Differences between ACA and BCU Approaches

[EEL]

I rather fear asking this given some threads I have seen here, but since NSPN is affiliated with the ACA and many also train in the BCU system; it seems not totally irrational to ask here. On the BCU North america site I noticed the following:

"While BCUNA has no wish to undermine the value of ACA courses, we feel it is important for both parties to retain clarity between the two separate systems and approaches to paddler / coach education."

My question is what are the differences in their respective approaches to paddler education? Not interested in opinions on which has greater value or whatever, rather just the differences in approach.

Does NSPN in its training tend to follow either approach, blend them?

Ed Lawson

[Dee Hall]

>My question is what are the differences in their respective

>approaches to paddler education? Not interested in opinions

>on which has greater value or whatever, rather just the

>differences in approach.

Interestingly, your timing couldn't be better. Within the last week or two, the ACA just got their Level 2 through 4 sea kayaking awards documents up onto their website. The descriptions are strikingly similar to the BCU 2 through 4 star awards.

>Does NSPN in its training tend to follow either approach,

>blend them?

Outside of trip leader training, NSPN does not have any standarized club training. We do have guest professional instructors that come in to teach to the members, but their approach is their own. Otherwise, our "instruction" is actually peer sharing, or as we call it "pass it forward" so the approach will depend on the peer that is sharing.

As far as trip leader training goes, it is definitely not ACA or BCU.

-Dee

[Bill Gwynn]

Please correct me if I am mistaken, but I was under the impression that NSPN TLT was developed using "BCU and Nordkapp Trust Guide Training Courses" as a guideline.

[djlewis]

>Interestingly, your timing couldn't be better. Within the

>last week or two, the ACA just got their Level 2 through 4

>sea kayaking awards documents up onto their website. The

>descriptions are strikingly similar to the BCU 2 through 4

>star awards.

Could you provide a link to that. I can't find it on the ACA web site, at least not in any obvious place, nor as the result of a search.

Thanks.

[Bill Gwynn]

http://www.acanet.org/instruction/kayak_instruction.lasso

[Brian Nystrom]

These programs have very different focuses. The way I like to put it is that Trip Leader Training is not designed to produce great paddlers, it's designed to produce great trips.

The Trip Leader Training course was developed using several sources of information. It's tailored to the unique needs of the club and emphasizes leadership, teamwork, group management and hard skills specific to leading trips such as close-in maneuvering, rescues and tows, navigation, etc.

ACA and BCU programs are geared toward teaching strokes and other fundamental paddling skills at the lower levels and don't get into leadership skills until the higher levels. Their primary emphasis is on hard skills and individual achievement. Both organizations also offer training programs for coaches.

The NSPN and ACA/BCU programs are essentially complimentary. We offer lake/pool sessions where members can learn the basics and courses taught by professional instructors (ACA, BCU and other) for more advanced skills. We encourage members to improve their skills through courses offered by other organizations and businesses. The club is neither an outfitter nor a professional training organization and the free training we offer is not meant to supplant professional instruction.

[Dee Hall]

The existing TLT program was not designed with a particular training program as a guideline. However, there may be portions of the modules that were developed using training guides as references.

-Dee

[Ben Fuller]

From what I understand from NSPN members who have taken guide courses that I have taught, the trip leader course must be pretty similar. The only thing that makes club trip leading much much harder is that there is no control on the buy in. Some of the best written material on trip leadership comes out of the backpacking and climbing communities: like Graham's Outdoor Leadership.