The NEW British Canoeing Sea Kayak Awards

By Greg Paquin

I recently ran the NEW British Canoeing Sea Kayak Award program. The location was West Passage in Lower Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, U.S.A. And took place in mid-May, 2019. This area of Narragansett Bay is a really good venue for running this award, with up to a knot of tide, predictable winds, relatively small crossings, and cliffs and ledges to work around, a venue that matches up well to the requirements of the new Sea Kayak Award and gives candidates a good, safe day paddling on the sea.

I think the challenge for a provider is to not to have a training day then have a separate assessment day, but rather to using one's coaching craft to deliver the training and assessment during one day or or melded together over a period of time. The focus is on the learners and being able to separate out who is currently operating at the right performance level, while building up the others who are just acquiring these skills.

The candidates responded respectfully and were eager to learn with this joint training/assessment delivery style. They clearly chose this award, wanting to work towards gaining the skills and knowledge that this British Canoeing Sea Kayak Award stands for. Candidates felt the need to learn more about paddling on the sea in the coastal environment. All were happy receiving a great days coaching, with one candidate being at the right performance level and gaining this award. Some came out for the day to learn and to get inspired, while others wanted to be acknowledged of being at the awards standard.

Candidates and other paddlers in our New England, North America paddling community are viewing the British Canoeing Personal Performance Awards and Leadership Awards as the gold International Standard. I believe, this is because of British Canoeing's Educational Philosophy and the coaches ethos delivering these awards, that inspire the community to grow and paddle safely.