Spin City was established in 2007 with the aim of getting more women into exercise. Gyms can often be an intimidating environment for women, as can sports clubs – especially if you have been out of exercise for a while. We wanted to create exercise classes for women that provided great fitness benefits in a social, fun and friendly environment that was open to women of all ages, sizes, abilities and fitness levels. Aerial fitness was the perfect answer!

After successfully expanding to five venues, Director Kate Edwards made the decision to develop an instructor training programme. Having run a successful internal instructor training programme for 18 months, Kate spent two years researching and developing concepts for the courses, drawing inspiration from dance, yoga and pilates, sports coaching, and sports science. Based on this, we believe our courses are the most comprehensive on the market – applying both classic and cutting edge fitness techniques to the concept of aerial. Our courses have a host of unique benefits, including our online video library which supports our extensive training manuals, providing you with a learning resource throughout your instructional career, as well as access to an ongoing support network of help, advice, CPD training and tutorials. If you are still unsure, why not read our testimonials and find out what others say about our training?

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All the Spin City instructor training courses are written by Kate Edwards.

Kate Edwards is the owner and director of Spin City Aerial Fitness. A fully qualified fitness instructor, group exercise instructor and personal trainer for over 10 years, Kate specialises in the fitness aspect of aerial training, teaching at her dedicated studios in Bristol, Exeter, Hungerford, Brimpton and Newbury.

Kate is the World Pole Sports and Fitness 2011 doubles pole runner-up and winner of the ‘Best Entertainer’ award alongside ‘Bendy’ Kate Czepulkowski, a former student of Kate’s. She is also the 2011 British Universities instructor champion, an integral part of the Equity Pole Dancers Working Party which strives to increase standards in the pole industry, ambassador to the PoleSafe Federation and also the co-founder of the UK Professional Pole Championships – the UK’s premier professional pole fitness competition.

Kate is constantly looking to further her own education and training. She has completed aerial training with NECCA and Circomedia among others and holds over 30 fitness qualifications, including advanced anatomy and physiology, group exercise, pilates, pre- and post-natal training, shoulder stability, advanced flexibility and injury prevention. Kate is a level 5 PDC-certified instructor, a level 3 REPs accredited instructor and a member of the Guild of Postnatal Exercise Instructors. She has trained some of the world’s top pole performers to win both national and international titles alongside copy editing work for both Rebekah Leach and Julianna Hane.

Kate now specialises in training other instructors to teach pole fitness, aerial hoop and pole fabric, applying her extensive fitness background to help educate instructors worldwide. She has written twelve certified aerial fitness courses which have been accredited internationally with ACE, AFAA, NASM, REPs, PD Approval, Active IQ, EMD and the PDC. Alongside her training courses, Kate writes and produces the ‘Pole Bible’ the ‘Aerial Hoop Bible’ the ‘Doubles Pole Bible’ and the ‘Doubles Hoop Bible’, some of the leading education resources available for aerial dancers worldwide.

Kate is currently working on developing the Spin City support network for existing instructors, to ensure Instructors that train with us are supported, inspired and motivated for the length of their careers.

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All courses are taught by the Spin City team of instructors. If you are taking online training with us, you will be allocated a mentor for the course of your training. Our Instructors come from a range of backgrounds, including fitness, dance, yoga and pilates. Our team has been chosen for their comprehensive skills as trainers. They have undergone extensive training through our own internal programme and have been accredited as trainers and assessors by SkillsActive, PD Approval and Active IQ. We run a vigorous internal quality assurance programme and are externally verified by Active IQ, ACE, AFAA, NASM and the PDC amongst others. You can be assured our trainers will support you throughout your training, they will be on hand to answer any questions, and provide the information you need to become a successful instructor.

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Spin City prides itself on the fact that every instructor will benefit from our training course. No matter if you are new to instructing or you have been teaching for many years, if your background is in pole fitness, fitness instruction, dance, pilates or yoga, we are confident our course will make you a better instructor. Our training will keep you up-to-date on latest developments within the industry and current accepted fitness/aerial hoop practice and if you are completely new to aerial instruction we will provide you with everything you need to know to get started.

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At Spin City we offer instructional courses in:

Pole Fitness

• Beginner – online or face to face
• Intermediate – online or face to face
• Advanced – online or face to face

Aerial Hoop

• Beginner – online or face to face
• Intermediate – online or face to face
• Advanced – online or face to face

Aerial Sling

• Beginner – online or face to face
• Intermediate – online or face to face

Aerial Silks

• Foundation – online or face to face
• Working in the Hitch – online
• Footlocks Module 1 – online
• Footlocks Module 2 – online
• Climbs and Descents – online
• Hiplock Skills – online

Instructor Workshops and Continued Professional Development Courses

• Anatomy and Physiology Foundations – online
• Strength and Conditioning for Pole and Aerial – online
• Stretching and Flexibility for Pole and Aerial – online
• Pole Fabric – online
• Spinning Pole – online
• Grounded Hoop – online
• Double Point Hoop – online

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If you head to the ‘Course Details’ page of our website you will be able to view more information on the modules taught in each course, the pre-requisites for the training and the assessment process. If you are unable to find the information you need, dont hesitate to contact us, we would be happy to asnwer any individual questions you might have.

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At present, our courses are endorsed by:

• ACTIVE IQ
• AFAA – Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
• NASM – National Academy of Sports Medicine
• PDC – Pole Dance Community

We are also currently seeking endorsement from:

• REPs South Africa
• REPs New Zealand
• Canfitpro – Canadian Fitness Professionals
• Fitness Australia

We hope to have these endorsements up and running by 2020.

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To help support you through your training, Spin City will provide you with a comprehensive Instructor Manual which is yours to keep for the duration of your teaching career. If you are taking an online course with us, this manual with be provided as a download (a professionally printed copy can be purchased for a nominal fee of £30 plus postage). If you are taking a face to face course with us then a printed copy of the manual will be posted to you upon booking.

This manual contains a number of other resources including a sample warm-up, cool-down, lesson plan and par-q, venue assessment forms and photographs of all the moves.

Alongside this resource, all students are entitled to access our extensive online video library, featuring videos of each individual move that we cover on the course along with examples of combinations, choreography and conditioning exercises. Access links/passwords to your online video library can be found in your Course Manual, or you can email us at spincityaerialfitness@gmail.com to request access.

As a Spin City Learner other resources are also available to purchase, including the Spin City Bibles (a picture reference guide of all the moves in our syllabus). We also guarantee we will keep all of our course materials up to date, with an annual update of all documents. For a minimal administration charge, you will have the option to access additional resources as they are developed/ edited such as new manuals and video footage.

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If you would like a comprehensive list of all the moves covered on this course, please don’t hesitate to email us, we would be happy to email one over.

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We recommend that you have the following levels of experience before attending instructor training:

• Beginners Level – minimum of 1 year experience in that discipline
• Intermediate Level – minimum of 2 years experience in that discipline
• Advanced Level – minimum of 3 years experience in that discipline

Although all the moves will be covered in-depth on our Instructor Training Courses (both online and face to face) you should already have a good general knowledge of the majority of the positions covered, as the focus on our courses is to teach you how to teach the moves, rather than teach you how to do the moves. We will break down each skill into its teaching points, safety points, regressions, progressions and variations – and look at a range of effective spotting techniques for each position so that you are able to really understand what makes the skill work, and pass this knowledge along to your students.

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For full information on the prices of each of the training courses, along with course package offers, visit the ‘Pricing Page’ of our website.

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You can find full details on all of our face-to-face course dates and venues by clicking here. We are happy to consider a range of venues as host schools for our instructor training course. Please contact us and we will send you our requirements and also let you know what benefits you will be entitled to as a host school.

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Yes – we offer a 3 part payment plan on both our online and face to face training courses to make them more affordable. We have now added payment plans to our online shop to allow you to pay each installment at a time that is convenient for you!  Once all 3 payments have been made you will need to contact our Admin Team via spincityaerialfitness@gmail.com and let them know which course you would like to take so that we can add you to the online training platform, or secure a place on the face to face training course of your choice.

Please note – payment plans are intended to allow for one course to be paid for at a time and discount cannot be applied. All course places must be paid in full before the course can be accessed. Face-to-face course places are not reserved until they have been registered for through Eventbrite and are subject to availability. For face-to-face courses, we recommend making the third payment a minimum of 30 days ahead of the course you would like to attend.

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We offer a range of discounted course packages should you wish to purchase more than one course, the packages on offer are listed below:

• Beginner and Intermediate Course Package (face-to-face) £675

• Beginner and Intermediate Course Package (online training) £525

• Intermediate and Advanced Course Package (face-to-face) £675

• Intermediate and Advanced Course Package (online training) £525

• Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Course Package (face-to-face) £955

• Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Course Package (online training) £750

If you would like to discuss a bespoke course package for yourself or your studio, then please email us – we are more than happy to help.

If you would like to purchase the Course Manuals without completing the training, assessment or accreditation they are available at a cost of £150 per course. Please contact us to purchase.

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The face to face training course and online training differ in their mode of delivery.

For our face to face training, you will attend one of our pre-arranged Instructor Training weekends. You will be asked to ‘pre-read’ the course theory and watch the associated videos, prior to attending. You will also need to complete a range of learning tasks and prepare your assessment paperwork. We estimate this will take most learners 12-16 hours. We’re now running two versions of our face to face courses – a two-day format with up to six participants, and a one-day intensive with two participants. On both versions of the course we will provide in-depth coverage of all course practical elements, along with an opportunity to teach your assessment lesson.

For our online training, we understand that sometimes it can be logistically difficult to make a face-to-face training, whether you are limited on time, have other commitments such as work or childcare or there are no training courses in your area – Should this be the case then you can complete the online version of the course. Both courses are identical in terms of content and structure, all the practical elements of the face-to face course have been filmed and are available via our secure online training website where you can work through the course – unit by unit – at your own pace. You will be supported throughout by your online mentor who can help confirm you are on the right track, answer any questions you may have and give you feedback on your learning tasks. You will then submit your assessment in video form, on completion of the course. We estimate each level will take on average 20-30 hours to complete, with 4-6 hours allocated for learning tasks and assessment preparation. To view an example video from one of our online courses, visit our YouTube Channel.

For both the face to face and online training options, we recommend 50-100 practice hours. this can be made up of you practising the individual skills or moves taught on the course to perfect your own technique, attending classes, workshops or CPD in that discipline, practising your teaching and spotting technique in a 1-2-1 or group environment, co-teaching or assisting in existing classes, working with your mentor and observing other instructors lessons.

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If your course is online, then you have a year from the date of purchase to complete your course and submit your assessment. If you have purchased a ‘Course Package’ containing 2 or more courses, then you will have a consecutive year for each course in the package. If your course is face to face then you will have a year from the date of the face to face training should you need to resubmit any assessment material, or if you have deferred your assessment from your training date.

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For each of the courses, you will be asked to complete a two part assessment. For the Beginners Level, this consists of an Instructor Workbook (theory test) and a Practical Assessment (teaching an hour long beginners class). For the Intermediate and Advanced Levels we need to see you performing 80% of the course moves with safe and correct technique (technical assessment) and also see you teaching an hour long class at that level (practical assessment).

If you take our face to face training, your assessment will be completed over the course of the weekend. You will need to come ready to take your course assessment by preparing any learning tasks/theory work or assessment paperwork in advance, full details of which can be found in the back of your Instructor Training Manual. If you do not feel ready to take your assessment at that point, then you will be offered the opportunity to attend an alternative face to face training date to complete your assessment where available – or you can submit your assessment via video.

For all online learners, any theory assessments will be completed online, with practical assessments submitted via video to your online mentor.

At every level, our accredited assessors will provide you with extensive feedback on the assessments submitted, and if you are unsuccessful a full action plan to help you resubmit and complete the course. What this means for you is that you can be guaranteed that every Instructor certified by us, has gone through this rigorous assessment process to allow them to carry a ‘Spin City Certified Instructor Badge’ and therefore represents our high standards of teaching and training.

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If you are unable to film a practical assessment then there are a range of options open to you. Where available, we will provide you with the option of attending one of our assessment days, where you will be able to complete your assessment in person, by joining day of the corresponding course (subject to availability). This may be because you have deferred your face to face course assessment, or because you have taken an online training and are struggling to find participants, or are having technical problems recording an assessment video. There may be a nominal administration fee for this service of £40.

If you are unable to complete your assessment within the allocated year time frame, we will aim to provide you with an alternative assessment opportunity. This may be due to a medical condition, accident or personal crisis. In some cases, you may be asked to provide evidence, such as a doctor’s certificate. All deferrals will be dealt with on a case by case basis and an admin fee of £40 may be charged if an extension is granted. Course extensions range from 12 weeks to 24 months, depending on the individual circumstances.

If you are unable to find a suitable venue, cannot attend one of our face to face assessment days or do not have the equipment to film a practical assessment, then please contact us as we may be able to help. We are able to offer individual face to face assessment at our Newbury Assessment Centre. There will be a standard charge for this of £60 to cover venue hire, administration and the costs of the assessor. Bookings must be made a minimum of 1 month in advance and you will be expected to provide your own students for the assessment unless pre-arranged with the assessor.

Please contact us on spincityaerialfitness@gmail.com for more information.

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If your course requires that you submit a video assessment, then we will provide you with an assessment pack for your course. This will need to be completed and returned in full, either electronically or via post.

If submitting by post, videos can be sent to us on USB, SD card or DVD. If you are submitting electronically, we are happy to accept videos via email, through a file sharing service such as Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, We Transfer or similar alternatives. We are happy to accept videos via YouTube however please ensure the video is ‘unlisted’ rather than ‘private’ and no copyright materials are used.

If you are posting an assessment to us – we ask that you send all parts together with the covering assessment form. Please ensure you keep copies of all elements of your assessment, that the envelope is secure (we would recommend a jiffy bag) and sent via a tracked postal service.

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If you do not achieve some or all of the assessment criteria and receive a ‘referral’ assessment decision, you will be given feedback and an action plan to enable you to prepare to re-take the assessment. You may be asked to re-film a full practical or technical assessment, or you may simply be asked to re-film a specific section. Your assessor will provide you with support, guidance and a full action plan before being re-assessed in the areas required to achieve a certificate. You have up to 6 months to complete your re-assessment and there will be a nominal fee of £25 to cover administrative costs, which is payable via https://www.spincityinstructortraining.com/product/reassessment-marking-fee/

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If you have not managed to complete your training and assessment in the original one year deadline, then we are able to offer a standard 12 week extension for a nominal charge of £40. Each learner is able to opt to extend twice per course. This fee may be waived if extenuating circumstance are present, and evidence can be provided. If you do not submit your assessment within this timeframe, you will be asked to re-enrol on the training either online or face-to-face at half the advertised price before submitting your assessment.

Course extensions can be purchased here: https://www.spincityinstructortraining.com/product/course-extension/

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On completion of your course you will need to successfully complete all parts of your assessment prior to commencing teaching. We would also recommend that you have all the relevant health and safety policy in place including but not limited to public liability insurance, a first aid certificate and health and safety policy/relevant risk assessments prior to starting your classes. All the relevant information you will need to get these elements in place will be covered in great detail in your course.

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No. However completion of this course may help you to get insurance, or may reduce your insurance premiums as the certificate from your course will demonstrate proof of training. During your course, we will discuss in depth the recommended insurance requirements and give you information on a range of potential insurance companies.

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To book your place on a face to face training course – click here

To book your place on an online training course – click here

Alternatively, give our team a call on 07866 490876 or email us on spincityaerialfitness@gmail.com and we will be happy to make a booking for you.

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ONLINE COURSES

All of our online courses carry a 14 day cancellation policy. Please ensure you DO NOT login to your course as this will invalidate your right to cancel. If you have not logged into your online profile then Spin City will offer a full refund, give you the option to transfer to another course of equal value or in some instances allow you to transfer the course to another learner. If you have logged in but are within the 14 day limit and you change your mind, you will be entitled to a partial refund calculated based on the percentage of course accessed with a nominal fee deducted for downloadable course materials.  For all online courses, once the 14 day period has expired, or once you have logged into your account your course is deemed active and therefore nonrefundable and non-transferable between courses or participants.

FACE TO FACE TRAINING

You may cancel any face to face training course at any point up to 30 days before the start date of the course. We will request that you return your face to face learner pack. If the pack is returned unused then a full refund will be given. If you do not return your learner pack then an admin fee of £150 will be deducted from your refund. If the pack is returned but is found to be incomplete or in a used condition, an admin fee of £150 will also be charged. If you decide to cancel within 30 days of the date of your course – you will not be entitled to any refund however Spin City may offer the opportunity to transfer the course over to another learner or to transfer onto the online equivalent of the same course. This will be at the discretion of Spin City.

PHYSICAL GOODS

If you have purchased goods from us that you would like to return or exchange you can do so within 14 days of receiving your items. Just download, print and complete the below form, pop it in with the goods you wish to return and send it to us at Spin City Post PO Box 344 Wallingford OX10 1FD.

Spin City Return or Exchange of Goods Form

If you have any questions about your return you can contact us via email on spincityaeriafitness@gmail.com or by phone on 07866 490876

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At Spin City we are happy to support you throughout your instructional career. Whether you have questions regarding moves, need business support or just another instructor to bounce ideas off, at Spin City we aim to keep all of our certified instructors up-to-date and inspired! You will also have ongoing access to our video library – featuring videos of all the moves covered in your course and the option to purchase additional resources such as our USB Combination sticks or our Pole and Aerial Hoop Bibles. Every two years we aim to complete a course update for each of our courses. All previous learners will be given the option to purchase any new course material for a nominal fee. Please email us to find out more or check for any updates on your course.

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If you still have any questions regarding any of the courses, please don’t hesitate to contact us – we would be more than happy to answer your questions. Why not drop us an email at spincityaerialfitness@gmail.com or call us on 07866 490876.

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Below you can find our full terms and conditions for both our face to face training courses, and our online training courses. As a Spin City learner – these will be provided to you when you sign up for your course. Please dont hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our T’s and C’s at any point.

Spin City Terms and Conditions (online courses) 2018

Spin City Terms and Conditions (face-to-face courses) 2018

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Yes – you can download the Spin City Privacy Policy – which sets out how we will use any personal data we collect from you – by clicking on the link below:

Spin City Privacy Policy 2018

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If you are no longer able to attend the face to face course date/venue that you have booked, then you can transfer to any other face to face course that has space available for a nominal admin fee of £45. Please note that we require a minimum of 30 days notice for all course transfers.

If you are unable to find an alternative date/venue that suits you, then you will be offered the option to transfer to the online version of your instructor training course. There will be no fee if 30 days notice is provided, however if less than 30 days notice is provided then an administration fee of £45 will be charged.

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If you find you are struggling to motivate yourself to complete your online training course, then you can transfer to the equivalent face to face course for an administration fee of £80 subject to availability. We require a minimum of 30 days notice prior to the face to face course to make this transfer.

Alternatively, you may feel comfortable completing your training online, yet wish to arrange a face to face assessment. This can be arranged for a fee of £40 and is subject to availability on assessment days. Email us to find out further information.

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On average our assessment turnaround is 12 weeks. Upon submission of your assessment, you will be emailed by a member of our assessment team to confirm your submission, advise you on our current turnaround and provide you with a date by which you should receive your results.

Should you need your results with some urgency, then you can purchase a fast track assessment for £40 which will guarantee your results within two weeks. Payment for the service can be made here: https://www.spincityinstructortraining.com/product/fast-track-fee/

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If you have lost your certificate we can offer a digital copy free of charge, or a hard copy for a fee of £5 to cover the certificate and postage.

To claim a replacement digital certificate, all you need to do is email our admin team at Spin City HQ (spincityaerialfitness@gmail.com) and let us know which course and level you have lost the certificate for and approximately when you completed the course. We will check our records and email the certificate to you. To claim a hard copy certificate complete payment via the following link: https://www.spincityinstructortraining.com/product/replacement-certificate/

If you have taken an online add-on course such as Anatomy and Physiology, Stretching and Flexibility, Pole Fabric, Grounded Hoop etc. from 2019 we have made the certificate directly downloadable directly from the ‘Achievements’ section of Litmos – your course must be 100% complete to access this. You can request a hard copy to be sent (the first copy is free), any replacement copies will then be charged at £5.

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The one-day intensive versions of our face-to-face courses have been specially developed to provide a semi-private learning environment in which you’ll receive the same high quality tutoring as our standard course format, in-depth coverage of all course practical elements, along with an opportunity to teach your assessment lesson at the end of the day.

This is a blended learning course that requires home study including pre-course reading and assessment preparation before the 1-day face-to-face intensive that completes the course. All course documentation will be posted to you within 14 days of booking and you will receive contact details for your pre-course mentor, who can be contacted within business hours with any questions you may have. Your mentor will be happy to discuss course expectations and assessment requirements. Learners are able to send in videos (for form checks) or documents (such as choreography/lesson plans) ahead of the course for feedback in any areas directly relating to the course content or assessed tasks.

Throughout the course, your tutor will model the teaching techniques laid out in the instructor manual and provide you with the opportunity to refine your teaching practice and technical skills, while giving regular feedback. They will also provide you with formal feedback on your assessed lesson at the end of the course.

This course format has been externally reviewed and approved by our endorsing body, Active IQ.

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