Kayaking is great fun and at Southwater Watersports we offer wide range of opportunities to get you started. Whether you want to hire by the hour, join our paddle club or enroll on a coaching course, we provide a fun and safe environment to have fun on the water.
We can teach/coach and assess these Canoeing 1* & 2*, kayaking 1*,2*,3* & Foundation Safety and Rescue Course (for over 16’s) Training and assessment Coach Level 1, & 2, kayaking river trips run all year some day and weekend trips
Our kayaking courses are run with the emphasis on ‘fun enjoyable learning’.
1* is a clear stepping stone to becoming a paddler. Designed to be a basic award (for over 16’s) this is a great entry level course
2* This is an improvement award that helps paddlers develop fundamental Canoeing and Kayaking skills on flat water. The emphasis is on gaining a breadth of experience, creating the desired movement of the boat and developing an understanding into how to paddle boat and water interact (for over 16’s)
3* Touring for the gateway to Coaching scheme or if you just want to have fun, this includes one day on the river. This is for people who wish to paddle down a River or Sea and see the environment around them and maybe camp on the trip.
3* White Water for the gateway to Coaching scheme or if you just want to have fun, Successful performance at a level indicates that the paddler can consider themselves an intermediate kayaker as they can now paddle on the moving water. They can do this in a competent manner as part of a led group and have the knowledge and ability to help the smooth running of a trip while being led down a grade 2 river
The Paddle-Power Awards for under 16’s
Paddle-Power Start – an entry level award suitable for taster sessions or as part of a series of sessions.
Paddle-Power Passport – four progressive levels based on 24 topics which can be grouped into Safety Awareness, Paddling Skills, Varied Experiences, and Supporting Knowledge.
Paddle-Power Discover – this follows on from Passport with a further 4 levels to take the young paddler to a higher level.
Paddle-Power Explore - three different levels take the paddler on an extensive journey exploring the great variety Paddlesport, with topics focused on participation in events and journeys in the competitive and non-competitive disciplines.
Paddle-Power Excel - three levels to test the paddler on all elements of Kayaking and or Canoeing including being responsible for self and others, participation in journeys, coaching sessions, training, events/competitions in a variety of disciplines, background knowledge of the sport; access, rules, environmental, nutrition and goal setting.
We also do improver courses so that children can improve their skills for experience. These are run at the same time as the other children’s kayaking courses