Re: [Paddlewise] ACA Greenland certific

On Fri, 9 Jul 1999 Tomckayak_at_aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 7/9/99 11:02:42 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
> CHUCK_at_multitech.com writes:
> 
> << I also suspect that some ACA instructors who had learned as much as
>  possible about Greenland technique on their own became alarmed at the
>  number of paddlers who were using poor or inappropriate technique with
>  their Greenland paddles, >>
> 
> ACA certif. is all about "venders" covering their ASSets. Its all about 
> insurance. 

i am glad i became a "certified" ACA instructor, i have had many good
experiences about it... i agree with steve alder [did i get that right],
that many instructors are great... i know very few bad instructors... i
should qualify that by saying this is in the ww canoe regime, not sk/wwk.

i have seen the program and philosophy change during my years as an instructor.
you have to recertify each four years, and teach during that time as well. i
saw 2 big changes during just the last 4 year period [92-96]. the top teachers
work with each other, and listen intently to what students discuss, and they
work as instructor trainers, imparting their philoshy on their students. i have
not seen the ACA as a stagnant entity.

their gathering of top rated paddlers to compete in the open canoe slalom 
nationals is happening a little more than 15 hours from now. they have been
impressive to watch training, yet i sure haven't seen the "egos" associated
with many other top athletes...

insurance is truely a benefit. and i'd bet each and every student thought so
to, even though i never used it [ie, made a claim]. i would never have taught
in this litigous [sp?] society. not something as "dangerous" as river canoeing.
while teaching anythingis, and always has been my favorite thing to do, i 
wouldn't do this if i were truely risking everything i've worked all my life
for [yeah, i know, drving down the road is a crap shoot, but i have insurance
on my car too]. i tried getting insurance on my own, as a guide/outfitter - 
there was some chance, not to teach ... and the first question is "are you a
certified instructor" ... not that "state farm/allstate/etc" would probably 
even have a clue as to "who would do the certifying?" --- i don't even want
to get into the "divers must be certified to fill their tanks" mode ... 

i don't teach for the money ... 75% of my classes have been to non-profit groups,
and fees dropped/reduced/etc ... but even if i charged full price for every class
and every student, i wouldn't have recovered my cost to be certified, let alone
the expenses involved in teaching [replacing damaged gear after every class gets
pretty expensive, no matter how careful people are]

which leads this long winded post to its conclusion ... in my humble opion there
should be _some_ type of certification available from some form of overseeing body,
from a "consistancy of basic skills" for an instructor ... 

is the ACA the right body for this? i don't know, who are my other choices?? 

who certifies the instructors [IT or instructor trainer].

if they are going to call it "greenland" then it better be "greenland" so if 
someone goes there, the natives won't fall out of their boats laughing their 
asses off [sorry].

i have to agree that the ACA is using the name as a marketing ploy. they way they
have expanded into sea kayaking [coastal?] and white water kayaking. heck, until
just a few years ago, they _only_ had white water canoeing as a choice, you couldn't 
be "certified" unless you were certified in the whitewater disipline, even if all
you wanted to do was teach touring... "sorry --- no hit -n- switch" so even though
it says "Canoe" they want to be the "boating" body...

sorry ACA, i think you're out of line, just call it something else, because it isn't
what you represent it to be.

mark

ACA Tandem Canoe Instructor




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mark zen                      o,    o__              o_/|   o_.
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