Hi there,

I'm considering participating in a Safety Course, 4* training and
assesment and a level 2 coach.

But is there a centre anyone will recommend..?? ASSC, Plas Menai,
or..??

Cheers
--
steen - menzi.dk
Lat 55.33254 Long 9.91410
---

I had some dealings with Nigel Dennis of ASSC when he was here in
Canada ( Newfoundland ) for a symposium.
Nigel is an exceptional paddler and a good instructor.
If Nigel Dennis isa round ASSC is likely a fine spot.
This is from about 2,500 miles away of course.
Good luck
Alex

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:05:45 UTC, wrote:

This is from about 2,500 miles away of course.

Still true I believe.

Cheers
--
steen - menzi.dk
Lat 55.33254 Long 9.91410
---

On Sun, 2005-06-12 at 15:08 +0000, steen wrote:
Hi there,

I'm considering participating in a Safety Course, 4* training and
assesment and a level 2 coach.

Most decent clubs provide this kind of training for free, or at a very
subsidised cost - if yours doesn't, have you considered joining one that
does? I got almost all my training provided by volunteers at my club. I
then repaid the club with lots of coaching once I was sufficiently
qualified and experienced.
If you are going to pay for training I can highly recommend Plas y
Brenin. I haven't done any canoe training there but I've done lots of
other courses, all excellent.

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 20:47:46 UTC, peter wrote:

Most decent clubs provide this kind of training for free, or at a very

Not this one, and not over here. (DK)

If you are going to pay for training I can highly recommend Plas y
Brenin.

Second time I hear that....

Cheers
--
steen - menzi.dk
Lat 55.33254 Long 9.91410
---

On Tue, 2005-06-14 at 16:08 +0000, steen wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 20:47:46 UTC, peter wrote:

Most decent clubs provide this kind of training for free, or at a very

Not this one, and not over here. (DK)

If you are going to pay for training I can highly recommend Plas y
Brenin.

Second time I hear that....

Sorry, didn't notice you were outside the UK. Perhaps you could get
together a few people from your club and hire a coach for a weekend,
that would be cheaper than going to a commercial centre.

We have club paddles , rent the pool in winter and have regular rescue
and strokes clinics. These are not hosted by CRCA or BCU instructors as
part of the program but rather informal practice where people of all
skill levels practice stuff. You can learn a ton of stuff free. The
most experienced paddlers freely help because they too can end up in
the water.
Our club web site is www.kayakers.nf.ca we are very active for a small
club. Our news group is always buzzing with activity.
Informal settings are the best to promote and grow the sport. ( my
opinion only ) because there is no stress, no expectation and no money
changing hands.

wrote:

Informal settings are the best to promote and grow the sport. ( my
opinion only ) because there is no stress, no expectation and no money
changing hands.

Up to a point. I think it's impossible for you to say that there will
be "no expectation" from an informal session: people will, IME, expect
to be looked after, and quite often they will expect far more looking
after than they have any obvious right to expect, however informal the
session is *meant* to be. The looking after aspect in turn means that
there is a degree of stress for the more experienced folk helping out.
The no money changing hands aspect does actually feed in to the problems
I mentioned first: something along the lines of "I've paid my membership
fee, the club should be doing things for me". Not a universal attitude,
certainly, but one which certainly exists in some people.

In my club (Tayside Sea Kayak) we are currently in the rather unusual
position where we're practically beating off new members with a ****ty
stick (a few years ago sea kayaking in the UK was basically seen as for
Men With Beards), and we're having great trouble making sure people are
up to a decent speed before it's right to let them loose on a club
paddle where they can ruin it for others if they're Clue Free. People
who've joined to go sea kayaking, and being told they can't because the
people who had volunteered their own time to help get them started can't
actually spare it right now for very good reasons, are not Happy People.
It isn't anyone's fault, but that's how it is.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

We have had hickups like that.
We inundate entry level paddlers with oportunities to learn in ponds,
pools, calm inlets. We plug professional schools to death and we have a
fast transition for interested paddlers from Newbe to beginner to
intermediate.
I am not shy about telling folks they are responsible for their own
safety.
The problems I see on club paddles is more people with no strength
having to try to keep up. The groups break down into sub groups and I
normally hang back. ( Some one has to. ) For me club paddling is a
social thing. I paddle alone a fair bit so I have no trouble waiting
for a slower paddler. A couple of the better paddlers in our club have
no problem with that as we will vanish on our own in non club functions
and see how long we can all hold 8 or 9 KM .
Safety sessions on the ponds and in the pool are not club events, they
are done by club members but we have a limited club schedule. See
www.kayakers.nf.ca the activities circulated by sub groups is
increadle. There are beginners and members of our club I would not tell
i am off to say Irelands Eye ( Small island off Newfoundland Canada )
because it is a long paddle with no other way out. Cell phone does not
cover any place near there, Marine VHF does not hit coast guard
repeaters. Sat phones would be the only signal. I try to avoid
beginners and that situation unless i am sure of myself and the
company.
You are right but I and most of our club pushes a little harder to get
people interested in the sport. We have a land mass in Newfoundland and
labrador of about 500,000 KM and a population of about 500,000 people
so we have a small population and have to work to get them into
kayaking.
You have a different problem all together.