Raft ACA L4 Instructor Certification Workshop – Oregon City, OR
May 7-12, 2026
✔️ Intensive 6-day ACA L4 ICW offering advanced skill refinement, safety leadership, and elevated teaching practice.
✔️ Designed for guides and paddlesports professionals ready to step into instructor roles or strengthen their coaching abilities.
✔️ Hands-on training in technical paddling skills, river safety, group management, and scenario-based learning.
✔️ Focused development of teaching methodology—clear communication, lesson structure, feedback skills, and instructor-level judgment.
✔️ Real-time mentorship and formal evaluations from an ACA-certified Instructor Trainer.
✔️ Globally recognized certification that enhances professional credibility and expands career opportunities, including being able to train and certify new guides
What is an ICW?
ACA Instructor Certification Workshops (ICWs) are immersive, high-level trainings designed for guides and paddlesports professionals who are ready to step into the role of educator. The American Canoe Association has long been regarded as a leader in whitewater and paddlesports instruction, and its certifications reflect the highest standard of technical skill, safety awareness, and teaching excellence in the industry.
These courses blend advanced skill development with refined teaching practice, giving participants the tools they need to meet ACA certification benchmarks. Throughout the workshop, candidates strengthen their own on-water abilities while learning how to teach effectively, manage groups, and communicate clearly in dynamic environments.
What participants gain from an ACA ICW:
✓ Elevated technical training in safety, rescue, and discipline-specific skill sets
✓ A deeper understanding of instructional methods and how to teach with clarity and purpose
✓ Real-time coaching, mentorship, and scenario-based learning
✓ Constructive feedback and formal evaluations to refine teaching style and judgment
✓ A respected, internationally recognized certification that strengthens professional credibility
Whether you’re looking to advance your guiding career, step into a leadership role, or contribute to the growth of your community, an ACA ICW provides a powerful path forward. These workshops prioritize hands-on learning, thoughtful pedagogy, and professional-level decision-making—ultimately preparing instructors to lead, teach, and inspire with confidence.
ACA instructor certification is more than a credential; it’s a commitment to excellence, safety, and lifelong learning within the paddlesports world. For those serious about developing as educators and leaders, ICWs offer an exceptional opportunity to evolve your craft.
FAQ
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To become an ACA Instructor, an Instructor Candidate must:
Participate in an Instructor Development Workshop (IDW) and pass an Instructor Certification Exam (ICE). These courses are offered either as separate courses with time between for skills and presentation development and practice or can be offered concurrently (at the discretion of the Instructor Trainer) as an Instructor Certification Workshop (ICW).
Perform paddling skills consistently with demonstration quality
Demonstrate effective teaching skills
Demonstrate technical knowledge of paddlesports
Demonstrate appropriate safety & rescue ability
Demonstrate effective group / course management and positive interpersonal skills
Represent and promote the ACA and paddlesports in a positive manner
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General Requirements for all Instructor Candidates:
Be a full ACA member (Join Here)
Be at least 18 years old
All participants must acknowledge personal compliance with and demonstrate general knowledge of the purpose and significance of the ACA Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC)
Understands and acts in accordance with ACA’s Code of Conduct
Demonstrate general knowledge of inclusion initiatives
Successfully complete an Instructor Certification Workshop (IDW and ICE)
Upon successful completion, register with the Safety Education and Instruction Council
Have and maintain first aid and age appropriate CPR
Demonstrate a general knowledge of paddlesports and the ACA
Demonstrate the ability to appropriately perform and teach all of the following material, unassisted, in the appropriate venue
Instructors are expected to be able to demonstrate, teach, and model everything on the official ACA skills course and assessment course outlines which correspond to their level/craft and in the appropriate venue
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ACA L4 Raft ICW (Rowing & Paddle) – 5 Day Itinerary
*Itinerary is always subject to change, and adjustments will be made for a six-day ICW
Day 1 – Foundations & Flat-water (IDW)
● Welcome: course opener, waivers, icebreakers, logistics
● ACA structure & teaching model overview
● Review pre-course assignments + raft discipline documents
● Assign first short teaching topics (topics are skills selected from the ACA Curriculum)
● Morning classroom teaching module: Feedback models, Lesson Planning 101
● Flatwater session:
○ Gear familiarization, rigging, outfitting
○ Strokes progression (paddle) & paddler’s box
○ Strokes progression (rowing) & core mechanics
○ Teaching practicum #1: short “micro lessons” (gear, stroke demos, safety checks)
● Evening: debrief + assign Day 2 teaching topics
Day 2 – Teaching & Risk Management (IDW)
● Morning classroom:
○ Movement analysis basics (video)
○ Teaching theory (ACA model in practice)
○ Risk management in instruction (trip planning, site management, mitigation tools)
● River session:
○ Safety talk demos + candidate-led safety talks
○ Teaching practicum #2: stroke/boat control modules on moving water
○ Rescue session: raft flip practice, throw bag practice, swimmer recovery
● Evening classroom: debrief, plan, optional module
Day 3 – Hydrology & Whitewater Application (IDW → Transition)
● Morning classroom:
○ Intro to Course Management System (CMS)
○ Hydrology & hazard ID for teaching
○ Teaching practicum #3: classroom modules (risk, hydro, gear)
● River session:
○ Laps on whitewater (maneuvers, eddies, ferries) with candidate instruction
○ Group management exercises (eddy regrouping, communication)
● Evening: Debrief + individual mid-course check-ins with feedback on teaching and skills
Day 4 – ICE Skills & Evaluation Begins
● Morning: ICE intro, review evaluation criteria, set expectations
● River session (skills assessment):
○ Swim test
○ In-water throw bag test
○ Flip test
○ Candidate-led on-water teaching segments (short topics + maneuvers)
● Lunch on the river
● Afternoon: Remaining teaching topics & refinement (split paddle/oar groups if needed)
● Evening: Debrief + final prep for long topics
Day 5 – Long Topics & Final Assessment
● Morning classroom:
○ Long topics (20–30 min, can be co-taught) – candidates must submit digital/written lesson plans (due
Day 4)
● Group debrief + closing circle
● Individual evaluations and feedback
● End of course
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Wyld Heart Co. courses are open to all individuals who acknowledge the ability to perform the following essential eligibility criteria:
Breathe independently (i.e., not require medical devices to sustain breathing)
Independently maintain sealed airway passages while under water
Independently hold head upright without neck / head support
Manage personal care independently or with assistance of a companion
Manage personal mobility independently or with a reasonable amount of assistance
Follow instructions and effectively communicate independently or with assistance of a companion
Independently turn from face-down to face-up and remain floating face up while wearing a properly fitted life jacket
Get on/off or in/out of a paddlecraft independently or with a reasonable amount of assistance
Independently get out and from under a capsized paddlecraft
Remount or reenter the paddlecraft following deep water capsize independently or with a reasonable amount of assistance
Maintain a safe body position while attempting skills, activities and rescues listed in the appropriate Course Outline, and have the ability to recognize and identify to others when such efforts would be unsafe given your personal situation
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ACA Instructors, Instructor Trainers, and Instructor Trainer Educators are required to maintain appropriate First Aid and age appropriate CPR training from a nationally recognized First Aid and CPR provider throughout the term of their ACA certification. First Aid and CPR courses must include hands on practice and skills demonstration.
If an Instructor, Instructor Trainer, or Instructor Trainer Educator’s First Aid or age appropriate CPR certification expires during the period of his or her ACA certification, the ACA certification is no longer valid. Instructors, Instructor Trainers, and Instructor Trainer Educators whose certifications are not valid are not eligible for ACA insurance coverage. For additional details, please review the SEIC Policy Manual.
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Equipment to bring to class. We are here to answer any questions and to help pair you with whatever gear you might need:
PFD - Type III or V
Whitewater Helmet
Sun protection
Fleece or Wool warm layers
Wetsuit or drysuit
Dry or splash wear
River Shoes
Rescue knife with locking sheath
Whistle
Sunglasses with retainer strap
Water bottle
Dry bag
Lunch and snacks
Meet your instructors
Jess Lewis
I’m Jess Lewis — river guide, coach, and founder of Wyld Heart. For over two decades, I’ve led teams and expeditions across Antarctica, Africa, South and Central America, and the American West. My work has always circled back to one thing: helping people find courage and clarity in wild places.
I’m an American Canoe Association Instructor Trainer (Level 4 Raft), an ACA Level 5 Raft Instructor, and an ACA Level 4 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor as well as Chair of the Rafting Committee. I’m also an AMGA-trained mountain guide, an avalanche instructor, and a Wilderness Medicine Instructor. Additionally, I’m a certified REBT Mindset Life Coach and am working on completing my full life coach certification. Along the way, I’ve started nonprofits, taught as a professor, written as an author, and guided international expeditions.
Through Wyld Heart, I bring all of that experience together — mindset coaching, leadership training, and embodied resilience — to help you navigate challenge, lead with heart, and step into the biggest version of yourself.
Brent Roth
Brent retired from the Navy as a Chief and Master Training Specialist in 2014 and currently instructs swiftwater rescue, rope rescue, whitewater rafting, and canyoning. He has developed programs with Western Washington University, Orion Expeditions, and the American Alpine Institute and currently contracts with Wild Sky Adventure Guides and Peak Rescue, teaching swiftwater and canyon rescue. He has guided various trips and led training for Navy and Army programs. As a volunteer for Mountain Rescue, he continuously trains members in technical rope work and water safety. He serves on the ACA Rafting Committee to develop and maintain the rafting curriculum and is an ACA Rafting Instructor Trainer and ACA Advanced Swiftwater Rescue Instructor.
His life in whitewater started at a young age swimming and snorkeling in the North Santiam River. He started rafting in 2007 on the Hells Canyon section of the Snake river. Since then his river adventures have taken him from the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, the Rio Maranon, the Franklin River in Tasmania and many rivers in the Pacific Northwest. He is an established oarsman, but his true passion is R2ing small boats in class VI and V whitewater.
His diverse training background gives him a fundamental understanding of technical rescue and insight into how organizations teach it. His training includes the Technical Rope Rescue Comprehensive and AMGA Single Pitch Instructor courses from the American Alpine Institute, icoPRO Level 3 Canyoning course, and Rescue 3 SRT-1. He continues his education as a member of RopeLab, conducting research and development on rigging techniques in collaboration with HowNOT2 and Glacier Black.
Brent Roth
ACA L4 Rafting IT
ACA L4 SWR IT
ACA L5 Rafting Instructor
ACA L5 ASWR Instructor
R3 SRT-1
WFR
