5 Star Training, Advanced Skills and Leadership (Sea Kayak)

The purpose of this award is to insure that the successful candidate has sufficient knowledge and skills to lead others of adequate ability on sea journeys up to and including advanced level, with safety in British conditions. When used with the relevant coaching award it shows that the candidate has sufficient expertise to coach and lead groups in more demanding conditions. This award is intended for paddlers who journey on the sea in areas where tidal races , headlands, open crossings, swell and challenging coastlines may be encountered. The award should be accessible to all those people who journey on the sea and should not be seen as the preserve of a few elite performers. It is envisaged that the average club member canoeing regularly, should be able to obtain this award within three years of starting to paddle.

Who Is This Course For?

If you are an active sea paddler looking to develop your skills in an advance environment then this is the course for you. This course will help you develop the skills to lead and journey safely in advanced sea environment. This course for those wishing to complete training and proceed towards 5 star (sea kayak) assessment.

Please check out the BCU website for full details.

Course Aims

Provide candidates with the skills to safely lead a group in remote sea environment

Develop and apply relevant boat handling skills in a positive learning environment.

Develop a level of confidence and independence through greater knowledge.

For our staff to provide an individually tailored coaching experience.

Skills Covered

When the staff meet the group and discuss aspirations and previous experience, they will decide on a more accurate structure for the course. This will ensure that all participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills at a pace that suits them. They will also involve course participants in the planning process, looking at the current weather, water levels, use of pilots, Charts, tides, logistics, equipment required….

A variety of skills will be covered over the weekend, including:

- Planning journeys along exposed coastlines free from landings and open water crossings

- Boat handling skills in advanced water, surf landings, boat control in tidal races, Coping with wind,negotiating reefs etc

- Develop safety, group management and rescue skills,

- Use of equipment appropriate to this environment, Tow lines, flares, boat repair

- These are some of the essential skills required to journey on the sea at this level. These skills are relevant to those planning to lead others in this environment. All of these areas will be covered in a practical way during the course and reinforced on the evening sessions, giving you the opportunity to learn from the staff and other course participants alike.

Please check out the BCU website for full details of all strokes covered.



Outline Programme

Please check out the BCU website for full details
It is important to note that the above outline programme is a guide. Times may vary due to e.g. weather conditions.

Our Staff

The instructor(s) who will work with you are all highly experienced and qualified. Tollymore prides itself in the knowledge and experience that its full time and part time staff bring to its courses. Our staff are all keen canoeists who know all the local ‘hot spots’ enabling them to choose the most suitable site to run your course. You may well have met them on the water in the past, if not you’re sure to bump into them in the future on days when they are not working!

All are obliged to attend annual staff updates and training courses

What do I need to bring?

The following list is of equipment we recommend you bring. All essential equipment is available from our extensive stores. We advise you not to rush out and buy kit for the course, but use it as a chance to find out what would best suit your needs. But if you do have any of your own equipment do bring it along our staff will be required to vet for suitability equipment such as buoyancy aids, boats and helmets.

Please refer to the British Canoe Union web site for full equipment list.

Tollymore Information
Tollymore Mountain Centre, on the edge of the Mournes, is Northern Ireland’s National Centre for Mountaineering and Canoeing Activities. It is funded and managed by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland as a National Centre. The Centre is an attractive, purpose-built facility of log construction with accommodation for 30 people in 2, 4 and 6 berth bedrooms. Quilts, pillows and bed linen are all provided. The Centre is well appointed with toilets, showers, modern kitchen, lecture room, workshop and drying room. Outside there is ample parking space, a ropes course and a floodlit granite-climbing wall. A modern indoor climbing wall is open year round. The centre is ideally situated on the edge of the Mournes, with quick and easy access to the hills.

The Central Council for Physical Recreation opened Tollymore Mountain Centre in 1969. In 1974, it passed to the newly established Sports Council for Northern Ireland Trust. In 1995, Tollymore achieved the management standard BS EN ISO 9001:2000 for the quality systems it operates. However, as part of Sports Council for Northern Ireland’s ongoing commitment to the development of the National Centre, Tollymore will be undergoing a major redevelopment, commencing in 2006. The facilities will be improved and expanded, to ensure that Tollymore remains as an example of best practice in the provision of mountaineering, hillwalking, climbing and canoeing courses in Northern Ireland.

Accommodation

Accommodation is hostel based and this charge is not included in your course fee.

Catering

This course is self catered.

What next?

This advanced sea kayaking course provides you with an introduction to the skills required to safely travel, lead and ‘play’ in a grade 3/ 4 river environment. The logical next step is courses such as ‘Coaching Processes’ or try a course in an alternative discipline – sea, surf or Inland Kayak . You may choose to join a canoe club, or join the governing body, The Canoe Association Of Northern Ireland (CANI). A full list of clubs is available from CANI

Useful Books

Recommended by Tollymore
British Canoe Union Handbook, published by Pesda Press

Useful contacts:

CANI

Canoe Association of Northern Ireland

Unit 2 Rivers Edge

13 – 15 Ravenhill Rd

Belfast

BT68DN

Email: office@cani.org.uk

Web: www.cani.org.uk

Tel: 0870 2405065