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From The President
Happy New Year!
AT THIS TIME, most paddlers are skiing, snowshoeing and planning the upcoming season’s training schedule and trips. This winter, I have seen Facebook posts of folks paddling on the West Coast and even inland. I watched a video from our Saskatchewan Director, Bryan Sar- sauer, paddling the South Saskatchewan River on Christmas Eve. Fantastic. I am sure there are many more paddlers out there extending the season. Looking back on 2014, I am thankful
for the Paddle Canada family. I have to thank the PC Instructors for their sup-
SAFETY LINES
PLAN CHANGE TO IMPROVE COURSE DELIVERY
Paddle Canada instructors plan and execute excellent programs year after year, but it is too easy to just do the same old thing. With that our guard goes down, and the potential for mishaps and mistakes increases. Deliberately planning some changes into our programs will enhance our awareness to the entire program we are offering. The survey forms from last year’s courses are a good place to start. What did your previous students offer as ideas for improvement of your course offerings? Here are some ideas to consider:
Course Venue: Changing the routes and locations of your courses removes us from our comfort zone and forces us to focus more on managing the course and delivering skills in unfamiliar environments.
Instructor Mix: Adding a new instructor to your team may bring diversity, a more youthful approach and new skills to your course. We want to appeal to as wide a range of paddling students as we can and adding an instructor from a different demographic or background
might provide better connections with your students. Switching teaching assignments also leads to better focus on the part of the course instructors.
Course Calendar: Evaluate if your traditional course timing is the most convenient for your clientele or whether you’re losing business because of your course times. Have you thought about moving your courses earlier in the sea- son to capture students looking for certifications to obtain summer employment? What about breaking a course from one week into two weekends to accommodate people that work full-time? Or switching from fall to spring? Timing can open up new opportunities and allow others to access your courses.
Change encourages Paddle Canada instructors to en- hance their course preparation and execution resulting in an even better Paddle Canada product.
ERIC WILLIAMS
President Emeritus, Paddle Canada Member, Canadian Safe Boating Council
port and continued passion to spread safe paddling practices. Thanks to my fellow PC Directors and all the Commit- tees. They were busy moving forward with program improvements, member- ship support and benefits. Most members of the public see our
instructors as the face of Paddle Canada, however behind the scenes there are individuals who are the glue that hold us together and the grease that keep the wheels moving smoothly in the office and on our website. I want to thank them for their hard work. They are our voice and face to those government agen- cies and industry partners we seek out. Thanks to our Executive Director Gra- ham Ketcheson for a great year of raising PC’s profile and seeking out industry partners, both funding and non-funding, so we can expand our programming
and solidify our national voice for safe paddling practices. As well, Dawn Cal- lan (event manager: National Paddling Week, special events), Adrian Camara (digital media manager: Kanawa, Face- book), Heather Young (office administra- tor), and all the other volunteers that Graham seeks out to help with account- ing and the office. We are truly blessed to have such a supportive family on the water and in the office. I wish all a safe and fun 2015. Paddle
on everyone! Priscilla Haskin is the President of
Paddle Canada and a Paddle Canada instructor trainer.
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