BCA Local Cave/Mine Leader Assessment Scheme

We are able to deliver these courses in most of the major caving regions in the UK including the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North and South Wales and Somerset.

The courses start at 9.30am on the first day and end at 5.00pm on the final day with a formal de-brief and a look at assessment procedure.

Cavers will be expected to have their own caving clothing and equipment for the training courses but I can provide anything that people are short of. Some sessions will be held outdoors so suitable clothing will be needed for this.

Registration and Logbooks

An application form can be obtained by contacting the Training Administration Service Provider or down loading one from the British Caving Association web site.

The completed application form should be sent with the current registration fee to the Training Administration Service Provider. The registration fee covers the administration costs of Level 1 and Level 2 assessments, it does not cover the subsequent addition of other sites and areas, revalidation or the Cave Instructor Certificate scheme. Neither does the registration fee cover the cost of Trainer/Assessors’ services.

There is no lower age limit on registration or gaining prior experience. However, there is an age limit on progressing through the scheme.

Logbook

The applicant will be registered with the scheme and be given a logbook and registration number, which should be referred to in all correspondence.

The issued logbook contains the following pages:

• Enrolment (yellow)
• Purpose of Logbook (white)
• Contents (yellow)
• Outline of LCMLA Scheme (yellow)
• Experience (white)
• Summary of LCMLA Training Courses, Assessment and Revalidation (yellow)
• Associated Awards and Courses Record (white)

Candidates with a lot of experience, perhaps going back over many years may find it difficult to give exact details. Candidates should attempt to demonstrate their breadth and depth of experience with the more historic experience summarised. Multiple entries of trips to the same cave or mine with similar groups may also be summarised. Only the most recent experience should be included in more detail.

Additional experience pages may be obtained from the Training Administration Service Provider or photocopied.

If a candidate subsequently registers on the Cave Instructor Certificate (CIC) Scheme pink pages will be issued for enrolment and partial assessment reports.

Syllabus

A copy of the Syllabus can be down loaded from the BCA web site -details in Directory. A free copy of the syllabus will be provided at registration. Further copies may be obtained from the TASP on payment of a charge to cover printing costs.

Leaflets

“Protect Our Caves”, “Bats Underground”, “Weils Disease”, Speleoscene and “Cave Conservation Policy – Summary” are normally sent out with registration forms. Further copies may be obtained by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to the Training Administrator.

This material is also available at BCA Training web site.

Minimum Age

Candidates must be over 18 years old to undertake a Training Course.

The candidate can attend a training course anywhere, as they are not area specific. The course must be run by a British Caving Association approved Trainer / Assessor. The candidate is at liberty to contact any currently approved Trainer/Assessor.

The candidate should advise the Trainer / Assessor if s/he has any medical problems that may affect their own or other persons safety.

Lists of Trainer / Assessors are on the British Caving Association’s web site and can be obtained from the Training Administrator. Details of some forthcoming training courses are advertised in Speleoscene, on the British Caving Association’s web site and elsewhere.

The candidate should be advised by the Trainer / Assessor, preferably in writing, of the basic details of the course.