We are a small educational charity based in the UK that provides structured award schemes for climbers with the aim of providing a pathway from indoor climbing to life-long participation in climbing and mountaineering.
Our schemes offer a progressive pathway for climbers to develop technical skills, safety awareness, and accreditation through structured levels of achievement. By emphasising safety standards, skills development, and recognition of progression for our learners, and supporting coaches at our accredited centres to deliver engaging sessions, NICAS cultivates a vibrant and supportive atmosphere where climbers can thrive in their sport, while also promoting a culture of safety and fun.
Our charity is formally known as the ABC Training Trust. Day to day, however, we refer to the charity and our team as NICAS (pronounced “nye-cass”), as our brand name is more familiar to climbing walls, candidates, and parents. NICAS® and ABCTT® are all trademarked.
NICAS is run by a board of trustees and a small staff team. We also work closely with coaches and technical experts to support climbing facilities in their delivery of our schemes.
Our Team
NICAS is run by a staff team of five:
- Our Managing Director, Nicholas Parkin, provides leadership and decision-making skills that play a pivotal role in steering NICAS towards its goals and objectives.
- Our Head of Commercial Partnerships, Tom Vaessen-Walker, joined NICAS from his role as Operations Director at Parthian Climbing. Tom brings over 20 years of experience in the leisure and hospitality industry, specialising in strategic planning, operations management, and national marketing campaigns.
- Our Projects Manager, Abbi Blakey, originally joined us as Membership Manager. Having previously worked part time for the schemes on specific projects, Abbi brings continuity of expertise as well as a customer-focused approach for our accredited centres.
- Our Products Manager, Skinner, has delivered NICAS schemes throughout the UK since 2008, and was previously a Level 5 NICAS Climbing Course Director. He now heads up our Coach Development Team, training other coaches during workshops and online training sessions.
- Our Operations Co-ordinator, Jen Rigby, oversees customer service, communications and centre applications, and works to ensure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes.
More about us
- Our Trustees – find out more about who sits on our Board of Directors on our Trustees page.
- Coach Development Team – find out who the talented individuals who deliver our Coach Development training sessions at our accredited centres through online webinars are.
- Safeguarding – check out the safeguarding resources available for all, as well as our policy and procedures designed to protect children, young people and adults taking part in the NICAS schemes.