SPRT301-26S2 (C) Semester Two 2026

Sport Coaching and Leadership

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 13 July 2026
End Date: Sunday, 8 November 2026
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 26 July 2026
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 27 September 2026

Description

This course explores the role of sport coaching leadership in the NZ sport system. Employing a system-thinking approach, students will gain an in-depth knowledge of the NZ 'sport system' and the role that leadership plays within it. Students will also explore the interrelated nature of leadership, power and culture in sport coaching contexts and critically examine ways of managing change. Course content will be delivered through a combination of classroom and gymnasium based learning opportunities, including the completion of Sport New Zealand's Coach Developer programme.

Learning Outcomes

1. Critically analyse a range of leadership styles evident in sport contexts both nationally and internationally.
2. Investigate and analyse current trends and issues in the NZ sport system and consider ways to conceptualise and manage change within a variety of sport coaching and organisational contexts.
3. Critically evaluate and analyse selected organisational learning theory’s and consider the role that cognitive perspectives of learning have on organisational learning, culture and change.
4. Critique the interrelatedness of leadership, power and culture on sport coaching and sport participation.
5. Investigate, experience and critically evaluate current initiatives within the NZ sport system.

Prerequisites

45 points at 200 level from any subject

Restrictions

SPCO301

Equivalent Courses

SPCO301

Timetable 2026

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 10:00 - 11:00 Ernest Rutherford 465
13 Jul - 23 Aug
7 Sep - 18 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Friday 12:00 - 14:00 Jack Erskine 031 Lecture Theatre
13 Jul - 23 Aug
Workshop A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Thursday 09:00 - 11:00 Rec Centre Sports Hall
7 Sep - 18 Oct

Course Coordinators

Glenn Fyall and Nick Maitland

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
In-class Assessment Tasks 15% Student completion of class/workshop tasks (or distance activities) (LO's 1-5)
Mid-Term Online Exam 20 Aug 2026 35% Online test based on the course content from the first half of the course (LO's 1-4)
Leadership Research Project OR Coach Developer Essay 16 Oct 2026 50% 2500 word essay on either (i) Coach Developer programme & experience OR (ii) organisational leadership research project (LO 1 or 5)

Textbooks / Resources

There are no required textbooks for this course, however, there are a number of journal articles included in the course Learn site that contribute to learning and understanding each module topic. These are updated regularly and in line with evolving knowledge. These are recommended (if not expected) to be read.

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

All forms of cheating, dishonest practice, and breaches of academic integrity—including the unauthorised or unacknowledged use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools—are taken seriously and may result in penalties. Students must comply with the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand academic integrity policies, General Course and Examination Regulation J: Dishonest Practice and Breach of Instructions, and any course-specific instructions on the use and acknowledgement of GenAI.

Assessment and grading system

Grading Scale
Grade    GPA Value        Marks
A+              9            90 – 100
A                8            85 – 89.99
A-               7            80 – 84.99
B+              6            75 – 79.99
B                5            70 – 74.99
B-               4            65 – 69.99
C+              3            60 – 64.99
C                2            55 – 59.99
C-               1            50 – 54.99
D                0            40 – 49.99
E               -1             0 – 39.99

A pass is 50 marks and over.

Attendance

Due to the carefully planned learning progressions and practical nature of workshops, on-campus students are expected to attend all sessions. 15% of your final course grade will be determined by your completion and successful submission of in-class tasks. Clearly, you cannot engage and submit these tasks if you do not attend. If you have a legitimate reason for missing an on-campus class you are expected to email your workshop lecturer, catch up on missed work through classmates, view recordings, readings and other supplementary material provided. Commonly, medical reasons prevent students from attending workshops. If this is the case, please provide the course lecturer with an appropriate medical certificate. In special cases, the workshop lecturer may provide additional support for you.

Evaluation

Students will be asked to complete course evaluations and will have the opportunity to provide feedback during their courses. Surveys are conducted electronically and are confidential. The Faculty of Health will conduct regular graduate surveys.

Grade moderation

All course assessments in the Bachelor of Sport are internally moderated. A sample of your work may be used as part of this moderation process. Regular examiners meetings monitor the distribution of final grades in courses and adjustments are made if necessary to ensure reasonable consistency and comparability of course grades.

Late submission of work

An assessment is late if it is handed in after the due date, without a formal extension.  If an assessment is submitted after the due date, 5% will be deducted from the final grade for every day the assessment is late.  No assessments will be accepted after a period of 3 days after the due date, unless an extension has been granted.

Notes

The award regulations for the Bachelor of Sport can be found within the UC Calendar.  The UC calendar is available online here. The specific award regulations for the degree can be found here.
The Faculty of Health guidelines, which contain specific information regarding the Faculty grading scale, late work, extensions, submission of work, reconsideration of grades, Special Consideration procedures, academic integrity, and moderation of assessment can be found here.

The specific assessment details for each course, including assessment dates, can be found here.

Requests for extensions

Students who cannot complete assessments by the due date should discuss their situation with the course lecturer Where circumstances are known in advance, the student should discuss these with the course lecturer at least one week prior to the assessment due date. In circumstances where this is not appropriate, the student should discuss their situation with the course lecturer as soon as possible.

Resubmissions

To pass this course you are required to gain an overall average grade of C- (50%) or better across all assessments. No resubmissions are available for this course, unless determined by the course coordinator.

Artificial Intelligence and Plagiarism

All assessment tasks and presentations must be referenced according to APA 7th convention (Information relating to APA referencing can be obtained from both the Central and Education Libraries). All assignments must be submitted online through the SPRT301 Learn site. Online submission requires students to formally acknowledge that what they are submitting is their own work. There will be a statement related to the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) for each assessment, so make sure you are fully aware of the course requirements for the use of AI in all your courses and all assessments. All work will be submitted to Turnitin, an online platform where students upload assessment work for marking, feedback, and originality checking, including similarity and, AI-writing reports.

Special Consideration

Students wishing to apply for Special Consideration should refer to this link for further information.

Partial Exemption from Assessment

If you are wishing to apply for partial exemption from assessment in a course (e.g. if you are repeating a course and you have previously passed one or more assessments from within the course, and do not wish to write this assessment again) you may apply for this using the form: Application for Partial Exemption from Assessment

Where to submit and collect work

Electronic Submission via LEARN (all on campus and distance students) All students must submit their assessment via the online assessment system in the Learn (AKO] course site, on or before the due date. There are no hardcopy assessment submissions for this course. All submitted assessment work will be screened by the software Turnitin, to check for plagiarism and AI detection. There is opportunity for students to submit a draft report to monitor levels of plagiarism and AI use prior to the final submission for marking. It is the responsibility of the students to check their Internet access and ability to submit their work via the online system. Any technical difficulties should be notified well in advance of the due date so that assistance can be provided, or alternative arrangements can be negotiated. If you require assistance, please email ictservicedesk@canterbury.ac.nz, or phone 03 369 5000.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $948.00

International fee $4,263.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Health Sciences .

All SPRT301 Occurrences

  • SPRT301-26S2 (C) Semester Two 2026
  • SPRT301-26S2 (D) Semester Two 2026 (Distance)