[Charles Britney is a member of Ottawa Urban Inline Skating Club. He took the same course as Lanny, Elizabeth and Gillian. The following text was written as a letter to Allan Wright, a board member of the IISA (see Allan's text). Copied with permission.] I am following all the fallout from the ICP course held in Ottawa. The level 1 trainees were mostly from inline clubs Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal -- and we all know each other from races, events, etc. I have been inline skating for 6 years, short track speedskating for 2 years, play around with long track. I am also active in the local Ottawa Inline Club. First point... Reading your response to Lanny's criticism, it was fairly predictable as you are a member of the IISA board. It would have been more interesting and newsworthy had you agreed with at least some of the points taken - despite how he presented them. Same for the other comments from Elizabeth Wadas (with 20 years figure skating - see point below). Have you seen Gillian Clarke's points? The issues with me are partly due to my age (57) and intent: Skills Required. A number of the required skills to be demonstrated by prospective trainers are too figure skating oriented, specifically: spin stop, backwards transition/stride, swizzles, crossover technique (note - my short-track accelerating crossover was judged wrong), reverse powerslide.   At 57, not having ever been trained on ice for these, I am not likely going to learn them nor would I ever teach them to beginning adults around my age level even on a pristine concrete pad inside an arena. The overwhelming advantage is to figure skaters wanting to learn/train inline. All others are at an immediate disadvantage. For example, I had never done the spin stop before I took on this course. To drive home the point, every Level 1 or higher instructor that I have met, so far, has 5 to 20 years of figure skating - I am sure there are exceptions.   The written test - too much on memory and too little on principles - exact phrasing requirement was predominant. For my age, memory requires more than 1 day's notice. Diabetes (Type 2) does not make this easier.   The training technique - I have no issue about this as I do adult training already and can subdivide and break down as required.   Safety - There was very little discussion of real safety issues. To me this is a big issue and high on my priority list but it did not really enter into the discussion. As well, some of the required instructor skills are questionable from a safety aspect particularly outside the arena floor. Adults are (a) afraid to fall (b) want to be ensured that if they fall, how to minimize damage. Skate maintenance and where/when to use certain skills never even showed up in the discussion.   Encouragement. All the way through the course - Sat PM and early on Sunday - all I got was what would be considered positive. To quote: "much progress since yesterday", "you have nothing to be worried about". In fact, seeing what was going on, the first day, I was more than inclined to not return on Sunday and only the instructor's encouragement kept me there - for a final blow - as I missed by 75 points. That is why I felt and still feel betrayed by the whole process and result. Overall, had I seen the way prospective instructors are marked and for what item, I would have not even bothered to take the course. If you want instructors at my age, this is not the best way to do it. The required instructor's skills themselves are a potential barrier. The instructor has offered to help us on a re-test - but, to be honest, I am not inclined to take her up on this. The whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. Sorry to ramble a bit - but I am quite negative about many aspects of the Level 1 requirements, and seeing that a fitness program has been established with Level 1 as a prerequisite has me even more alienated. What do the reverse powerslide, skating backwards, and the spin stop have to do with fitness at all? It does not make any sense! A fitness trainer needs a practical subset, not the whole package. Charles Britney