Price: $1350 + gst
Dates: April 5 -9th, 2022
Level: River 1 & 2 Instructor or River 1 & 2 Skills if you are not going for your instructor level.
Instructors: Norm Hann, Neil Gilson, Chad Guenter
Location: Cowichan River, Vancouver Island
Prerequisites
- At least 18 years of age
- Current Paddle Canada membership and provincial or territorial
- Paddle Canada River 1 and River 2 Skills Course & Flatwater Instructor if you are going for your River 1 or 2 Instructor or Advanced Flatwater Skills and experience if your goal is River 1 and or River 2 Skills certification.
- Current 14-16 hour First Aid Course
- Swiftwater Rescue 1 Course if your goal is River 1 or 2 Instructor (this can also be obtained later in the season if you do not have it prior to the course)
Costs Include the Following:
- 3 Paddle Canada Instructor Trainers for eight clients.
- Paddle Canada Certification: If successful, participants can achieve their Paddle Canada River 1 or 2 Instructor or River 1 and 2 Skills
Price Does Not Include the Following
- Accommodations
- Travel to and from Vancouver Island
- Food
- River Board and Drysuit rentals. NHE will not have river sup/drysuit rentals available for this course so make sure you have what you need before arriving.
What to Bring
- Inflatable river specific paddleboard.
- Adjustable paddle ( no carbon)
- Safety/River Rescue PFD TYPE III or V or Jacket PFD with rescue belt.
- Helmut
- Throwbag
- Drysuit or wetsuit (drysuit rentals available)
- River appropriate shoes. (NRS, Astral, MEC)
- lunch, water, snacks
- phone and waterproof case
- pen and notepad
- Dry bag for day trips
- River Rescue safety equipment.
Cancellations
Read about our cancellation policy here. Please email explore@normhann.com if you need to cancel at any time.
Space is limited in training courses and your spot is not guaranteed until we have received full payment.
A Five Day River Training Camp on Vancouver Island.
The goal for our SOAR River Camp is to provide an immersive river sup training week for those looking to become River 1 or 2 Instructors with goals of instructing or leading others on river tours. This week is also designed if you are looking to build your river paddling experience with the end goal of getting your River 1 and 2 Skills under Paddle Canada. Our camp is hosted by industry leading instructors and coaches with a focus on safety, building technical river paddling skills, and increasing self and group leadership skills while gaining valuable paddling experience under the instruction and coaching of the team. This is a Paddle Canada certified SUP River 1 & 2 Instructor course and River 1 and 2 Skills Course.
In greater detail our course includes self and group river rescue and safety skills, decision making, and river hazard analysis in moving water. From there we transition to building technical river sup skills as we work on ferries, eddy turns, surfing and those skills required to control yourself while river running.
This years course is based on the Cowichan River, a beautiful river on central Vancouver Island and a perfect class 2/3 river to learn on. Our team is excited to work with you to accomplish your goals during our week of living the river life!
Tour Reviews
I believe the highest form of reverence you can give a river – aside from stewardship – is to educate yourself and learn as much as you can from the experts. The SOAR River Camp is an incredible opportunity to do just that. Norm and Chad are TOP level instructors and they deliver an OUTSTANDING camp. After 5 full days of SUP river skills, river safety and rescue and leadership training I now have the confidence to make safe and wise choices – within my capabilities – as I begin to explore river paddling. I’ll never look at a river the same (or a deck for that matter) – without question one of the best experiences of my life. I had an absolute blast!!
Jodee Meyers
Absolutely gem of a week! If your goal is to start river paddling, then this camp is the perfect entry point. From safety, river dynamics, gear, rescue scenarios to technical skills, Chad and Norm methodologically introduces students to dynamic river environments. It is also tons of fun to share the stoke with like minded paddlers for a week… Even if you do not plan to paddle rivers (you will likely change you mind after experiencing river paddling), the skills you learn are extremely transferable to other sup disciplines (surf, ocean, flat water, etc.).
Basically, if you love paddling, you must take this course.
Just spent the last week on the 5 day SOAR River SUP course with Norm Hann and his amazing group of instructors. This course was set in the mountain backdrop of Canmore Alberta, home to world class rivers and views! This course is a must do for those that want to explore rivers on stand up paddle boards and do so in a safe and confident way. The instructors challenged, mentored and inspired all of us in the art of navigating rivers on SUPs. This course provided a safe place for all students to learn, dig deep, and be supported in the the mental perseverance to keep getting back up until we all had those “aha moments’ where the pieces came together. The energy and passion from the instructors was inspiring and it has fuelled me to keep learning and exploring rivers. I can’t wait for this course again next year to keep building on my river skills. Highly recommended for all paddlers looking for a new challenge.
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