How to become an Adventure Sports Instructor

Vijay Garg 

 

Adventure Sports Instructor as the name itself reveals is a specialist in providing training in the adventure sports be it Water Sports like Scuba Diving, White Water Rafting, Kayaking, Canoeing, Cliff Diving, Snorkeling, Yacht Racing, Powerboat Racing, Wind Surfing etc., Air Sports like Bungee Jumping, Paragliding, Sky Diving, Sky Surfing etc., or Land adventure sports like Rock Climbing, Skateboarding, Mountain Biking, Skiing, Snowboarding, Trekking, Adventure Racing, Land and Ice Yachting etc.

 

With the spreading of awareness among the masses about the adventure tourism, hill resort culture and involvement of the media channels like National Geographic, Discovery, AXN etc, people have become more aware of adventure sports activities around them and want to plan an adventure holiday thereby demand for these experts as professional trainer has increased many folds in the last few years.  

 

Thus the Adventure Sports Instructors have a good future in this field of Adventure Tourism. A lot of glamour has also been attached to this field at a higher level because of the worldwide approach of the adventure sports mass media involvement. To become a successful Adventure Sports Instructor one must possess the necessary know-how and expertise in the field.

 

To get the necessary expertise one can go for one or more of the following short-term and full-time long-term courses to make it as a career. It requires a lot of hard work and effort but at the same time offers enormous scope for building one’s career.

 

Former players, as well as Young energetic people with a desire and capacity for hard work, can get both money and satisfaction along with name and fame now attached to adventure sports.

 

 

 

Adventure Sports Instructor Eligibility

Educational Qualification

The desirable qualification required to become an Adventure Sports Instructor is the 12th class with Physical Education as one of the subjects (it is not compulsory although) followed by certification from any Adventure sports institute.

 

Important: Good swimming skills are mandatory for water-based sports. Also, proficiency in English or some foreign languages can be handy to handle foreign Adventure Sports enthusiasts.

 

 

 

Adventure Sports Instructors Required Skills

Adventure Sports Instructors must have an enthusiasm for sports, excellent communication skills, the ability to inspire confidence and motivate participants.

They should have determination and patience, good organizational skills, a sensitive and supportive approach.

They should have physical stamina and a commitment to sports participation for all.

 

 

How to become an Adventure Sports Instructor?

There is no formal qualification required for those aspirants who themselves have been involved with Adventure sports as players. Former and senior adventure sportspersons can get the job as Assistant Sports Instructors (after getting necessary certification or licence) owing to their knowledge and experience of the sport as a player.

 

With some experience in the field as assistants, they can alleviate to the upper position as main instructors or chief instructors in due course of time. However, those aspirants who have the non-playing background but are energetic and have good knowledge of sport can undergo formal training and get into this field as instructors by following below given steps:

 

Step 1

Interested candidate has to join some adventure sports institute or clubs like National Institute of Water Sports and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering to do Short Term adventure sports courses offered by them.  

 

Step 2

Once they have done with the training successfully they are provided certification or licenses that enable them to be eligible for becoming Adventure Sports Instructors.

 

 

List of Institute providing Course related to Adventure Sports Instructor 

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Jawahar Parvat, Darjeeling (www.hmi-darjeeling.com)

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering Uttarkashi (www.nimindia.net)

Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering IISM, Gulmarg (www.iismgulmarg.com)

Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports, Anantnag (www.jawaharinstitutepahalgam.com)

Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, (www.dmas.nic.in/)

Regional Mountaineering Centre, Mc Leodganj 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali

High Altitude Trekking & Skiing Center, Narkanda, Shimla 

Regional Adventure sports Centre, Hatkoti, Shimla (HP) 

Mountaineering Sub Centre Jispa, Lahaul and Spiti (HP) 

Mountaineering Sub Centre Bharmour, Chamba (HP) 

The Ballooning Club Of India, New Delhi

National Institute of Water Sports Aivao, Goa (www.niws.nic.in)

 

Adventure Sports Instructor Job Description

Adventure Sports needs not only sporting skills but also require a lot of motivation to perform adventurous acts as they involve a certain amount of risk taking too. Thus an Adventurous Sports Instructor Job description has much more than teaching sporing skills.  His work involves guiding groups through group initiatives, teach proper spotting techniques, teach proper care and maintenance of ropes, carabineers, harness and other life supporting equipment as they are very important for performing any kind of act properly. Besides this, he encourages campers and staff to try new sports, participate in other aspects of camp life. An Adventure Sports Instructor has to perform all those duties that may be assigned to him by the Adventure/Sports Director, Village Director, Program Coordinator or Camp Director.

 

Adventure Sports Instructor Career Prospects

Enormous employment opportunities are available for Adventure Sports Instructors in private as well as public sector organizations. They can get a job in Excursion agencies, Holiday resorts, leisure camps and commercial recreation centres besides Sports centres and athletic clubs. Tourism Departments, Adventure Sports Club and Hills resorts etc also provide a good opportunity to these professionals. Trained Adventure Sports Instructors can also open their own academies with the financial aid provided to them by corporate houses and various state and central governments.

 

Adventure Sports Instructor Salary

As far as pay packages and salaries of Adventure Sports Instructors are concerned they can get anything from Rs.20,000 to Rs.30,000 as an Adventure Sports Instructor in some good Adventure Sports Clubs or Hill Resorts to start with. If one goes for Personal assignment one can get as high as one can think of, all this depends upon one’s own ability and demand in the field concerned.