looking forward

[rayking]

may i just say a big welcome to a new thread , shall be looking forward to any hints and tips , might gain me a few extra yards

[Bagstar]

Big thanks to Mike for putting this section in. Hopefully I will get the help I need.

[DoZZa]

Yes, this is good, I was waiting for a section like this for a while.

[philtherod]

Before you all go rushing off for a session with your "instructor", can I suggest that you ask if he/she has viable insurance, for a minimum of £5,000,000 specifically for coaching and instructing. If he or she hasn't, think very carefully about the consequences of an incident involving any other user(s) of the beach/playing field that you intend to use. In this current culture of compensation at all costs, an incident could well cost your house, car, everything you own if anything went wrong. The NFSA package is OK for anglers, but does not cover instructing unless the instructor is licensed, and it doesn'tcover paid instruction either, although that may change in the future. Sour grapes? No afraid not, just stating the facts. To find properly qualified licensed coaches in the U.K. go to www.fishcoach.org, the coach licensing scheme approved by SportEngland for all branches of angling. The NFSA has a list of its coaches on its website, but it is not completely up-to-date.

philtherod

[purglaspete]

this reply by philtherod sounds verymuch like a copy of a thread that was in another forum some months ago which ran for ages on the ins and outs of casting tuition and insurances and quality of the instructor . most people that I know do not charge others for help in learning to beachcast further they do it because they like helping others, and just because they dont have a certificate with a load of letters after their name doesnot mean that they do not have a clue about the safety side of things or the knowledge to help someone ,look at the sea angler instructor database these guys have been vetted by other casters but they dont have fancy letters after their names they do it because they like to see others cast further and cast safely .

[philtherod]

Hi Pete, yes I have letters after my name, and there are others I suspect on this forum who also have a degree, or professional qualifications of some sort or another that has been worked for.
A coach License is rather different. You attend a registered centre for two long weekends of intense training, four units comprising 30 tasks, some being group work, some home study to be completed between the formal training, some guided discussions, followed by an independent assessment of practical ability by qualified assessors. Following on, your certificate is not awarded until the internal (and external if deemed needed) verifiers are satisfied with the quality of the work.
Once a certificate is awarded, then the licensing process starts. Included in the course is a First-Aid course and a Good Practice in Child Protection awareness course. Those who haven't had one are given an application form for an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check. The qualification itself is a partnership between the awarding body (in this case, 1st4sport qualifications), and the Joint Angling Development Board, the S&TA, the NFA and the NFSA, who run the qualification in conjunction with SportEngland.
The final requirement for licensing is insurance. The Angling Governing Bodies all have insurance arranged that covers their coaches for working on their behalf. There are also Other Organisations of Coaches and Instructors that arrange insurance for paid work, these include the Game Angling Instructors Association and the Professional Anglers Association.
The final part, before a license is issued, is signing the warrant to say you will follow the SportCoachUK code of conduct for coaching and Instructing and the Governing bodies own code, and take part in continued professional development and maintain a log of this and your coaching activities.
If you take on the responsibility of an instructor without this safeguard for the client AND the coach, and you end up in court, a Barrister will make hay with you if God forbid, anything untoward should happen.
Want to become a licensed coach (we need some in your area?), then get in contact.
Is it worth the effort? Oh, Yes!!! It will transform how you think, and how you approach instructing. And if you are good enough, there is more, you may even get paid!!

philtherod.

[diamond dave]

The big can of worms has been officially opened

[SHARKIE]

These guys are just trying to help others and do not always charge for their tips and advice, I had one hour witha casting instructor and he made a big difference to my style, confidence etc. I can cast at least twenty yards now.

On a serious side, with all tasks a risk assessment should be carried out and unless you employ 5 people or more a verbal assessment would be suffice. Casting is commom sense and if you could visually see somebody or something that maybe harmed with your casting style then you wouldn't cast it's as simple as that. You may occasionally get a snap off, but with correct shockleader etc. it is unlikely that an incident would occur.

These casting instructors do an excellent job and all this insurance talk will just stop them helping anyone that needs it. Just for the record Phil, how many incidents have occurred nationally and if there are any what percentage would it read if a national audit was carried out, probably 0.0001%

[Bagstar]

So what you are saying Phil is that everyone should have insurance wether they are having lessons or out fishing on their own?

[mick.p]

I agree that everyone should have insurance for casting/fishing and considering it cost peanuts, it would be the cheapest annual item of fishing in your tackle.

Our Tournament club " Anglia Sportcast " membership for 12 months includes a comprehensive insurance cover for fishing and casting 24/7 365 days a year and only cost a total of £15 for full membership. ALSO once you are a member you get One2One casting instructions, Free main line and leader line at the meetings, Discount fishing tackle, and a chance to try out top ranger Zziplex rods.

Then IF you are good enough at casting you can branch out to become a competitor at higher level events.
ASC meetings are a great day out, loads of fun and banter for everyone and cater for the novice, juniors and ladies.

www.anglia-sportcast.co.uk