The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) is moving to have qualified coaches accompanying national teams at events staged from January 2026, and the South American Federation (FESUPO) has started to ensure its affiliates fall in line with this requirement.
Preceding the 2024 edition of the South American Women’s and Men’s Classic Powerlifting Championships being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the IPF, in association with the FESUPO, conducted a two-day Basic Trainer Education Course which saw Guyana’s Kerma Singh attending.
Singh, who for over a decade has been assisting with coaching of almost all the national powerlifting teams that have travelled to compete, has said he is very happy to have participated in the course, and is looking forward to doing the Level 2 Course very soon.
Kerma Singh is flanked by facilitators Dietmar Wolf (right) and Pjotr Van Den Hock
“This is very important to me, and I know by extension (that it is important to) the Powerlifting Federation of Guyana. As a nation, it is important to invest in the technical development of individuals in the form of coaches and assistants. I would encourage all the persons involved in Guyana in this most important area to get themselves certified, as the international and regional bodies will be making this mandatory very soon. So, we need to put ourselves in order,” Singh has said.
Singh, whose father is still very competitive at almost 80 years old, has said he is grateful to the GAPLF for allowing him to get his career formally off the ground in an official way, and he is looking forward to being fully compliant with the IPF’s mandate.
The two-day programme, which consisted of 200 modules, had focused on, inter alia, basic training, nutrition, and mental health values; and had dealt with areas specific to female athletes and males.
