River Safety and Rescue (RSR)

These are the Canoeing Ireland designed safety courses. There are 3 levels – RSR 1, 2 & 3.

RSR 1 is aimed at aspiring lv. 3 paddlers, RSR 2 at aspiring lv. 4 paddlers and the RSR 3 for those running advanced white water. They are compulsory for those wishing to get their personal proficiencies and highly recommended for anyone else going kayaking.

We aim to host them regularly – RSR 1s after the conclusion of the Lv. 2 courses to provide a solid safety basis for those going on river trips and RSR 2s in late spring to give our many new Lv. 3s the knowledge they need to push on and as a refresher before any summer alps trips! RSR 3s are advanced courses and can be run if there is demand!

They provide a strong emphasis on safety – how to prevent incidents from occurring in the first place – but also give you the skills to deal with any incidents that do occur. It’s a must before considering going peer paddling.

For more details on RSR courses being run talk to Ken on the forum

RSR 1 Syllabus

Introduction

The RSR 1 is a half day course designed for people who wish to undertake relevant training in Safety and Rescue Techniques appropriate for Grade I water. The RSR 1 aims to develop a culture of safety, awareness and proactive accident prevention in canoe sports in Ireland.

Objectives of the RSR 1

The RSR 1 aims to enable candidates to:

    • Understand the appropriate equipment for Grade I water
    • Develop an understanding of Safe Practices on Grade I water
    • Execute self-rescue on Grade I water
    • Rescue of others in Grade I water
    • Rescue of equipment in Grade I water

Course Outline

This is designed to be a flexible course depending on trainee’s needs and previous experience levels (notwithstanding these core elements of the syllabus must include:)

    • Personal Equipment for Grade I
    • Fundamental Hydrology
    • Safe practices and accident prevention methods – CLAP
      1. Communication
      2. Line of Sight
      3. Avoidance
      4. Positioning
    • Risk Assessment & Decision Making on Grade I water
    • Safety Zones & Leadership
    • Safe Travelling MethodsSafe order of Priority – STIG
      1. Follow the Leader
      2. Herd and Drive
      3. Leap Frog
    • Self Rescue – Offensive swimming in Grade I with equipment
    • Systematic approach to a rescue: Talk, Reach, Throw, Row, Helo
      1. Talk – Command words
      2. Reach – Reaching techniques
      3. Throw – Throw rope rescues
      4. Row – x- rescue, unconscious rescue, tows, bow & stern carries
      5. Go – Water based unconscious casualty rescue
      6. Helo – Making emergency calls to rescue services

Applying to attend a course

Course applicants must be of a Level 2 skills standard.

Recommended Equipment List for Participants

    • Wetsuit or Drysuit
    • Thermals
    • ISO Approved buoyancy and helmet
    • Adequate hard sole footwear
    • Throw Bag
    • Knife
    • Whistle

Guidelines

The RSR 1 course should be delivered and run on water Grade I difficulty.

It is recommended that RSR 1 certification be renewed at least once every 5 years.


RSR 2 Syllabus

Introduction

The RSR 2 is a 1 day course designed for canoeists who wish to undertake relevant training in Safety and Rescue Techniques appropriate for Grade II water. The RSR 2 aims to develop a culture of safety, awareness and proactive accident prevention in whitewater sports in Ireland.

Objectives of the RSR2

The RSR 2 aims to enable candidates to:

    • Understand the appropriate equipment for Grade II water
    • Develop an understanding of Safe Practices on Grade II water
    • Execute self-rescue on Grade II water
    • Rescue of others in Grade II water
    • Rescue of equipment in Grade II water

Course Outline

This is designed to be a flexible course depending on trainee’s needs and previous experience levels-notwithstanding this the core elements of the syllabus must include:

    • Personal Equipment for Grade II
    • Basic Hydrology/Dynamics of Grade II rivers
    • Safe practices and accident prevention methods – CLAP
      1. Communication
      2. Line of Sight
      3. Avoidance
      4. Positioning
    • Risk Assessment & Decision Making on Grade II Rivers
    • Safety Zones & Leadership
    • Safe River Running Methods
      1. Follow the Leader
      2. Herd and Drive
      3. Eddy Hopping
      4. Leap Frog
    • Safe order of Priority
    • Self Rescue – Defensive/Offensive swimming in Grade II
    • Systematic approach to a rescue: Talk, Reach, Throw, Row, Helo
      1. Talk – Command words
      2. Reach – Reaching techniques
      3. Throw – Throw rope rescues & stabilisation lines
      4. Row – Chase boating, Barging, Towing, Carries, Rescues
      5. Go – Shallow water crossing, Live bait rescues
      6. Helo – Making emergency calls to rescue services
    • Progression of Extraction
      1. Knots
      2. Clipping in
      3. Effective Pulling
      4. Anchors
      5. Vector Pull
    • Access & Egress

Requirements to attend a Course

Course applicants must be of a Level 3 skills standard.

This training course is a pre-requirement of the Level 4 Kayak Skills Assessment (from Jan 2012 Onwards).

Recommended Equipment List for Participants

    • Wetsuit or Drysuit
    • Thermals
    • ISO Approved buoyancy with integrated harness
    • ISO Approved helmet
    • Adequate hard sole footwear
    • Throw Bag
    • Knife
    • Whistle
    • Mobile Phone
    • One screw gate & one snap gate karabiner
    • One 4 – 5 metre open sling

Additional Equipment that will be demonstrated during the course (equipment provided by instructors)

    • First Aid Kit
    • Kichu
    • Spare Clothes
    • Repair Kit
    • Split Paddle
    • Other Gear

Guidelines

The RSR 2 course should be delivered and run on water of Grade II difficulty as part of a river trip.

It is recommended that RSR 2 certification be renewed at least once every 5 years.

Old RSR 1 Cert holders will be recognised as equivalent to the new RSR 2.


RSR 3 Syllabus

Introduction

The RSR 3 is a two day course designed for intermediate and advanced level canoeists who wish to undertake relevant training in River Safety and Rescue techniques appropriate to water of Grade III and above difficulty.

Objectives of the RSR 3

The RSR 3 aims are to enable candidates to:

    • Understand the appropriate equipment for Grade III water
    • Develop an understanding of Safe Practices on Grade III water
    • Execute self-rescue on Grade III water
    • Rescue of others in Grade III water
    • Rescue of equipment in Grade III water

Course Outline

This is designed to be a flexible course to allow for students needs and previous experience- notwithstanding this the core element of the syllabus must include:

    • Personal Equipment for Grade III
    • Advanced Hydrology/Dynamics of Grade III and above rivers
    • Safe practices and accident prevention methods – CLAP
      1. Communication
      2. Line of Sight
      3. Avoidance
      4. Positioning
    • Risk Assessment and Decision making on Grade III Rivers
    • Safety Zones & Leadership
    • Safe River Running Methods
      1. Follow the Leader
      2. Herd and Drive
      3. Eddy Hopping
      4. Leap Frog
    • Safe order of Priority
    • Self Rescue – Defensive/Offensive swimming in Grade III
    • Systematic approach to a rescue: Talk, Reach, Throw, Row, Go, Helo
      1. Talk – Command words
      2. Reach – Reaching techniques
      3. Throw – Throw rope rescue technique, Stabilisation Lines, Cinch Lines
      4. Row – Chase boating, Barging, Towing, Carries, Rescues
      5. Go – V-Lower
      6. Helo – Making calls to emergency services, Evacuations
    • Progression of extraction – pins
    • Access & Egress
      1. KnotsZ
      2. Drag – Mechanical Advantage
      3. Pig Rig – Mechanical Advantage

Applying to attend a course

Course applicants must be of a Level 4 skills standard.

This training course is a pre-requirement of the Level 5 Kayak Skills Assessment (Jan 2012 Onwards).

Recommended Equipment List for Participants

    • Wetsuit or Drysuit
    • Thermals
    • ISO Approved Buoyancy Aid with integrated harness
    • ISO Approved Helmet
    • Adequate hard sole footwear
    • Throw Bag
    • Knife
    • Whistle
    • Two Slings, at least one open Sling 4 – 5 metres in length
    • Snap Gate Karabiner x 2
    • Screw Gate Karabiner x 3
    • Prussic Loop x 2
    • Mobile Phone
    • First Aid Kit

Additional Equipment that will be demonstrated during the course

    • Kichu
    • Spare Clothes
    • Repair Kit
    • Split paddle
    • Other Gear

Guidelines

The RSR 3 training course should be delivered and run on water of Grade III difficulty as part of a river trip.

The course student/trainer ratio is a maximum of 4:1

It is recommended that RSR 3 certification be renewed at least once every 5 years.

Old RSR 2 Cert holders will be recognised as equivalent to the new RSR 3.

Syllabuses reproduced from Canoeing Ireland website.