Paddling Leader Training Class

Are you interested in leading on-water trips for the club, but would like some hands-on experience first?  Are you a former or current paddling leader and looking for some ways to refresh or sharpen your skillsets? If so, register for our upcoming Paddling Leader Training class.  

On Saturday, October 2 I will lead a session for club members who are interested in becoming (or already are) paddling leaders for the Outing club.  The class will be designed around the goal of teaching skills and providing a space for practice that club leaders will find valuable for leading beginner to intermediate trips. 

We will be using sea kayaks for the seminar--but many of the leadership skills and scenarios you will encounter will be applicable to other types of watercraft as well.  Some potential subjects will be communication skills, managing group dynamics, using trip planning to help guide on-water leadership, and dealing with various on-water scenarios that may realistically arise on trips.  This class will be accessible to new and upcoming leaders, and will hopefully provide a useful stepping-stone to more advanced leader training (such as ACA instructor or trip leader certifications) should anyone be interested in that.  This is your chance to practice useful skills and get focused feedback to help you develop as a leader-and for the unbeatable price of being ABSOLUTELY FREE, unlike most leadership training seminars.   

With that in mind, participants should be confident in basic boat control and paddlestrokes, and familiar with the basic rescues (T-rescue, bow rescue, paddlefloat self-rescue).  Additional skills such as towing, knowledge of other rescues, and rolling may be useful, but are not required.  We want this to be a fun way to help current and future leaders feel confident in the their ability to lead trips of their own (please note that you'll still need to attain the appropriate club ratings before leading future trips if you haven't already done so).  

The preliminary plan is for the session to begin promptly at 9am at the Hoofer Boathouse in the Memorial Union and run until noon.  I will update this event page on the calendar as more details on the class are finalized. 

If you are a current leader or attended the Paddling Leader Course in August and would be interested in helping out, please let me know!  The more experienced paddlers/leaders we have on hand to provide feedback the better!