"Good paddling with fine wine, fine
food & fine people"
Are
there any books or videos I can look at to prepare for my trip?
We've produced three different instructional videos, all catering for
different levels of whitewater: Genotype, Genetic, and Genes. Genotype
covers the whitewater basics, Genetic shows you the skills you need
to progress to grade III-IV and Genes gives you the advanced paddling
skills you need to go beyond that. We also strongly recommend [WW] (whitewater)
by Ollie Grau for comprehensive coverage of the dynamic approach that
we teach. Safety and Rescue are covered by Franco Ferrero's White Water
Safety and Rescue while if you're working your way up through the instructor
grades you can't do better than reading through the BCU 'Canoeing Handbook'.
How old do I have to be to come on a Gene17 course?
Gene17 has a comprehensive child protection policy, with young people under 18 able to stay in separtate accommodations during trips. It is strongly preferred that an adult accompanies a young person for our kayaking trips, please contact us for specific details. For courses or specific coaching, all young persons are welcome.
I've got a playboat. Can I bring that?
Most of the time you're better off on one of our trips in either a
river runner or a creek boat: they're safer, more comfortable and easier
to paddle. If you really do want to bring a playboat, just check with
us first.
What do you mean by Fundamental, Progressive and so on?
Basically, we’re talking ways of paddling that you’ll use as you progress
through your paddling career. They roughly correspond to the grades we’ll
cover on a trip: Elemental: II/III Fundamental: III Progressive: III/IV
Steep creeking: IV Steeper creeking: IV-IV+
Do I need my own boat?
It depends. For our mainland European trips & courses we
provide boats for you from our full-spec, up-to-date creek boat demo fleet. On Paddling Adventures, its down to specific adventure as to whether boats are supplied or not, so please check the details.
If the trip's in Britain or outside Europe then it's probably easier for
you to bring your own boat. Still, if you want to borrow a boat then get
in touch with us and we'll find you somewhere to hire from.
How do I get from the airport?
All our teaching trips outside the UK include all transport at our destination, including airport shuttles for you and your boat in Slovenia & Italy, if necessary. A prompt bus and train service connects Oslo with our Norway destination of Sjoa. For paddling adventures, we'll be collecting you with the expection of Norway, where a prompt bus and /or train service is available.
What's the food like?
Good. We don't believe in skimping on your food when
you're on the river all day, so we make sure we eat well. It's not just
a bucket of pasta red: we'll use either a local restaurant or we'll cook
in-house, using local flavours and ingredients. If you've got any special
requirements, just let us know when you book.
Where are we staying?
We always use accommodation we've checked out, whether it's a local hotel, guesthouse
or apartment. Our multi day trips (like our Grand Canyon, Zambezi, Montenegro, Zanskar " BC trips) include
time under canvas but don't worry, we'll supply the tents and the equipment.
What's your instruction like?
We sum it up as 'progressive'. What that means
is that we're not tied in to any coaching schemes or structures: instead,
we coach what's worked for us. Our main precept is that a river's a dynamic
environment and that it's pointless to try and fight that energy by using
flatwater skills. Instead, we coach a core skillset that you can apply to
any whitewater, wherever you are in the world.
What are your ratios?
On our coaching courses we use a ratio of 4:1 while we keep our trips & adventures super-tight
with a ratio of 3:1.
What’s with the shoes?
Some river shoes are great for
whitewater paddling. Others aren’t. If you have poor footwear you can’t
run down the bank to rescue a swimmer or attend a situation. You need a
good, thick sole made from sticky rubber and you need complete coverage
all over your feet, not sandals. If you turn up with skimpy wetsuit slippers
or sandals, we’ll be marching you down to the local kayaking shop to buy
some new ones. Also, make sure you can fit your shoes into your boat BEFORE
you come!
What do Gene17 do that isn't instructing?
We've got a range of
other enterprises ranging from producing paddling and adventure videos to
bespoke adventure tourism packages. All our staff members spend a few months
a year adventure paddling in far-off destinations, searching out new runs
and new challenges.
How do I get a job with Gene17?
Take a look at our staff line up, it reads like an honour roll of modern adventure paddling, if your name would fit in there and we have not heard of you, contact us, if not get out there and get the very important experience that's needed on steep white water. Your qualifications are not important to us at all, just your experience, people skills and ability to paddle and coach what you do extremely well
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