ACA Rafting Instructor Certification Workshop

Join Instructor Trainer Candidate Kevin Terrell and Instructor Trainer Educator Elisha McArthur for these ACA Instructor Certification courses. ACA Instructors come from a variety of backgrounds with different goals but reach similar outcomes through the certification process. First, there are the bits of knowledge and experience shared by fellow candidates. By seeing things from another perspective, we can deepen our understanding of paddling and its associated skill sets. Second, the Instructor Trainers will provide a proven set of instructional best practices. These educational models will give you a framework that allows for the addition of your own creativity and personality. Third, ACA Instructors have access to a slew of benefits. Whether you want to run your own courses utilizing ACA insurance or get great equipment at unbeatable prices with exclusive pro-deals, being an ACA Instructor is for you!

The ACA L4 Whitewater Rafting Instructor Certification Workshop (ICW) – Paddle & Oar is for experienced individuals interested in becoming ACA-certified L3/L4 Instructors while refining the skills required to efficiently paddle and/or row a raft on rivers with class I-III rapids. This intensive 6-day course includes advanced river reading, safety considerations, and demonstration-quality paddling/rowing techniques as well as instructional methods used to help others gain those skills. Instructor candidates may choose to be a candidate for only paddle, only oar, or both certifications.

The American Canoe Association (ACA) L5 Advanced Whitewater Rafting Instructor Certification Exam (ICE) – Paddle & Oar is for current ACA L4 instructors interested in becoming L5 Instructors while refining the skills required to instruct and efficiently paddle and/or row a raft on rivers with class I-IV rapids. All candidates for this intensive 2-day course should possess and be able to demonstrate all skills and concepts listed on the Instructor Criteria and Sample Skills documents (see below). Instructor candidates may choose to be a candidate for only the paddle or oar certification.

Since 1999, Kevin Terrell has been an outdoor and experiential educator working throughout the United States for a variety of non-profits and outdoor schools. That career led him to West Virginia where he became a commercial rafting guide in 2009 and he has carried those skills abroad to New Zealand and Costa Rica in the last decade. His loves of whitewater and education have come together as an ACA L4 Raft Instructor Trainer Candidate, L5 Raft Instructor Candidate, and L4 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor as well as a River Operations Manager and trainer for ACE Adventure Resort.

After spending her childhood in a family of private boaters, Elisha McArthur realized a longtime dream and became a commercial rafting guide in 1999 in Taos, New Mexico. Since then, she has been a guide, head boatman, ski race mom, and a professional musician. Currently, she is the co-founder/owner of Canyon River Instruction in Salida, Colorado, with her husband where their mission is to make whitewater safer and more accessible for boaters through education, skill building and resource accessibility. She is an ACA L5 Raft Instructor Trainer Educator, L4 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor Trainer, L5 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor, and the ACA Raft Committee Chair.