Becoming an ACA instructor:

Instructor Development Workshop (IDW)

The IDW is a workshop that helps individuals have the opportunity to learn teaching & coaching techniques as well as to polish paddling and leadership skills without the pressure of a pass/fail exam. The IDW is the pre-requisite for the Instructor Certification Exam (ICE). Taking the IDW and ICE separately gives instructor candidates the opportunity to go home with a list of skills to polish before coming back for the ICE.

Instructor Certification Exam (ICE)

Instructor Certification Exam is a testing ground for instructor candidates who have previously taken the IDW. It is expected that instructor candidates taking the ICE are ready to demonstrate and teach any and all skills listed in the ACA instructor criteria for their desired level of certification. They should also have all the necessary instructing gear and the knowledge to use it appropriately. Your paddling, safety and teaching ability are assessed throughout the workshop and Instructor status/non-status is awarded at private meetings on the last day of class.

Instructor Certification Workshop (ICW)

The ICW blends the IDW and ICE into one time frame. Individuals coming to this workshop should feel pretty good about their general paddling, rescue, leadership, and teaching skill as well as their general knowledge of paddlesports. The advantage to this blended process is that one has the opportunity to gain instructor certification in one time period and may save time and travel expenses. The disadvantage is that the lesson and test are so close together that there isn't much time for practice in between.