Indoor Climbing Assistant
Upcoming Dates
There are no dates set at present. Why not contact us to arrange one.
The Indoor Climbing Assistant course is designed for people who want to support qualified instructors with climbing sessions on artificial structures. People interested in this scheme might be parents, youth workers, young leaders or teachers. The focus is on assisting with core tasks within a session. Indoor Climbing Assistants are not qualified to manage groups independently. Use of the phrase 'indoor climbing walls' in this context refers to all artificial structures, including outdoor artificial climbing towers and mobile walls.
Is it for me?
The prerequisites for registration are as follows:
- Be at least 16 years old.
- Have an interest in assisting qualified instructors on indoor climbing walls.
If the above applies to you, when registrations open in January 2019 you will be able to register for the scheme. This will give you access to DLOG (our digital logbook) where you can record your experience and keep track of your progress.
Training and Assessment
The course involves one day (or potentially two evenings) of training and ongoing assessment in a supportive learning environment covering the following topics:
- Technical competence (equipment, belaying, personal skills and background knowledge) Management and decision making (managing participants under supervision, demonstrations and understanding your role)
- Teaching and learning skills
- The climbing environment (access, etiquette and ethics)
Prerequisites for attending the course are as follows:
- Experience in the basic skills (belaying, harness fitting, tying on).
- Have attended 5x indoor climbing sessions. (There is no personal climbing requirement, you can just belay, but it is useful to have experience of climbing.)
- Belayed on a minimum of 5 indoor climbing sessions.
After the course you will be given an assessment result of either Pass or Defer (not yet mastered basic skills).
Detailed information on each of the above topics can be found in the Indoor Climbing Assistant handbook. You are asked to read the handbook and make yourself familiar with its contents in advance of the training course.
ATNE have two programmes for the delivery of the Indoor Climbing Assistant course:-
Option 1: One day course. Based at Sunderland Wall, Doxford Works, Pallion Quay, Sunderland SR4 6TQ. Meet at 9.45am. The course will finish at c. 4.00pm
Option 2: Two evening sessions. Based at Burnside Wall, Hadrian Leisure Centre, Wallsend NE28 7LQ. Meet at 6.00pm, finish at 9.00pm
The cost of both courses is £75 per person. You will be expected to pay your own climbing wall entries.
There is a registration fee payable to Mountain Training of £20. This must be paid and registration completed before you can be booked onto a ICA course.
Ideally you should have the following equipment:-
- Rock shoes
- Harness
- Belay device
You can borrow any of this equipment for the course if you let me know in advance of the training.
You will also need:-
- Proof of identity
- Food and drink for the session
- Notebook and pen / tablet / phone
- Emergency Contact Details Form completed
- Homework - ideally in hard copy
Useful websites
- http://www.mountain-training.org
- http://www.mountain-training.org/climbing/other/downloads
- https://www.thebmc.co.uk
- http://www.mcofs.org.uk/home.asp
- http://www.mountaineering.ie
- http://www.mountain-training.org/associations/mountain-training-association
Insurance
Mountain Training has full public liability insurance, but the advice is for you to take out your own personal accident/cancellation insurance. If you already have insurance cover, check that it covers you for the activity you are undertaking. Recommended is the British Mountaineering Council: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/insurance
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) acts on behalf of walkers, climbers and mountaineers in the UK and offers the following participation statement that we ask you to agree to:
"The BMC recognises that climbing, hill walking and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement."
Contact Us
Contact Jon Chamberlain:
Tel: 07713 254649
E-mail: info@atne.co.uk
or use our contact form.
| Who | What | Where |
| parents, youth workers, young leaders, teachers | Indoor, Bouldering, Climbing walls, Group management, running sessions, Training |
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