A change in focus

Way back in June I completed my Climbing Wall Award training, but the weeks immediately following were taken up with preparing for the big Saltburn race, together with the small matter of a full time PhD, and it was not until July that I finally plucked up the courage to ask the nice man at the wall if I could come in and observe some sessions. Following a hiatus in September, during which time I spoke about field systems to an international conference in Glasgow and taught a local society how to collect and process geophysical survey data, I finally had time to get back to what really matters - climbing.

When I was a paddler, on a small island off the north coast of Scotland, I became both a 4* sea leader and UKCC L2 paddlesports coach within the local club(s), so when I started climbing, it seemed quite natural for me to want to get involved with the instructional side of things. Something in the recesses of my mind reminds me that one of the impetuses for taking up climbing was my desire to work towards my SPA, as a complement to my water based qualifications (the other reason being because I had broken a finger about a month previously!). 

The Orcadian L2 coaches, looking very wet and bedraggled after a long journey to obtaining their awards

In real life I often teach students and local groups about archaeological survey and geophysics and I have come to realise that I get a great deal of enjoyment from teaching people practical skills - it is very satisfying to watch them begin the day asking lots of questions and seeking your input, to finishing the day being able to undertake the tasks independently. To me, it does not matter if I am teaching them to use an RM15, perform a sculling draw or belay correctly, there are many approaches that are directly applicable to teaching any practical skill. Certainly, I have often felt that the things I learned about teaching and learning styles in my very thorough L2 training have been incredibly useful in the other areas in which I also work.

Explaining archaeological survey with a GNSS system

After the Simple Chick and the One on the Island took a metaphorical stick to me, I finally manned up and booked to undertake my CWA assessment in November - this gave me around 8 weeks to prepare and meant I well and truly had to shift my focus back to climbing and engage in what I have come to term as 'binge observation'. For the last couple of weeks I have also been permitted to assist at the wall, looking after one line and 4 people under the watchful eye of a fully qualified instructor and this has been a brilliant way to learn the ropes (boom boom).

I have found, to my surprise and contrary to my own preconceptions, that I actually really enjoy working with young children, particularly when they have huge smiles on their faces and are so excited about getting the chance to climb for the first time. I have also found that my own confidence is increasing, partly because I have to have 'instructor front' when I am working, but also because I am continuously being pushed slightly outside my comfort zone and am learning an immense amount from every instructor I work with and from every different session I see. Watching people being introduced to climbing for the first time and gaining obvious enjoyment from the experience takes me back to when I first started to climb and reminds of why I love this sport and everything related to it. It may sound rather clichéd, but climbing is not just a hobby, for me it is a real passion.

Doing what I love