Walter & Group.....
From Al Crise.... a "Texas" way of looking at the Master's journey (Al is OK after Ike roared through) :-
The master's degree is awarded upon completion of one to two years of advanced graduate study beyond the bachelor's degree, with the length depending on the field of study and the conferring institution. It recognizes heightened expertise in an academic discipline or professional field of study, gained through intensive course work and, in most cases, the preparation of a culminating project, scholarly paper, thesis, or a comprehensive examination.
Findings from the Council of Graduate Schools' sponsored National Study of Master's Degrees, outlined in Clifton F. Conrad et al.'s 1993 work, established that the master's degree is now frequently recognized as a significant - and often terminal - credential designating advanced preparation and training in a specialized area of study, most commonly for the purposes of entry into or advancement within the world of professional practice."
We of the FFF Casting Program hold our Master to a High degree. The governing board our Casting Board of Governors (CBOG) continue to improve the Testing format, requirements.They have my Highest respect. The CBOG has brought the Testing of CCI, and MCI to a level that can be showed cased as the leader in this type of testing. As we learn more the FFF Casting Program has shared this information at the Conclaves both national and council level, In the publication of the Loop. Study Group like this and Web sites like Guy's FFFCCI and Frank's SiteCasting pool or international sites ie Sexyloops and people like The Golden Gate Fly Casting Club, or special training put on by Masters across the country or World travel by our Masters have all brought the fly casting world in to a great gathering of information. I for one I am proud to be a MASTER. I hold this title high and hope only to improve the ramp or journey for others.
ol Al
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Allen Crise
FFF Master Casting Instructor
Hawk Ridge
Flycasting School
Glen Rose TX
254-897-2045 h
254-396-1574
c
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Al ....
You should take a bow for your tireless efforts in hosting your CCI Study Goup. You are helping to prepare many to be far better CCI's. Thus you have contributed substantially to improvement in our CICP program at a grass roots level. Your Group has provided mine with some fine candidates.
Some have likened our Master Study Group effort as akin to a "PhD course" in casting and fly fishing. I didn't know whether we should take that as criticsm or compliment. (I was afraid that taking each subject to ultimate detail would turn some folks off.) I try to take each subject as far as our current knowledge will allow. Having such talent "on board" makes my job easy.
Digging back into memory..... I took 7 years between passing the CCI exam and taking the Masters. The last 4 years before testing was spent in DAILY practice, lots of hands on teaching and many hours of reading and studying. Three practice "exams" under my belt and casting and teaching with as many advanced instructors as I could. I never missed an Intl. Conclave and took many workshops at these. Sometimes I'd volunteer to assist with the teaching at Workshops. (Some of you did that, too. Sheila Hassan being an example.) Tom White and Floyd Franke were my mentors.
This Study Group was born seven years ago as Rick Whorwood and I carried our MCCI studies further by bouncing questions back and forth by email or phone. Each required a SHORT answer, followed by a LONG answer. In this way we studied together despite the fact that he lives in Canada and I in the Florida Keys. Rick would come down to visit ..... we'd go out in my skiff and sometimes (especially when the fish didn't show) cast together and spend an entire day challenging one another with questions on the main topics.
After we both passed, we added other instructors ...... then more and more. Today, we have 171 members including several CBOG's, many Masters and dedicated instructors from 8 different countries. We learn from those who specialize in certain fly casting and fly fishing pursuits beyond the rest of us. Also, from our professional physicists, engineers and mathematicians as well as those who actually make fly rods and those in the fly line industry, as well.
I have regular communication with Lefty Kreh (who happens to be a life member of the FFF) and have often taught and fished with him. He has contributed to our collected information . He and I have made inroads on an understanding beween his teaching methods and terminology and those largely embraced by the FFF. I did the same thing with Ed Jaworowki, Bob Popovics and others whom I have respected for many years. I learned a lot from Mac Brown, too ..... not only by studying his writing, but by making a concerted attempt to understand his casting language which was different from my own as well as his contributions to our Group.
I know I still have a lot to learn !
Gordy
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As we wind up this topic, let me place a question on the board . This was a question posed by Dusty Sprague on his outline for the Master Prep Course. We discussed this at length an this course at Whitefish Lake, because we felt it is an important topic :-
WHEN YOU PASS - WHAT NEXT ?
Gordy