Children Kayak & Canoe facts and ideas

Children Kayak & Canoe

Canoeing and kayaking have been around for thousands of years with most civilisations using some form of them. Canoeists and kayakers propel their craft facing forwards using paddles, whereas rowers and scullers go backwards.

The key difference between kayaks and canoes is that a kayak is propelled by a two bladed paddle while a canoeist’s paddle has just one blade. For this reason kayaks are often slim, solo vehicles while canoes may be wider and designed for a number of people.

Canoes and kayaks are some of the most versatile and diverse vehicles there are, being used on rivers, lakes and at sea. Furthermore the way they are used in competition varies incredibly. From 1000 mile cross country races or 200 metre sprints, from flat lakes to white water rafting - if your child learns to canoe or kayak they will find many exciting experiences available to them.

- Interesting facts
  - At London 2012 the winner of the Sprint Kayaking (Ed McKeever) covered 200 metres in 36.25 seconds. That’s over 5.5 metres per second!
  - The world’s oldest boat is the Pesse Canoe which was discovered in Holland. It is believed to be almost 10,000 years old!
  - ‘Kayak’ is Inuit for ‘Hunter’s boat’. First used by Eskimos in North America, kayaks were used for hunting seals.
  - In Operation Frankton during WW2, 13 British Commandoes kayaked to Bordeaux and destroyed 6 ships.
  - Scotsman Alexander Mackenzie was the first man to cross from the eastern shore of America to the West in 1793, doing most of the journey by canoe.
  - There are many different types of canoes and kayaks including sea, sprint, racing, marathon, hunting, creek and war!
  - The fastest crossing of the English Channel by a single canoe/kayak is 2 hr 28 min by Paul Wycherley in 2011.
- How to pick a kayak/canoe instructor for your child
  Key questions to ask the canoeing/kayaking instructor:
  - What equipment, if any, do you need to provide? For example helmets or buoyancy aids.
  - Do the lessons continue throughout the year or in bad weather? Canoeing and kayaking may be more dangerous depending on the conditions. If a lesson is to be cancelled will you be contacted?
  - How many other children will be in the lesson? How many adults will be supervising and/or teaching?
- National associations & clubs
  
  The British Canoe Union (BCU) is the lead body for canoeing and kayaking in the UK.
  
  The UK Rivers Guidebook is a river guide and forum.
  
  Canoe & Kayak UK is an online canoe magazine.
- Learnings from the activity
  - Balance
  - Coordination
  - Strength
  - Physical Fitness
  - Gross Motor Skills
  - Stamina
  As well as helping fitness, increasing metabolism and other general health benefits gained from any physical activity, canoeing and kayaking have specific benefits in other areas of health. The rhythmic paddling helps to develop core muscle and upper body strength as well as increasing co-ordination, balance and agility.
- Qualifications & exams
  Qualifications/grades – children
  
  A division of the British Canoe Union (BCU), Canoe England was set up to support the development of canoeing in England. The other Home Nation Associations are - Scotland (SCA), Wales (WCA) and Northern Ireland (CANI). The BCU is responsible for leading and setting the overall framework for the National Associations; representing canoeing interests such as coaching and competition at UK and international level.
  
  Paddlepower is an exciting scheme that has been designed to meet the needs of young people. It’s colourful and youth centred approach aims to encourage more young people to come into the sport, reward achievement, show them all aspects of the sport – both competitive and adventurous and provide signposts into Clubs where their skills and development can be nurtured. The scheme has recently been revised and now comprises of 5 Awards to support a young paddler’s introduction and progress in Paddlesport.
  
  Qualifications of tutors/coaches etc
  
  The new awards offer national accreditation by the BCU, the UKCC (UK Coaching Certificate), and the National Qualifications Framework. These are the current BCU Coaching Qualification courses.
  - BCU UKCC Level 1 (including Transfer)
  - BCU UKCC Level 2 (including Transfer)
  - BCU UKCC Level 3
  - Old BCU Level 2 Assessment (for those trained under the 'old' scheme)
  - Old BCU Level 3 Assessment (for those trained under the 'old' scheme)
  - 4 Star Leader Award
  - 5 Star Leader Award
  - Moderate Water Endorsement
  - Advanced Water Endorsement
  - BCU Level 5
  - Bell Boat Helm
- Famous people
  
  Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton (born 19 July 1983) paddled her way into the Guinness World Record books in 2010 while raising money for Sport Relief. She completed a 2,010 mile (3234.79 km) kayak along the Amazon which is the longest ever recorded journey by canoe or kayak.
- YouTube
  
  Daniel Cook tries canoeing! Very sweet film of a child learning the basics of canoeing.
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