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Level 1 SUP Instructor Online (NZ)

5.00
(5)
Instructor Image NZSUP Education
28 Lessons
2 years
13 Students
$300.00
orLogin
$300.00
orLogin
Course Details

Level 1 SUP Instructor Online (NZ)

Instructor Image NZSUP Education
28 Lessons
3 Tests
Certificate
5.00
(5)
13 Students
2 years
Current Status
Not Enrolled
Price
300.00
Get Started
orLogin

This is the all-online course for the would-be instructor in New Zealand(*) looking to offer basic how-to SUP beginner lessons or an entry-level SUP experience in a safe, non-challenging environment. The course covers everything you need to know in order to operate on a commercial basis and/or with school groups, youth groups, EOTC programmes etc. Check out the reviews of this and the other Level 1 courses here.

This is the completely online version of the Level 1 course, as opposed to the online plus practical assessment method of achieving the qualification. Instead of the practical assessment, with this course you will have to submit assignments and complete a test, but the entire process can be completed from your own location – you do not have to attend any training or assessment sessions. However, you will need access to paddleboard equipment, and the assistance of at least two other people, one to film you and the other (ideally two or three) to be your ‘students’ in your assignment videos. At least one of these will need a paddleboard and paddle also.

To complete the registration process for the L1 SUP Instructor qualification, candidates will also be required to upload a copy of a current First Aid qualification, of at least NZQA 6401, 6402 level, and complete the SUP Rescue course. 

You may be wondering whether an online-only course can be a valid way to complete an instructor course. Rest assured, it is no easy shortcut to a qualification! Check out our FAQ pages for much more information on this.

To see the various other ways of taking the Level 1 course check the course page here.

(*) Note – if you are not intending to teach paddleboarding in New Zealand then the legal requirements in your area will be different. Click here for the all-online course for instructors outside of New Zealand.

The online learning lessons in this course cover the theory, safety understanding and background knowledge to operate safe and productive sessions, along with a step-by-step guide on exactly how to deliver that perfect beginner lesson. The equipment you will need is also discussed.

The course will take about 12 hours to complete, plus a few extra hours of practice, and the time taken to complete your assignments. You should also allow 2-3 hours for completing the SUP RESCUE course.

Candidates are welcome to repeat the online lessons as many times as they like, and will continue to have access to the material after completion, so it remains a valuable information archive. 

To complete the qualification as a Level 1 SUP instructor, the candidate must also show the required level of paddling ability. Advice on bringing your paddling technique up to the required level is included as part of the course, along with feedback and assistance in completing the assignments to a satisfactory level. See the FAQ pages for more information on the online assessment process.

Alternatively, if the candidate prefers, the final assessment can be done in person – assessment sessions regularly take place all around the country, so there is not normally a need to travel too far for an assessment. We do recommend taking the practical assessment if at all possible – you will get much more out of being able to spend time on the water with the assessor. However, we recognise that for many people it’s an expense and time commitment they cannot afford, hence this course.

VALIDATION 

The qualification will begin as of the day after completing and passing the practical assessment, and is valid for 2 years. Renewal will cost around $100 per further two years, and this can also be done online here.

The $300 fee for this course covers the online learning material (including continued access throughout your license period) plus the skills assessment and subsequent advice. Payment can be made via credit card or paypal by clicking on the registration button above, or by bank transfer.

Course Content

Expand All
Introduction
1 Welcome to the L1 SUP Instructor Online (NZ) course
Safety & Planning
2 The Legislative Framework for teaching SUP

When you take payment from clients - whether it’s for a lesson, tour, EOTC session or guided experience - you have created a workplace and you become subject to Health and Safety legislation.  You have legal responsibilities to your clients, other team members working with you, and anyone else that may be impacted by your work.  This lesson looks at Health and Safety Law, Understanding your working area & safety responsibilities, the legal concepts of Duty of Care and Negligence, how the legal framework changes for volunteer rather than paid instruction, and other legislation that may apply during your lessons.

3 Documentation

This lesson looks at why we have documentation, and the four documents that every commercial SUP operation should have: The Safety Management Plan document (SMS), Standard Operating Procedures document (SOPs), Risk Assessment & Management Documentation (RAMs) and the Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

4 Safety Planning

Proper planning is an absolutely vital part of safety management, and makes the whole process of preparing for a session much easier and more efficient. This lesson discusses why we do the planning,how to do a venue analysis, what needs to be done in terms of planning before a session and what needs to be done when you arrive at the venue

5 Safety Briefings

This lesson looks at the safety briefing(s) that must take place at the start of every session. This is an absolutely essential part of the process, and it’s important that the right things get said. The lesson discusses why we do the briefing, the various topics that should be covered, and briefing the other instructors and/or staff members.

6 Problems that might occur

This lesson looks at the sort of issues that could arise during a SUP activity and require some sort of intervention or a change of plan. The lesson discusses what actually constitutes a problem, the various types of problem of problem that may occur and their likelihood and significance.

7 Dealing with problems

This lesson looks at how to deal with problems that may occur during a SUP activity. Firstly, it sets out a general approach for dealing with problems, and then applies it to a number of common problem scenarios.

1 Test |1 hr
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Lesson Content
Your (GAGA) solution to a problem scenario
8 Group Control

This lesson looks at the important skill of maintaining control of your group of clients whilst on the water. It discusses recommended group sizes, good practice recommendations for the instructor, group dynamics, and how they can impact on a group and the problems with group control that the instructor may encounter, and how to deal with them.

9 Working with Children

This lesson is about working with young people. It discusses the legal & ethical considerations for working with young people, recommended minimum ages, general advice on working with youngsters, some of the problems and issues that may arise and a quick look at some of the paddleboard-related activities you can consider when working with young people.

Understanding the Environment
10 Understanding the Weather

This lesson looks at the vital skills of understanding specific aspects of weather, and the impact they will have on your lessons and activities. The lesson looks at understanding wind strength and direction, the implications of the wind direction in relation to the shore, rain and other weather considerations.

11 Weather Information

This lesson looks at the vital skills of finding and interpreting weather forecast information for your lessons and activities. Where do we find weather information, why does it vary, and how to use it.

12 Water Temperature & Quality

Understanding the risks of cold water is an important aspect of general safety knowledge and understanding for the SUP instructor. Likewise the risks of problems from water pollution. This lesson discusses the physiological effects of cold water immersion, how long the effects take, in various temperatures of water, what to do if you are in cold water, water pollution and quality issues, and how to check water quality.

13 Tides and Currents

A comprehensive understanding of tides and currents is an absolutely fundamental requirement for the SUP instructor operating on coastal waters. Every single lesson and activity will be affected by tides and currents, both in terms of general logistics and administration, and overall safety. This lesson discusses why tides happen, the tidal cycle, when currents are weakest and strongest, the implications of the various states of the tide, how to ‘read the beach’ and assess the tide state, a brief summary of different types of surf conditions and their implications, understanding currents in general and how rip currents are formed.

Understanding SUP Equipment
14 The SUP Board Market

This lesson looks at the SUP board market. Why there are so many models of board, why they come in so many different shapes and sizes and why the SUP instructor needs to be able to understand the board market.

15 Board Design & Dimensions

This lesson looks at SUP Board design and dimensions. Being able to interpret the measurements and appearance of a board in order to understand what it does and who it will be suited for is a vital skill for the paddleboard instructor – particularly when it comes to the question of board stability. The lesson discusses the anatomy of the paddleboard, the importance and relevance of the main parameters and how these factors determine the stability of the board.

16 SUP Board Construction

Understanding the different options is very important for any paddleboard instructor who is likely to be advising their clients on board choice, etc, and understanding the pros and cons of each style of construction is of course pretty vital when making purchases for the school, and understanding the problems that the school equipment may encounter. The lesson discusses the various types of board construction, the pros and cons of each, inflatable boards construction and why there is such a wide difference in quality and prices between inflatables.

17 Choosing a First Time SUP Board

If you are teaching adult clients to paddleboard then you are almost certainly going to come up against this question on a regular basis. The lesson discusses what questions to ask the client, how to interpret their answers, and then works through some practical examples.

18 The SUP Paddle

the SUP instructor needs a basic understanding of SUP paddles, if only to ensure that the clients are using right size and style of paddle for their requirements. However, as the paddle is such a fundamental part of the SUP experience, it’s good to also understand the different constructions, options, blade shapes, adjustment mechanisms and how to advise a customer on purchasing a paddle. This lesson covers all these points, and also looks at setting paddle height and how to advise a customer on what paddle to purchase.

19 PFDs for SUP

Using a PFD while on a paddleboard is a legal requirement in many parts of the world. However, some PFDs are well suited to SUP, others are most definitely not. Understanding the pros and cons of the various styles, and their relevance and suitability to SUP is vital knowledge for the SUP instructor.

20 Leashes for SUP

The leash is 99% of SUP safety, and the SUP instructor must have an excellent understanding of leashes, not just for their own work, but also when advising clients on sup safety in general. This lesson discusses why we wear a leash, the potential pitfalls in wearing a leash, attaching the leash to the board, the different styles of leash and which is best for which conditions.

21 Equipment for teaching SUP

This lesson looks at the equipment choices for teaching beginner SUP, and also the equipment that you the instructor should be using. It discusses what boards, paddles, leashes and PFDs to use for clients, and for the instructor, other equipment for schools, such as wetsuits, footwear, clothing etc, and what else the instructor should be carrying and wearing.

The Beginner Lesson
22 Teaching Beginners

The beginner SUP lesson should follow a fairly formal structure, to ensure that everything is covered properly and to ensure the greatest possible chances of a successful session. It should be considered as five distinct phases: pre-lesson-preparation, safety briefing & maybe a warm-up, on-the-beach instruction, the on-the-water session and then the post-session stuff; warming down & following up. In this lesson we go through each of these phases in full detail, giving you an exact template to work from.

23 Beginner Mistakes

Learning to recognise the standard mistakes that beginners make is an essential aspect of L1 SUP Instruction. In this lesson we’ll look at the various faults and mistakes that you will see time and time again, and analyse why they matter, and what to do about them.

24 Understanding the Clients

This lesson is about your clients. As you will very quickly find, they come in an incredibly wide variety! Understanding their motivations, their physical and personality differences will play a large part in the success of your lesson, and may have an impact on safety aspects too. The lesson discusses who your clients may be, why are they there, the factors affecting skill development and understanding group dynamics.

25 The role of the instructor

This lesson is about you! A summary of what will be required of you, if you’re going to succeed as an instructor. Being a good instructor involves a number of skill-sets, and it’s important to appreciate this right from the start.

Finishing Up
26 The SUP SAFE Code and Courses

Free stuff for you to help make our sport safer, and safety course presenter opportunities…

27 First Aid Qualification

It is a requirement of your qualification that you have a current First Aid certificate...

28 Finishing Up
2 Tests | 20 mins
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Lesson Content
L1 Online (NZ) - SUP Instructor Final Exam Part 1
L1 Online (NZ) - SUP Instructor Final Exam part 2

Ratings and Reviews

5.0
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JoJoRab
Posted 2 months ago
Everything I needed, and more

Fab course people, really impressed. Greatly exceeded my expectations. So much information, I feel really well prepared for teaching now.

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KeenM
Posted 3 months ago
Loved this course!

Loved all the info about board design. Loved the really clear logical approach to teaching. Loved the free skills lessons for my own paddling. Loved the feedback on all my submissions. Loved being able to go back and revisit lessons. I did not expect to enjoy a teaching course so much.

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PaddleCh1ck
Posted 4 months ago
Extremely good course

Very good being able to work through the material at my own pace. I don't like classrooms and information overload! Very good also being able to ask questions and get advice. The teaching system is very good and makes so much sense, the way it is all set out as a logical progression. The safety advice and procedures was excellent too. I also improved a lot with my own paddle technique.

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SaraKelly
Posted 6 months ago
Really informative

There is a lot of information here, much more than I was expecting. I hadn't thought that I would even need all info about board design, paddle construction, weather, tides, how to advise on board choice, that sort of thing, but it all makes really good sense and is really useful. I love all the safety stuff too, I feel it has really prepared me well for teaching.

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DigDeep
Posted 8 months ago
Brilliant Course

One of the best online courses I have ever come across. Perhaps a bit too much information, in fact, but I love the fact that I can go back and repeat lessons any time for the next 2 years, which is going to be so useful. Incredible value for the money.

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