"On the 6th of October the first British Canoeing Awarding Body Raft Guide Grade 3 Assessment took place in Scotland  on the River Garry. The candidate (Dan) had been developing his skills since undertaking his Raft Guide Grade 2 a year ago. During this time he undertook his advanced white water safety and rescue and gained more than 20 sessions in grade 3 white water in charge of a raft. Initially his assessment was scheduled for December when Jim and Kirsten (two course providers) are teaming up to offer a Grade 3 assessment during a quiet period for many (albeit a tad chilly perhaps). However, the dates they had organised did not work for Dan as he is out developing his skiing in America so after discussion with Jim and a quick chat with the SCA given the only available time Jim had was very short notice an assessment was planned and organised.

On the day, Dan was responsible for guiding 4 clients who were organised and provided equipment and paddles as appropriate. He kept them informed of any and all plans and guided them down the river choosing his lines or being requested to undertake particular manoeuvres by Jim to ensure all elements of the syllabus were covered appropriately.

They spent more than two hours on the water with additional time built in during the day to assess the other elements of the syllabus: i.e. swimming, throw-bagging two clients, foot entrapment scenarios, raft flip scenarios, live-baiting, tension diagonals, mechanical or external mechanical advantages, vector pulls and safety briefs. Dan started off with a safety brief covering all the required points well and setting the clients up for the day. He then proceeded to cement the knowledge by putting on the water and immediately going through the commands again straight away.

During his time on the water Dan demonstrated front, side and rear surfing in two different waves. He performed forwards and backwards ferry glides as well as breaking in and out of the flow forwards and backwards. As with all assessments, the candidates should gain some  learning on the day as well; some additional tips were provided by Jim to further his knowledge and ability to the next level… who knows, maybe Trip Leader Grade 3 next year?

In between runs, the additional elements of the syllabus were assessed by Jim, thus allowing the clients a moment of rest between paddling and also allowing Dan to show what he can do in all elements of the award without ever feeling pressured into focusing too much on one thing.

Congratulations to Dan on his achievements! Great to see the raft guide awards continuing to gain popularity; as it has over the last few years. To put in context, nearly 100 people have qualified as British Canoeing Awarding Body Raft Guides (Grade 2) since the introduction of the qualification in 2021. It is great they are now starting to develop further and pursue more advanced qualifications within the rafting awards. We look forward to seeing how many more people take the step up to raft 3 in 2023."

Words by Jim Miller

If you're interested in becoming a British Canoeing Awarding Body Raft Guide, find out more.