Update on coaching climbing qualifications development

BMC officers throwing some shapes

Earlier in the year MLTUK formed two separate small teams drawn from across the whole of the UK and Ireland in order to provide management and technical support to the development of a coaching qualifications pathway. This has allowed each group of specialists to focus on a specific area of this exciting project, and at the beginning of August we have now reached a good level of consensus of the syllabus contents for levels 1 (Assistant Coach) and level 2 (Coach). These will be submitted to the MLTUK Board at the forthcoming meeting at Plas y Brenin on September 17th 2011.

The scheme will be designed for wall and sport climbing and in the case of national coaches it will use existing qualifications such as the CWA to guarantee good safety management (local coaches who only operate within one wall may well be signed off as technically competent via in house accreditation). In time there may also be a level 3 coach and the work now turns towards discussing and agreeing delivery mechanisms, accrediting prior learning and training providers.

John Cousins at MLTUK said ‘with the safety of participants covered through existing awards the requirements for each syllabus are more about quality of delivery, and the working groups have done very well to agree the minimum standards’. 

Neil Gresham commented to Steve Long, the project coordinator: ‘I couldn't agree more that we're making progress. I can also see a future for mapping my coaching activities in with the proposed scheme. This really is excellent news.’ 

Graeme Morrison the new Chair of MLTS said ‘For me the progress and effort Steve has put in is very good and the resulting draft syllabi excellent. I have a support network including sports scotland coaching staff and Abertay Uni specialists and they say we are well on the way to developing a sustainable coaching format for climbing and mountaineering.

Membership of the advisory groups is as follows:

Management Group: Nick Colton (BMC), John Cousins (MLTUK), Rosie Goolden (MCofS), Steve Long (MLTUK), Mike Pinder (BMC)

Technical Group: Dave Binney, Angela Carlin, Martin Chester, Ian Dunn, Jon Garside, Neil Gresham, Steve Long, Graeme Morrison

Steve Long