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Home  >  Courses  >  Instructor Courses   >   Paddlesport Courses

INSTRUCTOR COURSES: Paddlesport

Further Information

• Paddlesport Courses
• Sailing Courses
• Windsurfing Courses

Kingussie River

Kingussie

Kingussie River Trip

Star tests up to three star in Kayaks or Open boats

The Paddlesport Start Award is designed to provide a framework for a paddlers first session. It is very much an encouragement  award and can be used by coaches who offer taster sessions, or as a first session of a series. It is an adult version of Paddlepower start.

The BCU One Star is a flat water award that demonstrates an individual has basic boat control and foundation skills.The one star can be taken in any kind of paddlesport craft (e.g. sit-on-top, slalom C2, polo boat, sea kayak, racing canoe etc.)

The BCU Two Star is an improvement award that helps paddlers develop fundamental paddlesport skills on flat water. The emphasis is on gaining a breadth of experience, creating the desired movement of the boat and developing an understanding into how the paddle, boat and water interact.

This award is significantly different to the old 2 star, with a change to develop generic movement skills that can transfer to any discipline and with an assessed journey. Assessors will need to be able to assess the award in a variety of craft.

Successful performance at BCU Three Star level indicates that a candidate can consider themselves an intermediate paddler rather than a beginner.

Unlike the existing award this will be discipline specific with awards in Sea Kayak, Surf,  Open Canoe, White Water Kayak, Flat Water Kayak and some of the competitive disciplines. The three star paddler will be a competent performer in sheltered to moderate water environments and have the ability to paddle unsupervised, with similar standard paddlers on sheltered water. The new award will look similar in structure to the existing 4 star, but with the skills applicable in an easier environment.

When you successfully complete a Star Test you will recieve a certificate (please note that we no longer issue badges)

FWSRT (foundation water safety and rescue training course prerequisite to all instructor courses)

Full details of this course can be found on the BCU website.

Fundamentally this course is designed  for all paddlers irrespective of craft. The objective is to teach simple and safe skills that can be applied appropriately. 

Foundation Safety and Rescue Syllabus

Foundation Safety and Rescue Trainers Notes

Course Aims

The course aims to provide the student with the key safety and rescue skills required to operate safely in a sheltered water environment and to be able to deal with common emergencies. These skills will then form the basis of all safety and rescue training throughout the BCU Scheme.

The course has two purposes:

1. To provide the paddler with the necessary skills which will enable them to ensure the safety of themselves and others.
   
2. To provide the paddler with the appropriate rescue skills which can be used to help themselves and/or others in difficulty.

Level 1 paddle coach

This is the first step on the paddlesport coaching pathway. It will introduce you to the fundamentals of good coaching practice and helps you to understand and coach technical and tactical aspects of your sport.

For full details visit the BCU website.

Level 2 paddle coach

This is the second step on the paddlesport coaching pathway. It focuses on progressive coaching, helping you to develop your students within their first 3 years of paddling, through a series of sessions.

For full details visit the BCU website.

Upcoming Courses

For details of upcoming instructor courses view the listings at the bottom of our whats on page.