Re: [Paddlewise] Guide Training (long winded)

G'day -

Here are my two cents worth as an Australian operator of a full time
year round sea kayak tour company.  This guide/instructor issue a
situation I have experienced many times in the past and is a point close
to my heart .

I have included the opening letter of a discussion paper I submitted to
a national body.  The idea was dismissed as not really needed - by a
board consisting largely of kayak instructors (hmmmm, and why am I not
surprised???).

Here goes (you should maybe get a beer first!!!)


There has been discussion as to the need for a Sea Kayak Guides Award in
the ... (name withheld to protect the guilty).... Program.  At this time
I can provide the names of ten operators who are either at present
operating, have recently started up or will be starting up their
operations in the very near future in New South Wales.  Whether these
“official” operators are operating with operations manuals, standards,
approvals or insurance is a matter of conjecture.  What the “unofficial”
operators are up to is even more unclear.

"Section  of preamble snipped"

At the moment there is nothing stopping someone from grabbing a couple
of boats and paddles and declaring “I am a guide with a sea kayak
company”.  The inevitable negative results of this are rather daunting.

Waterways (our regulatory authority) as you know are in the process of
setting up a code of practice for commercial operators.  There is a
distinct need for a process specifically geared to provide training and
resources for the guides and operators themselves.

There are many issues that I feel are very important, especially in the
context of the guide involved in sea kayaking.  I also believe that
there are considerable issues which differentiate the sea kayak guide
from the sea kayak instructor and I will explain briefly some of the
issues here.  I am willing to propose how these ideas could specifically
be incorporated into a training scheme, but will leave this until later.

Please find the following points which highlight some important issues:

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must have good group management
techniques. In sea kayaking there is potential for the group to end up
spread out and fragmented, and therefore out of the control of the
guide. This ability to assess the need and maintain “pod cohesion” is a
critical skill that cannot be overemphasized.  It is a skill that comes
with both education and time on the water with groups.  There is
currently not enough focus, in my opinion, on this aspect with current
instructor standards and this is obvious from anecdotal references to
incidents both here in Australia and overseas involving very well
respected instructors and experienced paddlers.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must have the ability to empathize
with the client.  Far too often I have seen extremely fit and skilled
guides fail in their role simply because they were so skilled and so fit
that they did not realise that their group was tired, unfit, scared,
etc. due to the fact they were so far removed from those feelings they
couldn’t relate to the position the client was in.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must have a good sense of judgment in
regards to group safety and the uncommon trait of common sense.  This is
of course hard to quantify - but I would sooner have someone who is
lacking in specific paddling skills as a trainee or assistant (which I
can identify) than to have someone who is lacking in common sense on
safety issues, which is harder to determine.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must have an excellent ability to
“read” and understand the motivating factors behind their clients
participation in the activity.  This is a big request as it often means
attempting to develop an understanding of a person in a very short
period of time.  An understanding of the different types of
personalities in our society are important.  In addition to this, the
guide needs to understand the principles and methods available to bring
out the best in each individual and the best experience for them.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must have an excellent ability to
communicate with the client and the group as a whole, both as a
companion and a leader.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must have an excellent knowledge of
risk management and safety management principles, policies and
procedures, including those of the company for which they are employed.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide must think of the groups well being
as important as his own well being. There needs to be an acute awareness
of their responsibilities and the requirement for professional conduct.

· The trainee/assistant/lead guide needs to be aware that they are
performing a service - not out on an afternoon or weekend lark.  In the
outdoor industry there is a tendency for people to see the activity as a
fun thing to do, on the side - not a professionally held position.

· In regards to the previous paragraph, the trainee/assistant/lead guide
must understand that they are professionally representing not only
themselves and a sport but a company for which they work for as well and
as such need to have some basic understanding of business principles and
customer service.

· Finally, the lead guide needs to have an above average awareness and
skill in paddling techniques, navigation, meteorology, environmental and
physical hazards, group issues, human limitations and all that has been
previous noted simply because of the higher amount of exposures to
potential paddling problems.  Put simply - if you teach classes five
times per year you are a lot less likely to have an incident that
requires good management and a test of your abilities than if you are a
guide on the water with groups in excess of 200+ times per year in a
variety of conditions.

Now isn’t that all a mouthful!!

All the best -

Wayne Langmaid
Central Coast Kayak Tours - only one hour north of Sydney Australia
http://www.oznet.com.au/kayak/cckayaks

Chuck Holst wrote:

> A few years ago a kayaker named Sam complained to me that though both
> the   ACA and BCU have instructor training programs, those programs do
> not   necessarily train you to be a guide. Now, Sam is a professional
> guide,   but I think that many if not most of the skills of a
> professional guide   are also needed by amateur guides -- in other
> words, leader and   organizers of both personal trips and club trips.
>
> What brought Sam's comment to mind is a sea kayaker I know who has
> ACA   and (I think) BCU instructor training, who nonetheless has on
> several   occasions shown poor judgement by leading club trips in
> conditions that   were beyond the capabilities of some of the
> participants. Two trips   resulted in capsizes and/or tows, while on
> another trip the leader felt   compelled to use his tow line to help
> participants land through surf. In   my opinion, those paddlers should
> not have been taken out in
>
> What do you think? Does instructor training also equip one to be a
> guide,   or is that a separate, if related, discipline that deserves
> its own   program?
>
> Chuck Holst
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