Caving with Under 18s, Spanish style

cap n chris

Well-known member
Liking the latest online video update from Spanish caving (FAE region), and their regular posts always remind me of the apparent void we have in this regard in the UK. There's not even a category on UKC for Training or Coaching (for any age group), for instance.

https://youtu.be/oMjRCKJOxYU?t=4
 

2xw

Active member
Yes, unfortunately the Y&D team would have been able to do a lot more if certain ACBs weren't vociferously challenging the very basic idea of young people being allowed underground at all.

Although some northerners have been discussing a camp/club style system similar to what the Spaniards are doing here. It's just a matter of funding.
 

Pegasus

Administrator
Staff member
Cap'n Chris said:
Liking the latest online video update from Spanish caving (FAE region), and their regular posts always remind me of the apparent void we have in this regard in the UK. There's not even a category on UKC for Training or Coaching (for any age group), for instance.

https://youtu.be/oMjRCKJOxYU?t=4

No one has ever asked.  It would be disappointing if folks thought UKC wasn't supportive of encouraging people of all ages to go caving - www.newtocaving.com
 

PaulW

Member
We had a  trip for U18 members / family at the Wessex at the weekend

I'm looking at doing something for the wider caving community, but I have alot of projects I'm working on at the moment
 

dbrock

New member
Great video and a delight to see youngsters going underground at the Wessex at the weekend.  Certainly there is plenty of youth caving going on in the UK.  The NPC has been running organised family meets twice a year since 2006 and trips abroad for the last 4 years, getting over 40 kids underground.  The NPC, SWCC, TSG and WCC all have kid-friendly huts with appropriate rules in place.  This is all based on caving parents taking their own kids.  Taking kids unaccompanied by their parents down a cave is the kind of paperwork nightmare that most clubs would step back from although, the Scouts and Outdoor Pursuits organisations make a pretty good show of it.  From a bureaucratic perspective I can see it might be easier to help kids' organisation go caving rather than helping caving organisations take kids but, either way, there most certainly is a place for youth caving in the UK.  France even has some excellent cave guides for kids like the 'Premiers pas sous terre en Vercors et Chartreuse' and 'Mes premiers petits pas sous terre dans le Doubs'.  Perhaps something similar for the UK would be possible.
 

nearlywhite

Active member
As always when this post is made I'll reiterate the point that any volunteers will always be welcomed into the youth and development fold - all the bureaucratic support is there for an event and I'm sure funding would follow.

Currently we're more focused on helping expanding the opportunities available to youngsters interested in caving and we can only help the volunteers we've got.
 
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