Without our amazing Trip Leaders, UNSWOC would not be the club it is. Trip Leaders organise and run trips and are club members with relevant skills, training, and experience to manage and teach participants across all of our sports.

Besides being absolute legends, being a trip leader comes with the added perks of (heavily) subsidised club membership, as well as the ability to run "private trips".

If you would like to become a trip leader, read on!

This page describes training progression at UNSWOC and the trip leader levels within the club, in addition to the method assessment of skills to determine the appropriate Trip Leader Level for individuals.

Training Progression

Training has been developed into sport and level specific workshops which include ropework, climbing, canyoning and caving. General ropework and beginner workshops are suitable for any club member wishing to improve their outdoors skillsets. Level 1 and above workshops are suitable for (but not exclusive to) more experienced club members to progress into Trip Leaders In Training (TLIT) and eventually Trip Leaders (TL). The details of required competencies for each type of trip leader can be found in the UNSWOC Trip Leader Assessment Document. The progression of skills is captured in workshops and Trip Leader Assessments as outlined in the figure below.

Prerequisites

  • Wants to learn trip leading.
  • Has been on at least one club trip in that sport
  • Can be endorsed by a trip leader in that sport as safe and a suitable candidate for training to become a trip leader

Responsibilities

  • Learn from trip leaders.
  • Ask questions, develop hard and soft skills.
  • Report unsafe practices to trip leaders.

Limitations

  • Cannot run trips.
  • They counts as a participant for trips, not a TL.

Prerequisites

  • Demonstrate all knowledge outlined in the Trip Leader Skillset document for Level 1 Trip Leader.
  • Has competence in their ability to safely run trips, including being able to manage emergencies.
  • Participates in a trip as a "Mock L1", under the supervision of an L2 and L1, fulfils all the website/social media/PLB registration responsibilities and is signed off by the L2 on the trip

Responsibilities

  • Ensure the safety of all participants.
  • Respond to emergency situations to their appropriate level of training.
  • Be confident in the safety of the trips they lead.

Limitations

  • Must lead trips that they have already completed.
  • Must lead trips with a Level 2 Trip Leader.

Prerequisites

  • Demonstrate all knowledge outlined in the Trip Leader Skillset document for a Level 2 Trip Leader.
  • Runs trips with at least three different L2s (or as many as the sport allows) who all sign them off as being ready to run trips by themselves. These trips must be flagged to the L2 beforehand, so they can allow the L1 to take initiative and attempt to run the trip, including planning of the trip and requisite gear, leading the group through difficult aspects of the trip and responding to potentially dangerous situations
  • Has competence in their ability to safely run trips, including being able to manage emergencies.
  • RAFA/WAFA Certification,
    • Or, only runs a trip with an L1 trip leader certified in RAFA/WAFA

Responsibilities

  • Ensure the safety of all participants.
  • Respond to emergency situations to their appropriate level of training, including complex rescue scenarios.

Limitations

  • Must lead trips that they are comfortable leading for the group's skillset.
  • Must run trips with at least 1 other Trip Leader

Competency Assessment Process

When an individual is confident that they satisfy all the competencies outlined in the UNSWOC Trip Leader Assessment document for a specific sport and level, they should reach out to the Training Officer to coordinate an appropriate TL in that specific sport that can verify those skills. This will typically be a TL at least one level above what the individual is getting approved for e.g. a TL Level 2 in Canyoning can verify a TLIT that wants to become a TL Level 1 in Canyoning. This verification can be done by multiple people for different skills on different occasions, or by one person on a single occasion, so long as all competencies have been checked. This verification can take place on private trips, club trips or club workshops. When all competencies are verified, the training officer will then update training logs and the "Trip Leader Level Status" of the individual's profile on the UNSWOC Website.

It is not mandatory for an individual to attend the level-specific workshop prior to getting TL assessment at that level, particularly if individuals have developed these skills on private trips outside of UNSWOC. However, these workshops are good opportunities to understand standard practice within the club, and are recommended.

Trip leader status (TLIT/TL level) for each sport is recorded on each individual's profile on the UNSWOC website. This is the reference for if an individual is competent to lead a specific trip or not. If you believe there is an error in your Trip Leader status on the website, please contact the Training Officer.

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