Glenmore Lodge, Saturday 30th March, 2019

Twelve representatives from mountaineering councils and national Mountain Training organisations met for their first meeting of 2019. They were supported by ten advisers and five members of MTUK’s Executive Board. Notable decisions and actions are as follows:

• It was acknowledged that conditions have made it a very difficult winter for Mountaineering Instructor Certificate candidates (qualification now renamed, see below), especially assessment candidates where only one has qualified.
• MTUK is continuing with its programme of registering the trademarks of its constituent organisations, qualifications and courses with the Intellectual Property Office.
• Work continues to find a name for MTUK that acknowledges its membership now includes Ireland as well as the UK.
• MTUK will recruit a volunteer this spring to become the sixth Trustee of MTUK and Director of Mountain Training Publications.
• Work was now underway to propose a revised percentage of the registration costs that are paid to MTUK for providing the website, CMS database and generic customer services. A separate piece of work will be to review provider fees.
• The Rock Climbing Development Instructor scheme is in the throes of being launched, following on from earlier launches of the Indoor Climbing Assistant and the Rock Skills schemes.
• Minimum contact time for assessing Rock Climbing Instructor candidates was under review with further discussion due in November. Ensuring the most efficient pathway between Climbing Wall Instructor and Rock Climbing Instructor was also being considered.
• MTUK approved seven new Foundation and Development Coach Providers and a further four Course Directors to support new or existing providers. They will attend an induction event in the spring and will then join the thirteen existing providers and add a much greater geographical spread across the UK and Ireland, much improved diversity and inspirational knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.
• The Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor scheme: During 2018 the Association of Mountaineering Instructors carried out a consultation process amongst their 950 members to find names for their two qualifications, which they felt would fit alongside all the new or revised other MTUK climbing schemes. They proposed that MOUNTAINEERING and CLIMBING INSTRUCTOR be the new name for the current Mountaineering Instructor Award and WINTER MOUNTAINEERING and CLIMBING INSTRUCTOR be that for the Mountaineering Instructor Certificate. There was some debate about this process but the conclusion was to accept the proposal and implement it immediately. A review of the pathway required by candidates to gain the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor qualification would begin towards the end of the autumn.
• Walking Scheme Review: A working group would be appointed in June to initiate an interim review.
• Date and place of next meeting: 29th June at Tollymore

Photo: MTUK members making the most of the weather with a team ascent of 0.5 gully (to the right of the Goat Track in Coire an t-Sneachda).