Why you should join ACA

Awesome members of the Carolina Canoe Club,

During our recent joint Cold Water Safety Course I realized that half of the paddlers present on day 1 and almost all of the paddlers present for Day 2 were not members of the American Canoe Association(ACA).  For those that do not know there is an additional insurance fee that must be paid along with the waiver for non ACA members.  The CCC and CKC decided to waive those fees to the participants and pay them as a club to offer this course completely free to all attendees.  Any other time you attend a course you will be required to pay that $10 fee in addition to whatever the club registration fee is that you pay.

The ACA is a great organization that does many things for paddlers and for conservation.  The yearly membership is $40 which is more than the amount you pay to be a member of this club and I will be the first to admit that the benefits of being a member of the CCC greatly outweigh the benefits of being an ACA Member however what you may not realize is, it’s because of everything the ACA does that you have great instructors  and courses offer through this club.  All of the instructors that you have been taught by are certified through an ACA standard by an ACA certified instructor trainer.  All of that is accomplished through standards established and constantly updated by the ACA.  The CCC is also a Paddle America Club(PAC) through the ACA.  That is why when you attend a CCC hosted course you must sign the ACA waiver.

In short, what I am trying to say is pull out your wallets and support your club instructors by becoming an ACA member!  It will be money that is well spent to help support your Carolina Canoe Club in many ways.

Thank you,

William Holman

Proud ACA certified instructor

and your Safety Chair