The Unconscious Competence Series

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There will be another UnCon I program in the summer of 2025. Venues will include Rocky Point Park, Tangier Island and Rocky Gorge Reservoir in Maryland + Metompkin Inlet and Cape Charles on the VA Eastern Shore. There will be six weekend sessions (12 classes) + two mid-week evening practice sessions. See below for the schedule.

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UnCon II and UnCon III: graduates of the 2023 and 2024 UnCon programs have opted to continue their development as paddlers via advanced versions of UnCon. For both groups, the emphass will be on developing sklls in new places and in bouncier conditions. After a review session, UnCon II will be going to the Susquehanna River, Tangier Island, Metompkin Inlet, Cape Charles. UnCon III will expand their horizons at Cape Charles in an advanced surf/rough water course with Ashley Brown; explore the surf and strong currents around Charleston, SC and venture into rocks and ledges in Rhode Island.

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The UnCon Program

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This is the course (“UnCon”) that won a national award from the American Canoe Association (ACA) for innovative programming. Over the past seven years, each group of participants has seen their skill set skyrocket, has gained enormous confidence, and has had big fun doing it!

 

The themes underlying this course are long-term paddler development and unconscious competence. The first refers to an intensive, summer-long series of skill development sessions. "Unconscious competence" means that the paddler has learned something so well that they can do it without thinking much about it i.e., it's virtually automatic.

 

Goals. For this skills series, the focus is on developing unconscious competence with respect to BCU 3* and ACA Level 3 skills.

The 3*/L3 skill set marks the very solid intermediate paddler and is the gold standard for coastal kayaking.  We want to help you get to the 3* level through a series of planned and progressive coaching sessions that will take place on both flat water and rougher water. 

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Strategy.  The basic strategy of the course is to gradually increase the range of skills taught and mastered, and then start to apply those skills in more challenging environments.

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Sessions will focus on refining and nailing down the various strokes, maneuvers, rescues and other skills required at the 3*/L3 level. This will be done initially on flat water to develop confidence, but the key will then be to transfer those skills to bigger conditions. "Bigger conditions" means:  11-16 knot winds (Force 4), 2-3 ft. seas, 2-3 ft. surf and 2 knots of current.

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Specific skills include:  1) Strokes (forward, stopping, reverse, multiple draw strokes, bow rudder, stern rudder) and maneuvers (low brace turn, figure 8’s, etc.); 2) Edging, sculling and bracing; 3) Rescues (t-rescue, paddle float, cowboy, eskimo, scoop, Hand of God); 4) Launching, landing and paddling in the surf zone, open ocean, and in current; 5) Towing; 6) Incident management; 7) Navigation and route planning; 8) Risk assessment, judgement and leadership; and 9) Group awareness and communication.

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Schedule. Training typically involves six, two-day weekend sessions spread over three months, with evening practice sessions taking place between the weekend trainings. The number of skills on which we focus during each session are limited to avoid overload. There is a lot of instruction, drills and games. But we also review the skills we learned during previous sessions to provide constant reinforcement. There will be the expectation that you would practice the skills during the ten-day period between each session. This is critical.

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Coaches. The training is conducted by a team of top-level instructors and coaches including Paula Hubbard, Laurie Collins, Rick Wiebush, with guest appearances by Mike Hamilton, Denise Parisi, and Ashley Brown.

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The Expected Impact.  Based on the outcomes of the previous UnCon participants, you can expect to come away with:

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• A dramatically-improved skill set

• Greater confidence and comfort in rougher water

• A desire to learn even more and constantly improve

• An incredible sense of community and camaraderie with the other members of the group (the people who previously took UnCon continue to routinely paddle together)

• A wonderful sense of accomplishment!

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Outcomes.  As of 2024, there have been 62 UnCon participants in the seven groups. Of these:

• 5 people (8%) did not attain the ACA L2 or L3 skill level

• 19 people (31%) attained the L2 skill level 

• 38 people (61%) attained the ACA L3 skill level

• and, of the 38 who attained L3 level about half (n= 17; 44%) have become ACA instructors

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UnCon I 2025 Schedule

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May 17 - 18 (Sat - Sun) - at Rocky Gorge  (Paula Hubbard, Laurie Collins)

May 28 (Weds eve.) at Rocky Gorge - practice (Laurie, Rick)

May 31 - June 1 at Rocky Point Park (Paula, Laurie)

June 28 (Weds eve.) at Rocky Gorge - practice (Laurie, Rick)

June 21 - 22 (Sat - Sun) - at Rocky Pt  (Paula, Laurie)

July 4 - 6 (Fri - Sun.) - at Tangier Island, VA (Rick, Laurie)

July 19 - 20 (Sat. - Sun) - at Metompkin Inlet, Onancock, VA (Laurie, Rick, Paula)

Aug 16 - 17 (Sat - Sun) - at Cape Charles  (Laurie, Rick, Paula)

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