Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 Why have Standards?
The mission of the National Recreational Boating Safety (RBS) Program of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is to ensure the public has a safe, secure, and enjoyable recreational boating experience by implementing programs designed to minimize the loss of life, personal injury, and property damage while cooperating with environmental and national security efforts. 1
The aim of USCG 2012-2016 RBS Strategic Plan Objective 3 “Advanced and/or On-Water, Skills-Based Boating Education,” was to “Increase the number of boaters who have completed advanced and/or on-water, skills-based boating education.” “To measure our progress, we must also establish a baseline and develop guidelines and standards.” 2
ABYC EDU-1 On-Water Recreational Boating Skills–Power American National Standard (ANS) and this Technical Support Document (TSD) serve as a primary source of information used to help raise and standardize the overall level of quality, consistency and availability of on-water, entry-level powerboat education across the country to further enhance the safety and enjoyment of our nation’s recreational boaters. This standard also serves as a basis for monitoring progress toward that objective.
How were the Standards created?
The on-water skills ANSs were developed by the National On-Water Standards (NOWS) Program, which was funded in part through the USCG’s non-profit grant program in support of Strategic Plan Objective 3, the outcome being ANS within the context of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The standards were developed using the following voluntary consensus process:
• Engage a professional change management facilitator to design and manage an open, inclusive, and balanced process for developing and reaching consensus on the standards.
• Assemble a diverse core team of nearly 50 subject matter expert (SME) volunteers from across the recreational boating community to develop the initial content for the standards.
• Gather input on content of the standards from an additional 950 SMEs around the nation.
• Achieve consensus among the core SME team as to the fundamental skills individuals should be able to perform in order to be considered safe entry-level recreational boat operators, as well as the characteristics and qualities of the on-water instructional approach that should be used to develop those skills.
• Validate the content to be included within the standards by field-testing it at over 20 different venues around the country using actual boats operated by real people.
• Attain ANS status using a process led by ABYC (American Boat & Yacht Council), which is an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization.
Embrace the Standard Embrace—verb—em·brace \im-ˈbrās\—to take up especially readily or gladly.
ABYC EDU-1 On-Water Recreational Boating Skills–Power was created in part using public grant funding; therefore, it belongs to the public. All are encouraged to embrace the standard as their own and use them to the maximum possible benefit. The more educators use the standards, the more our waterways can be safe and fun for all
boaters.following be used to determine which areas are applicable to the reader.
1. Source: A Report on the Strategic Plan of the National Recreational Boating Safety Program 2012-1016;
http://uscgboating.org/content/ strategic-plan.php
2. ibid; page 21
This Technical Support Document was produced in part through USCG grant funds to develop National On-Water Skills Standards. 1 ©2022 United States Sailing Association. Facilitated by Think First Serve.
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