White Water SUP Proficiency Award

Your Stand Up Paddleboard White Water Award will progress your skills on a SUP and introduce the skills required to have an enjoyable and safe day out on white water. This will be on rivers up to grade 2.

When heading out onto the river you will need to make some key decisions to ensure we paddle at the right place at the right time. You will consider the grade of the river, the weather and water levels to help you make your decision. These will also influence the kit you choose to wear and take with you. You will need to ensure that you choose a suitable leash with an appropriate release mechanism.

SUP white water paddling is dynamic and takes place in an ever-changing environment. This award will give you the skills you need to steer your craft proactively around the river. You will learn how to maintain control of your body alignment whilst dealing with height changes. As well as being able to drive and control the SUP. The key skills for white water paddling a SUP in grade 2 are:

Nose Drive

Crossing Flow

Maintaining Direction

Changing Direction

Running the River

You will also learn how to deal with any mishaps that may occur. This includes how to safely remount your SUP board or to help another paddler onto theirs. As well as rescuing a paddler that has become unconscious.

At the end of the session, you and your Coach will review. You will determine what went well and what needs to be improved.

Each day we spend SUP paddling we further expand our skills and knowledge. In SUP, steady, gradual development is encouraged, creating a more enjoyable experience on the water. With no two experiences ever the same, we never stop learning. Continually evaluating the choices we make creates a natural evolution of decision making and skills.

We are proud to recommend local accommodation options within the area for people when you are up for your SUP white water personal performance proficiency award:

Aviemore:

Youth Hostel A budget friendly option for people.

Coylumbridge Hotel Aviemroe – good for groups and families alike.

Premier Inn – always a good shout.

Rothiemurchus Campsite – situated in the stunning forest, this is a beautiful budget friendly option.

Glenmore Campsite – situated at Scotland’s highest beach, Loch Morlich has phenomenal views across to Cairngorm Mountain.

Newtonmore & Surrounding Areas:

https://www.wherestagsroar.co.uk/ award winning accommodation in the Highlands – perfect to stay at while up on an outdoor adventure.

Invernahavon Caravan Park – a bit quieter than the others as it is a little further away from the hustle and bustle of Aviemore.

Dalraddy Holiday Park – a family and dog friendly campsite.

Becoming a SUP white water personal performance proficiency award can be a rewarding and fulfilling choice for a number of reasons. Here are a few:

1. To further your own skills in white water of grade 2.
2. To meet likeminded paddlers.
3. To get a skills check with regards to your ability, certification and also a clear action plan about what you need to develop to look at moving into grade 3 white water.

We pride ourselves on providing as much kit as possible for you.  However, the list below is what we recommend you should bring to your SUP white water personal performance proficiency award:

• Something to go underneath a wetsuit – swimwear or a spare pair of underwear. (We do provide swimshorts to wear over the top of the wetsuit for greater style and modesty.)
• Travel insurance. (We are insured for all our trips, but we recommend everyone has their own travel insurance as well.)
• Transportation to the venue. (We may be able to help with this though – if you need transportation please drop us an enquiry and we can see what we can do to help.)
• Lunch, water.
• Personal medication
• Everything that you wish to bring kit wise as most people prefer to use their own personal paddlesports kit.

Here at Highland Outdoor Adventures, we pride ourselves on providing as much as we can but you are welcome to bring your own equipment if you do prefer. The list below is what we provide you with on the day.

It is expected normally when sitting awards like this people would come with at least their own personal equipment but we appreciate this is a personal performance award and not everyone may have things yet so we can still supply equipment if needed. We do find that people prefer to use their own.

• Hala SUP’s – the worlds best white water SUPs, perfect for this SUP white water personal performance proficiency award
• Paddles
• Wetsuits – if you need
• Buoyancy aids – if you need
• Helmets – if you need
• Neoprene wetsuit boots – if you need
• Swimshorts to go over the top of wetsuits – if you need
• All instruction & administration fees included.
• All first aid and safety equipment.
• Photographs of the day provided for you at no extra cost! If the weather is good we will have a DSLR professional camera  so we can take photos and videos of your adventure and you can look back at the day for years to come. If the weather is less favourable we will bring a GoPro (as it is waterproof) so we will still be able to take photos for you.