Maintaining Instructor Certification

Maintaining your instructor certification allows you to offer Paddle Canada sanctioned skills courses and to use the Paddle Canada name and logo, per the Paddle Canada Logo & Trademark Policy.

Annual Requirements

To remain a Paddle Canada Instructor certification, you must maintain your annual membership in Paddle Canada.

Quadrennial Renewal Requirements

To maintain your certification, you have until December 31st of the fourth year from certification to complete one or more of the professional development options below:

Option 1

Successfully complete a Paddle Canada Professional Development clinic in your stream, or

Option 2

Successfully complete a higher Paddle Canada Instructor course in that same stream, or

Option 3

Successfully complete a customized set of requirements set and evaluated by an appropriate Instructor Trainer (IT). The requirements must test paddling skills, teaching skills and current best practices, and could include written or practical tests, video submissions and in-person evaluations.

Provided your annual membership is maintained, all your instructor certifications are automatically renewed for four years when one of the above professional development options is achieved. Renewing an Instructor Trainer certification automatically renews all your instructor certifications. This policy will be reviewed in 2025.

Lapsed Instructor Certification

Instructors who do not maintain their annual membership for a calendar year will automatically have their instructor certification status changed to lapsed.

To regain active certification, the lapsed Instructor who is in their first year of default must complete the annual requirements. The lapsed Instructor who has defaulted longer than one year must complete the annual requirements and pay the lapsed surcharge.

Inactive Instructor Certification

Instructors who do not complete the quadrennial professional development requirements within the four-year certification period will have their certification status changed to inactive.

An inactive Instructor must be a current Instructor member of Paddle Canada before the reactivation process is started.

To regain active certification, the inactive Instructor must co-teach and be assessed on at least one full skills course taught by a qualified Instructor Trainer. The reactivated certification will be at a level not higher than that of the registered course.

An inactive Instructor co-teaching a course must be listed on the course registration and course report as an assistant.

Retired Instructor Certification

After two years of holding an inactive certification, that is a total of six years since their previous certification or certification renewal, the instructor’s certification status will be changed to retired.

To regain active certification, the retired Instructor must undertake the normal provisions of a complete Instructor course or mentorship.