Member Safety Engagement workshop runs again on 12 July

This is not about preaching how to be safe on the water, but rather about focusing on the steps of how to engage with new and inexperienced paddlers who may benefit from your experience and understanding of the local environment.

Talking of the new initiative, Pete Catterall, Canoe Wales Coaching & Development Manager, says:

"We’ve seen a significant rise in incidents and near misses over the past couple of years, particularly on the coast. We also know there is a considerable increase of people taking to the water for the first time and that they probably haven’t been involved in watersports before. Engaging with people to check they’re going to be ok can be challenging so we thought we would work with the RNLI to support our members in how best to do this."

The webinar utilises the AISDA influencing model, used by the RNLI in supporting its water safety volunteers and ambassadors, and will help you to have a well-structured conversation and provide tailored advice to that person’s needs. Pete, Alice and others will also use their experience to discuss any examples of how the group have engaged (or not engaged) with paddlers in the past and what they could have done differently.

Alice Beetlestone, RNLI Water Safety, says:

"We’ve found the AISDA model a really helpful way of providing our volunteers with a structured method in engaging with the public and supporting them to become safer on the sea. We know that Canoe Wales members are likely to be very experienced paddlers so supporting them to use their skills and experience effectively to save more lives is exactly what we at the RNLI are focused on. We look forward to sharing this information on the webinar and hope you can join us."

So, please don’t be left in a situation where you’re at the beach watching paddlers launch into a rip only to be carried out to sea and rescued by the RNLI or worse.

Please join us and help us keep the Welsh paddling community safe this summer.