Our Coaching and Route Setting pathways offer you the chance to work alongside the best coaches and setters in the country, progress your skills, and work at the top end of coaching and setting in Scotland.

Becoming an endorsed coach or route setter with ClimbScotland opens up opportunities to coach our Scottish Squads across a range of coaching academies, or route set across the variety of competition levels. Your endorsement will start you on the pathway to working with us from Grass-Roots events to National level coaching and competition.

We also have opportunities for psyched climbers and instructors to join our RealRock team and offer young climbers the chance to experience and develop in outdoor climbing.

You will be part of our endorsed coaches, instructors or route setters list. A pool of the best in the country who will get offered opportunities to coach our top climbers, route set across our range of competitions, or help develop the next generation of independent outdoor climbers.

Coaching Pathway

Coaching

Why join us as a coach?

Through our coaching academies you will have the chance to work with Scotland’s top young climbers, helping to improve their skills, passing on your passion and watching them develop into the inspiring climbers of the future. With us you will work alongside the some great coaches, learning from the some of the best and developing your own skills as a coach. You will get to work in a range excellent venues across Scotland and coach on a variety of commercial and competition specific routes and blocs, on some of the best terrain and holds available.

For your work, we offer great pay plus expenses and offer avenues into further coaching development.

Currently you can join us as a Development Coach.

Development Coach

Events you could work on:

  • ClimbScotland Youth Academies and coaching events

Responsibilities:

  • Work to the requirements of the designated Head Coach without the need for direct supervision. You will be required to plan and deliver specified sessions with a specified team of Coaches as directed by the Head Coach:
  • Assist the Head Coach in ensuring the event aims are achieved
  • Plan the required sessions and work with the specified session team members to deliver
  • mentor and assist any Aspirant Coaches regarding coaching techniques

Pay:

  • £150 (+ expenses capped at £50/event)

Criteria

There are set criteria you must meet before you can be endorsed at each level. You can find the full criteria here:

Coach endorsement criteria (pdf)

The Process

To apply to become a ClimbScotland Endorsed Coach:

If you meet the required criteria we will send you a Service Level Agreement (contract) for you to complete. We will also send you a resource pack of supporting documents, which are detailed below.

What level would I start at?

As we are relaunching our coaches endorsement process this year we will be allowing those who meet the required criteria exemption from Aspirant Coach level and direct entry to Development Coach level. This exemption will subject to change based on future development and investment.

How much work is there?

  • There are 15 opportunities for Development Coaches.

Route Setting Pathway

A young person attaching a climbing hold to a climbing wall.

Why join us as a Route Setter?

Through our range of competitions and coaching events, from grass-roots to national level, route setting with us is an adventure. We will give you opportunities to work in Scotland’s amazing venues, using the best holds and terrain. Working alongside a diverse team of excellent route setters from across Scotland, to create the wildest, most entertaining climbs for our young climbers to sink their claws into. Learning tips and getting inspiration from our team offers you the chance to build your own route setting skills, and helping you to become one of the best in Scotland.

For your work, we offer great pay plus expenses and aim to offer progression onto the next levels of route setting.

Currently we have 3 levels within our pathway: Assistant, Lead and Chief.

Assistant Setter

Events you could work on:

  • Regional & National Competitions (CSFC Quals & Final, YCS, SYCC, SYBC)

Responsibilities:

  • Will assist the setting as directed and supervised by Lead or Head Setter
  • Will be expected to set at least 1 route with minimal tweaks during a roped round, and 4 blocs during a boulder round (per day)
  • Will assist the team in route-testing

Pay: £145 (+ expenses capped at £50/event)

Lead Setter

Events you could work on:

  • Regional, National & British Competitions (CSFC Final, YCS, YCS Grand Final, SYCC, SYBC, JBLCC, JBBC, BLCC, BBC)

Responsibilities:

  • Work to the requirements of the designated Head Setter or National Setter without the need for direct supervision
  • mentor and assist any Assistant Setters regarding design
  • Will be expected to set at least 2 routes with minimal tweaks during a roped round, and 5-6 blocs during a boulder round (per day)
  • Assist Chief Setter in route-testing

Pay: £200 (+ expenses capped at £50/event)

Chief Setter

Events you could work on:

  • Regional, National & British Competitions (CSFC Final, YCS, YCS Scottish Final, YCS Grand Final, SYCC, SYBC, JBLCC, JBBC, BLCC, BBC) as well as International (IFSC) events

Responsibilities:

  • Oversee and take full responsibility for all the requirements of the competition setting and the work of the Setting Team including:
  • Pre-planning: working with the National Route Setters in the ‘Pre-Planning’ and distributing the plan to the rest of the setting team.
  • On-the-setting-day: oversee the work of Lead and Assistant, particularly taking responsibility for the safe working of all setters. Undertaking fore-running and checking of route and problem grades, style and safety. Arranging route maps and route cards for CCO’s and judges including scoring systems and any particular route rules, in a timely fashion at the end of the setting period.
  • Attendance on the Competition day to ensure liaison with CCO and delivery of required items above. To tweak / amend routes as required by the CCO’s.
  • Post-competition: provide written reports to the TPO only on standardised Mountaineering Report Forms detailing the Setting Team’s work.

Pay: £200 & £200 Competition day (+ expenses capped at £50/event)

Criteria

There are set criteria you must meet before you can be endorsed at each level. You can find the full criteria here:

Route setter criteria (pdf)

The Process

To apply to become a ClimbScotland Endorsed Route Setter:

If you meet the required criteria we will send you a Service Level Agreement (contract) for you to complete. We will also send you a resource pack of supporting documents, which are detailed below.

What level would I start at?

Our Endorsed Route Setting pathway is very well established, however as we continue to develop our endorsement process this year we will be allowing those who meet the required criteria exemption from Aspirant Setter level and direct entry to Assistant Setter level. This exemption will subject to change based on future development and investment.

How much work is there?

  • There are (28) opportunities for Assistant Setters
  • There are (44) opportunities for Lead Setters
  • There are (13) opportunities for Chief Setters

*opportunity numbers subject to change

RealRock Coach

RealRock

Why join us as a RealRock coach?

As part of our RealRock team you will help inspire and develop the next generation of outdoor climbers. From boulder to sport and trad you will help us create safe and independent young climbers, that have a love, passion and respect of the outdoors and climbing. You will help them find their own climbing path and support them to develop a love for climbing, movement and the outdoors.

For your work, we offer great pay and you get to work with some of the most inspiring young climbers around.

Our RealRock program has 6 types of session. Each will require specific qualification and/or experience.

RealRock coach

Events you could work on:

  • Boulder (RCI minimum/ or relevant experience)
  • Roped Taster (RCI minimum/ or relevant experience)
  • Sport Intro (RCDI minimum/ or relevant experience)
  • Sport Improvers (RCDI minimum/ or relevant experience)
  • Trad Taster (RCDI minimum/ or relevant experience)
  • Trad Intro (RCDI minimum/ or relevant experience)

Responsibilities:

  • Help the ClimbScotland team deliver Gold-Standard outdoor climbing instruction across our program

Pay:

  • Boulder & Roped Tasters – £150
  • Learn to Leads – £220

Criteria

We are looking for psyched climbers who are passionate about inspiring and teaching the next generation of climbers.

The Process

To apply to become a ClimbScotland Endorsed RealRock coach:

How much work is there?

There are 4 sessions available for RealRock coaches.

Supporting Information

As a Mountaineering Scotland Freelance member of staff you must adhere to our policies and procedures. These are provided below, and will also be part of the resource pack you will be given.

Questions?

Any questions on any of the above, please contact us on –