Table of Contents
For decades, the USCG has been collecting data on injuries, accidents, and fatalities taking place during recreational boating on our nation’s waterways to understand the impact of boating safety efforts. Recreational boating statistics report data consistently show top causes of accidents to be operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, machinery failure, excessive speed, and alcohol use. Navigation rule violations, hazardous waters, weather, and the force of waves and wakes are also frequently occurring contributing factors.
These statistics identify target areas to address to develop more proficient boat operators and further reduce the occurrence of avoidable injuries, accidents, and fatalities. Accordingly, the National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC), which advises the USCG on matters of recreational boating safety, recommended a national strategy to broaden the approach used to educate boaters. The Council included Objective 3 in its 2012-2016 Strategic Plan titled Advanced and/or On-Water, Skills-Based Boating Education. Its aim was to “increase the number of boaters who have completed advanced and/or on-water, skills-based boating education.” 6
Advanced Education was defined as a course
of instruction that meets and exceeds the National Boating Education Standards as recognized by the USCG. On-Water Education was defined as a course of instruction that is boat-based and on the water for skill development, regardless of the level of the course content.7
To successfully accomplish this objective, significantly increasing the availability, quality, and consistency of on-water, skills-based instruction across the country became necessary.
Rather than requiring on-water instruction, the USCG chose to initiate a voluntary process by which experts in recreational boating instruction would reach consensus on best practices associated with on-water, skills-based instruction. These best practices would attain the status of American National Standards and be made freely available to education providers interested in developing and improving approaches to on-water, skills-based instruction in their boating safety and education programs.
What are the benefits of having American National Standards for recreational boating instruction?
Across the spectrum of recreational boating education, from a small seasonal program on a lakeshore, to the affiliates of a large national organization with year-round support, education providers will benefit from following the ANSs because they help to establish a structure upon which to base a successful non-profit program or for-profit business.
This structure can provide education directors, school owners, program supervisors, and other senior-level educators the ability to establish a consistently reliable and repeatable model for their program that will raise the overall quality of their offerings and result in satisfied customers and repeat business. Following the standards can proactively improve risk management practices. Education providers can also receive the benefits of marketing and promoting their programs as being compliant with the ANSs.
Course developers can use the standards to help reduce course development cycle time and remove guesswork associated with designing training programs and curriculum. Whether creating a new program or refreshing an existing one, they can significantly improve their course quality using the ANSs.
Instructors and trainers will benefit from having course content available to them that has been designed using the ANSs. Their ability to deliver course material will be enhanced as they use research-based performance assessment/ measurement rubrics to help assess the skills-based performance of students. They can also enhance the level of safety by teaching according to the ANSs for what to deliver and how to deliver it.
Students and operators will be able to determine and better understand the fundamental set of entry-level skills they need to learn and practice to become safer on the water and gain more enjoyment from their boating experiences.
How do the different standards fit into a system, and how were they developed?
Developing proficient entry-level recreational boat operators with the goal of safer boating requires consideration of many different factors including: • Ensuring the right people are involved including instructors and students appropriate for the program.
• Using instructional methods to engage students in hands-on experience with practice and feedback that takes place while on a boat.
6. Ibid; page 21 7. Ibid; page 21
2 This Technical Support Document was produced in part through USCG grant funds to develop National On-Water Skills Standards. ©2022 United States Sailing Association. Facilitated by Think First Serve.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79
