ralph wrote: >>>When LL Bean ran its first advanced seakayaking weekend back in 1989 (it was full of a lot of hotshots who complained it wasn't really advanced), several hours were devoted to setting a scenario involving a proposed trip. It was to help train and guage leadership. You were given a rundown on the paddlers scheduled to go on the weekend trip. Were given some weather reports, including wind, etc. A destination across some open water was indicated along with a chart. And questions were posed such as should you take the trip at all, what course would offer the best protection, what weather changes would trigger a change in plans to cut the trip short, etc. Its value was that it got you to think of the variables AND most importantly pointed to the possiblility of not going ahead with the trip at all.<<< bcu coach 3 training is 1/3 the above, 1/3 teaching how to teach, 1/3 refining rescue and towing skills. 4 star trainings and assessments include trip planning and navigation exercises nick wrote: >>> However, as a practical matter, I am not a big believer in certification. How can a day or two of training and possibly a test at the end ever hope to quantify if a paddler is going to be able to pull off the skill when it really counts. It is my impression that most certification schemes do not include a test that people have a good chance of failing (I could be wrong in that). And if they do include that test it is usually not in the best interest of the teacher to fail anyone because that says more about the quality of the teacher than it does the skills of the testee.<<< when i took my 3 star test, 5 of the 6 in the group failed. each was given specifics of what they had to polish up. on 4 star (different instructor) 2 of 4 passed. notably the 4 star can only be given if the sea state is 2+ foot waves, 7+ knot winds. for coach 2, 7 of 8 passed, none of the group were slouches for coach 3, i'll find out ina few weeks, i've been told it is rigorous. includes a 4 hour lesson with trainee working a group of 4 "improvers"(students working on 3 star skills), the remainder of the 2 day assessment, managing simulated on water problems and trip planning (in england being coach 3 earns you liability insurance for leading groups up through 4 star conditions)(coach 2 insuranceis limited to sheltered water) george ruta northcountry kayak 518-677-3040 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Oct 06 1998 - 20:54:17 PDT
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