Developing your Paddlesport Skills and Knowledge

There comes a point when you want to push your paddleboarding, kayaking or canoeing a little further but feel your skills and knowledge aren’t quite up to it. Maybe you want to explore beyond the bay but aren’t sure about currents and tides. Perhaps you want to take on some rougher water but aren’t confident capsizing or getting back on your board. So, how do you develop your skills and understanding to take your paddling to the next level? Here are some options to get an ‘upskill’ and raise your paddlesport game. 

Join a paddlesport club

Clubs are the perfect way to gain paddling friends, access training sessions and join paddling trips. They are made up of club members and offer regular, organised paddlesport activities. Although they are often called ‘canoe’ clubs they are not just for canoes! Most clubs offer kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding on rivers, lakes, canals and the sea (if they’re close enough to the coast!). This means they usually have a range of paddlecraft and equipment that you can borrow or hire, which saves you having to buy everything at once. They usually run regular training sessions and trips, so you can tap into their wealth of knowledge and experience to develop your paddling. Some of them even have access to indoor pools so you can train in the warmth during the cold, winter months. Clubs are run by paddlers for paddlers, and offer a sociable and supportive paddling environment. Well worth the annual membership fee!

You can find your nearest paddlesport club here.

Book on a paddlesport training course

If you want to focus on a specific aspect, maybe improve your paddling technique, get some safety skills or learn more about tidal waters, then a training course could be perfect for you. But how do you find the right one? Well, we’d highly recommend a British Canoeing Awarding Body course – British Canoeing Awarding Body is the UK’s only recognised Awarding Body for paddlesport qualifications and awards. What this means is their courses are regulated and offer high-quality learning. They have courses for all paddlecraft and all environments, so you should be able to find the right course for you. (British Canoeing are the umbrella organisation for the home nations, so if you live in Wales then you can look for a course through Canoe Wales.) A list of the relevant British Canoeing courses is at the end of this article or for details of some of their introductory courses click here .

Hire a paddlesport coach

If you’d prefer a totally tailor-made experience, maybe just for yourself or with a group of friends, then you could hire a paddlesport coach to run a bespoke session for you. Basically, you design your own course – so it should match your needs perfectly! As for finding the right coach … we’d recommend a British Canoeing accredited coach, course provider or delivery partner. If you look for British Canoeing (or Canoe Wales) endorsement you know the coach, provider or centre is suitably qualified and will provide a quality learning experience. They might even be able to run the course at your preferred paddling location, which could provide an opportunity to venture onto new waters, or they could run the session as part of a guided trip, so you get to paddle, learn and explore!

You can find your nearest British Canoeing accredited coach/provider here.

Access online learning resources

Paddlesport might be a practical sport, however, there is quite a lot of theory behind it and there are plenty of online learning resources you can tap into. Not wanting to repeat ourselves but British Canoeing have an extensive digital library of resources that include a wide range of topics for all paddlecraft, covering equipment, technique, safety and rescue. If you’re new to paddlesport this is a solid introduction to the basics. If you’re looking to improve your sea paddling and understanding of tidal waters, Online Sea Kayaking (OSK) offer an excellent range of online courses (and if you’re a Canoe Wales member you get a discounted rate!).

British Canoeing Digital Library

Online Sea Kayaking (OSK)

Join a Facebook group

There are some great paddlesport groups on Facebook, who organise trips, training sessions and socials, and offer general paddling chat, advice and encouragement. This can be an easy way to meet other paddlers and get the support of a paddling group. If whitewater is your thing then check out the Slightly White Water Kayaking group. Into open boats, try the Open Canoe Association. Female paddler; ShePaddlesCymru is the group for you. Passionate about paddleboarding; All Wales SUP Paddle Boarders is the place to start. For salty sea kayakers check out Sea Kayak UK. Just have a little search for what you want, and don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to the group!

British Canoeing courses:

Paddle Safer (2 hours – all paddlecraft)

Paddle Discover and Paddle Explorer awards (1–2 days – all paddlecraft)

SUP Safer (4 hours – paddleboards)

SUP Sheltered Water award (1–2 days – paddleboards)

Touring award (2– 3 days – all paddlecraft)

Sea Kayak Award (2–3 days – sit-on-tops or closed-cockpit kayaks)

Coastal Sea Kayak Award (2– 3 days – sit-on-tops or closed-cockpit kayaks)

Coastal Navigation and Tidal Planning Training (8 hours – for all paddlecraft, can be online or on the water)

To find out about courses in Wales visit the Canoe Wales website or contact the Coaching and Development team through admin@canoewales.com