Sea Kayaking in Norway

Hear from Maria, who’s completed the Sea Kayak Award in Norway

I started paddling two years ago when I started studying at Stend Sports & Outdoor College in Bergen, the west coast of Norway. My teachers taught me the basics of paddling. To get the point I am at today, I’ve learned a lot about leadership and safety routines. My goal is to become a Guide.

I’m currently developing through a long term outdoor leadership and coaching programme with a British Canoeing Awarding Body coach. In my school program, we focus on guiding in many different fields such as: Paddling, coasteering, hiking, glacier walking, climbing, winter mountain activities, and everything that applies to each field such as safety routines, navigation and getting a better understanding of the activity.

As part of our school program we took part in hosting the Padlefestivalen 2019. My teachers encouraged us to attend to the Sea Kayak Award and not focus too much on whether we’d pass or not, but instead focusing on learning something new from a different coach. Me and two other from my class attended the course.

I enjoyed the course with Marc as our instructor and I learned a lot.

Seeing how he managed the group and his teaching methods has taught me about my role as a guide on the water. After the course, I feel more comfortable in a kayak than before and I’m willing to learn more. I now need more training in the charts and trip planning and need to keep practising on the manoeuvring techniques.

I want to keep on practising my leadership skills and observe and participate on courses. My next step is to become coach. In order for me to improve as a paddler, I need to time to practice the techniques and spend time studying the weather at sea.

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