Camp Facilitators
Camp Facilitators
Archery Facilitators
In order to stay in compliance with ACA safety requirements, GSEP is making the following changes to the way we handle Archery Facilitators at sites that offer archery (Laughing Waters, Mosey Wood, Mountain House, Valley Forge, Shelly Ridge, and Wood Haven).
- Archery Facilitators now need to be regularly observed by an Archery Supervisor to verify that the facilitators are following all of the standards regarding the teaching of archery.
- In order to instruct at GSEP sites and facilities, all Archery Facilitators will need to complete a GSEP Archery Facilitator Form.
- Facilitators must agree to follow all of the GSUSA Safety Activity Checkpoints for Archery.
- GSEP will add you to the list of Archery Facilitators that will be provided to troops in order to coordinate an archery activity at our camp sites.
Questions? Contact memberservices@gsep.org with a subject line of "Archery Facilitator Questions"
Girl Experience Specialist and Camp Mosey Wood Director
GSEP has adventure elements at five of its six camp properties. Your trop can enjoy adventure activities at Laughing Waters, Mosey Wood, Shelly Ridge, Valley Forge, and Wood Haven. Due to the high level of skill required to facilitate all of the new adventure elements that have been constructed at GSEP’s properties, and to promote safety and streamline the reservation process, GSEP has hired adn trained paid Adventure Staff members who will work for GSEP as casual part-time employees. The trained staff will be the only people authorized to facilitate adventure programming at GSEP properties.
Applications are accepted on an on-going basis and anyone is eligible to apply, including troop leaders, service unit managers, volunteers, and those who are new to Girl Scouts. Adventure trainings will happen in August and March of every year for new facilitators. Potential staff must also be able and willing to travel to multiple properties, participate in an interview, pass a criminal background check, and be physically able to successfully pass the training courses.
The application can be found on our careers page. After being hired GSEP will provide all necessary training. Staff are required to successfully complete the training in order to facilitate the courses and are required to keep up-to-date with their training requirements. Below are the training requirements for each position.
Questions? Contact April E. Beattie, Director of Adventure and Water/Camp Mosey Wood
Required Trainings for Facilitators
Individuals shall only facilitate activities that fall within the limits of their technical and facilitation skill levels. At no time should an individual be asked or feel the need to facilitate an activity outside their scope of training.
Low Challenge Course Facilitator (LW, MW, SR, VF, WH): Facilitator shall be at least 16 years old. Facilitators will complete at least a one-day or eight-hour equivalent training course that goes through the specifics of a low challenge course. A practitioner with more than five years of experience should teach the course. The course shall include, but not be limited to, ice breaker activities, teaching spotting to a group, technical facilitation skills, on the ground warm up activities, debriefing, knowing when to start, stop, or continue an element, and weather related considerations. Trainings will be transferable among GSEP camps if and only if a brief overview of the additional camp(s) elements are provided by GSEP prior to facilitating, or facilitator reads how to facilitate the element in the manual AND the facilitator is comfortable facilitating the element. Training has no expiration if the following criteria are met. A two-hour continuing education course is taken every six months, and facilitator has facilitated at least two separate days within the year. At least two facilitators shall be present at all times while on the low challenge course.
Climbing Wall Facilitator (MW, WH, LW, SR): Facilitator shall be at least 16 years old. Facilitators will complete at least a one-day or eight-hour equivalent training course that goes through specific facilitation of the climbing wall, with at least one other day of testing knowledge retention. The course should be taught by a practitioner with more than five years experience on climbing walls. Course shall include, but is not limited to, set up and take down of equipment, knot tying, safety orientation, harness and helmet fitting, belay techniques, when an anchor is needed, talking a participant through a climb, adaptations, and weather related considerations. Training shall include individual testing on tying figure eight, clipping or tying in, dummy belaying, announced fall belaying, and unannounced fall belaying. Trainings shall be transferable among GSEP camps if the facilitator has read and understands the local operating procedures of the new camp. Training has no expiration if the following criteria are met. A two-hour continuing education course is taken every six months, and the facilitator has belayed at least two separate times within the year. Two facilitators shall be present at any time a climbing wall is in operation.
High Challenge Course- Facilitator (LW, MW): Facilitator shall be at least 16 years old. Facilitators will complete at least a one-day, eight-hour equivalent initial training course at Laughing Waters or a two-day, sixteen-hour equivalent initial training at Mosey Wood that goes through the specific facilitation of the high challenge course and zip line (MW only). The course should be taught by a practitioner with at least five years experience in a supervisory role with high challenge courses. Course shall include, but is not limited to, set up, break down, element specific facilitation, safety orientation, knot tying, harness and helmet fitting, belay techniques, when an anchor is needed, talking a participant through a climb, adaptations, transfers, and weather related considerations. Training shall include individual testing on tying figure eight, clipping into a belay, talking a climber through a transfer, clipping or tying a climber in, dummy belaying, announced fall belaying, unannounced fall belaying, and properly attaching climber to zip line(MW only). Training done at LW shall not be transferable. Training completed at MW shall be transferable to LW if a one day; six-hour crossover training is taken. Training has no expiration if the following criteria are met. A four-hour continuing education course is taken every six months, and the facilitator has facilitated at a high challenge course at least two separate times within the year. At least two facilitators shall be present at all times at the high challenge course, and at least one shall be trained as a high challenge supervisor.
High Challenge Course- Supervisor (LW, MW): Supervisor shall be at least 21 years old. Supervisor shall have completed the high challenge course- facilitator training and be in good standing. Supervisor shall additionally take a one-day, eight-hour equivalent course on rescues and supervising. The course should be taught by a practitioner with at least five years experience in a supervisory role with high challenge courses. Course shall include, but is not limited to, teaching to belay, lobster claw climbs, gear rescue, people rescue, and making hard-fast decisions on safety. Supervisor shall be tested on a gear rescue, person rescue, and belay teaching skills. Training has no expiration if the following criteria are met. High Challenge Course- Facilitator training is kept up-to-date. At least one supervisor shall be present whenever any high challenge course is in operation, at least one additional facilitator must also be present.
Failure to continually update training for all of the above will result in original course needing to be retaken!
