In the last 10 years participation of this sport is down. Fewer boats are being sold is the hallmark of that statistic. In the Puget Sound there are fewer kayak stores. What was the participation level at the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium this year? I heard it was less. I've been reading the same journals you have plus a few whitewater based ones and nobody 10 years ago predicted a downturn of this level 10 years ago. Nor were those decrying certification as the threatening defacto standard correct 10 years ago about things today. A full decade later it is still 10 years from now we are going to go the way of the automobile and the SCUBA people. And yet participation is down in this sport and the BCU or ACA scheme isn't triumphant in what people have alledged about them. These ominpresent fears have time and again failed to manifest themselves in reality. Cheers, Rob G Craig: For your argument to succeed you need to convince us that what we have seen happen in other sports simply cannot happen here. All my argument needs to succeed is to put forward some credible concerns and a few examples. Robert Cline's remarks about the early days of SCUBA certification in the 1970s is a perfect example of how what seems like a common sense system can be perverted into a accreditation process with an authority in charge. Once politicians begin to believe that insurance will solve a "problem" you can bet that insurance will become mandatory; and along with it a slew of rules. In this state - and in most - you cannot drive your car legally without liability insurance. In fact you cannot even register your car without showing insurance. Stopped by a cop? He will ask to see your driver's license and proof of insurance. The insurance has no bearing on whether you are competent as a driver, can see well enough, or anything other than your ability to write out a check. This is the power of insurance and politics. It's a paper solution that is nearly impossible to avoid. Within ten years you will not be able to teach kayaking as a business without having BCU certification. Every guide will need a BCU cert in order to get a job. Most rentals will require a level 1 course (which they will gladly provide for only $50). By the time an instructor reaches Level 5 in any discipline (s)he will have over $10,000 invested in just the courses and "assessments" alone. (Just one course leading to an assessment in the UK commonly costs 300 pounds now!) The WSCKS (Port Townsend kayak seminar) will devote several sessions to BCU certification. Don't believe me? Try to rent a SCUBA outfit without being a "certified diver" and see how far you get. Don't have one? No worries. The store you tried to rent from will have a course leading to certification. Try to get a job as a ski instructor without being certified. And if business falls off because too many people learned last year's "approved technique" why you can just have this year's "approved technique". This is the power of certification authorities when they combine with underwriters and politics. It's all for our own good. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.netB B = *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Oct 21 2009 - 13:17:47 PDT
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