This week’s discussion point from me is about paddling-related qualifications, training and awards. There’s a whole host of theoretical and technical training out there that we can choose to undertake to develop and progress our skills and knowledge and build on and towards our paddling experiences, in whatever we paddle, wherever we paddle. Since 2020, the year of COVID-19, much of this, where possible, moved online and opened up a whole new world to the masses of learning and studying from the comforts of our own homes.

So…

In the regular world:

What’s been your most enjoyable learning experience and why? Was it the course content, who you were with, where you were, what you were doing or perhaps some other factors? What did you gain from it and where did it lead you? Did you accomplish something you thought you would never be able to do or, conversely, did you try to tackle something a touch out of your reach? What were the outcomes?

What qualifications, training or awards are you hoping to undertake once regular life resumes?

In the current world:

What kinds of courses, tutorials, webinars or the like have you taken part in? What kind of experiences have you had and has anything surprised you in hindsight? Do you feel that the online learning experience is right for you or perhaps offers no substitute for in person training? What benefits, if any have you found compared to the traditional experience?

What kind of learning are you hoping to undertake for the remainder of our national lockdowns?Are you a coach, leader, instructor or guide who has had to develop creative new ways to bring learning to your audiences during the lockdowns? What’s been your experience? Have you found any issues, difficulties or limitations throughout the process or have you perhaps found a niche, unexpected gains, new skills and new opportunities or avenues for yourself?