Des Merrigan BCU Lifeguards – Lifeguarding Officer

To give an overview of what boats (kayak and canoe) and canoeing qualifications (as provided by BCU) that can be looked for when providing

safety cover for Triathlon and Open Water Swims

Des Merrigan BCU Lifeguards – Lifeguarding Officer

www.bculifeguards.org.uk

Racing Kayak

Can move very fast, providing the

paddler is competent.

Unable to provide any support to swimmers

without capsizing. Very unstable and un-manoeuvrable.

Not at all suitable for providing

safety cover.

Playboat Generally bright in

colour.

Generally uncomfortable for paddlers for any prolonged period of time. Unable to

provide support to swimmers without the front/back of the boat submerging

underwater. Slow and difficult to paddle efficiently over any real distance.

Open Boat - Canoe

Large boat, easy for swimmers to see. Option to get a swimmer into the boat if

required.

Difficult to control in windy conditions. Paddler

needs to be very competent to be able to

safely navigate near swimmers without causing

injury. Better paddled as a duo

Widely available, but

not necessarily the most

effective craft to be used.

Sit-on-Top Kayak

Generally easy to paddle, even for less experienced paddlers. Easy for

paddler to provide support to swimmer if

required (low to water)

Paddler can be very cold & uncomfortable (generally

little or no back support) if on-duty for a prolonged

period of time.

Relatively new to the

canoe/kayak market and

widely available as

they are cheaper than

closed kayaks.

Stand-Up Paddleboard

Good visibility of swimmers.Easy to provide support to swimmers if

required as board is low to the

water.

Difficult to paddle / control in poor weather conditions. Can become tiring for paddler if on-

duty for prolonged period of time. Paddler needs to be competent to navigate

in close proximity to swimmers to avoid injury.

Relatively new to the

canoe/kayak market and

widely available as

they are cheaper than usual kayaks.

Sea Kayak

Good stable boat to operate from. Comfortable for the paddler if on-duty for an extended period of time.

Normally very visible (bright colours)

Generally larger and less manoeuvrable.

Normally paddled by

more experienced paddlers as generally

quite expensive.

General Purpose Kayak

Good stable boat to operate from. Comfortable for the paddler for an extended period of time. Normally

very visible (bright colours) and easily accessible. Most clubs & centres have access

to these type of boats.

Not as rescue orientated as

dedicated models, but a

very close second

The most commonly

found kayak available.

Many river / club paddlers will have this type of boat,

which are good for use at swimming

events.

Rescue Board

Can get close to swimmers easily, without potential to

cause injury (with paddles etc.). Good to provide support to

swimmers if required (low to the water). Can be knelt on to gain better visibility / vantage

point.

Paddler can be very cold &

uncomfortable if on-duty for a

prolonged period of time.

Relatively Slow

Generally found on

beaches or at coastal clubs (or used by

beach Lifeguards).

Specialist (Lifeguard) Rescue Boat

Dominant red and yellow colour scheme

Very stable with the possibility to rescue a

numbers of swimmers at one time

Relatively large turning circle

Expensive to buy and so will only be bought by dedicated Lifeguard

clubs

The following qualifications are provided and available via the British Canoe Union (BCU) and the individual National governing bodies CE, SCA, Canoe Wales & CANI and its specialist

safety committee - BCU Lifeguards.

The term Kayak is used to describe both canoe and kayak

BCU 1, 2 or 3 (4 & 5) Star

These awards are personal competence awards, which demonstrate the paddlers ability to control their boat and perform a number of basic manoeuvres. Paddlers holding 2 star and above should be able to safely manoeuvre in and around swimmers, if required.

These awards are good to establish the

paddlers general

paddling ability.

Foundation Safety & Rescue (FS&R)

This is a foundation safety / rescue award for paddlers wishing to become Canoeing Coaches. Whilst the course covers elements of safety and rescue, this is solely aimed at performing those skills on other canoeists rather than swimmers. Paddlers are required to be of 2 Star standard before being able to attempt this award.

These awards begin to

develop the paddlers

safety awareness & rescue skills, but

they are not specific to rescuing

swimmers, instead other

canoeists.

Canoe Safety Test (CST)

This award has been superseded by the FS&R (but is still a valid award) but covers the same content of the FS&R.

BCU Level 1 Coach

This is the first award on the coaching ladder. It enables candidates to coach small groups under the auspices of an L2 Coach (or above) unless they are coaching on their own home waters where they've had a specific site induction. There is very little in this award in terms of safety / rescue over and above that covered in the FS&R. These awards are part of the BCU Coaching Scheme and whilst, as they progress, the paddler becomes more safety aware, they are primarily aimed at teaching canoeing.

BCU Level 2 Coach

A BCU Level 2 Coach is able to coach independently on inland or sheltered coastal waters. Within the scope of the award, there is more emphasis on risk assessment, safety awareness and group management. Whilst the award does not cover any specifics with dealing with swimmers in the water, those operating at this level are experienced paddlers who have undertaken a fair amount of training & assessment to get to this stage. These awards are part of the BCU Coaching Scheme and whilst, as they progress, the paddler becomes more safety aware, they are primarily aimed at teaching canoeing.

BCU Level 3 (4 & 5) Coach

This award is discipline specific and focusses on the coach being able to plan, implement, and analyse long-term development programmes within their chosen discipline (Canoe Racing, Canoe Slalom, Open Canoe, Sea Kayak, Surf Kayak, White Water Kayak) These awards are part of the BCU Coaching Scheme and whilst, as they progress, the paddler becomes more safety aware, they are primarily aimed at teaching canoeing.

Swim Event Safety Award

(SESA)

This is a new award recently launched by the BCU Lifeguards with a view to taking those paddlers of 2 Star ability and above, and providing them with specific skills, training and rescue techniques to deal with open water swimmers. Much of the award looks at getting the candidates to be pro-active, rather than re-active, but it also deals with the common types of incident that occur as well as teaching candidates how to respond to an unconscious casualty.

This award was launched in 2011

and is quickly becoming the

'industry standard' for

paddlers providing water safety cover at

Open water swim, triathlon events & training venues.

An example of what can go wrong when no training is given!

An excerpt from Triathlon World Series Hamburg 2013

And what it should look like when training is provided!

An excerpt from Triathlon World Series London 2013

Assistant Canoe Lifeguard

This award is aimed at developing the paddler towards becoming a fully qualified BCU Canoe Lifeguard. It provides the paddler with a broad range of rescue skills to perform from their craft, as well as from the bank and is the stepping stone towards the Canoe Lifeguard: Core Module award. These awards are not specific to rescuing swimmers, but following the SESA award, do provide paddlers with a broad range a lifeguarding skill and knowledge that can be applied to a range of water based safety cover.

Canoe Lifeguard: Core Module

The Canoe Lifeguard: Core Module award is designed to provide paddlers with a good level of leadership & management skills giving them the ability to lead a team of Assistant Lifeguards / SESA Paddlers on the water when providing safety cover. It builds on the skills within the previous awards. These awards are not specific to rescuing swimmers, but following the SESA award, do provide paddlers with a broad range a lifeguarding skill and knowledge that can be applied to a range of water based safety cover.

Berkshire - Sat 27th April Plymouth - Sat 4th May Milton Keynes - Sat 4th May North London - Sun 5th May South Yorkshire - Sat 11th & Sun 12th May Hastings - Sat 11th May Lake District - Sat 18th & Sun 19th May Windsor - Sat 18th & Sun 19th May Suffolk - Sat 18th May Salford, Manchester - Sat 18th May Ipswich - Sun 19th May Falmouth - Sat 25th & Sun 26th May Hertfordshire - Sat 25th May Bristol - Sat 25th May Loch Ore – Sat 14th July Fortrose - Mon 5th Aug

BCU Lifeguards will once again be looking to run training courses where they are required. We will be opening the web site to requests shortly after New Year for people to book courses or request trainers.

Generally the responsibility will lie with the clubs to organise, and we will provide a trainer.

www.bculifeguards.org.uk

Questions?

Thank you for your time!

Des Merrigan BCU Lifeguards – Lifeguarding Officer

www.bculifeguards.org.uk