Youth Paddling Development
Scouting
Sea Scouts
Sea Scouts is part of the larger Scouting movement, focused on boating skills! For over 100 years Sea Scouting has promoted better citizenship and improved members’ boating skills through:
- Water safety instruction and practice
- Boating skills
- Outdoor, social, and service experiences
- Knowledge of maritime heritage
Sea Scouts can use any type of boat to develop their skills but over the past decade, they’ve had a growing emphasis on paddling skills. In 2021, they updated advancement requirements, expanding the paddling knowledge required of all Sea Scouts and creating the ability to achieve Quartermaster (the highest Sea Scout rank) using only canoes or kayaks.
ACA strongly supports Sea Scouting! We encourage our members to work with Sea Scouts, to help grow the next generation of paddlers. More information about Sea Scouting can be found one the Sea Scouts website.
Dive deeper into the Sea Scouts and ACA Partnership by reading the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Scouting America
Over the years, ACA volunteers and staff are proud to have worked with the National Aquatics Taskforce of Scouting America on several projects to help youth to be safer, learn, and have fun out on the water:
- Revised the Canoeing Merit Badge
- Revised the Whitewater Merit Badge
- Developed the Whitewater Rafting Award
- Developed the Kayaking Merit Badge
- Developed the Stand Up Paddleboarding Award (Flyer / PDF / Online)
- Sea Scout Partnership (MOU / Online)
Girl Scouts of the USA
The ACA supports the mission of the Girl Scouts of the USA, which is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. ACA’s skills courses, skills assessments, and Paddlesport Safety Facilitator (PSF) training and certification programs help to equip troop leaders with the skills and experience they need to lead safe and memorable paddling experiences for their troops.
- ACA skills courses for all types of paddlecraft
- ACA skills assessments for experienced troop leaders
- Paddlesport Safety Facilitator (PSF) training and certification for frequent paddling trip leaders
- GSUSA Safety Activity Checkpoints