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History of Challenge Course
Practitioner (Facilitator) Certification:
The concept of “facilitator
certification” has been bounced around since the early formation of
challenge course professionals as far back as 1992 while at an
Association for Experiential Education (AEE)
conference. Since then the conversation has grown, morphed, adapted and
sprouted a life of its own. In 2004 at the request of the challenge course
industry a task force was created by the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) to determine the
feasibility and desirability of practitioner certification. This task force
was made up of truly unique individuals from a variety of organizations,
roles and market segments including schools, corporate consulting, parks and
recreation, challenge course construction and training, summer camps and
universities. After many drafts and open public commentary of two separate
drafts, the final version of the challenge course practitioner certification
standards was adopted by the industry and published by ACCT in June of 2007.
These standards have been crafted by a
vary large group of people representing all aspects of the challenge course
/ ropes course industry. The standards have been debated, challenged,
rewritten, debated and rewritten again and again. It is through this broad
range perspective and thoughtful and inclusive drafting of the Practitioner
Certification Standards that has us at Experiential Systems excited about
them and able to support them and offer Certification Training Courses. We
feely strongly that these standards will help to strengthen the quality and
safety of our industry.
As with any standard we must
acknowledge that the Challenge Course Practitioner Standards may change
and if you have feedback on them we encourage you to share those
comments with any of our staff or to send an e-mail directly to the
Association for Challenge Course Technology at
info@acctinfo.org . It is only through this feedback that the
standards will be able to grow or change to meet the industry where it
is at or heading to.
What are the Challenge Course
Practitioner Standards? What Aren't They?
The intent of the Challenge Course
Practitioner Standards is to identify and set a common grouping of minimum
skills required for challenge course facilitators in order to work safely in
the ropes course industry. The intent of the standards is to increase the
level of professionalism within the industry and promote best practices
while and through verifying each individuals level of ability.
Certification can be used as a guide for organizations in hiring and
verifying experience of potential employees and/or skill level of existing
employees.
These standards are not completely new,
only the certification process which includes the accreditation of training
organizations and the national certification of individuals. The Challenge
Course Practitioner Standards are based completely on the published ACCT
Operational Standards that have been in existence as best practices for many
years.
Practitioner Certification is designed
to assess an individuals skills not an organizations. The assessment
of an organization is referred to as accreditation. Many organizations
provide accreditation for challenge course programs at different levels.
These organizations include:
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AEE - Program accreditation is
available for a variety of adventure and experiential based programs
through the Association for Experiential Education. For more information
visit there website at www.aee.org
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ACCT - Accreditation for
professional challenge course builders, inspectors and trainers is
available through the Association for Challenge Course Technology. For
more information visit their website at
www.acctinfo.org
Levels of
Challenge Course Practitioner Certification
Experiential Systems offers three levels
of challenge course practitioner certification. These levels are based on
the current certification levels outlined within the ACCT published
Practitioner Certification Standards. Within each level are multiple tracks
or training options.
ESI offers both open enrollment
trainings and certification testing for the following designations:
Level I Challenge Course
Practitioner Certification
Level 1 certification is intended for
entry level challenge course practitioners who would have no previous
challenge ropes course experience.
The Level 1 facilitator will have a
thorough understanding of initiatives and low ropes course elements and/or
traditional high ropes course elements and belay systems.
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Topics Covered Include:
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Certification Tracks:
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Full Certification - High and Low Elements
40 Hours Minimum
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Spotted Activities Only
20 Hours Minimum
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High Activities Only
20 Hours Minimum
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Site or System Specific
8 Hours Minimum
The hours listed above are minimum hours.
Certification Training may be longer based on the variety of systems
and elements that will need to be covered and the number of
participants in the training. The more unique systems the longer
training will need to be.
Prior Work History:
No prior work history required
Certification Duration:
1 years |
Level 2
Challenge Course Practitioner Certification
Level 2 certification is intended for
individuals who have been in the challenge ropes course field for some time
and can meet the core technical and facilitation skills required for
operation of most high and low ropes course elements. A level 2
practitioners can demonstrate mastery of all Level 1 competencies. This
training is designed to provide additional skills and knowledge that can be
drawn from to address unique situations and provide leadership to less
experienced practitioners. Level 2 practitioners
must have documentation of 200 hours of experience delivering programs on a
challenge course.
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Topics Covered Include:
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Group Assessment
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Program Design
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Goal Setting
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Ethical Issues
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Structuring Initiatives
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Sequencing
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Processing
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Risk Management
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Spotting Techniques
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Knot Tying
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Belaying with a variety of devices
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Transferring
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Emergency Rescues
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Equipment Use
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Element and Equipment Inspection
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Rescues Scenarios and Tactics
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Leading Edge Climbing
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Challenge Course Inspection and Maintenance
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leadership Skills
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Mentoring
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Staff
Supervision
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Communication Skills
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Presence in front of a group
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Certification Tracks:
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Full Certification - High and Low Elements
80 Hours Minimum
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Spotted Activities Only
44 Hours Minimum
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High Activities Only
44 Hours Minimum
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Site or System Specific
24 Hours Minimum
The hours listed above are minimum hours.
Certification Training may be longer based on the variety of systems
and elements that will need to be covered and the number of
participants in the training. The more unique systems the longer
training will need to be.
Previous documented training may
be accepted toward required hours depending on the type of training,
how recent it was conducted and what organization provided the
training. (Syllabuses Required).
Prior Work History:
Level 2 Practitioners need to have
200 documented hours of facilitation experience.
Certification Duration:
3 years
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Challenge
Course Manager (CCM) Certification
Challenge Course Manager certification
is intended for individuals who have been in the challenge ropes course
field for some time and can meet the core technical and facilitation skills
required for operation of most high and low ropes course elements as well as
demonstrate the ability to supervise others, develop site specific operation
procedures, conduct in-services and implement the operations management of a
facility. Level 2 practitioners will have documentation of 200 hours of
experience delivering programs on a challenge course. A Challenge Course
Manager will have a documentation of 500 hours of experience delivering
programs on a challenge course.
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Topics Covered Include:
-
Group Assessment
-
Program Design
-
Goal Setting
-
Ethical Issues
-
Structuring Initiatives
-
Sequencing
-
Processing
-
Risk Management
-
Spotting Techniques
-
Knot Tying
-
Belaying with a variety of devices
-
Transferring
-
Emergency Rescues
-
Equipment Use
-
Element and Equipment Inspection
-
Rescues Scenarios and Tactics
-
Leading Edge Climbing
-
Challenge Course Inspection and Maintenance
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leadership Skills
-
Mentoring
-
Staff
Supervision
-
Communication Skills
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Presence in front of a group
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Mastery of all Skills from Level 1 and 2
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Expanded Risk Management Procedures
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Challenge Course Construction Basics
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Understanding and Development of site specific first-aid and
rescue procedures
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Challenge Course Supervision Skills
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Certification Tracks:
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Full Certification - High and Low Elements
110 Hours Minimum
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Spotted Activities Only
60 Hours Minimum
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High Activities Only
60 Hours Minimum
The hours listed above are minimum hours.
Certification Training may be longer based on the variety of systems
and elements that will need to be covered and the number of
participants in the training. The more unique systems the longer
training will need to be.
Previous documented training may
be accepted toward required hours depending on the type of training,
how recent it was conducted and what organization provided the
training. (Syllabuses Required). This would include 30 hours of
management specific training and 110 ours of challenge course
specific training.
Prior Work History:
The Challenge Course Manager Level
requires 500 documented hours of facilitation experience.
Certification Duration:
5 years
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"Challenging
In " to Certification for Seasoned Professionals
Individuals with significant industry
experience may be eligible for "challenging In" to each of the levels of
Certification offered. At each level a portfolio of experience and
documentation of trainings attended will be required. Below are some basics
to help you determine if you have the experience to qualify for this level.
Please contact us if you require additional information on this process.
Determination of ones ability to
challenge in to a level is up to the discretion of Experiential Systems.
What does Challenging In Look Like
- After your portfolio and self assessment have been received a ESI
representative will contact you to clarify any questions and to let you know
if you are accepted into the challenging in process. You will need to attend
a Testing Day. This testing day will be approximately 9 hours long and
require you to physically demonstrate all the skills required for the level
you are attempting to challenge in to. In addition to the Skills
Verification you will additionally have to take a written test of short
answer questions to document your knowledge of current industry operation
and/or management standards.
Experience and Portfolio Required to Challenge In
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Level 1
100 hours of program experience and training
plus ability to pass written test with at least a score of 80%. |
Level 2
400 hours of program experience 80 hours of
documented training plus ability to pass written test with at least
a score of 80%. |
CCM
Level
Level II Certification plus 600 hours of
program experience, 30 hours of managerial training plus ability to
pass written test with at least a score of 80%. |
Steps To Challenge In
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Complete a Challenge Course Practitioner Portfolio
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Complete the Self Assessment Form
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Submit both your portfolio and Self Assessment to
Experiential Systems.
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Wait to be contacted by ESI for questions or
acceptance to the Challenge In Process.
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Schedule attendance for a Test Day
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Attend Test Day and Demonstrate Skills and Complete
Written Test
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If you are in compliance with all Technical skills
and pass written test with at least an 80% you will receive a
certificate within 10 business days.
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Hold onto your Certificate and continue to document
your facilitation and training experience.
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Recertify when the time comes.
Re-Certification
Once certified you will need to
re-certify. This is typically done through the same process as
Challenging In. A portfolio and Self Assessment will need to be
submitted at the time of registering for the Test Day.
Requirements for Re-Certification
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Level 1
50 hours of program experience and training
plus ability to pass written test with at least a score of 80%.
Need to Re-Certify Annually |
Level 2
150 hours of program experience 24 hours of
documented training plus ability to pass written test with at least
a score of 80%.
Re-Certify Every 3 Yrs. |
CCM
Level
300 hours of program experience, 30 hours of
documented training plus ability to pass written test with at least
a score of 80%.
Re-Certify Every 5 Yrs. |
RETESTING POLICY
Experiential Systems Policy for Retesting
Certification Training Attendees who do not Achieve the Required
Competency Levels After full participation in a Certification Course
It is inevitable that on occasions
some participants undertaking either full certification training courses
or attempting to “Challenge In” to a Certification Level will not
achieve the competency levels required. In this event Experiential
Systems trainers will complete a Retest Advice form (RAF), detailing all
the additional training requirements or skills that will need to be
retested for that individual.
The scheduling and completion of
additional training will be the responsibility of the participant.
Experiential Systems will work with the participant to find the most
convenient location and timelines for Re-testing or additional Training
required.
At the completion of additional
training a further assessment will be undertaken by an independent
assessor. This assessment will provided by a trainer not involved in the
additional training.
Upon successful completion of the
additional training the RAF will be completed by the independent
assessor.
The outcome of the RAF will then be
recorded by Experiential Systems and a certificate will be issued if
appropriate.
In the event of a participant still
not achieving the required standards after the additional training a
further attendance in a complete training will be required unless
otherwise determined by Experiential Systems.
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