About GAIA

The Game Angling Instructors Association (GAIA) was formed as the umbrella organization which could provide support and a sharing of ideas to all those involved in game angling instruction. The organization also provided some alignment for a number of qualifications and awards that had been developed over the years with varying requirements.

It was considered that the highest qualification was held by members of the coveted APGAI (Association of Professional Game Angling Instructors) and so this was adopted as the benchmark and simply renamed as Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructor.  A lower level of qualification was also developed and this was known as the Game Angling Instructors Certificate (GAIC).  At the time GAIC was incorporated into the 1st4 Sport level 2 qualification in the discipline of game angling and although this no longer forms part of the qualification there is a close working relationship between the ADB (Angling Development Board) and GAIA.

GAIA now has these two levels of awards in the three disciplines of single-handed fishing,  double handed fishing and fly dressing. The first step is GAIC and then the higher technical level is APGAI. In the majority of circumstances an individual has achieve the GAIC before they can be considered for APGAI.

We have Associate Membership for those individuals who are working towards taking their awards in the various disciplines and we encourage these individuals to develop their skills with our regional groups that are based throughout the UK and with mentors who have already undertaken testing in the awards and the necessary training. In addition all our members are encouraged to attend these regional events to ensure that their skills remain at the highest level of competency.

Our ethos is simply to provide our members with both the knowledge and skills that their clients, you the public, can utilize to enjoy your fishing experience no matter what your level of competence might be.