Tel:
Email: chairperson@sheffieldcanoeclub.co.uk
At the river, coaches will teach white water techniques to enable the paddler to master their environment.
At the pool, in an easier environment, the coach will teach basic techniques in order to attain a "skills passport" - skills to assist the paddler for sessions on the river.
The FSRT course is an excellent opportunity to develop and refine your water safety skills, and learn about being a better paddler in the processs. You will learn a great deal about being safe in the water, to be more independent, and to respond quickly to hazards as an individual and a team.
The FSRT award is about to be renamed, but the club will always keep abreast of its replacement, and offer it as a training option.
If you want to become independent on the water, go on self-guided adventures and know how to control your craft and stay safe on the water, this is the award for you. If you have never been paddling before, it might be worth starting with the Start and Discover awards. In this award yuo will take ownership of your own decisions and learn to make confident choices, based on the places you paddle, wind and weather. There is a strong emphasis on independence with this award, and the Explore awards will fill in the gaps in knowledge you might have so you can get out paddling safely on an adventure! The award covers areas like: on the water etiquetter and how to share the space with other water users, different environments you can paddle (lakes, canals, estuaries), controlling your kayak, canoe or SUP safely, clothing and equipment needs for different environments and weather, safe exploration
In the Start award, you will be focusing on all the clothing and equipment choices necessary to get a paddler on the water. It is like a crash course in everything you need to get on the water,
We provide tips for getting on the water including how to get safely in and out of your canoe kayak or SUP from different places you are likely to paddle.
You will learn to paddle with practical skills such as paddling forward, turning and stopping... pretty much everything you need to get started and moving.
Staying safe on and off the water, you will learn about how to stay safe and make the most of your paddle session.
The Discover Award allows you to develop your decision making and practical skills for a fun and safe time on the water, as you become a more skilled and independent paddler. Through this award you will learn how to choose and effectively use equipment, whilst developing an understanding of the factors which affect your paddling.
This is an initiative created by members of the committee, to provide effective and targetted training in all paddle sport activities.
It focuses carefully on all the key skills paddlers will need on the river, lake or sea.
Each goal is clearly identified, and an instructor aids, and monitors the paddlers progress against
Coaches and instructors are required to undertake regular safeguarding training where they are frequently responsibility for paddlers in the pool or on the water. See the B.C. website.
18th, 19th March 2023
River Don at Oughtibridge
Five people attended. Wayne, Nick, Chris, Peter and myself (Mark). We were instructed by Kirsten Elton.
The course was well paced, intense, challenging, and most of all fun. We were all dreading what Kirsten called the hand-of-god exercise, where a rescuer rescues an unconscious paddler who is inverted, but still in their boat. Apparently we performed excellently and it was over in a matter of minutes. The hardest part for some was the deep water rescue, where the rescuee must climb back into their boat from the rear in the style of a cowboy mounting a horse from behind. I did a left sided sweep roll to avoid the latter manouevre as it is much easier and quicker than the alternative. Fortunately I did not strike a rock during the roll, as this tends to confuse even the most experienced rollers.
The emphasis of the course was part focused on our skill levels, and part focused on how we approach teaching itself. I need to remind myself how much fun kayaking is and this needs to be reflected in the taught sessions.