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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Certification
Posted By: Jed In Response To: Re: Certification (Brian Nystrom)
Date: Friday, 8 December 2000, at 2:45 p.m.
If I may be so bold as to toss my opinion into the ring:
I hold one of those (silly) BCU 3 star certificates and am working my way "up the ladder" through the BCU coaching scheme. While ownership of any particular award doesn't make you a better paddler, it is indicative of some relative level of boat handling skills. That along with some experience and your seamanship and general judgement says worlds about your level of commitment to the sport, nd combined with someone's personality tells me everything I need to know about them as a paddler.
: I agree with your basic premise. However, for someone who is not working in
: the industry, it seems to me that the cost of certification is hard to
: justify, unless you feel that it's worth it purely from a pride
: standpoint.While I agree that the coaching scheme (for the BCU) can be quite expensive, the Star Awards are quite reasonable and provide a great way for people to test their mettle. You may feel differently about this is once you start leading club trips and the like. I can't tell you how many people have mis-represented their skills and abilities either on purpose or out of ignorance, but after a while it can get pretty tiring. The Star Awards themselves cost only about $15. It's the test that takes one to two days and cost around $125 per day and the test provider that gets that money.
: Personally, I love working on skills and do so at every opportunity.
: Tomorrow, we're doing a clinic in MA, where the water temp is in the mid
: 40's and the air temp will be around 30 degrees. It may sound crazy, but
: I'm excited about doing it, just for the experience.I'll see you there, though I'm not nearly as excited about it as you. The air temp may well be below 0°F.
: However, I have no desire to pay the BCU or the ACA to tell me that I'm
: officially a competent kayaker. If I were ever to get to the point of
: coaching professionally, it would be a different story.I felt the same way until I started to approach 3 star skills. Then I wanted someway for myself and people that didn't know me to have some idea of my skills. I also felt that I personally wanted that kind of training in my back pocket to comfortably lead club trips. The club never required any BCU status, but I needed something to use as a benchmark.
I never intended to teach professionally but rather liked having a way to measure my own progress better than by trading lies at the local pub. Not that the BCU or the ACA is for everybody, but if someone is aggressive and wants some way to measure their skills accurately against the general paddling public, then there is no other way that I know of. Maybe I'm just overly competative, some would say so but I'm really only competing with my own potential.
Once someone starts along the certification road, they quickly realize that there are few options available to learn so much, so fast. Either way, don't feel any pressure to justify your decision. Some of us paddle to relax, while others paddle for excercise. Still others paddle for the sheer joy of playing safely on such a potentialy hostile medium. Brian I will never, and would never try, to convince you that I am right and you are wrong. I will however reserve my right to pursue hapiness in the manner I so choose and wish you all the joy that your own journey will bring you.
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah to all
Jed Luby, Goffstown, NH
SeaKayakNH@aol.com
New England Adventures - www.egroups.com/group/NewEnglandAdventures
New Hampshire Kayak Skills - www.egroups.com/group/NH_Kayak_Skills
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