Keynote Speaker: Matt Hern
Matt lives and works in East Vancouver where he directs the Purple Thistle Centre (purplethistle.ca) and co-founded the Car-Free Commercial Drive Festival (commercialdrivefestival.org).
His writing has been published on all six continents, translated into
nine languages and he continues to lecture widely. He holds a PhD in
Urban Studies and teaches at SFU and UBC. See mightymatthern.com for more.
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Matt Hern
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Keynote Speaker: Nevin Harper
Dr. Nevin Harper is a researcher and instructor in the School of Child
and Youthcare at the University of Victoria. His work focuses on the
role of nature, wilderness, and outdoor activity in human growth and
development. With a background in leading educational and therapeutic
wilderness programs for adolescents, Nevin's research intends to
further explore and articulate what may be the most simplistic and
cost-effective medium for preventing personal, community-based, and
global issues-restoring our relationship with the natural world. Nevin
is a canoe instructor across lake, river, tripping and ocean
disciplines with RCABC and Paddle Canada. He lives in Victoria, BC with
his wife and two kids at the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Clubhouse. |
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Doug Alderson
A leader at the national level, Doug has been a contributing member of
Paddle Canada since the inception of the national sea kayaking program.
He currently serves as the western Canadian representative on the Sea
Kayak Program Development Committee. As a Senior Instructor Trainer
Doug is responsible for training paddlers and certifying instructors at
all levels from sea to sea to sea. Doug is also a BCU certified senior
Instructor and the author of four books. Sea Kayak Strokes: A Guide to
Efficient Paddling Skills, Rocky Mountain Books. Victoria May 2007. Sea
Kayak Around Vancouver Island, Heritage House & Rocky Mountain
Guidebooks. Victoria BC. Mar 2004, Sea Kayaker Magazine's Handbook of
Safety & Rescue, Ragged Mountain Press/McGraw-Hill, Camden Maine.
Mar 2003, and Sea Kayaker's Savvy Paddler, Ragged Mountain
Press/McGraw-Hill, Camden Maine. Mar 2001. |
Doug Alderson
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Gary Allan
Bio coming soon.
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Gary Doran
Gary is the director of sea kayak programming at Ocean River Sports, in
Victoria, BC. He has been a sea kayak instructor and guide since 1996,
and has paddled in the Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver Island, Baja,
and the Great Lakes. He is a Sea Kayaking Level-2 Instructor Trainer
and Level-4 paddler with Paddle Canada, and a Level 3 Guide with
SKGABC. Gary also holds bachelor degrees in education and environmental
science. |
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James Dunderdale
A water child since birth, James has been guiding and
instructing on water and snow for nearly a decade. With a passion for the mountains and the sea
he feels there is no better place then B.C. and now calls Deep Cove in North Vancouver
his home. Directing an ocean kayak
school and an aboriginal tour company for the last couple years has kept him
very busy, however, when there is even the slightest lull at work James is off
chasing adventure surf kayaking or ski mountaineering. Being a leader in this industry means a lot
to James, and he is most proud that with the help of other great leaders,
thousands of new paddlers safely enter our industry each year.
Leading a session on decision-making, James will be
using a recently created Go/No Go reference model with intentions of gaining
feed back from participants.
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James Dunderdale
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Meaghan Hennessey
Meaghan has been teaching kayaking in the Pacific North West for the
past 8 years. She currently works with the Ecomarine Ocean Kayaking
Centre and SKILS (Sea Kayak Instruction and Leadership Systems),
training and certifying kayaking instructors and recreational paddlers,
primarily in BC. Meaghan is a Paddle Canada Level Two Instructor, Level
One Instructor Trainer and was one of the first women certified with
Level Four Skills. When not on the water Meaghan spends her time
perusing a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management and
thoroughly enjoys applying what she discovers in her studies to the
paddling world.
Abstract of presentation:
"Participate in an interactive quantitative analysis of your teaching
style.The goal of this session is to discover something about yourself
and to improve understanding among paddle sport instructors as to why
we do the things we do. This session will be divided into two time
slots. In the first time slot each participant will be asked to
participate in a survey to anonymously illustrate their teaching
style. In the second session, results of the surveys will be presented
and analyzed. This session is sure to teach you something about
yourself, and to spark some interesting conversation."
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Meaghan Hennessey
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Wayne Horodowich
Bio coming soon.
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David H. Johnston
Living in Toronto, David has been paddling
around on in some type of boat or another for 20 years. When he was young, he
had dreams of becoming a paddleboat instructor but upon discovering that there
wasn't much of a market for it, he looked into kayaking which ended up being
much more interesting.
Teaching all over Ontario for the past 8
years, David is currently a Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Level 1 Instructor Trainer
and Level 3 instructor.
He also created and maintains the website,
PaddlingInstructor.com which is the internets largest resource and industry
news site specifically for canoe and kayak instructors.
When not on the water, David owns the web
design company, Swim River Designs which specialities in building effective
websites for the outdoor industry.
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David H. Johnston
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David Lecovin
Bio coming soon.
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David Leach
Formerly the managing editor of explore: Canada's Outdoor Magazine and
now an assistant professor of writing at the University of Victoria,
David Leach has a long and passionate interest in wilderness travel,
outdoor sports and adventure writing. Magazine assignments for a
variety of national and international publications have led him to
kayak through polar-bear country; mountain bike across the Andes of
Peru, Bolivia and Chile; compete (badly) at the TransRockies Challenge
bike race and the Canadian Ski Marathon; and profile many of Canada's
top explorers and adventurers. |
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JF Marleau
JF has taught kayaking and guiding expeditions across Canada since
1998. He is a certified Full Guide Level 4 and Guide Trainer, as well
as vice-president, of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC (SKGABC). He
is a certified instructor and has a Level 4 Skills certificate with
Paddle Canada. When JF is not kayaking, he runs SKILS, works as a Human
Resource Management Consultant and develops innovative products to
enhance the outdoor recreational experience. JF also owns and operates
PRIA (Pacific Rim Informative Adventures). JF holds many diplomas,
including a Master's degree in Industrial Relations and a Bachelor of
Art degree in Political Science from Laval University. Among his many
attributes JF is also the author of the book: "Kayaking the Broken
Group Islands. The Essential Guidebook". If you have never met JF
before, it is easy to pick him out of the crowd as his strong French
accent cannot hide him for long.
Abstract of presentation:
Equivalency between Paddle Canada and the
SKGABC
Equivalency between Paddle Canada
and the SKGABC will allow Paddle Canada instructors with considerable skill and
experience to enter the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia (SKGABC) certification scheme (and vice versa) at the
appropriate level, rather than attending a repetitive training course. This
presentation will demystify and simplified this process as well as focus on challenges
and benefits for professionals of the sea kayak industry. The SKGABC is the most important professional
association of sea kayak guides and wishes to expend internationally. Paddle Canada is the
most important paddle sport certification body for recreational kayakers and
instructors.
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JF Marleau
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Chris Mitchell
Bio coming soon.
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Erik Ogaard
Erik is forever drawn to the water and is truly in his element
when paddling. He is equally passionate about sharing the paddling
experience through instruction, guiding, and community involvement.
Instructing since 1996, the majority of Erik's experience comes from
paddling in unsalted Ontario waters. When on land, you can find him
fixing friends boats or painting homes in and around the Toronto area.
Erik has a keen interest in fitness and technical paddling skills, as
well as open rough-water kayak play. Current certifications include:
WFR, Paddle Canada Level I Instructor Trainer, Paddle Canada Level 3
Instructor, ORCKA Canoe Tripping II Instructor, ORCKA Basic
CanoeInstructor Trainer, BCU Four Star and Three Star Sea Kayak Coach.
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Erik Ogaard
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Michael Pardy
Michael is the past president of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC.
He is also a Lead Guide, Guide Trainer, and Examiner with the SKGABC.
He is a Senior Instructor Trainer with Paddle Canada. Guiding and
instructing paddlesports for over 24 years, Michael also has extensive
retail and business experience in paddle sports. He coauthored the 2002
Handbook of Sea Kayak Safety and Rescue, published by Ragged Mountain
Press, and writes a column for Adventure Touring Kayak Magazine.
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Michael Pardy
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David Segal
For over 10 years, Dave has been facilitating outdoor adventure programs for youth, adults and families. Most recently, he has been coordinating Power To Be Adventure Therapy Society's Adaptive Recreation Program. The goal
of this program is to provide inclusive outdoor recreation opportunities for people living with physical and cognitive disabilities and their families. He is also currently completing an MA in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis
on Adventure Therapy.
Abstract of presentation:
For those seeking an experiential method in which to explore the
beautiful bodies of water surrounding many west coast cities, sea kayaking
continues to be a popular choice. However, there still remains many barriers
preventing people who have disabilities, despite their desire, from accessing such recreational opportunities. This presentation will provide an overview of
how Power To Be's Adaptive Recreation Program is attempting to provide
accessible sea kayaking programs. More specifically, an abilities focused model of instruction and assessment will be presented, with specific examples of adaptive equipment, adaptive lesson planning, and Risk Management considerations.
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David Segal
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Bryan Smith
Bryan Smith has been
paddling across North America and the world
for the past 7 years. Dedicated to both sea
and whitewater kayaking his accomplishments
represent a well-rounded, inspired approach
to the sport. In 2003 he was a member of the
team that completed the first descent of the
Lohit River in Arunachal, India. The team
paddled over 100 miles of the large volume,
Class 4/5 Lohit in the eastern Himalaya's
entirely self-supported in just 6 days! On
the sea he has ventured into some of the
world's biggest tidal races and paddled all
over the pacific northwest coast. He holds
the BCU 5 star Sea, Coach Level 4 Sea, Coach
Level 3 River awards and helped created the
highly successful kayak school Body Boat
Blade International. Currently Bryan resides
in Squamish British Columbia with no
shortage of world class paddling
destinations at his doorstep.
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Bryan Smith
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