News

Guide / Safety

Reviewed, refreshed and renewed – IRF GTE Instructor resources

Reviewed, refreshed and renewed – IRF Instructor documentation and resources (in English and now also in Spanish) There is now a wealth of resources that the IRF provides to our certified Instructors and Assessors which are all aimed at assisting them to simplify the processes, administration and implementation of assessing Guides, Trip Leaders and Instructors.

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Guide / Safety

4 Types of Guides You Will Meet Rafting

OK so you booked a whitewater rafting trip with your friends on an awesome river. You’re super stoked to be going on an amazing whitewater adventure. You show up at the outfitter’s camp, they give you a safety orientation, and introduce you to your guide. Now you really want to make the trip special, but

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Guide / Safety

Knot your business

It’s rare that I write a personal article but lockdown has given me plenty of time so as I while away the hours and days, I’ve found myself reviewing the last few months and in particular being assessed for the New Zealand raft guide qualification. During lockdown I’m living at the rafting centre where I’ve

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Guide / Safety

The principle of SMILE

By Mark Hirst of Lapin Koskikoulu The principle of Smile & the big 3 During this brief post I wanted to share the tips I use to reduce the chances of my raft customers panicking during a swim. I am getting on a bit now, I will be 43 this year! I first went kayaking

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Rafting Operator Accreditation (ROA) launch
Development

Rafting Operator Accreditation (ROA) – what is it?

The Rafting Operator Accreditation (ROA) Committee has now achieved this stage and is ready for input from stakeholders. The IRF has for many years discussed the merits of developing an accreditation for operators that offer whitewater rafting guided or instructional services. Simply put, this process would provide a means of recognizing operators that meet or

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Guide / Safety

IRF’s GTE System upgrades make it cheaper

The IRF Guide Training & Education (GTE) System has recently had its cost structure, certification and card issuing process overhauled In this time of so much bad news we’d like to bring you some good news. The cost of IRF GTE certifications has reduced! The system has been simplified so that guides get their cards

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Guide / Safety

Ropes for River Use

In this article Rafting Magazine takes a look at rope used for rafting specifically static line. For this article they reached out to both Sterling and BlueWater ropes to get some technical insight on what works best for river rescue use. There is a lot to know and a lot to understand about what rafters

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Guide / Safety

Should We Be Classifying Rafts?

Kayaking has taken an interesting trend over the years by classifying boats. Given the crossover of many paddlers between these sports it is surprising that rafting hasn’t picked up the stratification of boat classes into broad categories. As we get more experienced with a topic we require greater degrees of specificity to describe similar yet

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Development

IRF GTE Instructor Conference Agenda launched

Hosted in the French alps, over three action packed days, delegates to the 2020 IRF GTE Instructor Conference will discuss and share ideas on the latest developments in raft guiding and safety. Registration is now open and delegates are encouraged to register early to avoid disappointment when tickets sell out. Full agenda can be found

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