Last month, the city of Priboj, Serbia, hosted third-year students of the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, University of Belgrade for a field lesson. Rafting field lessons were realised in the form of a full-day adventure aimed at organising a rafting trip. This excursion is part of the Nature Activities curriculum.

The goals of the project were multiple and included:

• introducing participants to the usual problems of complex organisation of teaching in nature;
• to solve through thorough preparation all accompanying tasks that enable them to implement the designed plan;
• to get acquainted with the ambient and field conditions and natural beauties of the visited place, through the application of selected program content – rafting;
• to get acquainted with rafting as one of the contents from the domain of activities in nature, but also paddling disciplines;
• to get acquainted in practice and adopt the basic procedures of wild water rescue and field movement in a specific environment and
• above all, to get to know the hosts and institutions and to make contacts with them and use them in the future for cooperation in the implementation of actions of general interest for the profession.

The participants of the trip used the opportunity to travel to a distant destination. They got acquainted with the municipality of Priboj, its natural beauties, and especially the river Lim with all its biological, ecological and hydrological characteristics on the cultivated sector (9km in length). Starting from HPP Rekovići all the way to the mouth of Uvac as the natural border of two countries (Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina). This project was conducted through fieldwork, which was realised through a series of theoretical lectures and practical exercises outside.

The three key institutions with their representatives involved in the organisation of the project:

• Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, University of Belgrade as an organiser with the head of the course, Assistant Professor Dr. Vladimir Miletić
• The Municipality of Priboj with the representative Miralem Gogalić, a member of the Municipal Council for Tourism and Investments
• The Rafting Association of Serbia, led by Dejan Puzović, the president, is also the host of the project

For the needs of teaching, Master Srećko Paležević, professor of sports and physical education, was included as an assistant in the planning of the trip, with his competencies narrowly focused on paddling activities, and a nautical technician of inland waterways by his home profession.

Planning for more rafting field lessons

In addition to all the stated goals, the students fulfilled their pre-examination obligation by participating in the trip. The most important thing is that, according to them, they spent one of the most unforgettable days filled with a lot of content that will “feed the soul” for a long time and wish to return to the same place and do it all over again. Hopefully, by then they will be the organiser and teacher who will take their students with them!

Original article in Serbian here.

Learn more about organising rafting trips in our series of safety articles and videos here.

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