Re: Certification

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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board

Re: Certification

Posted By: Brian Nystrom
Date: Monday, 11 December 2000, at 5:53 p.m.

In Response To: Re: Certification (Jed)

: 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.
: 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.
Perhaps, though I doubt it. I won't lead trips until I feel I have the requisite skills and experience, and that has little to do with whether I have any certifications or not.
: 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.
I hear you. It seems that the bigger the group, the greater the problem. People with modest paddling skills seem to believe they can rely on safety in numbers. As you know, I like to push my limits, but only in a safe environment.
: 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.
Well, I can think of a lot of better uses for $140 per star than for testing my skills. One can buy the BCU book for $35 or so and follow their program to the letter.
: 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.
Well, it turned out to be a pretty good time, though I noticed that everyone was out of the water within an hour and a half. Still, I feel much more comfortable about being able to handle myself in cold water and air conditions now that I've done it. The ice breaking I attempted was another story entirely...
: 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.
Fair enough. I'll just measure my skills against yours. ;-)
: 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.
...and some of us do all three at various times. That's the beauty of the sport.
: 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.
Agreed.
See you at the party on Saturday.