“Paul has been helping me since the start of my paddle sports journey - especially SUP. He always takes into account both individual needs and the needs of the group when coaching, Saturday was no different. He took into account the different levels of ability that both Campbell and I have on a SUP and made a very fun progressive session! The session focused on skills that both Campbell and I had identified and discussed with Paul, which he then tailored to our needs. White water SUP gives people the ability to experience the challenge and fun of being on the river. For those who maybe don’t like being in closed in a kayak, SUP provides the ability to be able to get on and off the board with ease. Making for an equally fun experience. SUP sessions at work have become increasingly popular, we have been running both progressive SUP sessions and intro to SUP sessions - which have all been fully booked every week”. 

As Kirsty say’s this year has seen a real growth and momentum in the SUP discipline. The popularity of SUP has been growing massively since the end of Lockdown, some 10,000 inflatable SUP boards were being sold on a weekly basis. In response to the increased demand from end users 57 paddlers in Scotland have completed the British Canoeing SUP Discipline Support Module, to help develop their SUP knowledge and understanding; and 11 new SUP Paddlesport Instructors have qualified. These courses have been particularly popular with female paddlers, at almost a 50:50 split, it’s fantastic to see the growth in coaches working with SUP paddlers, and such a positive gender split.

“It was a privilege to be part of the first British Canoeing White Water SUP Coach Assessment held in Scotland and being assessed by Jim Gibson. I really appreciate that the assessment is delivered in a supportive and learning driven way, there is a huge emphasis on continual learning and development for the coach, particularly important in the discipline of White Water SUP, where we have nearly a blank canvas to work from. I’m super passionate about SUP and I’m really looking forward to watching it develop even more in the near future. Accessibility plays a huge part in my passion for the sport – the fact that you can pack the SUP in a bag and easily transport it to the most remote and scenic places is truly amazing. Not only this, but I love that we don’t know everything yet about SUP, we have so much to explore, experiment and play with and that’s so exciting. Silly SUP’ing is my thing, just trying things that may seem silly now, but may well develop into an important skill down the line. I’m really looking forward to progressing and developing White Water SUP as a discipline, getting as many people inspired to paddle and supporting them on their Paddlesports journey."

"It was an honour and a pleasure to assess Paul for his SUP White Water Coach Award. The assessment took place on the River Tay at Stanley in Perthshire at the end of October. Paul had his long-term students Kirsty and Campbell acting as students for the day and he ran a great 90-minute coaching session with them. Paul had worked hard in preparation for his assessment and on the day his coaching was relaxed and progressive. It was satisfying to see him put his students at the centre of the sessions, coping with their different levels of ability and accommodating them in each of the progressive sessions and their improvement in skill and understanding evident throughout. We completed the assessment with a short rescue session, SUP rescues are more straightforward than other craft with much less heavy lifting and no need for emptying of water, so we completed this element of assessment really quickly before the rain came in! It’s fantastic to see the number of young SUP coaches emerging with the new awards, and to be able to support and watch these young coaches become qualified. It’s these coaches who will drive the long term development of this newish paddle sport discipline forward, and I’m excited to see where they take it!"

If you too want to become a SUP Coach, check out the British Canoeing Coach Award. This is available for the keen SUP paddler, you can qualify to work in Sheltered Water, Open Water, or White Water depending where your passion lies. Through the qualification pathway you’ll learn how to help other people develop their SUP skills, and be in a position to inspire and motivate them to progress their skills further. More details here.