UKC

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions regarding teaching climbing as a freelancer at indoor climbing walls. Any information provided will be very much appreciated.

I'm a CWI award owner, and I've taught a lot of friends to climb for free at indoors walls. You just take them in under your responsibility and that's it. Does it change if I charge them? or if they are not my friends?

Thanks a lot

Ignacio

Most walls will expect you to show them evidence that you're suitably insured and qualified before letting you instruct in their facilities.

Thank for the reply Luke90.

I guess I'll have to find a insurance. Any recommendations?

Thanks

Afraid not, I've never bought insurance as an individual. When I've occasionally done work like that, I've been covered by the insurance of the school I was working for.

You can buy specific insurance from Ascent through Mountain Training CMS.

You would need insurance if you’re going to charge people and you would also need to discuss this with the wall in question as they aren’t going to be happy about someone using their facilities for commercial gain without their agreement (especially as their own staff probably provide the same service, so you’d be taking their work).

If you’re just showing stuff to less experienced climbers for free, that’s pretty normal but you’d still want BMC or similar third party liability insurance (so join the BMC or a BMC affiliated club if you haven’t already done so). 

I find walls are very happy to take external instructors and their clients, normally offering a discount to entice them too!

As an example my local, the Beacon, normally charge £9.50. For external instructors they charge £6 per client and the instructor gets in free.

As someone else has said. If you are a member of the Mountain Training Association you can access their Insurance product, Ascend, from Lockton: http://www.mountain-training.org/associations/mountain-training-association...

Was this not covered when you completed your CWI? 

Interesting. £9.50 is more than the walls charge here in Birmingham by the way! Who’s have thought North Wales would be more expensive... Lack of competition I guess. 

not too sure what the down votes are for.

When I completed my CWA there was a section where we discussed how to work in the industry, how to approach walls, insurance, risk assessments etc. A useful section for some of the candidates. 

(Not me who downvoted)

When i did my CWA training, none of that was covered, nor was in my CWI assessment and I felt (in retrospect) that it very much should have been.

There's nothing in the CWA/CWI syllabus that covers this.  I can't criticize my assessor for that.

Sounds like you had a proactive assessor who could fill the gap.

Cheers

The working as a freelancer part wasn't covered on my CWA course, we did cover everything else.

I'll contact the walls before doing it, not planing to do any sneaky teaching.

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm going to check the Ascent insurance. 

Your profile doesn’t state where you are based but I know Red Spider near Portsmouth is after some freelance instructors. 

Generally to freelance instruct at a wall you will need:

Relevant qualification (RCI, CWI, etc.)

First Aid certificate that validates the above relevant qualification

Insurance 

You may also be required to have a recent enhanced DBS check but that's up to the wall.

You will likely also need to pass some kind of Instructor Induction administered by the Lead Instructor/Course Director on site. 

You may also (depending on numbers you are instructing) need to book in any session with the wall. This is usually because the walls need a record of anyone climbing on site and have limits on numbers of guests that people can sign in to supervise. If you're taking in 1 or 2 people to instruct then you can probably just sign them in as your guests but more than that and it will likely be recorded in a different fashion.