Paddlesport terms & glossary

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Paddle UK / British Canoeing terms — awards, learning outcomes, Skills Cards

Paddlesport terms & glossary

In-app help: open Help → Paddlesport terms & glossary.

Plain-English definitions of the paddlesport terms used in this app, aligned with Paddle UK and the British Canoeing Awarding Body. Where an official term differs from the friendly label we show in the app, both are given. Menu names (Organisation, Org, Clubs, Your organisations): Words in the app.

Organisations & awards

Term Meaning
Paddle UK The National Governing Body for paddlesport in the UK (the participation identity formerly known as British Canoeing). Sets the framework for awards, coaching and safety.
British Canoeing Awarding Body (BCAB) The independent, Ofqual-regulated body that issues paddlesport qualifications and awards. It is the awarding body for Paddle UK and the home nations.
Paddle Awards The three entry-level awards for people getting started: Paddle Start (first time on the water), Paddle Discover (building independent skills and decision-making) and Paddle Explore (taking ownership of where you paddle next). Optional self-declared ticks under Awards I hold on Personal details; optional pathway tag on a session. They do not drive the map overlay or gate access to water.
Personal Performance Awards (PPAs) Discipline-specific awards (Canoe, Kayak, Sea Kayak, White Water, SUP, Surf) that recognise a paddler's learning. They replaced the old Star Awards in 2019 and are paddler-led. On Personal details → Awards I hold you can mark that you hold one — that is your declaration, not a certificate check, and it does not grant a leadership remit. Venues, water, and craft from completed sessions appear under Places and conditions on Profile (a snapshot). The full trip list and training sit under Log.
Coaching / Leadership qualifications BCAB awards that let someone coach or lead paddlers in defined craft and environments (for example a Paddlesport Instructor, Coach, or discipline Leader award). Tick them under Personal details → Leadership and coaching; each award has an Official award page, and you book training through your home-nation Delivery Centre (Paddles Up Training is England and international, not the only provider). The declared level on a session is the leader's own statement of their current qualification. Only these structured awards drive the map overlay. See Leadership remits and environments.
Operating environment BCAB classes: very sheltered, sheltered, moderate (inland / white water / sea / surf), advanced (same families), and artificial white-water courses.
Operating area A named polygon this organisation draws on the map (harbour, mill pond, touring stretch), tagged with an environment and shore coverage. On Organisation → Operating areas, the list and overview map sit first; Add is an accordion and you must draw at least three corners before saving.
Session envelope The operating area(s) the leader ticks for this session so shore duty can see where the group intends to stay. The Location map and the session overview show that polygon. Optional: a session may run outside those polygons; PaddleSafe warns and still lets you save. The leader may Suggest this stretch so duty can add it as club water after review.

Route & sea planning

Term Meaning
Launch (A) Optional map pin for where the group intends to put on. Use it for a real put-in or an A–B route. If you only tick an operating area, the overview shows that water. A usual launch set on the area appears as that slip, not leftover route text.
Take-out (B) Optional end pin for an A-to-B (or round-trip) route. For a circuit, set B on A and add waypoints.
Waypoint An intermediate map point (up to 8). Coordinates only — not a named landing, refuge, or decision point.
Planned route The dashed line A → waypoints → B that shore duty sees. Straight-line segments, not a paddling track and not a charted course. On a coastal session there are three named lines; the running one is drawn solid.
Route option One of three coastal plans (preferred, foul weather, get home — titles are yours). Each has its own title, a when to use note, and its own pins.
Coastal / estuary Session tick that shows OpenSeaMap sea marks (buoys and harbour aids), asks for three route options, and points 999 callers at the Coastguard. Not a substitute for proper charts.
Passage plan The leader’s sea plan: chart, tidal window, streams, forecast, landings, escapes, comms. Not an in-app object — record the outing in PaddleSafe; do the passage plan yourself. See Planning a sea kayak trip (A to B).

Learning & coaching

Term (app label) Meaning
Learning outcome (app: Planned learning outcomes, Learning outcomes) A "can do…" statement describing what a paddler is able to demonstrate — for example "Can paddle a reasonably straight course with occasional gentle turns." In BCAB documents these are the competency statements within an award. This app plans, logs and endorses these.
Competency statement The formal BCAB name for a single learning outcome (the wording our catalogue is drawn from).
Skills Card Teaching points, cues and drills for a stroke or skill (for example the Forward Paddling card). For paddlers these show as Practice points; for coaches as Coaching notes. A card describes how to work on an outcome; the outcome itself describes what the paddler can do. Cards are tagged by craft (Kayak / SUP / Canoe) and, as a teaching hint, by operating environment. Clubs may propose extra cards; core cards stay under Site administrator.
Group focus Learning outcomes a leader plans to cover with the whole group in a session.
My practice (leader practice) Learning outcomes a leader wants to work on for their own development while leading (kept private to the leader).
Coaching factors The four interacting elements British Canoeing coaches balance when developing a paddler: Personal, Technical, Tactical and Environmental.
Conscious-competence ladder Optional self-rating on a logged learning outcome, not a Paddle Award. UI you have not noticed this yet (or think you can and cannot); CI you know you cannot yet; CC you can if you think about it; UC it happens without thinking. Same colour for every letter — UC is not a pass. Skip the letter and the cell shows P. Full key: How to read a Profile cell.
P (practised) Logged practice on a learning outcome with no letter chosen.
Profile cell The stamp on one learning outcome: letter · date · optional endorsement ring · optional T / D. You rate outcomes, not Skills Cards.
Club programme A reusable club SOP night or CPD course: a set of learning outcomes plus local procedures. Logged under Add training / CPD; it stamps the same Profile and prints on the evidence pack. It is not a Paddle Award and not a remit.
Endorsement (the ring) When the session leader confirms a learning outcome a paddler has logged for a session they led. The letter inside the ring is still the paddler’s self-rating. The on-screen key’s ringed CC is an example cell, not a code called “CC Endorsed”.
T (teaching / assisting) Aspirant mark on a logged outcome: they helped deliver it. Not a higher grade and not a remit. The key’s CI T is an example of a CI cell that also has T.
D (delivered) Session leader mark: they completed a trip with this outcome on the group plan (revised on Wrap-up as Covered today if delivery changed). Last date shows when they last delivered it. Not a remit, not a Paddle Award, and not My practice. A small D beside a letter means they also have a self-rating.
Covered today Wrap-up ticks of group learning outcomes actually delivered, after Start and before Complete. Add extras you taught; untick what you skipped. My practice is unchanged. After Complete the list is frozen.
Coach pack Printable log of sessions you led (venue, water, headcount, duration, D outcomes, optional wrap-up reflection, first aid and safeguarding dates, and a Code of Conduct reminder with a signature line on the cover). Supporting evidence for coaching / mentoring records. Not CPD hours, not a Paddle Award, not a remit, and not a JustGo upload.
Claimed CPD points (Log) Total of points you typed on training entries that are still within each entry’s valid for (3 years unless you set 5 / 10 / 20, a date, or until you remove it). Code of Conduct BCAB eLearning often stays valid 20 years on JustGo. Counts until is derived from the course date plus valid-for. Optional scheme and points I need in 3 years on Personal details (self-picked, not inferred from awards). Due soon on Log / Personal details / account home if you are below target or a large chunk drops out within 90 days. Claimed in PaddleSafe, not registered on JustGo, not shown to duty, not emailed, and not a session launch gate. The CPD evidence pack is the printable detail.
First aid / safeguarding dates Optional completed and expiry dates on Personal details → First aid and safeguarding (a named step). Shown on Coach pack and CPD pack covers and as a glance on Organisation → Members (one club). Due soon or expired also appears as a chip on Home and account home. Organisation admins get a weekly digest (email + Organisation home) of members whose dates need attention; members are not emailed. Self-declaration, not CPD points, not a DBS register, and not a session launch gate.
Code of Conduct (pack cover) One-liner plus a signature space on the Coach pack and CPD evidence pack. Reminder only: the official record stays on Paddle UK / JustGo. PaddleSafe does not store a tick and does not gate sessions.
Committee hats Labels on Members for chair, co-chair, secretary, finance, safety officer, and welfare officer. Not privileged roles: grant Org admin or Org duty separately. Not on the live roster.

How outcomes, Skills Cards, and Profile cells relate

When planning a session, ticking a learning outcome surfaces the Skills Card(s) that help you coach it (matching the session trip craft by default), and they can be printed as a one-page session plan. Selecting an operating area highlights outcomes tagged for that water. Signed-in paddlers browse Paddler → Profile and You → Practice points. Coaching notes (Coverage, Shared, Propose, Pending, Programmes, and edit) are under Organisation, and on the Leader hat for coaches — see Skills and learning outcomes, including How to read a Profile cell.