Surfski Coaching Courses

Our Next Scheduled Course will be

INTERMEDIATE

30th-31st March 2024

Next Course

30th – 31st March 2024

at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire.

INTERMEDIATE

For paddlers with canoe-kayak and at some ski experience who are ready to up their game on their ski. We cover a wide range of vital ski-specific seamanship and paddling techniques, while working towards a focused and proactive attitude to your paddling, the ocean, and racing.

 

Click here for more detail . . .

Sign Up or Ask for More Info

14 + 3 =

Sign up here and / or ask for a more detailed course plan, cost, etc. Please state which course you’d like to join.

Background

Despite Ocean Ski paddling’s explosive growth in popularity here, our discipline has only just been recognised by British Canoeing and there is, as yet, no formal coaching structure set up. There are very few tailored training and coaching courses for beginners, improvers and intermediates – although occasional elite clinics offered by such outstanding paddlers as Sean Rice, Oscar Chalupski and Ivan Lawler are available.

Effective Ocean Ski paddling welds together elements from several other disciplines, including sprint, marathon, white water racing, wave ski and, of course, sea kayaking. Most ski paddlers have entered from other aspects of canoe and kayak sport and find that applying their existing skills provides a firm platform their surfski adventures.

On the other hand, some of those well established habits that work fine in other canoe-kayaking disciplines often lead to frustrating limitations when applied to ski. For example, even a sea kayak coach’s decades of knowledge about wind, tide and weather wont necessarily help him or her to consistently catch and work runners in these much lighter, faster and more responsive craft.  

The FIRST scheduled Surfski weekend of the 2024 Season will be:

 

30-31st MARCH 2024 – INTERMEDIATE

Winter One-on-One Coaching can be arranged to suit whatever date works for you – so book ahead!

The course levels are just for guidance and can cover whatever you want!

 

MARCH

30-31st         Intermediate

APRIL

13-14th         Improver

  MAY

11-12th         Intermediate

25-26th         Improver

  JUNE

15-16th         Intermediate

29-30th         Intermediate

 

 

 

JULY

15-16th          Intermediate

27-28th          TBA

AUGUST

10-11th          TBA

24-25th          TBA

  SEPTEMBER

7th-8th            TBA

21-22nd          TBA

  OCTOBER

12-13th

26-27th

 

 

The Coach

Ben Edom has a lifetime of experience in kayak and canoe paddling, coaching and competition, including GB Sprint Team and a national championship win and 10 years of Ski paddling in Australia on Queesland’s Sunshine Coast and Sydney’s Northern Beaches. This breadth of experience, and often daily playing on those big Pacific swells, enables Ben to communication simple, clear key principles, valuable hints and subtle techniques, all personally tested with a serious amount of sea time.

Now back in training, and one of the team riders for STELLAR Surfskis UK, Ben has earned a string of podium places in 2018, 2019 and 2020 races, competing in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships. And, to bring his coaching skills right up to date in 2020 Benjamin qualified as a British Canoeing Race Coach.

“I love the sea and want to help anyone who embraces the thrills and challenges of wind and wave on a ski to be more effective and aware so you can enjoy every trip all the more. More speed and power, less effort – If that means you can beat me – all the better!”

The Courses

There are three tiers of day, weekend, or longer courses to suit everyone except ocean ski experts:

Improver>Intermediate 

A general, practical introduction to surfski paddling for people with some experience of canoe or kayak who want to understand how to apply that to ski. Offers a sound foundation of principles, safety considerations and plenty of practical techniques to take home and work on.

Intermediate

For paddlers with canoe-kayak and at some ski experience who are ready to up their game on their ski. We cover a wide range of vital ski-specific seamanship and paddling techniques, while working towards a focused and proactive attitude to your paddling, the ocean, and racing.

Four-Day Intensive

When you’re ready to take your ski performance to the next level, build on your established experience on surfski and other paddling disciplines – when you want to go faster, to be more relaxed, and more in tune with the ocean.

Read more . . .

Our NEXT SCHEDULED COURSE will be on

30-31st March 2024
Winter one-to-one and group courses by agreement

– email Benjamin for more info: info@BenEdom.com

Benjamin Edom is a British Canoeing qualified Race Coach and has full Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance through Canoe Wales.