Site Specific and Indoor Wall Awards and Services

ArrampicA Young Climbers Awards
Find out more about our new Awards for young climbers...

ArrampicA Site-Specific Qualifications have been running since 2000: The national governing body award of single pitch award (SPA) is a modern requirement at all climbing centre's, however many centre's either do not retain staff for long enough to attain the award or use casual staff regularly to assist an SPA/run basic courses.

Example of ArrampicA's system:
A centre opens with a couple of SPA holders and 12 assistants, only 1 of whom is planning to go on to SPA. ArrampicA would visit the wall, set up a training and assessment course that initially trains then assesses 'Safe Practice' specifically for the wall in question, taking into account topics such as safety, equipment, climbing wall environment, safe operating ratio's, child protection act and law, briefing your customers, teaching methods, belaying, climbing techniques, professionalism, fire drill and problem solving.

The above course is 6+4 hours training and 4 hours assessment. Those who are of an acceptable standard will be awarded a Site-Specific Award of Safe Practices credited to the wall in question; those who do not pass will continue to attend training and assessment courses until they do. All walls so far using the system have chosen to put all their staff through 'including SPA's', thereby producing continuity of instruction and methods within the centre. Before a candidate may apply for training they must meet certain pre-requisites, these differ depending on the wall requirements and there current level of applicable experience and NGB qualifications. The courses are run by ArrampicA Mountain Instructor Award (MIA) holders (for details of the MIA qualification held by ArrampicA visit www.ami.org.uk)

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Some climbing walls charge a fee for the courses ArrampicA run. The ratios on all training and assessment courses are 1 instructor to 6 students. Costs are worked out following a site visit but the above example would be: Between £300.00 and £450.00 for the initial setting up of a site-specific award for the wall then per training course £350.00 (6+4 hours), assessment courses charged at 4 hours £140.00. Any extra courses are charged at £35.00 per hour + costs and travel.

WHAT IS A SITE-SPECIFIC QUALIFICATION?
Exactly as it says, if a wall wishes to qualify all its staff in safe practices it would take a great deal of time if all were put through a single pitch award. The site-specific is there to initially train and assess an individual’s ability to operate safely at a particular (specific) climbing wall. Awards are in no way transferable to other sites however the skills learned will prove invaluable in all cases, for those intending to continue supervising and teaching climbing. The awards are in no way designed to replace the requirement for a single pitch award and in these cases a candidate can take their SPA award through ArrampicA.

It should be noted that the applicable wall owns the award and is entirely respoinsible for ensuring it covers all aspects of requirements of the BMC and UKMTB. As ArrampicA is not always in-house and a yearly service arrangement is not available, each wall management must take it upon themselves to ensure they are up to date with all current climbing wall legislation. ArrampicA trains and check safety of individuals but cannot realistically ensure the persons in question maintain safe practices ona daily basis. Climbing walls must take responsibility for this and advice must be sought in writing from the BMC or ABC (Acssociation of British Climbing Walls) or UKMTB for qualifications advice.

WHAT WALL COURSES ARE AVAILABLE?
ArrampicA designs and implements courses in the following subjects:
 
LEA (Local Education Authority (Surrey) Awards and Services (£180.00 per day + costs and travel)

Oxted School, Oxted, Surrey on their Sandstone Site-Specific Training at Stone Farm, East Grinstead.

Site-Specific Safe Practice Training and Assessment
Training and assessment documentation (£180.00 per day + costs and travel for all aspects, contact for total days required).  Safety training is 6 hours followed by 4 hours at £35.00 per hour.  Shadowing of 25 hours minimum between training and assessment.  Assessment cost are 4 hours at £35.00 per hour.
Yearly re-validation workshop for all holders of site-specific awards (4 hours at £35.00 per hour)
Floor Walking Workshop (6.5 hours @ £210.00 + costs and travel)
Beginner Course Workshop (5 hours @ £175.00 + costs and travel)
Indoor Lead Climbing (site-specific training 4hrs and assessment 4hrs for SPA's only £140.00 each + costs and travel)
Teaching Technique (1 day @ £240.00 + costs and travel)
Technique's Workshop (4 hours @ £210.00 + costs and travel)

ArrampicA supply the following services for climbing walls:
Route Setting (£28.00 per route or £150.00 per day)
Boulder Problem Setting (£8.00 per problem)
Events (£2500.00 per day inclusive of 5 staff + costs and travel)

Please either call us or contact us by email about these services.

- Dolomite Courses - Dolomite Holidays - Costa Blanca - Catalan Rock - Private Guiding - Winter Skills - Introduction to Climbing - Single Pitch Leading - Multi Pitch Leading - Technical Ropework - Sport Climbing -

• Telephone: 0845 479 0716 • E-mail: info@arrampica.com • Mobile: 07980 818219 •