Mountain Leader Training Association
Launches We've finally launched the Mountain Leader Training Association.
You can join MLTA for £15 now. Visit the site on www.mlta.co.uk
Developments in Single Pitch and Mountain Leader Awards Reviews are now complete for the Mountain Leader (ML) and Single Pitch Award (SPA) resulting in very few changes to the basic syllabus but a range of developments in the guidance notes.
MLTUK is hosting meetings and seminars of the Mountaineering Commission of the UIAA in North Wales from May 3-8th, with delegates arriving from a wide range of mountaineering federations, including India, South Africa, Finland, Belgium, Hungary, France, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Netherlands. The new international training standards booklet will be launched and the seminar will explore the issues of quality at local, national and international levels.
After widespread consultation we committed ourselves to developing an award specifically for instructors who work on artificial climbing walls. The scheme was introduced in early 2008: more details available here.
Job vacancy with SkillsActive
National Skills Academy Posts
Development Officer Post, closing date May 23rd, here
This MLTUK Board meeting was held at the Glenmore Lodge National Mountain Centre. Several important issues were discussed and resolutions passed. Follow this link for a summary of the meeting.
What does MLTUK actually do?
Job vacancy at JCA (April 2008)
Have you ever wondered what MLTUK actually does, other than registrations?
Part of the TUI Travel Group, JCA is one of the fastest growing providers of School Activity Holidays. We are proud of our reputation for providing thousands of children with unforgettable experiences every year which promote education, personal development and of course, fun!
We are operating eleven fantastic centres across the UK this season and are looking for an SPA qualified Activity Instructor to join our team as soon as possible.
Holding a SPA, you will be a specialist member of the team responsible for delivering and leading a wide range of activities. You'll have experience of instructing - preferably groups of children, you'll be a motivator, confident with excellent communication skills We are offering a competitive salary and benefits include accommodation and meals. For more information please call Michelle Reid on 02392 222329 or visit www.jca-adventure.co.uk/jobs.
Medex has published a handy free guide to staying healthy in the mountains entitiled Travel At High Altitude, a booklet that can be freely download by clicking this link
New Guidelines from NICE for dealing with head injuries
CCW Gorge seminar 2008
Hopefully you won't have to use this advice, but its good to keep up with the latest developments in first aid, so here's a link to the guidelines published by NICE in September 2007.
The CCW seminar at Plas y Brenin on April 9th 2008 was well attended and very well received.
The MLTA continues to grow, with membership now in excess of 1600 (April 2008). The association is committed to providing ongoing development opportunities for its members. This year 2 major conferences will be run: May 24-25 in Buxton and November 8-9th at Plas y Brenin. Mark them in your diary, and check out the website.
You can read more about this important educational initiative by following this link.
Request from an ex-pat for help setting up outdoor activities in the USA.
My name is Wil Rickards, assistant professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage where we are resurrecting involvement in the outdoors and starting a new degree in Adventure Leadership. I am also a former MIC, AMI member and LEA centre teacher from North Wales.
I am not sure how aware you are of trends and opinions in the US but a fairly commonly held belief is that personal certification / qualification is not only a personal imposition it is also unlikely to raise standards of instructors. Unfortunately the British system has been severely misrepresented and whilst it is not the only model, it is one that I greatly appreciate and feel is worth sharing. I attribute a majority of my competence and qualification to the system that I went through and I am extremely proud of it and the quality that it engenders. I am yet to find anywhere else such a consistently proficient group of instructors and I think all award holding instructors should be equally proud of their qualification and the experience and hard work that earned it.
After a great deal of thought I have decided to present the British model of qualification at the next Association of Experiential Education’s international conference in November. I am fairly anxious as I know I have to pitch it right; rather like being an assessor I have to be very aware of the impact of my actions and statements on my audience and my role is to nurture constructive self reflective thought in a culture that is successful through self belief. My strategy is to collect as many positive stories of why UK instructors enjoyed their qualification experience and what they believe they gained from it and to sell the good times and benefits. I would love to collect as many personal stories from instructors as I can.
I am therefore asking if you could post this where it will be seen by as many members as possible. I would appreciate it if instructors could e-mail their response to me at afwhr@uaa.alaska.edu and if people want to forward favourite images of instructing in the UK this would also be a great help – please state if you want to be credited or left anonymous. In return I will happily make the PowerPoint available after the conference.
Folk finding themselves in or thinking of coming to Alaska are welcome to contact me.
