nz

Salary: Ranges between $20 and $35 an hour, depending on the school's philosophy and co-ordinator's experience.