Whitewater Kayak Series

This post describes the whitewater kayaking training series. All Flat Land training courses follow the American Canoe Association (ACA) outlines and protocols for river kayaking instruction.

Pool Sessions (PS) are designed to teach basic techniques to prepare a student for the whitewater beginner classes. This class is conducted at an indoor facility in whitewater kayaks with spray skirts. Class typically meets one day a week for seven or eight weeks between October and March.

Each class meeting normally consists of a classroom portion and a pool portion for a total of approximately 2-hours of instruction each meeting. During classroom, students engage in discussion on important whitewater-related topics. In the pool the student will work on basic technique, including an introduction to rolling.

Prerequisite: See general eligibility guidelines here.

Essentials of River Kayaking (ERK) is appropriate for the person who is interested in learning if whitewater kayaking is for them. The class will be conducted in whitewater kayaks using spray skirts. While being conducted mostly on flat water with little to no current, a portion will be conducted on up to Class I water. Upon successful completion the student is eligible to continue training in closed-deck whitewater kayaks in the whitewater beginner series of classes.

Prerequisite: See general eligibility guidelines here.

Beginner I (B1) will put into practice what was learned in pool sessions or the essentials of river kayaking course. It is conducted on slowly moving rivers with up to Class 1 features. The focus will be efficient strokes, boat control, eddy work, and ferrying. Typical rivers for this course include Hickory Creek (upper), DuPage (several sections), and the Kankakee (State Park).

Prerequisite: Successful completion of either a “Pool Session” OR “Essentials of Kayaking” courses, or permission of the instructor.

Note: Persons with previous kayaking experience may be considered for a Beginner series class. Please contact Flat Land Kayak to discuss.

Beginner II/III/IV (B2/3/4) classes are conducted on rivers with increasingly more aggressive currents with the focus of continuing to gain proficiency in strokes, boat control, eddy work, and ferrying. Additionally, there will increasing focus on river reading, hazard awareness and avoidance, and team dynamics. The ability to roll will become more critical as the class of river increases. Typical rivers for each class are described below. These courses follow the appropriate ACA L2 “Essentials of River Kayaking, ACA L3 “River Kayaking” or ACA L4 “Whitewater Kayaking” course outlines.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of the previous beginner class level, or permission of the instructor.

Beginner II (B2) will contain up to Class 2 features. Typical rivers include the Vermilion River or the Marge Cline Memorial Whitewater Park.
Beginner III (B3) may contain up to Class 3 features, and include rivers such as Hickory Creek (Lower), Wolf River section III (Wisconsin), or Big Pine (Indiana).
Beginner IV (B4) will contain up to Class 3 features and include rivers such as Wolf River Section IV (Wisconsin).

For all classes in the Beginner series see the General Eligibility Guidelines here.