ACA Safety & Rescue Courses

Classroom Session on the Hoback River

ACA Level 4: Swiftwater Rescue - 2 Day Course

This course will be following the American Canoe Association (ACA) curriculum and will be taught by ACA-certified instructors. This is a boat-based Swiftwater course, based on the assumption that you are in a backcountry setting and have access to limited resources. For specific questions on the course curriculum, you can use the following link to the ACA website for the course outline.

Students will receive a card certifying that they have attended an ACA Swiftwater rescue course.

Equipment: Students will be expected to provide their own PFD (type 3 or 5), whitewater helmet, protective clothing suitable for swimming in cold water (Drysuits or a combination drytop/wetsuit combination are recommended), appropriate river footwear, throw rope, knife, whistle, 15+ feet 1-inch tubular webbing, 2 locking carabineers, 2 pulleys and 2 prusik loops.

Please make arrangements in advance if you will need to rent gear.

If the course overbooks it may be possible for us to schedule an additional course. Please contact Rendezvous River Sports (307-733-2471) for more information about booking a separate course.

50% off dry suit rentals for our SWR Courses

2024 Dates SWR Courses are full days 8 - 6
May 6-7, 11-12  $350(Gear & Meals not included)
June 1-2 $350(Gear & Meals not included)
July 6-7 $350(Gear & Meals not included)
August 3-4 $350(Gear & Meals not included)

ACA Level 5: Swiftwater Rescue Instructors Course - 5 Day Course

This 44-hour course is focused on the latest technical knowledge, terminology, teaching skills, rescue skills, and safety awareness in a Swiftwater environment. This course helps you work on personal and interpersonal development and pushes you to build skills and knowledge through peer feedback, video analysis, and lectures. We combine practical on-water demonstrations and presentations with real-world scenarios that will equip you to deal with teaching this multifaceted sport as a professional. This course sets the industry standard for instruction in paddle sports.

The ACA instructor certification process is broken up into two core components: the Instructor Development Workshop (IDW), and Instructor Certification Exam (ICE). The IDW presents students with the skills and knowledge that are required to become an instructor. The ICE is an opportunity for each candidate to demonstrate his/her proficiency in the presentation (logical progression) and demonstration (proper modeling) of the skills, knowledge necessary for certification.

Scouting A rapid

This Course Will Cover...

Classroom session with a raft

To Be Certified You Must...

  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Be or become a member of the ACA
  • Become a member of the Safety, Education, and Instruction (SEI) Committee
  • Successfully complete the course (requires: attendance at every session and completed homework, quizzes, and tests)

Course Completion 

Just because you have paid your class fees and attended the class, does not mean you are guaranteed certification. Each candidate must show competency in technical knowledge, paddling skills, teaching skills, safety awareness, and necessary interpersonal skills at the desired level of certification to achieve certification. On average only about 25% of students achieve the whitewater certification, often because this course is many kayaker's first exposures to formal instruction.

ACA Level 5: Swiftwater Rescue Instructors Course - this is a 5-day custom course done for groups on request.

 

Swiftwater Rescue custom courses are available on any date. Contact us for more details.

If you have any questions you can call (307)733-2471 or write [email protected]

Jackson Hole Kayak School is a permittee of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and an equal opportunity provider

 

Rendezvous River Sports is BEST CERTIFIED for our four decades of commitment to  Stewardship of our natural world and environmental Sustainability.

 

Click the links below to find out how you can make a difference.

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