Things we do our way
Formal vs informal?
One of the advantages of having level in the form of this document, is to be confident that people in our club who are going caving have at least a minimum amount of skills to protect the cave, protect each other and to know what to do if something doesn’t go to plan.
This isn’t intended to stop people doing things, but to empower people to know what they need to learn to get to that point.
Peer-led vs Leader-led
Our club believes that even in a group of equals, every club trip should have a designated “leader” responsible for leading the group and making key decisions.
This is to reduce the impact of the bystander effect where someone might not be willing to speak up to say “we should turn around” because they assume everyone else is taking care of it.
SRT vs Ladders
Our club believes that SRT should be taught before ladders.
It is an open question whether Ladders should be taught at all in our club.
Basic SRT skills can be taught at any point it is believed that the member will stay around the club.
BCA Qualifications vs DCA Coaching scheme
Qualifications for leaders such as the BCA Cave Instructor Certificate (CIC) or Local Cave/Mine Leader Assessment (LCMLA) schemes are not intended for recreational caving and are not considered appropriate within a club environment.
The DCA’s Club Coaching scheme has inspired this scheme, and some additions have been made to suit our club.
The syllabuses are excellent guides to training and standards of personal competence and elements of both have been incorporated into our levels.
“Adult Club style” vs “Student Club style”
Traditional “Adult” Caving clubs tend to exercise super informal training and skills schemes emphasising individual competence and groups of peer-led groups.
The Student caving community has independently developed a way of working that better supports novice cavers and manages skills and safety in a way better suited to groups of lesser experienced cavers. The SUSS Good Practice Guidelines are a written codification of these practices.
Whilst The Caving Crew is not a student club, we aim to bring and support newcomers to the sport, and so this document draws inspiration from the student community approach, whilst formalising it somewhat into a set of levels.