Land & Wave Accelerated Instructor Training: Climbing, Kayaking, Canoeing and Navigation
Week 2 of the 14-week Accelerated Instructor Training course – and what a week it’s been.
The last 5 days have seen us traversing the Jurassic Coast, paddling down rivers, navigating the Purbeck Hills, leaping into the sea whilst working towards the following qualifications:
- Climbing – Single Pitch Award (SPA)
- Kayaking – BCU 2*
- Canoeing – BCU 2*
- Navigation – South West Country & Coast (SWCC)
Climbing – Single Pitch Award (SPA)
The trainee instructors are working towards their Single Pitch Award which allows them to take groups climbing outside. To get them started on their climbing journey, we took them to Dancing Ledge – the perfect spot to start practicing tying in, belaying and abseiling. The course leader, Paul Taylor, was their coach; Known for climbing like a spider and conquering Yosemite, he’s one of Land & Wave’s best climbers and has awesome knowledge of local routes.
Kayaking & Canoeing – BCU 2*
The group are working towards their British Canoe Union 2 star award (BCU 2) in Kayaking and Canoeing and will then progress to the 3 awards in sea kayaking and canoeing . In order http://premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/anti-inflammatories/ to do so, they have to log a number of journeys to practice their skills and build experience.
Here is one of the journeys we did on Strava:
We had beautiful Autumnal weather this week which meant ideal conditions for a Kayaking journey from Wareham, down the Frome, to Bramble Bush Bay and a Canoeing trip down the Piddle and up the Frome. Guiding them were paddling pros Jack Campion, Matt Roberts and Graham Milton. Jack is currently braving the Scottish weather to complete his 5* award in white water kayaking so he’ll be imparting even more wisdom to the recruits really soon.
Coasteering
To finish off the week we spent Friday coasteering along the Jurassic Coast, focusing on building personal skills before staring the journey towards assessment. Every single candidate successfully passed their RLSS course, which meant they were all able to focus on leadership. Graham Milton, Sophie Tanner, Sophie Eaton and Jason Roberts all took them out and got them working on the principals of C.L.A.P:
Communication, Line of Sight, Avoidance of hazards and Position of Usefulness
These are the foundations of what any great coasteering instructor needs. To successfully pass their coasteering assessment, candidates will need to log lots of hours in the sea, learning about the area and develpoing skills – expect to see a lot of them jumping off rocks, crawling through caves and negioating along ledges.
This year we have 16 wonderful trainees who have all made the change and embarked upon this incredible journey.
This week we’re introducing you to 3 more trainees on the Accelerated Instructor Training 2016 Course…
Rory Clark – 22
Why did you choose the course?: I’d spent the last 3 years going on various travelling trips and adventures such as cycling around Spain. I really wanted to carry on doing something in the outdoors and making a career out of it seemed like the best way to do so!
Favourite Activity: I’d have to say definitely coasteering – we all went on a little adventure on the weekend on one of our days off and to be able to do so after a week of training was great.
Georgii Stidson – 20
Why did you choose the course?: I’ve always been a very keen horse rider and have spent time working on stud farms and wanted to do something similar but with more options.
Favourite Activity: Coasteering – I’d been out a few times on school trips and always really loved it. So being able to go out as much as we have and to start learning to be an instructor has been great.
Adam Burbidge – 19
Why did you choose the course?: I was bored of working in hospitality and have always had an interest in the outdoors so wanted to find something new. So far so good!
Favourite Activity: Everything! If I had to choose I’d say Kayaking, Coasteering & Climbing. We’ve gone on some great trips this week. Our kayak along Wareham river was hard but great.
Next week will see the trainees progress their Climbing, Kayaking, Coasteering & Navigational training plus they’ll start on their PaddleBoarding award.
As always, there’s plenty to see on our Instagram and Facebook.
AIT16 #OutdoorInstructor #MakeTheChange
11 November 2016 by Phoebe Webster
