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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Certification
Posted By: Greg Stamer In Response To: Re: Certification (Brian Nystrom)
Date: Friday, 8 December 2000, at 2:25 p.m.
I am not certified and I routinely teach Greenland style paddling in ACA, Nordkapp Trust and TAPS events. Nigel Foster and I had an interesting conversation where he said that some folks follow the certification path for the wrong reason, namely to decorate their office wall with bits of paper.
If the certification route works for you, by all means, enjoy it. I would hate to see it as a requirement for instruction, however. I don't subscribe to the "do it our way or you don't pass" philosophy. While I understand why this is done and believe that it can certainly produce competence, I do think that it can stifle excellence and growth by not fully embracing suitable personal variation. The strength of an organized program is that the roadmap is laid out for you. Without such a program, you need to be very critical of your skills and training to ensure that you have "covered all the bases". This is a lot of work, and sometimes leads to confusion, which may be why many folks choose a more defined path of instruction.
With or without certification, learn all that you possibly can. The ocean really doesn't care how many "stars" you have been awarded or how many documents hang on your wall. When she tests you either you have the skills or you don't....
Greg Stamer
Orlando, Florida
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