The whole cadet thing is a sticky issue especially meeting all the legal stuff to make sure youre covered i.e. following procedures, police checks, and minimum levels of adult to cadet numbers. CFS is not unique as I use to coach a team of kids in soccer and the club went through the whole thing before CFS did, but in saying that I think it is a good thing as the protection of children is paramount.
Exactly this. Part of the reasoning for the age restriction on BA is the structure of the spine of a growing child. While it is all well and good to say they can cope with the physical loading and the psychological issues, the fact remains that we are in an age where the medical community recognises the benefit of looking after the spine in early life.
Bit of fun, all well and good, asking them to wear weight more often and the CFS is aware of the load of litigious BS they are opening themselves up to.
On the age and attendance debate, its entirely subjective. I also was lucky enough to begin attending callouts early, and some of the accidents gave me a darn good shock and certainly reinforced why its stupid to speed or drink drive. In some cases, kids could probably deal with the lesson.
However, in my experience i have also met people at age 18 who were hopeless, and I'm not actually sure WHY they would attend calls, and constantly made a fuss over blood and needed medical treatment / peer support almost every time we went to something. The only reason they were still allowed to attend was some degree of tolerance, as a result of relations with others.
Some people will feel ready earlier, and there's nothing to say they wont benefit from the experience. However, they should be at least a little limited. I can't honestly see much of a role for a brand spanking newbie in the thick of a bad vehicle accident, perhaps standing back on fire cover. (No criticism for any of us that have been put in that position, just stating ideally a slow breakin would be better.)
Same goes for strike teams, all too often there are people with insufficient experience for larger incidents present. I have heard of a couple of examples a few years ago where cadets were taken on strike teams, one probably caused more kick up than the other (and from what it sounds like, with reason! ) Cutting teeth on smaller incidents is most certainly the way to go. That way, the brigade can check what is actually known, rather than be thrown in the deep end with someone they have to compensate for.
