Canoeing / Kayaking Courses

Are you looking to try something different, learn a new skill, or develop and improve existing skills in kayaking or canoeing? AOAC offers a wide range of paddlesport opportunities throughout the year ranging from one off ‘try it’ sessions to four or six week courses, fun sessions to focused coaching and British Canoe Union Award Scheme assessments. Different sessions and courses are appropriate to ability and ages from complete beginners to those who want to improve and maintain their paddling ability and skills and take their paddling to the next level. There is a natural progression to our sessions and courses providing continuous opportunities and development throughout the year.

Mountain Biking

Kayaking: A craft generally with a deck and paddled in a sitting position with a double-bladed paddle. Majority of the time they are single paddlers.

Kayaking

Open Canoeing: Sometimes referred to as a ‘Canadian Canoe’. These can be paddled from a sitting or kneeling position with a single-bladed paddle. Used singularly or up to three people.


Coaching Clinic

On Saturdays from 10am - 12 noon all year round and on Wednesday nights from 6.30 - 8.30pm in the Spring & Summer, we run Coaching sessions for canoeing / kayaking. Please click on the following link to our documents page, where you can download a leaflet detailing our Coaching Clinics.


Canoeing Awards

The Centre offers a range of courses for individual beginner, intermediate and advanced paddlers, and BCU personal performance and qualification awards including Paddlepower, 1, 2, 3 Star for Inland, Sea Kayak & Open Canoe. Canoeing & Kayaking are available for both Junior & Adult groups.

Details of all our BCU Canoeing / Kayaking Coach Training & Assessment awards for 2008 (there will be further updates in June for Star Training & Paddlepower courses) are available from our documents page.


Additional courses to be run this year include:

  • BCU Coach Training & Assessment courses
  • PaddlePower and Star training for ages 10-17yrs:
  • BCU Canoe Safety Test, Aquatic First Aid, & Disability Awareness Training - courses arranged on demand.

Raft-Building

Raft building is activity that combines team building with water-based skills, and can be run as a separate 2-hour session for groups of young people or adults. This activity (or canoeing/kayaking) is an ideal session in combination with a dry activity such as Mountain-Biking or Orienteering to make up a whole day at the Centre.


The challenge is to build a seaworthy craft from logs, barrels and ropes, and then to paddle and race the raft over a set course, accompanied by the centre safety boat. This combination of design skills, ropework and knots, team co-operation and paddling skills, is a great way to develop the potential of a group and it is also a lot of fun.


For general enquiries and more details on how to get in touch please go to our contact us page.