We catch up with Charlotte, who recently completed her White Water Leader assessment.
Kayaking is one of those sports where you never stop learning – every river, no matter how many times you have run it, always has something different from the way you remembered originally. Whether it be a new line, a new hazard or even just a slight difference in river level… Which is why progression is so important for all paddlers, from general paddlers to leaders and coaches.
This year, I had the honour of completing my White Water Leader assessment with an all female group from Durham University Canoe Club who wanted to progress their knowledge and confidence on white water. Ahead of the assessment, I needed the prerequisites of ‘White Water Safety’, ‘16-hour first aid’, and ‘safeguarding training’. The assessment day was on a grade 2(3) river.
After discussions with my assessor and considerations towards rainfall prediction; we decided on the River Lune in the Lake District.



River rescuing was demonstrated by accidental swims throughout the day and my White Water Safety knowledge was tested with scenario simulations of a pinned boat, an entrapped swimmer and an unconscious paddler – to demonstrate the leader’s judgement and adaptation to the situation in real time but yet a controlled environment. The use of vectors, throwlines, slings and karabiners were all used throughout this section of the assessment and were vital in all rescues.
Overall, the assessment was a great insight to leading a group of people and all the girls being ‘mock students’ were incredible, eager to learn and enthusiastic to take on board all my suggestions whilst they were paddling. Finally, after shuttling boats and packing up, my assessor and I had a detailed debrief of the whole day: all about the positives of the assessment and progressions I should put in place for myself, now as a White Water Leader.
An important factor to highlight is that personal progression is vital throughout the sport – simply running rivers, learning from others and taking advice is pivotal. Opportunities for me at events such as Wet West Paddlefest, DeeFest, and my peer paddling in the Alps, the Lakes and local rivers has allowed me to push myself personally. All types of paddling allow progress and it is critical to maintain these experiences from a leader’s perspective, as well as being a paddler.
If anyone has any queries about their progression to becoming a leader on white water, I’ll happily have a conversion via my Instagram: Charlotte_Fife_



Interesting in becoming a White Water Leader? This will support you to lead safe and enjoyable journeys. You will lead white water paddlers with a range of experience on trips based on their needs and aspirations in a moderate white water environment.
Interested in trying white water kayaking? Why not try the White Water Award. The White Water Award will give you the skills needed for a safe and fun day out white water paddling. This will be on rivers up to grade 2. You will learn how to use the environmental factors to identify where and when to paddle. This includes the water grade, the weather, other paddlers and the features. You will learn to choose the best equipment to keep you warm and safe on the water. As well as any water etiquette that there may be for the water on which you wish to paddle.