Essex County Scout Caving Team

Badge Courses

2009 Courses

Written by Simon Clow

Sunday, 20 January 2008

Course	Training Day	Caving Weekend
JUN 2009	TBC	TBC
OCT 2009	TBC	TBC
NOV 2009 (Overflow Only)	TBC	TBC

All Courses are available on both weekends and cost £70 per head, which covers the following:

· Transport to and from the Mendip Hills in Somerset;

· Accommodation at a Scout Headquarters in Somerset;

· All food for the weekend;

· Hire of all Caving Equipment required (except personal clothing);

· Cave access fees;

· The local Training Session and printed notes;

· A Badge and Certificate for those who complete the course.

A non-returnable deposit of £45 should be sent with the completed application form to secure your place. You will not receive conformation of your booking until around a week before the Training Day, if you require a receipt before then, a stamped addressed envelope should be enclosed with your application.

Cheques should be made payable to:

‘Essex County Scout Caving Team’

All Applications and deposits must be received prior to the training day. The balance of the course fee must be received on or before the training day.

All Application Forms and deposits should be returned to the Course Co-ordinator who can be contacted by e-mailing caving@essexscouts.org.uk

Both Training days will be held at:

Theydon Bois Scout Headquarters,

Loughton Lane,

Theydon Bois,

Essex.

The Instructor Badges will only be available if there are candidates doing the badge that they wish to Instruct for, and will only be available to invited candidates. The Caver Stage 1 / Scout Caver Instructor Course costs £50 and all subsequent courses attended reduce in cost by £10 each time to encourage people to attend.

General Description

The Caving Badge Courses provided by the Team consist of two parts, firstly a compulsory training day in Essex, and secondly, a caving weekend in the Mendip Hills in Somerset. The Badge Courses are run in accordance with the Scout Association Authorisation Scheme for Adventurous Activities.

The compulsory training in Essex is normally held on a Sunday two to three weeks prior to the caving weekend. The training for the Scout Caver Badge Course is half a day in duration whilst that for all other badge courses is a whole day.

For the caving weekend, travel is by minibus on the Friday evening to the attractive village of Wrington on the edge of the Mendip Hills. Accommodation for the weekend is in the Wrington Scout and Guide Headquarters, a converted chapel with a well-equipped kitchen and dining room, modern toilets and washing facilities and a hot shower. Candidates are given a cooked breakfast on both days, packed lunches whilst caving, and a cooked dinner Saturday evening.

Caving on the Saturday is in three or four different caves located in Burrington Combe, all of which are ‘dry’ caves. On the Saturday evening, there is a short written test and an exercise covering the theory part of the Badge with questions relating to the topics covered on the training day.

Caving on the Sunday is in an active ‘wet’ cave system near the village of Priddy, returning to the hall during the afternoon to sort out and pack the kit.

Presentation of badges and certificates takes place prior to departure late on the Sunday afternoon. Return to Essex by minibus is on the Sunday evening.

Outline of Individual Courses

Scout Caver Badge

The Scout Caver Badge Course is for Scouts aged 12 and over. Scouts approaching their 12th birthday may apply to go on the Course providing they will reach the age of 12 by the date of the caving weekend. The Scout Caver Badge replaces the old Caver – Stage 1 Badge, which is no longer offered by the Team.

Caving on the Saturday involves some abseiling, a short ladder pitch and some short climbs with hand lines. Caving on the Sunday includes some short climbs with hand lines and following a live streamway.

Caver - Stage Two Badge and New Explorer Scout Mountain Activities Badge (Caving Option)

The Caver - Stage Two Badge Course and that for the caving option under the new Explorer Scout Mountain Activities Badge is for those who already hold the Caver - Stage One Badge or the new Scout Caver Badge.

Caving on the Saturday involves some short climbs with hand lines. Caving on the Sunday includes some short climbs with hand lines, a 20-foot ladder pitch, following a live streamway and the option of going through a short sump.

Scout Caver Instructor Badge

The Course for the Scout Caver Instructor Badge is for selected Scouts who already hold the Caver - Stage Two Badge. Candidates undertaking the Caver – Stage Two Badge are assessed to ascertain if they have the necessary potential for the Scout Caver Instructor Badge. Only those assessed as suitable are invited to undertake the Scout Caver Instructor Badge. The Scout Caver Instructor Badge replaces the old Caver – Stage 1 Instructor Badge, which is no longer offered by the Team.

Candidates are expected to help out on the training day and assist in the presentation of the training modules. They will also receive guidance on the underground instruction that they will be giving on the weekend away, and will be set a topic on which they are expected to present a supplementary training session on the Saturday night of the caving weekend.

During the weekend away they will be expected to...

· Assist with the preparation, distribution and collection of Team equipment;

· Demonstrate an ability to instruct Scout Caver Badge candidates whilst underground;

· Supervise the Scout Caver Badge tests and exercises;

· Present their supplementary training module on the Saturday Evening.

Caver - Stage Two Instructor Badge

The Caver - Stage Two Instructor Badge Course is for selected Scouts who already hold the Caver - Stage One Instructor Badge or the Scout Caver Instructor Badge. Candidates undertaking the Caver – Stage One Instructor Badge or the Scout Caver Instructor Badge are assessed to ascertain if they have the potential necessary for the Caver – Stage Two Instructor Badge. Only those assessed as suitable are invited to undertake the Caver – Stage Two Instructor Badge.

Candidates are expected to help out on the training day and present one of the training modules. They will also receive guidance on the underground instruction that they will be giving on the weekend away, and will be set a topic on which they are expected to present a supplementary training session on the Saturday night of the caving weekend. This will be related to the rigging and use of ladder pitches.

During the weekend away they will be expected to...

· Assist with the preparation, distribution and collection of Team equipment;

· Demonstrate an ability to instruct Caver - Stage Two Badge candidates or those taking the caving option under the Explorer Scout Mountain Activities Badge whilst underground;

· Supervise the Caver - Stage Two Badge / Explorer Scout tests and exercises;

· Present their supplementary training module on the Saturday Evening;

· Supervise under the scrutiny of the party leader, the use of the 20-foot ladder pitch on the Sunday.

Scout Network Courses

Scout Network and adult members of the Movement that would like to try caving are welcome to attend the Badge Courses. There is no fixed plan for these courses, but if they have not done any caving before, the format will closely follow the plan for the Caver - Stage Two / Explorer Scouts. If there is insufficient space on Badge Courses and there are enough people interested, then a course for that purpose can be arranged.

Depending on the number of instructors available, and the number of people on the weekend, Scout Network / Leaders may join an existing Caver - Stage Two Badge / Explorer Scout party, or may form a party of their own. All courses for members of the Scout Network and adult members of the Movement will be run in accordance with the Scout Association Authorisation Scheme for Adventurous Activities. The Team does not use the provisions in POR for ‘adult only’ groups even if no one under the age of 18 is involved.

Members of the Scout Network and Leaders with suitable previous experience may act as Assistant Instructors on the courses, and may be invited to join the Team and come on Team trips to other caving areas. At least one such trip is run each year.

Assistant Instructor Scheme

Instructor Badge holders are eligible to become Team Members and are encouraged to assist with a variety of Team activities.

Caver - Stage One Instructor Badge and Scout Caver Instructor Badge holders may act as an assistant Instructor on two Scout Caver Badge courses before they are required to gain the Caver - Stage Two Instructor Badge. To encourage them to do so the cost of each successive trip is reduced.

Caver - Stage Two Instructor Badge holders may act as an Assistant Instructor on any number of courses for Scouts / Explorer Scouts. To encourage them to do so the cost of each successive trip is reduced.

It is the Team’s policy to provide additional training and experience to Caver - Stage Two Instructor Badge holders to enable them to progress to ‘Form Cave’ level as part of the Assistant Instructor Scheme.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 20 January 2008 )