From Ron Miller:
I'm excited to announce that we will be holding two back-to-back National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) four-day SPAR (Small Party Assisted Rescue) courses next March at the Little River Property in Menlo, Georgia (the former site of the TAG Fall Cave-In). The first course will be held Saturday, March 7 through Tuesday March 10, 2026; the second course will be held Thursday March 12 through Sunday March 15, 2026. See the attached flyer for course details; additional course details and the pre-registration site are at https://caves.org/.../ncrc-small-party-assisted-rescue.../ .
I believe that SPAR is the single most valuable course that a U.S. vertical caver can take (after completing a basic vertical training course like the Level 1 course offered by the NSS Vertical Training Commission, of course!), and anticipate that student demand will once again significantly exceed the available number of slots. To try to give all interested students a fair shot, we will hold a pre-registration lottery at the above-linked site; the pre-registration window is open now through 11:59 PM Eastern on December 28, 2025.