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Mountain Training is responding to calls from the bouldering wall industry to create a national indoor bouldering qualification. We wish to determine the demand for such a qualification across the whole sector. Currently the activity is covered by the Climbing Wall Instructor and Rock Climbing Instructor qualifications but these require candidates to be trained and assessed in roped climbing instruction. 

The proposal is for a supervisory qualification that would cover the safe management of novices which could then be used to access the coaching scheme qualifications. This survey is for organisations that deliver climbing activities, including their advisors. There is a separate survey for individuals involved in instructing, or who wish to instruct, bouldering.

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* 1. Please tell us the name of your organisation/s?

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* 2. What is your role within the organisation?

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* 3. Please tell us the type/s of organisation/s you represent?

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* 4. How many climbing instructors/coaches do you employ, contract or deploy in a year within your organisation/s?

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* 5. A national indoor bouldering qualification would need to train and assess the candidate's ability to work safely with participants in the full range of UK bouldering venues. They would also need to be able to operate independently without support from management. This would potentially require the training and assessment to be more involved than in-house schemes. 

Do you think such a qualification would be good to introduce to the sector?

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* 6. Would you recognise such a qualification held by visiting instructors not deployed by your organisation/s?

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* 7. What do you see as the main advantages/attraction of a national qualification?

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* 8. A national qualification scheme will have costs and requirements that in-house schemes may not. Candidates would need to log experience from a range of bouldering walls. Registration would typically cost about £50 and training and assessment courses would have costs depending on the length of the courses (£100-£250pp in total). 
Would you support a national bouldering qualification for your staff/volunteers as opposed to an in-house scheme?

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* 9. Please estimate the number of staff/volunteers in your organisation/s that might take up such a qualification each year?

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* 10. The volume of content covered by the qualification will influence the prerequisites, the time and therefore costs required for training and assessment. Where should a new bouldering qualification sit on this scale?

Safe supervision only. Easy access for anyone with some bouldering experience. Cheaper. Advanced supervision, knowledge and teaching skills. Considerable experience and training required. More expensive.
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i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 11. In addition to the safe management of novices (including risk assessment, planning, briefings, supervision, duty of care, liaising with parents/walls etc) what additional content, if any, would you like to see in the syllabus?

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* 12. If you already have an in-house instructor qualification scheme would you wish your staff/volunteers to gain a national indoor bouldering qualification if their current experience was recognised? This could involve them being exempted from training but not from assessment.

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* 13. The supervision of outdoor bouldering is currently covered by the Rock Climbing Instructor qualification. Do you feel that there is a need for a separate outdoor bouldering qualification to cover the safe supervision and basic teaching of bouldering?

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* 14. A national outdoor bouldering qualification would require candidates to have bouldered at a variety of outdoor venues and have assisted on a number of outdoor instructional sessions before assessment. There would also be registration, training and assessment costs. Furthermore, an AALA license would be required to supervise and instruct outdoor bouldering to U18s on a commercial basis. 
Given these facts please estimate the number of staff/volunteers that your organisation might deploy in a year with such a qualification?

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* 15. Thank you for your responses. Your feedback will help us design the best qualification scheme for the sector's needs. If you wish to add any more comments please use the box below:

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