British Canoeing Leadership Awards Assessments

The British Canoeing Awarding Body Leadership Awards are built around the British Canoeing educational philosophy. They are designed to empower leaders to run safe, enjoyable, high‑quality trips that respond to the needs, abilities, and aspirations of their groups.

What’s New?

The updated awards introduce a number of exciting developments:

• Direct access to the environment you want to lead in
• No formal British Canoeing leadership training requirements
• Direct entry to assessment available
• Single‑day assessments for greater flexibility, reducing both time and cost
• New disciplines: Paddlesport Leader and paddlesport touring leader single discipline awards
• Canoe Leadership now split into Open Water and White Water pathways

A New Approach to Assessment

With these changes comes a fresh approach to how Leadership Award Assessments are delivered. You now take ownership of your assessment experience—your venue, your group, your trip. We’re here to support you, but the assessment is shaped around your real‑world leadership.

How Does It Work?
When you’re ready to be assessed, and where our availability allows, you simply tell us your preferred date. You choose the venue (within the upper end of the award remit) and organise an appropriate group to lead. The paddlers should be operating at a level where they genuinely require leadership in that environment. If you need help sourcing a suitable group, we can support you.

Before the assessment, we’ll arrange a Zoom conversation to talk through your plans and offer guidance where needed. You’ll also receive a detailed preparation checklist to help you feel organised and confident. Following this guidance creates a smooth, stress‑free pathway to assessment day.

On the day itself, we’ll meet at your chosen venue and you’ll deliver your trip as planned. We’ll observe your leadership, ask the occasional question, and—if it hasn’t occurred naturally—we may ask to see rescues and some personal paddling skills.

Throughout the entire process, you can expect a fair, supportive, and professional assessment experience.