BCU Instruction
Expert Sea Kayak Coaching From Washington DC
British Canoe Union (BCU) training and assessments are for highly
motivated learners with open minds and a sense of discovery, who want to
understand and enjoy kayaking to its fullest potential. We highly
recommend that you take the appropriate training before signing up for
an assessment. Please contact us to discuss your skill level and
appropriate entry point into the BCU system and to schedule a class:
phone 301-881-2628 .
Please click on below link for upcoming BCU courses that Tom will be
coaching in the Washington DC area.
BCU Courses Calendar
2 Star Training
and
Assessment
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3 Star Training and Assessment
Chesapeake Bay Assessment 4/11/09
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4 Star Training
Rescue Videos
Training locations
Cape Henlopen
/
Indian River
&
Map
Assessment
Location
Folly Beach Cape Henlopen
Indian River Inlet
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Cape Henlopen
Alaska Trip Map
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5 Star Training
For those who dare !!!
Rock Landing Video
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BCU North America Web Site
info@potomacpaddlesports.com for registration and questions
The British Canoe Union's program of training, assessment and coach education has made its incursions into the United States among the American sea kayaking crowd. Sea paddling conditions in The UK are demanding enough that the sport is well-developed there and BCU rough water skills and teaching techniques are safe and effective.
Although the BCU is the governing body of paddle sport in the UK (England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland) its popularity in the U.S has allowed the establishment of a North American branch and an associated body of coaches and students. More than 20,000 BCU coaches worldwide teach more than 800,000 students annually. See www.bcuna.com for more information.
Instructional Programs -
The basic structure, major goals, and essential purposes of the BCU's instructional courses are to teach and encourage safety, fun and independence by students. But also to train and support a large body of qualified instructors, coaches and assessors that deliver approved course material to national and international standards of care and performance. The BCU programs are organized by the craft being used as well as the levels of difficulty in which the paddling occurs.
BCU Personal Skills: The Star Awards -
The BCU's programs are organized by craft (canoe, kayak, etc.) and venue (sea, inland, surf, polo, etc.). The norm for a BCU paddling skills course will be to focus your learning on a progression of skills appropriate to your level of experience that will help you become an independent paddler as soon as possible. In the personal skills training used by the BCU, you are exposed to proper practices in the training programs (classes), but are then encouraged to "practice" (code for go paddling) in order to develop and incorporate these skills into your "unconscious." This is also called building "motor memory," making the skills automatic, or even intuitive.
Within each BCU discipline, in this example "closed cockpit kayaks", the BCU has produced a series of personal paddling skills syllabi. These syllabi provide guidance for coaches and students in the proper performance of the skills, and are also the assessment criteria for each skill level, see the BCU Literature Page.
BCU training courses that prepare you for Star awards/test assessments are generally arranged in increasing orders of difficulty. One through three star awards teach total control of the kayak in flat water and in the absence of wind, waves and current. The 1-3 star tests for each discipline include all "generic" skills that specific kayaking disciplines (sea, surf, whitewater) have in common. Four star skills are the point where you begin the application of the 1-3 star (generic) skills to a particular environment, let's say, sea kayaking. Five star is the highest personal skills award, and in most ways it's more about leadership.
