Education

The Carolina Canoe Club offers two basic types of instruction – paddling clinics and rescue and safety courses. Continue reading this web page if you want to learn more in general about these clinics. Click on either item below for specifics about the dates and registration process for the clinics scheduled for the current year:

Paddling Clinics

Please visit the paddling clinics page for more information on paddling clinics offered by the Carolina Canoe Club.

Rescue and Safety courses

One of the great things about paddling is that the sport demands personal responsibility and self-reliance. Of course, the downside is that, when bad things happen, we can’t just dial 911 and expect help to show up. Instead, we have to help ourselves and our fellow paddlers. One way to improve our ability to avoid and manage whitewater accidents is to take a rescue class.

The Carolina Canoe Club offers at least 2 weekend-long safety and rescue courses each year – “Introductory Rescue and Safety” and “ACA Swiftwater Rescue (SWR). The introductory course is for the less experienced boater or someone who has never taken a rescue course. The course is open to any member of the Carolina Canoe Club on a first come, first served basis. This is a great time to take the course for the first time or for those of you who want a refresher. Look, lets be real, we practice our boating skills whether in the pool or on the river, so lets practice those Rescue and Safety skills. You never know when someone might need your help.

The ACA SWR course lasts 16 to 20 hours and is physically challenging. It covers accident prevention and management, hazard recognition, self rescue, wading and swimming, basic and advanced rope rescue techniques, unpinning and extrication, entrapment rescues, and use of swiftwater rescue vests. The first day of the course is spent learning techniques on land; the second day is spent in the water, learning more techniques and practicing material learned on Saturday. Participants should be comfortable in class III water and be ready to spend lots of time in the water.

Instructor Incentives

The CCC offers financial incentives to those who support our education mission as Instructors and Safety Boaters.