A new development in British Canoeing sea kayak (and other disciplines) coaching is arriving in January 2018.  It promises to personalise, simplify and reduce the cost of gaining UKCC Level 2 endorsed sea kayak coaching qualifications.

The pre-2018 system of UKCC Level 1 --> UKCC Level 2 --> Moderate Water Endorsement Sea --> Advanced Water Endorsement was often seen as a poorly personalised system for training and endorsing the coaching skills of discipline specific paddlers.  There are anecdotal stories of kayak/canoe clubs in recent years seeing only a few (or even none) of their members attain sea kayak coach status.  This is despite the significant enthusiasm many of their members have for introducing other participants to sea kayaking and developing their skills.

What's new for aspirant sea kayak coaches in 2018?

Kayak Coach (sheltered water)

Sea Kayak Coach (moderate water)

Advanced Sea Kayak Coach (advanced water)

Performance Sea Kayak Coach (just a rebranding of the current UKCC Level 3 Sea Kayak Coach)

Advanced Performance Sea Kayak Coach (Performance Coach with Advanced Sea Kayak Coach)

What does this mean for me?  (The direct entry options to coach in the environment you paddle)

For sea kayakers without any personal performance, leadership or safety awards

You can attain Kayak Coach (shelterd water) by:

• Attending the 2 day Core Training course on coaching theory

• Followed by a 2 day Kayak Coach Training (sheltered water) course (both training courses are supported by e-learning modules and do not require workbooks).

• Finally, when you are ready to attend a 1 day assessment you can (there are no set post-training consolidation requirements other than your own action plan).

For Sea Kayak Leaders (formerly BCU 4*)

You can attain Sea Kayak Coach (moderate water) by:

• Attending the 2 day Core Training course on coaching theory (the same one as above)

• Followed by a 2 day Sea Kayak Coach Training course (both training courses are supported by e-learningmodules and do not require workbooks).

• Finally, when you are ready to attend a 1 day assessment you can (there are no set post-training consolidation requirements other than your own action plan).

For Advanced Sea Sea Kayak Leaders (formerly BCU 5*)

You can attain Sea Kayak Coach, as above.

Or you can go straight to Advanced Sea Kayak Coach by:

• Attending the 2 day Core Training course on coaching theory (the same one as above)

• Followed by a 2 day Advanced Sea Kayak Coach Training course (both training courses are supported by e-learning modules and do not require workbooks).

• Finally, when you are ready to attend a 1 day assessment you can (there are no set post-training consolidation requirements other than your own action plan).

For current BCU coaches

There are various routes into the new scheme, see below:

Who is providing these qualifications?

The full range of coaches and centres will be published on January 1st 2018.  Sea Kayaking Wales will be among them!

What about the other paddlesport disciplines?

See https://www.britishcanoeing.org.uk/courses/new-for-2018/ for more information.