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PostPosted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 9:49 pm 

Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:32 am
Posts: 112
Hello all!

It has been brought to my attention recently that many of the club's more experienced members have been asking whether it is possible for them to take the weekend long SPA training course that all committee members are required to undergo before the start of the academic year. The short answer is yes.


Hang on, wtf is SPA?: SPA (Single Pitch Award) is a weekend that will show you all of the essentials of climbing single pitch climbs outdoors. The idea is that after the weekend, you will understand and be able to set up properly at the top of outdoor climbs, as well as instruct others in climbing. In addition to this you will receive a mountain logbook to record all of the leads you complete from thereon in; when you have gained enough outdoors experience, you can take the actual SPA test and receive your SPA qualification in return, if you so wish.

Should I consider doing this?: Interest in the course has been very high recently among club members. If you have been in UBMC/climbing a while, and are keen to get leading for yourself outdoors, or to refine what leading experience you have, then it is definitely worthwhile! It doesn't necessarily matter if you have not lead anything outdoors, so long as you have done a fair amount of seconding and have a decent grasp on how bits of gear work.

Hit me with some cost brother: While UBMC cannot subsidise the course we should be able to arrange it easily enough. Registration to the course (which is done online) is £40, and the cost of the course itself is £120. While £160 overall may seem like a lot of money, what you learn on SPA is invaluable and will help turn you into a competent lead trad climber. Getting on the course outside of University will also be a lot trickier than doing it through UBMC, so if you want to learn to lead, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

The only real issue for now is that there would have to be enough interest in order to proceed. Ideally, for the course to run, we would need eight people keen to do it. I know there has definitely been interest and I know there are many club members for whom the course would be very beneficial.

If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Hev
xxx

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:00 pm 

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:53 pm
Posts: 8
INTERESTED!!!!!!! :thumleft:


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:56 am 

Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 10:58 am
Posts: 10
I wanted to do my SPA a couple of years back but nowhere had insurance to cover me. I'm definitely interested!


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:21 am 
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:35 pm
Posts: 210
Shoes: red chillies
super interested please :)

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 5:16 pm 
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Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:05 pm
Posts: 27
Shoes: Oversized and comfortable
I'm definitely interested

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I like big cracks and offwidth lines
Yo other brothers can shag the spine
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And a chock stones up in your case
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 5:57 pm 

Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:32 am
Posts: 112
Okay guys the interest in this is fab! I will be messaging people on FaceBook about this soon to try and work out some dates, as Paul, who teaches the SPA course, has kindly agreed to teach UBMC again :)

As he also pointed out, because I missed it in the original post and have since edited it, taking the SPA course allows you to instruct others too.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:46 pm 

Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:58 pm
Posts: 7
Shoes: Scarpa
Interested!!! =D


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 24, 2013 6:10 pm 

Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:44 pm
Posts: 43
Shoes: A range of 5.10 shoes
Merlin wrote:
but nowhere had insurance to cover me.


What does that mean Merlin? Were you under 18 at the time? Which means that you couldn't do the course anyway, or is there another reason?

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 25, 2013 2:29 pm 

Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 10:58 am
Posts: 10
Paul Smith wrote:
What does that mean Merlin? Were you under 18 at the time? Which means that you couldn't do the course anyway, or is there another reason?


I was under 18 but other than insurance reasons none of the trainers that I contacted seemed aware of an age restriction or any other reason why I couldn't do it.


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:05 pm 

Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:44 pm
Posts: 37
Shoes: Boreals
Interested :) not using fb much though, os maybe text me?


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2013 7:26 pm 

Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2011 10:50 am
Posts: 17
You're sitting in my room and telling me this would be ideal for me. So I'm interested, as you already know because you just told me I should be interested.


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