Paddle: September 2019 | Volume 5, Issue 5

Page 26

Swift water rescue training vital AND fun to learn

Article and photos by Marcel Bieg, Western States Outreach Director and Grant Manager

When I was a rookie raft guide at the age of 19, I was shocked to find out that I had the most Swift Wa-

ter Rescue (SWR) training of anyone in the company. This seemed unbelievable to me because I had

only a tiny bit of training that I had learned in a college rafting class that included a four-hour SWR module as part of the course. After that experience I became more in tune with SWR techniques and eventually pursued and earned my instructor certification. That was over 15 years ago and SWR has become one of my favorite classes

Page 25 | PADDLE | September 2019

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