Taking a closer look at the programme, the Academy is offering two three-month courses this year, the first in January and the second in April. Twenty-six students will take part in each course, an intensive Monday-to-Friday programme of six-hour days over the 12-week period, totalling 360 classes. The students sit a final exam at the end of the course.

The selected experts teaching the course in each weapon are well-renowned fencing coaches: Ioan Pop for sabre, Bela Kopetka for epee and for foil, Zoltan Bernat. For the theoretical subjects, the FIE Coaching Academy enjoys the support of the Hungarian University of Physical Education, which is teaching modules in psychology, pedagogy, training-methodology, physiology and strategic management for a total of 60 classes. The university is no novice in fencing coaching as a long-standing partner of Olympic Solidarity: from the nine fencing coaches to have been awarded Olympic Scholarships, seven chose to study at the University of Physical Education in Budapest.

The cooperation between the FIE Coaching Academy and the University of Physical Education is officially recognised by the Ministry of Education, thus creating an internationally convertible diploma for fencing coaches graduating in Budapest – an important step in the professionalization of coaching, an activity that still has a large volunteer force.