Today, 24 candidates started their training for the IRF Guide Training & Education (GTE) raft guide qualification as part of the support that USAID BiH Sustainable Tourism Development Project has provided to the hosts of the 2022 World Rafting Championships (WRC). Following the course, all candidates will get the unique opportunity to support the official safety team of the 2022 World Rafting Championships.

The IRF extends our gratitude to USAID BiH for their support to the development of raft guides in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and also as one of the key partners to this year’s World Rafting Championship. USAID’s investment in the event and the GTE workshop sees a positive investment of safety on the rivers of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

This partnership also sees the support of RC Kanjon who will be paying the certification fees for all the successful candidates on this workshop. The workshop is being run by Davor Kos from Croatia, one of the IRF’s longest serving and respected GTE Assessors. Davor will also be the Safety Director for WRC 2022 in BiH.

USAID BiH promotes safe rafting in BiH

USAID BiH’s Developing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Turizam) is designed to fuel broad-based tourism driven economic growth and promote social harmony by capitalizing on its rich cultural heritage and distinctive nature.
The USAID Turizam project will support the Bosnia & Herzegovina tourism industry to recover from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and set it on a robust growth trajectory towards a sustainable tourism economy.

USAID BiH’s ultimate goal is to increase the number of raft guides, instructors and agencies certified by the IRF and, as such, recognised in the international market as guarantors of safe and comfortable rafting experiences in BiH. Bosnia and Herzegovina already has a number of certified guides and instructors, but is working on increasing their number in order to secure good quality and successful promotion of safe rafting in BiH.

USAID BiH’s support to the organiser’s of the World Rafting Championship is closely related to their other activities aimed at the international positioning of BiH in the international tourism market and, as such, is a very important part of destination marketing.

The IRF GTE system has been established since 1997 and is being promoted across the globe with the aim of increasing safety in rafting worldwide. The IRF GTE Certificate is recognised and accepted in over 50 countries around the world, and many countries set it as a condition for performing the job of a guide in rafting on white water.

The training and certification of successful candidates of this workshop will be conducted from May 12 to 15 in Banja Luka in accordance with the rules of the International Rafting Federation, which is a recognised global leader in the field of rafting and river protection.

More than 60 candidates applied and 24 of them from all over BiH will be trained within this workshop. Candidates will also be engaged as volunteers during the WRC 2022.

With this IRF GTE workshop BiH is greatly improving safe and enjoyable activities on BiH rivers, which are increasingly becoming popular internationally.

World Rafting Championships 2022

Over 60 teams from more than 20 nations across the globe will come together for the 2022 World Rafting Championships. The 2022 WRC is taking place on the Vrbas and Tara rivers in Bosnia & Herzegovina in the cities of Banja Luka and Foča (respectively) in May & June 2022. Full details including event schedule can be found on the dedicated event website: worldraftingchamps.com/wrc-2022

Safety teams at World Rafting Championships are typically composed of local certified raft guides to ensure safety standards for all competitors and officials. This year’s WRC will see a safety team from Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, and Hungary amongst others. The support of USAID BiH for the GTE workshop this week will see the WRC safety team and the IRF’s #RiverFamily size grow and help support the goal of safer rivers worldwide.

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