Any official certifications for cavers?

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Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby neportocala » Jun 22, 2013 8:08 am

Hello, I was wondering if there are any international certifications for caving, just as there are for scuba diving. (something like vertical caving, cave photographer)
Here in Romania there are some organizations that hold frequent free courses on caving and you can also go caving with them but I am sure they only offer some certificate that has little to no international value (the organizations are not renowned).
A recognized certification would be valuable for any resume or CV.

Thanks, Victor
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby neportocala » Jun 27, 2013 12:17 pm

I'll post a PM that I've received from a member as there may be others out there interested in this:

"Dear Victor,

There is no caving certification on the national level in the United States, although some local caving clubs do offer training courses and (rarely) issue certifications. Ours is too litigious a society. That is, if someone were certified and then had an accident or caused someone else to, there is a good chance that the injured party or their kin would sue the certifying agency. I have heard that England (perhaps through BCRA) has more formal certifications like those you propose. I am not aware of any international caving certifications. Caving proficiency in the United States is not attested to in formal ways. Even if certification existed, few here would put such a certification on their CV."
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby paul » Jul 20, 2013 7:18 am

neportocala wrote: I have heard that England (perhaps through BCRA) has more formal certifications like those you propose. I am not aware of any international caving certifications.


The caving certification in the UK is through the British Caving Association (see http://british-caving.org.uk/?page=4 and is for "professional" cavers, i.e., those who take others caving or provide training in return for payment, similar to a Mountain Guide in practice.

We don't have any certifications for recreational caving - nor would we wish any. Many are in favour of training for caving skills, but very few British cavers would want any requirement for some sort of formal certification for recreational caving.
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby GroundquestMSA » Jul 20, 2013 7:34 am

paul wrote:We don't have any certifications for recreational caving - nor would we wish any. Many are in favour of training for caving skills, but very few British cavers would want any requirement for some sort of formal certification for recreational caving.


Indeed, what value would such a certification have? Caving is not hard to understand, and the skills are not difficult to learn. Being a Certified Caver would only sound impressive to those who have no idea what caving is about, who think that caving is some sort of radical, deadly, exotic sport. In reality, we might as well start seeking certifications for Jogging, or Going to the Mall, or Picking Apples.
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby Cheryl Jones » Jul 20, 2013 8:14 pm

A recognized certification would be valuable for any resume or CV.


Shoot, if that's your reason, take NCRC rescue and the Vertical Section ropework courses. I think both groups issue certificates. You could receive cave diving certification also.

Cave rescue certification should be much more impressive on a resume (and be more valuable to you) than just being a certified caver!
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby cavedoc » Jul 21, 2013 1:46 am

Cheryl Jones wrote:Cave rescue certification


While I would encourage any caver to get NCRC training, it's important to note that the NCRC does not "certify" anyone except for its instructors. To do certification right takes a lot of work. We are an all volunteer organization like the rest of the NSS and we simply do not have the resources to do certification right. You'll get a certificate at the end, but you won't be "certified." A fine distinction maybe, but an important one.
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby MUD » Jul 21, 2013 1:29 pm

:big grin: I have my PA. state certification.......

Image

:laughing:
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby tncaver » Jul 21, 2013 4:42 pm

Todd,
You should sell patches like that a caving events. You could take an order and put other people's names and states on the patch and ship it to them.
I bet you'd sell a bunch of them. :laughing:
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby MUD » Jul 21, 2013 8:04 pm

:sadbanana: It took me over 4 decades of hard caving to earn that certificate, they're not for sale! :rofl:
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby PYoungbaer » Jul 21, 2013 9:06 pm

Love it, Todd! :woohoo:
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Re: Any official certifications for cavers?

Postby Crockett » Jul 21, 2013 9:31 pm

Image

I usually only show this to landowners but here is my Kentucky Underground Spirit Caver's License with a Vertical Endorsement and 10" inch squeeze restriction.
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