Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

American Canoe Association Instructor Certification

Quick Details

Calendar  Availability: 2024 Clinic Dates & Prices

Complete an ACA Certification

American Canoe Association (ACA) Instructor Certification workshops are designed for individuals who want to teach flatwater, moving water, or whitewater kayaking, canoeing, SUP or swiftwater rescue.

Our highly experienced ACA Instructor Trainers present the most up-to-date teaching and paddling techniques. Each ACA Instructor Certification course has two parts: an Instructor Development Workshop, in which the Instructor Trainer presents teaching techniques and works to improve the paddling skills of aspiring instructors; and an Instructor Certification Workshop, in which the aspiring instructors teach a mock flatwater, moving water, or whitewater course.

Certification in any of these courses is based on both paddling and teaching skills and is not guaranteed at any level. These courses are only for those with intermediate to advanced paddling skills with some teaching experience.

We offer ACA Instructor Certification in the disciplines of River Kayak, River Canoe, Swiftwater Rescue, and Stand-Up Paddleboard. The American Canoe Association offers instructor certification at up to five different levels with each level requiring a progressively greater understanding of paddling and rescue concepts, as well as an ability to teach and execute those concepts in progressively more difficult rapids. To get more details about instructor criteria, visit the American Canoe Association.

If you are interested in working in the paddlesport field, the ACA certification is considered “the gold standard” for the industry and paddlesport instructors. For folks interested in employment teaching paddlesports at Zoar Outdoor please check out our employment page.  For more information, contact us at 413-339-4010 or [email protected].

More Information