Following the recent sentencing of a paddleboard business owner to 10 years and 6 months for gross negligence manslaughter of four people, it is crucial that we remind everyone of the lessons learned from the circumstances leading to this tragic and avoidable incident and the responsibilities we all have when deploying and leading others during paddling sessions.
The full lessons learnt document can be found here.
Planning and preparation: Thorough planning and preparation are essential for all activities. It is important to consider all aspects and document your decision-making processes whenever possible. This documentation can be crucial evidence should an incident occur, as your planning and preparation will invariably be scrutinised.
Equipment: Familiarity with current good practice and consistent application of this practice are vital. All equipment provided should comply with current guidance. Furthermore, it is necessary to check the compliance of any participant's own equipment before they engage in any activity you are running.
Training, experience, and qualification: The scope of each British Canoeing Awarding Body qualification and award is carefully constructed and regularly reviewed to help instructors, coaches, leaders, and deployers understand their areas of competence. It is imperative that every instructor, coach, and leader recognises that operating outside their assessed and certificated scope places them in a highly vulnerable position.
Public messaging and safety advice: The British Canoeing Awarding Body qualification matrices and environmental definitions documents clearly outline competence, relevant qualifications, experience, and the process for ensuring you are qualified for a specific role. A continuing challenge for the adventure activity sector is providing the general public with clear, consistent safety advice and the means to identify businesses, clubs, and individuals who are certified and competent to deliver training, tours, and expeditions.
We should all take pride in the fact that British Canoeing Awarding Body Qualifications and Awards are market leaders and adhere to a significantly higher level of regulation. It is important that we collectively promote this to the public, empowering them to make informed and sensible decisions regarding paddlesport instruction and coaching.
The full Marine Accident Investigation Branch report can be found here
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