Certification
The Caving Academy is establishing a list of caving competencies, and the skills associated with each one. The result is a skills book given to every Caving Academy participant. Upon successful demonstration of each skill, the achievement is recorded and tracked. Once all of the skills associated with a competency are accomplished, then certification in that competency has been achieved. In general, the competencies will directly correlate to the skills learned from each course, and will also be the pre-requisites for the next course in a series.
However, merely attending a course does not guarantee success or certification; only your effort to learn, practice, and then satisfactorily demonstrate each skill can do that. For example, if you attend a Basic Vertical Caver course, you will likely achieve the Basic Vertical Caver certification for your ascending system and descender. The likely list of skills for this are:
- Inspection of hardware and software
- Proper system sizing adjustments
- Emergency kit contents and purpose
- Recognizing safe zone/approaching an edge
- Descending in a safe controlled manner
- Ascending in a safe manner
- Performing a change-over
- Locking off the descent device
- Proper communications
Certification requirements and structure are still under development.
Certification Database
The Caving Academy will be providing on-line access to a certification lookup/verification system. Only those Caving Academy students/instructors who affirmatively choose to be publicly listed will be - all information will be confidential until otherwise specified by each person. However, by having your information available through the Caving Academy system, it is possible for others to confirm your skills. Asking to go on an expedition? Want to go caving while traveling? This allows people you haven't met and caved with to know your skills and abilities and more confidently invite you to join activities.
The database system is still under development, but if you want to have your purpose integrated into it, reach out. For example, there are ongoing discussions with the Medical Commission of the European Cave Rescue Association to be able to create a collaborative system providing lookups of medical personnel with cave rescue skills. Want an anesthesiologist who can handle a 1000m+ cave, fit through an 8" squeeze, and can be there within 4 hours? Get an immediate list with contact information for either the medical professional or their rescue team.