WW Guide and Instructor Course
Whitewater canoeing and kayaking is an extremely fulfilling, fun and rewarding sport, enjoyed on rivers far and wide by paddlers of all ages. Rivers can be unpredictable and potentially dangerous without appropriate paddling activity supervision and safety support.
This makes Whitewater Guides and Instructors essential to assuring the safe leadership of whitewater paddling activities and development of paddle community.
The abilities of participants and dynamic variations of water conditions, necessitates that Whitewater Guides and instructors possess strong paddling, communication & group management skills, sound risk management-based judgement, intuitive knowledge/skills sharing abilities, and dependable navigation safety, decision making & emergencies management capacity. A strong whitewater paddle community is dependent on development of Whitewater Guides and Instructors.
The Paddle Australia (PA) Whitewater Guide and Instructors Course presents participants with a fantastic opportunity to upskill: developing confidence, and obtaining practical on water supervision and instructional skills and knowledge. Assuring greater white-water paddling safety for all.
Do you have a love for whitewater paddling? Do you want to help build our paddle
community, promote opportunities for more paddling and make your whitewater paddling safer? Do you thrive off of helping others develop confidence and skills? Do you aspire to be a whitewater guide and/or instructor? Then this course is for you!
When: Saturday 05 and Sunday 06 April 2025
Pre-requisites: Course participants seeking guide and/or instructor qualification should have knowledge and skills at the level of PA whitewater skills and be capable of confidently paddling Grade 3 whitewater. Those seeking Instructor qualification will need experience in Guiding whitewater activities and be able to inspire novice paddlers through sharing of skills, knowledge and self-belief. Course participants should be comfortable spending time on the river both developing confidence and building skills and knowledge.
A corequisite of this qualification is the River Rescue Level 2 qualification. Course
participants will also need to register for and complete the River Rescue Level 2 Course (See as scheduled in the same location on 03-04 May 25).
Venue: Cotter River (In vicinity of Cotter Bend and Cotter Campground). The course venue will be confirmed in the week prior to this course, subject to appropriate water conditions for the safe completion of the course.
Course Overview: The course emphasises both maintenance of personal safety, building of confidence, abilities in effecting river rescues and affording “duty of care” in Guiding and Instructing novices in paddling Grade 2 whitewater. Developed through sharing of practical skills, knowledge and techniques and hands-on individual and team/group scenario based learning.
Qualification Context: This qualification builds upon basic white-water skills and knowledge. It is suitable for recreational paddlers who want to develop the skills and knowledge to supervise novices in the conduct of whitewater paddling activities on Grade 2 whitewater. The whitewater guide and instructor qualifications are for people seeking a professional certification in Whitewater paddling environments up to grade 2 water. The qualification is the industry benchmark certification designed to meet the needs of white-water paddling guides and instructors for the outdoor industry across education, recreational and tourism
sectors nationwide.
To gain the qualification participants must demonstrate their ability to manage and assist in
rescue situations, from a paddle craft, and to conduct gear retrieval in Grade 2 white-water.
Payment Details. After registration you will receive an invoice for $450.00 which must be made to PNSW by 28 March 2025. Your EFT Receipt must be forwarded to
education@paddlensw.org.au to COMPLETE ENROLMENT within 7 days prior to the course. Completion of the assessment and award of the qualification (optional) is a further cost of $200.00.
Course Learning: Learning opportunities include:
Review of paddle strokes for negotiating rapids,
Reading whitewater and safe route selection/ rapid negotiation
Risk management for safe river running and rescue techniques
Leadership techniques for guiding groups within a range of weather, river conditions
and overnight camps
Basic instructional techniques to deliver to Paddle Australia Qualifications Scheme
standards
(Course Content covered and sequence of instruction will be adjusted to best fit the
participants’ needs, location, weather, water conditions and time allowance)
Assessment: Guidelines for assessment for the qualification are as detailed in the PA
Qualifications Scheme for assessment critera at: Kayak and Canoe (Note a minimum logbook is required, which needs to be logged in your Paddlelog ).
Successful assessment requires:
Independent participation in all course activities, while maintaining personal safety.
Effective participant communication with the instructor and other course
participants
Participant management of all personal care independently, or with the assistance
of a companion.
Assessment can be done in kayak or canoe:
Practical: Completed through the training during the course and a subsequent
assessment.
Quiz: An online quiz is made available to participants upon registration that needs to
be completed prior to the practical program.
Project: An online project is made available to participants upon registration that
needs to be completed prior to the practical program.
Course Staff: The course trainers are Mic Doyle and Cam Phelps. Mic Doyle is the assessor.
What Craft: You need to determine which craft you will be assessed in, as the qualification is craft specific (ie. if you are guiding people in kayaks, you will need the “kayak” qualification and if you are guiding people in Canoes, you will need the “canoe”
qualification). This should be based on which type of craft you are comfortable paddling in white water and what you would use in a work-based scenario.
Camping / Accommodation: Cotter camp-ground (booking at participant’s own expense
through: https://actparks.bookeasy.com/cotter-campground#/accom/132235 ). Friday night
Camping is recommended for those travelling to the course location, to assure arrival in time for the course start.
Acceptance of Risk and Waiver of Liability. Participants sign a “Risk Waiver of Liability” at time of registration online if they agree to the level of risks identified as being acceptable.
Participants will be required to read the Risk Assessment provided for the course at the course.
Course Resources / Materials:
The course leader will provide registered participants with access to some online
resources by email to allow familiarisation prior to the course.
Check out the Paddle Australia website for:
o Safety Guidelines and Risk Management Guide
o LearnerManual Flatwater Instructor & Guide
o WhitewaterLearnerManual
Other useful resources include:
o The Mountain Rescue Association, USA - https://mra.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/07/nps-swiftwater-rescue-manual-rev09-23-2012-
SMALL.pdf
o NPS swiftwater-rescue-manual: https://fliphtml5.com/obytu/vucl/nps-
swiftwater-rescue-manual-rev09-23-2012-SMALL/36/
o There are numerous whitewater related publications and resources available
in print, electronically or on Apps. One particularly good publication is:
Swiftwater Rescue Field Guide Book, 2013, 4th Edition by Slim Ray.
Participant Equipment: It is expected that participants will supply their own equipment
including:
Kayak (with floatation), skirt and paddle or Canoe (with flotation) and paddle/s
PFD (Level 50S rescue vest) - Suitable for whitewater paddling (We will be doing live
bait swims)
Paddle/s
Helmet (specialised for white water)
First Aid Kit
Repair kit
Whistle
Sunscreen
Wetsuit or Dry suit with warm top and bottom layers
Paddling shoes / Neoprene booties (enclosed with soles, or neoprene socks and
good fitting water shoes)
Mesh bag(s) for wet gear storage
Throw bag
2 x locking karabiners
2 x prussic loops
5m of one inch tubular webbing (if available)
Pin kit / pulleys (if available)
your own meals, snacks and drinks for each day
Camp chair
Be prepared for an outdoor classroom setting (possible warm, cold, wind, rain).
Please bring a pad and paper; there are no printed material required for this course.
Personal camping, sleeping, cooking and hygiene gear
All food, snacks and drinks required for consumption during the course (There will
not be opportunity to travel to and from shops during the course)
Dry clothing recommendations:
o Long underwear tops and bottoms
o Fleece vest, top, warm jacket
o Waterproof jacket and pants (rain gear)
o Quick dry / synthetic shirts and pants
o Hat, with visor
o Appropriate footwear
Optional - Neoprene skull cap or thin fleece hat for under helmet (if you tend to be
cold)
Optional – Neoprene/thermal gloves or Pogies
