AN international event which has been celebrating the coaching industry for ten years is to be marked for the first time in York.

International Coaching Week (ICW) runs between May 19 and 25, and is being celebrated in York after a group of coaches in the city formed the Coaching York group earlier this year.

The event has been designed to invite the whole community to experience the potential benefits of coaching.

Bernadette Cass, of Coaching York, said: "It is all about unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance in whichever area of their lives they feel challenged.

"Coaching encourages self–learning and enables people to make good decisions for themselves, often focused on specific goals.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity and as far as I am aware York is the first city in the world to be planning a city-wide event.

"What we are aiming to achieve during International Coaching Week is to bring coaching and its benefits to the people of York.

"We are offering coaching taster sessions to members of the public, businesses and council staff, as well as holding professional development events for coaches."

Launching on Monday 19 at the City of York Council offices, local leaders from a number of organisations including the NHS Leadership Team at York District Hospital, community group ‘Each One Teach One’, York St John University, City of York Council and Aviva will kick off the week by speaking about the benefits of coaching in their organisations. Local MP Hugh Bayley will also be speaking.

Running in tandem are planned coaching sessions running through the week at the Council Offices and York Central Library from Monday to Saturday.

For more information on the week’s events and to book your ticket visit www.coachingyork.co.uk All events are free, pre bookable and ticketed.

Coaching York, which held its inaugural meeting in January, was set up as an association of professionally trained, qualified and experienced coaches who came together to connect businesses and the community with high quality coaching.

Covering both commercial and community aspects of coaching, Coaching York is aiming to be a port of call for needs across the city and beyond.

The group is aiming to recruit at least 75 coaches, and engage with 500 users, including developing “strong relationships” with 20 core customers.