ACA Level 2 SUP Instructor Certification Workshop - February 27th - March 1st

Fifteen years ago when I was in my first year of paddling I got some great advice from a mentor. "Don't worry about the certifications" he said, "focus on your paddling." From that point on I've never taken an assessment until I was absolutely, positively sure I was ready and able to pass.

2015Matt PalmarielloMarch 4, 2015ACA, CCK, ICE, ICW, IDW, SUP, american canoe association sup, american canoe association, california canoe & kayakComment

Alameda SUP Circumnavigation

I arrived in Oakland at 7am and we were to meet at 8. I was co-leading an intro to SUP touring trip around Alameda Island for California Canoe & Kayak. 8 participants, 2 leaders and 15.5 miles of paddling in absolutely ideal conditions. We hit the currents right, wind was next to nothing and the sun was shining warm.

2014Matt PalmarielloNovember 10, 2014CCK, SUP, alameda, california canoe & kayak, standup paddleboarding, standupComment

Three days on ACA

In the second week of December I spent three days paddling with some of Northern California's finest during an ACA L5 assessment. Some of us were present as an L4 update (myself included), while others were assessing at level 5. The course was largely unstructured by design to allow things to come together in a natural fashion. Without three full days of syllabus to follow we would be able to improvise and try things that may not normally happen on an assessment or formal course.

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