Instructors

Why become a BSUPA Instructor?

Teaching any sport you need to have a professional and structured approach, for the safety of your students and you also need to be able to inspire and teach stand up paddle boarding to a high standard whether you want to be an independent SUP instructor or work within a SUP school.

BSUPA’s Instructor scheme is a teaching platform that combines core technical skills to teach stand up paddle boarding and inspire a new generation of stand up paddlers to take up the sport in a safe and fun manner.  The course will provide a recognised qualification to any individuals who wish to develop their careers by teaching stand up paddle boarding in the UK.

Interview on BSUPA level 2 course

Major Paul Gellender OBE and Simon Bassett

The BSUPA SUP Instructor courses

The courses are delivered over 1, 2 or 3 days depending on the type of course, weather conditions and group size.  Importantly over 50% of the course is practical to give hands-on experience of teaching . The course includes live teaching practice, boat operations and recovery, lectures and presentations on all areas of SUP.  Courses start at 09.30am on the first day.

The various courses cover flat water, paddle surfing, group safety, paddle technique, rescue techniques, the BSUPA teaching method and lesson plans. We cover safe falling methods; prone, kneel and standing and the safest way to start.  We cover tides, coaching in different locations, weather knowledge and effects. We also cover School safety management systems, session planning and cover basics of planning a distance paddle and basics of SUP surfing plus rescue techniques.

These courses include an in-depth BSUPA Manual and a BSUPA Instructor Certificate. If you don’t have a Powerboat Certificate you can now now qualify as a BSUPA Inland Instructor (with restrictions). All BSUPA courses are taught by experienced, knowledgeable and engaging trainers and are a mixture of classroom-based theory and water-based practical exercises. There will be a formal assessment at the end of this course. All these courses will give you the essential safety and rescue skills, technical knowledge, and it will equip you to teach your students with confidence.  From 2016 all Recognised BSUPA Schools are required to have a Level 2 Instructor.

These courses have been developed by joint head Coaches Simon Bassett and Andy Gratwick with a lot of input from Sam Ross, all of whom have extensive school experience over 40 years between them in the UK and abroad.

To apply for enrolment now:

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