As a club we want to get more people paddling more often, and we need more volunteers to join our dedicated team of coaches, leaders and assistants to help us do that.
Please have a think about whether you could get involved and help us run activities for members.
Interested? Read on and /or get in touch with Les (coaching@halifaxcanoe.org.uk).
What roles are we looking to recruit to:
Club Activity Assistants
This is a club sign off for competent paddlers to assist our coaches on coached sessions on the club’s Home Waters. Going forward they will also be able to supervise club activities for competent paddlers on Home Waters. So this is an easy way to get involved and see coaching is something you want to do.
People taking on this roles will need some safety and group management skills, understand paddler’s needs, and be able to organise simple sessions and activities. The training for these roles is quite flexible, and depends on your existing experience, but will include safety & rescue training, first aid training, safeguarding training, and an induction. All the training needed can be done through the club and you’ll be supported through training and as you start to help on sessions working alongside experienced coaches and volunteers.
Coaches
We are also looking for more people to come forward and become Qualifed Coaches. This will increase out pool of coaches and ensure we can continue to introduce more people to canoeing and develop the skills of existing members. Becoming a coach is a more formal involving get a qualification:
Coach Award – This is aimed at those who will be running progressive coaching sessions for a group – so is the most relevant for club coaches. This involves completing a 2 day Core Training which is common to all disciplines of the sport, and then a 2 day discipline specific training. There are 18 different disciplines to choose from, but most of our club coaches will initially do the Shelter Water Coach training. You will then develop your coaching skills and experience on session before going on to do an assessment. There is no set pre-requisite regarding you own paddling ability – although you will need to have competent personal skills to be able to coach effectively.
Leaders
We also need more people to lead club trips away from our Home Waters. This could be on white water, open water, or sheltered water and this involves getting a Leader qualification. There are several options of relevant qualifications depending on what you are interested in leading and your skill level:
- White water leader – for leading grade 2/3 river trips
- Advanced white water leader – for leading grade 3/4 river trips
- Touring leader – for grade 1/2 river and open water (big lakes)
- Paddlesport leader – for sheltered water (slow moving rivers and lakes)
- Sea Kayak leader – on the sea (up to force 4 winds)
The process for becoming a leader depends on your experience – training courses are available, but you can go straight to an assessment if you have enough experience. All leader qualifications require first aid and safeguarding training, and some have pre-requisite safety training too.
The club will help fund the cost of these training courses for anyone willing to help with club sessions, and can provide support and mentoring as you start to get involved in delivering coaching session. If we have enough people interested, we are provisionally looking at running:
- a Coach Award Core training course on a weekend in early spring if we have enough people interested
- a white water leader training course in December
What’s in it for you?
Coaching, leading and assisting on activities allows you to develop you paddling skills in a new direction, giving you a better understanding of and improving your own skills. It is also very satisfying and rewarding to be able to help other people enjoy your sport. You’ll also develop and improve communication skills, leadership and teamwork, and be an important part of the continuing success of our wonderful club. It can also be the route into working in the outdoors full-time or on a casual basis.
If you are interested in one of these roles and would like to develop your paddling in this direction, or just want to know more please speak to Les Ford or call him on 07786525912
