Course Description
The class is challenging and fun, with the majority of time spent in the water. It is designed for the swiftwater rescue professional who will be conducting hand-on assistance with swift water rescues. The primary focus of this course will be hazard recognition and avoidance and self-rescue skills; however, students will also develop skills necessary to set up and assist with in-water rescues. To truly understand the dynamics involved in contact rescues, it is necessary for students to perform these rescues. Students will therefore be expected to swim. With this said, during an actual rescue operation, personnel certified to the Operations level will not be allowed in the water. This two-day river rescue course is compliant to the NFPA standard 1670.
Topics Covered:
- reading water
- recognizing and avoiding hazards
- quick rescue techniques
- shore based operations
- Swiftwater Rescue text by Cody Harris and Mike Johnton
- Access to WRI online rescue resources and materials
- Certification I.D. Card
- Sticker
Safety
Because of the risk inherent in any whitewater or river activity, we want to make sure you are aware of these risks and acknowledge them prior to the class. Simply put, we cannot guarantee your safety. If a river rescue or safety class is to be effective and give students whitewater experience and hands-on training, it is not going to be safe. In order for our instructors to provide realistic training with challenges that simulate actual rescue conditions, we recognize there is always the chance that someone is going to get injured. We may be walking along slippery rocky shorelines, swimming in cold whitewater, and working with ropes and rescue equipment in very realistic scenarios. All of this involves risk, and we will try our best to manage risk in a way that creates a balance between the risk students are exposed to and the levels of challenge presented during the training.
To receive a WRI certification from this class you will be expected to demonstrate the ability to perform some specific skills we cover in the course, such as defensive and aggressive swimming, throwbagging, live bait, z-drags, etc. You may be asked to perform these skills in test stations or drills, or you may be asked to perform them in scenarios.
We encourage you to talk with our staff if you have any questions concerning safety. We are proud of our safety record and know that our instructors do not achieve this alone, it takes the help of our students.
Course Calendar & Registration Info
There are currently no available events