Self Managed Groups
Run your own event with our equipment
We can can provide the facilities and equipment for you to run your own group and so develop team leadership skills and reduce the cost of your activities.
Get trained and manage your own group
If you are a qualified instructor and wish to lead your own activities with your group or School then we require you to attend a Leader training and update course and local assessment, then you can start to run your own activities from CST. This arrangement suits some schools and many of our Scout clients as they can then deliver sessions at a lower per head cost than us supplying instructors to lead activities for them.
Prospective Instructors can also access specific training courses run by the Trust to get youth leaders and schoolteachers qualified to start running their own sessions.
Go to our courses page to find out more about the range of courses we offer.
Pricing
- Self Managed Group – 4 hours without wetsuits £9 per person
- Self Managed Group – 4 hours with wetsuits £11 per person
Wetsuits are a personal preference.
Health and Safety
Paddlesport activities have variable risk of falling into the water, which is why wetsuits are mandatory October to March, outside of these months, we consider the water temperature and activity planned and if deemed a bit on the cold side can provide wetsuits. You are of course welcome to bring your own wetsuit, or one can be provided.
Normal recommended attire is a sports top like a football shirt and nylon or polyester shorts, cotton trackies and hooded tops are inappropriate and become very heavy when wet impeding your ability to swim. Water shoes are a site requirement and if you don’t have these, old trainers suffice. Full joining instructions can be downloaded from the Useful Info area.
If you are attending for more than one activity (4 hour or an all day visit) you should consider multiple changes of clothing which will ensure you have something dry to change in to, should the need arise.
CST is an AALA approved Paddlesport provider, this means our processes and methods of delivery have been assessed by the Health and Safety executive to provide you an assurance that we know what we are doing. All activity is delegated by L3 Coaches to L1 qualified Paddlesport Instructors who have been assessed to lead and supervise paddlesport activities on inland waters such as lakes and canals.
All instructors have safety and rescue training, maintain their first aid qualifications and have undergone safeguarding training.
The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) came into existence in April 1996. The Health and Safety Executive is currently designated as the AALA.
Adventure activities licensing ensures that activity providers follow good safety management practices.
These should allow young people to experience exciting and stimulating activities outdoors without being exposed to avoidable risks of death or disabling injury.
There are four broad groups of activities that are covered by licensing that include Caving, Climbing, Trekking and Watersports, watercraft specifically deployed by the Canoe Sports Trust include:
- Canoes, kayaks and stand up paddle boards propelled by paddles.
- Rafts which are improvised from various materials.
The most familiar watersports activities include canoeing, kayaking, dragon boating, wave skiing, white-water rafting, improvised rafting, sailing, sailboarding and windsurfing. For any of these activities to be licensable, they need to be done on ‘specified water’ – this is the sea, tidal waters (eg estuaries), inland waters more than 50 metres from the nearest land excluding any island or on turbulent inland waters.
You can be assured that any organisation in possession of an AALA licence certificate has been checked to ensure their equipment, processes and allocation of instructors to different activities adhere to government recommended guidelines.
Canoe Sports Trust acknowledges that the activities offered contain a degree of inherent risk and whilst the processes within this document endeavour to ensure that all reasonable and practicable steps are taken to ensure all significant and likely risks are managed / reduced effectively it is impossible to eliminate risk entirely.
We are Insured with Activities Industry Mutual who provide cover tailored specifically for the needs of adventure activity and outdoor education providers including those offering a range of activities including water sports.
