The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) grants the official designation of Chartered Professional Coach® (ChPC®) and the status of Registered Coach to professionals in the field of coaching in Canada. The CAC promotes the profession of coaching and the important role of coaches in the success and effectiveness of sport programs. The programs also regulate coaching and protect the public interest by ensuring its coaches abide by the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct.
ChPCs® and Registered Coaches represent all sports, both professional and amateur. They are recognized as committed individuals who value coaching excellence and its impact on enhancing athlete experiences.
Join a community of committed, respected, and quality coaches who are recognized for their skills, competencies, and passion. ChPCs® and Registered Coaches benefit from the right to respectively use their designation or status by having met a standard of excellence in their profession, and valuing the following:
As a Chartered Professional Coach® (ChPC®) or Registered Coach, you are recognized for responsible and ethical conduct. Below are the elements of your application or renewal that demonstrate you meet these ethical conduct standards.
Complete and submit one of the following recent and valid record checks:
Provide two character references from past or current employers who can verify your work experience. They must be from one of the following:
In the online application in the Locker, you will enter an email address for each reference. After you submit the application, the Locker will automatically send an email questionnaire to each of your references. Be sure to advise your references in advance to watch for the reference check request from the Locker. If your reference does not receive this questionnaire, please contact procoach@coach.ca to have it re-sent.
As a condition of a coach’s Registered coach or ChPC® designation the signing of their sport organization’s Code of Conduct or the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) is required. As part of the online application process in the Locker, you will be asked to read and sign the CAC License Agreement, as well as declare your ethical conduct.
Coaches who obtain their ChPC® designation or a Registered Coach license must uphold their commitment to conduct themselves with the highest moral standards at all times. Coaches applying for the designation or license are vetted by the License and Registration Committee.
Registered Coach Requirements
Complete any one of the following:
Note: Coaching in Canada eLearning module required for Sport Canada nationally funded International Coaches
All coaches must complete the following ethical components of the ChPC program:
Option 1: NCCP Competition-Introduction certification (coach must uphold their Maintenance of Certification); and completion of the NCCP Advanced Coaching Diploma;
Option 2: NCCP Competition-Introduction certification (coach must uphold their Maintenance of Certification); and post-secondary university or college degree or diploma (2+ years);
Coaching hours: 3,000 hours completed;
Registered Coach requirements (see above);
NCCP Competition-Development certification (coach must uphold their Maintenance of Certification) or higher;
Coaching hours: 2,000 hours completed;
Registered Coach requirements (see above);
Coaching degree (2+ years) that includes ethics training
Coaching hours: 1,500 hours completed;
Registered Coach requirements (see above);
Complete any one of the following:
Note: Coaching in Canada eLearning module required for Sport Canada nationally funded International Coaches
Sport Canada funds a part of the Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) and Registered Coach program. The balance of the program costs is covered by the following fees payable to the CAC:
The annual deadline to renew your ChPC designation or Registered Coach license is the anniversary date on which you were granted the ChPC designation or the Registered Coach license. Find your anniversary date under the Professional tab of your Locker account.
Penalty: if you let your renewal lapse beyond 90 days after your anniversary date, you’ll need to pay a reinstatement fee of $30 to return your designation or license to in good standing status, plus the annual renewal fee of $100. You will not need to reapply; simply pay the applicable fees.
To maintain your in good standing status, you’ll need to submit a recent (issued within the past 6 months) and valid Police Information Check every three years. Find your Police Information Check expiry date under the Professional tab of your Locker account.
To submit your Police Information Check :
If you have any questions, please contact procoach@coach.ca.
ChCP candidates must achieve specific levels in education/knowledge (NCCP certification and / or post-secondary education), experience, and ethical standards to be eligible to coach in a professional manner at the highest levels. To obtain and maintain your ChPC designation, you must obtain the required knowledge and experience within your pathway.
There are three pathways to achieve the ChPC® designation:
The ChPC® is the professional designation for sport coaches in Canada. While some coaches may be paid or volunteer, any coach can aspire to be a professional coach.
Guided by their passion for coaching excellence, and their pride in upholding the ethical and professional standards of practice in their craft, ChPCs® represent the pinnacle of their profession. Their personal investment and commitment to their coach education, training, certification, and standards of responsible coaching practices, set the bar for coaching in Canada. ChPCs® have demonstrated their competence as NCCP certified and experienced coaches, who value the technical and ethical standards of the profession.
They serve a higher purpose by creating a safe and inclusive environment for participants to pursue mental and physical health and well-being. A higher purpose means for the benefit of society. ChPCs® benefit coaching in the expert and safe delivery of coaching services in a way that promotes the mental and physical health and well-being of all participants. This commitment ensures coaches make a safe and inclusive sport environment for all.
They have a shared body of knowledge gained through the National Coaching Certification Program, including sport-specific technical and tactical skills, safety, ethics, development, psychology, and inclusiveness. Competence in coaching requires both sport-specific and multi-sport skills. Coaches can gain the knowledge they need through the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). A coach requires the NCCP certification to meet the knowledge eligibility requirement of the Chartered Professional Coach® (ChPC®) designation.
They follow the higher ethical conduct standards required for positions of authority through a regular ethical conduct declaration. Because coaches are in a position of authority, coaches should follow even higher ethical standards than non-coaches. To bring these standards to life, the CAC requires ChPCs® and Registered Coaches to:
They are accountable to stakeholders (sports organizations and the community) as being knowledgeable, safe, and respectful, both on and off the field of play. Coaches must meet the public's and their sport organization’s expectation that they coach in a way that is knowledgeable, safe and respectful, both on and off the field of play. The CAC promotes coach accountability. Every ChPC® must embrace that accountability.
Chartered Professional Coaches® and Registered Coaches in good standing enjoy access to these tangible benefits:
Liability insurance is necessary to protect yourself when you work outside your regular coaching environment. The CAC provides this insurance package to ChPCs® and Registered Coaches at a discount. The insurance covers paid coaches, unpaid coaches, independent coaches, team leaders, mentors, instructors, and coach developers who may not be insured when working or volunteering with teams, groups, or sanctioned organizations. It also provides additional protection in the event your team or sanctioning body does not have adequate insurance.
Canadian Insurance Brokers Inc. (CIBI) in conjunction with the CAC has formed an exclusive Insurance Program for Coaches across Canada.
ChPC® and Registered Coach:
Class A Sports: $300
Class B Sports: $400
Class C Sports: $500
NCCP Coach:
Class A Sports: $350
Class B Sports: $450
Class C Sports: $575
Coach Developer:
$250
ChPCs® and Registered Coaches have access to an easy-to-use, affordable, and competitive health and dental benefits program. Depending on your coverage needs, you may opt into one of 2 plans.
For more information on how you can join the health and dental benefits program, contact Benefits by Design (BBD).
Option 1 – Cost per Month (plus taxes)
Single: $58.46
Couple: $109.73
Family: $179.78
Option 2 – Cost per Month (plus taxes)
Single: $44.31
Couple: $86.44
Family: $133.92
FREE
If you need legal advice pertaining to your coaching activities, including contract review or other disputes, the CAC will connect you with a lawyer and pay for your initial 1 hour consultation. Email procoach@coach.ca.
FREE
Gain access at no cost to Canada’s national Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC), one of the largest online collections of sport-related resources. SIRC includes:
Log in to your Locker account to access this service and click on the Professional Coaching tab on the left side of your screen.
FREE
Get one of 10 annual licenses to learn French or English, available on a first-come, first-served basis. These licenses are rotated among interested coaches.
If interested, please email procoach@coach.ca.
The CAC has teamed with Sterling Talent Solutions to provide an online criminal record check process at a low price of $25 (+tax) per applicant. The Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC) provides a secure database to store and share results, manage renewals, and track the progress of individual checks. To reduce your costs, you can share your check with the CAC as well as the organization with which you are coaching.
Fees:
$25(+tax)
Regular price is $60 (+tax)
FREE
ChPC® and Registered Coaches are eligible for FACE program grants. The National Sport Organization’s nominate candidates across Canada who would benefit the most from a grant. Then, a committee made up of representatives from Petro‑Canada™, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Coaching Association of Canada choose the recipients.
FREE
ChPC® and Registered Coaches are eligible for the CAC National Awards Program.
Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Awards Gala
FREE
Update is the CAC’s Professional Coaching program newsletter, emailed four times a year. It normally includes three sections: a topical webinar, professional coaching highlights, and a featured service.
FREE
Because professional development is a valuable component of coaching excellence, the CAC has assembled a series of webinars sourced from a range of experts in the fields of sport and human leadership and management. ChPCs® and Registered Coaches have exclusive access to these webinars anytime, anywhere by logging in to your Locker account and clicking on the Resources tab.
FREE
The CAC will provide various Professional Development opportunities exclusive to ChPC® and Registered Coaches. Examples from the past are PD opportunities in Coach House at the Canada Games, and Mental Health webinar series for Professional Coaches.
Chartered Professional Coaches® and Registered Coaches
The CAC is dedicated to enhancing the profession of coaching. As the educational and professional body for coaches in Canada, the CAC grants the official designation of ChPC® and the Registered Coach license to professionals in the field of coaching.
The CAC provides multiple services to coaches and promotes the integral role coaches play in the success and effectiveness of sport programs and athlete development in Canada. The CAC also regulates coaching and protects the public interest by ensuring its coaches abide by the highest standard of professional and ethical conduct.
Major Games can be classified as the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, Parapan American Games, Commonwealth Games, or the highest level of competition in your sport, e.g., World Championships.
A coach must achieve specific levels in the National Certification Coaching Program (NCCP) or post-secondary education, and coaching experience to be considered for the ChPC® designation. The requirements depend on the pathway chosen. Please review the Eligibility Requirements section for more information.
A degree or diploma from a post-secondary institution is not required. There are four pathways, and one of the pathways enables coaches to achieve their ChPC® designation by achieving NCCP certification. Please review the Eligibility Requirements section for more information.
The ChPC® is a professional designation that has requirements in three areas: education, experience, and ethics.
The Registered Coach is a license that includes ONLY the ethics requirements, which are:
References are accepted from your NSO (National Sport Organization), your PTSO (Provincial or Territorial Sport Organization), your LSO (Local Sport Organization), or a ChPC® in good standing. The references must be past or current employers who can verify your work experience.
NCCP refers to your coach education and training. The ChPC® designation may include NCCP, but it also includes education through experience, references who validate your work experience, and a Police Information Check. So, yes, you need to apply.
Yes, your National Coaching Certification Program number is your professional coaching number and the Locker is the one central database for your educational and Professional Coaching needs. This means that your Locker profile contains all your NCCP, ChPC® or Registered Coach information, making the application process more efficient.
Your login credentials are the same as those you use to access the Locker. You can either use your email or your NCCP# with your password. If you forgot your NCCP#, you can use the Lookup my NCCP# function. If you forgot your password, you can use the Forgot Password? function. (NOTE: These functions only work if you have a current and valid email address on your account.) Or you can email procoach@coach.ca or call 613-235-5000 ext. 1 for assistance.
Please contact procoach@coach.ca. There is a chance that your application may have been entered but is missing information that you still need to fill in. We will do our best to find what you need to complete your application and have it passed on to the License and Registration Committee.
If you are currently a Registered Coach, in good standing and you wish to transition to become a Chartered Professional Coach® (ChPC®), you can do so at the time of your renewal by clicking on the Renew and Transition button on your Locker account at no extra cost. A coach must achieve post secondary education or National Coaching Certification Program and coaching experience in order to be considered for the ChPC® designation. For details review the Eligibility Requirements section.
References are accepted from your NSO (National Sport Organization), your PTSO (Provincial or Territorial Sport Organization), your LSO (Local Sport Organization), or a ChPC® in good standing.
The annual deadline to renew your Registered Coach license is the anniversary date that you were granted the license. A recent and valid Police Information Check is also required, at minimum, every three years to maintain a status of being in good standing. (TIP: Your anniversary date and your Police Information Check expiry date can be found under the Professional tab of your Locker account.) Visit our Fees page for more information.
To be in good standing, you must:
One of the following is considered a recent and valid Police Information Check:
The Licensing and Registration Committee is a standing committee of the Professional Coaching Program at the CAC, with the mandate to oversee the License Agreement of ChPCs® and Registered Coaches. The Committee is responsible for evaluating and approving applications of individuals for the ChPC® designation and Registered Coach status.
If you have any questions regarding the Professional Coaching Program (Chartered Professional Coaches® and Registered Coaches) please contact procoach@coach.ca