Scottish Game Angling Instructor Certificate
Become an Instructor
What are the benefits of being an SGAIC trained instructor?
World-class training
SGAIC is the only instructor qualification where candidates receive: training/coaching – this is not only for casting, but instruction, with regular Tay-side classroom tutorials, demonstrations and discussions coupled with development plans aimed at getting them to pass. Other qualifications just require that you pay the fee and turn up on assessment day.
Quality instruction
& assessment
Our lead instructors are all qualified to AAPGAI advanced level, and some of us also hold level 2 Sports Coach qualifications. We always use independent assessors to ensure fair and consistent assessments; these assessors are AAPGAI Masters (the highest qualification in the UK).
Active community across Scotland
We are an active community of instructors across Scotland. Meet great people with like minds. Share ideas and experiences as a team.
An opportunity to progress
Holders of the SGAIC qualification automatically have equivalence with AAPGAI's Professional level. This means, should you wish to progress you can go straight to taking the AAPGAI advanced assessments.
Take the quiz
Find out if you've got what it takes by trying one of our "so you want to be an instructor" free quizzes:
Frequently Asked Questions
The course starts at the end of October and concludes with final assessments at the start of the following April. Not everyone will be ready to take an assessment by the end of the course. In some cases, after a pre-assessment appraisal, attendees choose to take an extra year to build their casting and fishing experience; before taking the assessments.
See documents in the resources links buttons, but in essence:
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First aid course, safeguarding children course.
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Technical training on casting and teaching
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A brief written assessment to test your angling knowledge.
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A formal presentation assessment on a predetermined game angling subject.
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A practical assessment to test your specific casting and teaching skills.
This all happens over 7 days — usually Sundays.
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To join the course you need to be a reasonably competent caster to begin with, and an experienced fly fisherman. An inexperienced angler and poor caster will struggle to make the improvements necessary to reach instructor standard in the time required. As a guide, try taking one of our Free Quizzes (see links in this section). If you get 80% or more right then you could be ready!
If (be honest!) you struggled to get more than 70% right then think about spending some time getting more fishing experience and improving your technique before joining the course. Obviously the quizzes are only intended as a rough guide. If you have any questions or are uncertain as to whether this course is suitable for you, then do get in touch with us.
The course runs from late October through to the following spring. The course comprises of seven Sundays between October and late April (with one possible Saturday for final assessments). The next course will start in October 2026.
Programme DayDateSubject Overview118th OctoberIntroduction, Practical Pre-Assessments222nd NovemberMechanics I36th DecemberMechanics II417th JanuaryTeaching521st FebruaryFirst Aid; Safeguarding Children621st MarchWritten Paper; Presentations711th April/18th AprilPractical AssessmentsThe full course with assessment costs £450. Candidates who have attended the full course but did not pass can take a resit the following year at a cost of £150.
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SGAIC is the only instructor qualification where candidates receive training/coaching, and development plans aimed at getting them to pass. Other qualifications just require that you pay the fee and turn up on assessment day.
-
Quality instruction and assessment. Our lead instructors are all qualified to AAPGAI advanced level, and most of us also hold level 2 Sports Coach qualifications. We always use independent assessors to ensure fair and consistent assessments; these assessors are AAPGAI Masters (the highest qualification in the UK).
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An active community of instructors across Scotland. Meet great people with like minds. Share ideas and experiences.
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Continuous Personal Development. We hold a minimum of one CPD day a year aimed at ensuring SGAIC instructors continue to develop their skills and learn new things.
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An opportunity to progress. Holders of the SGAIC qualification automatically have equivilance with AAPGAI's Professional level. This means, should you wish to progress you can go straight to taking the AAPGAI advanced assessments.
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We recommend that all candidates get a mentor to help them through the course, and recommend they see AAPGAI advanced instructors for this. This means candidates get support in practising the right things between course days (and practise is essential!). Most instructor/mentors charge around £40/50 per hour, and ideally you should be looking at between 6 and 10 hours mentoring, although this will vary according to your experience skill level.
Another qualification you can consider in addition to moving on to AAPGAI, is taking a Level 2 coaching qualification. This focuses mainly on teaching/coaching skills as opposed technical angling skills.So far, no one has taken both single and double handed assessments at the same time. This is a tough thing to do. As it takes up an extra assessment space, we need to apply a surcharge of £100.
Additional information
The application process
If your application is successful; we’ll confirm this by email, and send you details for payment by bank transfer for you to pay a deposit which will secure your place on the course.
Once payment is received, we’ll confirm your place on the course.
You must pay the remaining balance before the end of September. Failure to do so may result in you losing your deposit and your place on the course.
Once full payment is received, you will receive joining instructions for the first day of the course.
The SGAIC course starts in October and finishes in April.
The course will be run over seven days including two assessment days. Price for the full course including assessments is £450. In the event that a candidate wishes to be assessed for both single and double-handed qualifications there is a £100 surcharge. Places for the course are limited therefore in order to reserve a place, a refundable deposit of £50 is required along with your completed application form. Remaining balance must be paid before the end of September 2025.
Please note that participation on the course/assessments is subject to SGAIC Committee approval. We reserve the right to refuse participation to any applicant or participant at any time and at our sole and absolute discretion, without any liability to SGAIC, for any reason.
Demand for the course is usually high, and we fill course places quickly. To make sure you reserve a place on the course it is advised that you submit your application as soon as possible. Once the course is full, no more applications will be accepted for the year.
Participation in the course does not guarantee qualification.
Candidates must pass all assessments to receive the SGAIC certificate. Candidates must pass a written assessment and verbal presentation skills assessment to go forward to the final practical assessment. If for any reason a candidate does not pass all three assessments, they can register for a resit only the following year upon payment of a fee of £150.
Where a candidate wishes to take an assessment without attending the full course (e.g. if they already have an equivalent qualification) then the assessment fee is £150.