Why
bother with the ICU proficiency awards scheme??
by Colin Irvine
Canoe-sport
in Ireland is governed by the Irish Canoe Union, an organisation
that has many members, numerous functions and not a few
myths surrounding its relevance to the general recreational
paddler. The aim of this article is to demystify one of
the ICU’s most important functions – the administration
of a proficiency award system...
The
Training and Development unit is the section of the ICU
responsible for all this and they have designed a comprehensive
system to train and assess a range of personal and leadership
skills in the various recreational disciplines –
white-water, sea and open canoeing. Check out their website.
We’ll focus on white-water here:
The awards.
Basically there are 2 awards ladders – one in personal
proficiency and the other in instructor qualifications.
Both run on a scale of 1-5. For paddlers interested in
improving their skills, but who have little interest in
teaching others, the personal proficiency ladder is the
one to work with. As you move up the scale, the difficulty
of neccessary skills and grade of whitewater increases.
The awards also become harder to achieve – thus
the gaps between awards widen as you climb the ladder.
For the comprehensive list of requirements, consult www.irishcanoeunion.com
Level 1
Basically the level 1 award is there to encourage people
into the sport in a safe, fun way and set them up nicely
for future involvement. You learn the basic controls of
your boat – forward, reverse and turning. You learn
how to fall out with style (capsize drill) and you learn
some basics relating to equipment and safety. All this
is done on flat calm water and assessment is usually informally
worked into an introductory kayaking course.
Level 2
Staying on flat water, the level 2 award is about really
controlling your boat in different ways, using different
strokes and techniques. You will learn to paddle sideways
for example, and show efficient forward paddling over
longer distances. Edging the boat and bracing with the
paddle to prevent capsizes are introduced and practiced.
A level 2 paddler is in full control of their boats on
flat water and is ready to move to the foamy stuff…!!
Level 3
The level 3 award represents a major step to becoming
a fully fledged white water boater. All techniques from
the level 2 award are included, but to a higher level
and on more advanced water (Grade 2 rivers). Safety knowledge
and rescue techniques are also boosted, so that you can
comfortably negotiate whitewater rapids at that grade.
One of its main aims is ensuring that anyone who achieves
the level 3 standard can comfortably join a club trip
on a grade 2 river.
Level 4
This is where the pace really picks up. The level 4 is
one of the most useful awards that a budding whitewater
star can strive for. It deals with whitewater technique,
decision making, equipment choice and rescue techniques…
all on grade 3 rivers. A level 4 paddler is totally comfortable
on a grade 3 river, can move about with confidence and
style and can deal with any basic rescue scenarios that
may arise.
Level 5
The level 5 is a comprehensive, advanced whitewater award.
Candidates must paddle with control and decisiveness on
grade 4+ rivers. They must also display a comprehensive
ability to perform advanced whitewater rescues and offer
effective leadership for weaker paddlers. Most level 5
paddlers have amassed vast mileage at an advanced grade
and most are very well travelled. To achieve the award,
paddlers need to focus on boating skills and river experience
for a number of years.
Time-frame?
To put a timeframe on the awards is difficult, as it depends
entirely on what you do with your time. Some paddlers
reach level 5 in a few intense years. Others paddle for
decades without ever raising their game to that standard.
The level 1 is achievable over a 1 or 2 day introductory
course. The level 2 can be achieved with just a little
extra coaching. Level 3 takes considerably longer as these
paddlers are paddling regularly, often within a club structure.
Level 4 can take 6 months or 6 years – it really
depends on how much experience the paddler crams into
that time, and the quality of that experience.
But why bother...?
I’m sometimes confronted by people who consider
this scheme a waste of time and money. While I accept
that it is entirely possible to succeed in your sport
without a single ICU qualification, there are some compelling
arguments for getting involved.
Instructorship pre-requisites
In order to pursue ICU instructor qualifications, you
must hold the requisite proficiency cert. An instructorship
allows you to earn money with commercial adventure centres,
but is becoming increasingly important within the club
structure too. Many university clubs are now insisting
on paper qualifications for insurance reasons and other
clubs are becoming similarly aware of the grey area surrounding
their provision of courses.
A safe progression
The progression of techniques laid out in the scheme breeds
safe kayaking. The theme is always to ensure complete
control on easier water before moving onto advanced grades.
Recklessness and “big balls” paddling is replaced
with a skills oriented approach to risk. Many paddlers
with great potential have made the classic mistake of
trying hard water before they know how to paddle it. They
often get a scare when their lack of skill catches up
with them, confidence is lost and their paddling suffers.
The award scheme is based around performance goals rather
than outcome goals – eg styling a grade
3 rather than surviving a grade 4. This is one
of the cornerstones of sports psychology, and it works.
An all-over skills focus
Paddlers within a large club often miss out on some of
the finer skills and techniques. They can become lazy
and one-sided. Having a system of assessments that cover
a wide range of strokes on both sides of the boat is a
sure way to drill out bad habits… thus equipping
you properly for more advanced water.
Exposure to different instructors
By joining a training or assessment course, you have the
opportunity to paddle with some of the best instructors
in the country. By taking their feedback on board and
working off their varied paddling and instructional styles
you can develop as a more rounded paddler.
Rescue scenarios
By far the best way to practice and train for rescue situations
is through rescue scenarios and the assessment system
helps focus paddlers in learning and maintaining these
skills. Everything from a basic x rescue to a complex
whitewater rope access manoeuvre is covered within the
scheme…meaning that if the sh*t ever does hit the
fan, the chances are that it is the ICU trained paddler
who will stand up and make the right decisions.
Say YES to Europe!
The ICU scheme has attracted widespread respect from other
nations’ governing bodies and the launching earlier
this year of the European Paddle Pass marks the beginning
of a Europe-wide approach to kayaking awards. As part
of these changes the Paddle-Plus logo has been added to
the ICU awards – see www.trainingunit.net
for more.
Conclusion
It’s important to stress that kayaking is about
much more than just chasing paper. The core of the sport
is still to be found in the exhilaration and adventure
of pursuing your sport, with your best friends, in a dramatic
environment. Furthermore, it is entirely possible to become
a great paddler without any formal training. However,
this is unlikely - if you are really interested in achieving
meaningful progress with kayaking then the ICU awards
scheme has much to offer.
To find out about quality training courses, contact Tiglin
at 0404 40169 and ask for Kipper.
Please note - The views expressed above are my own
and do not necessarily represent those of the ICU or any
other body.
