Nige Robinson
Nige Robinson has paddled, surfed and coached throughout Europe, Canada, North America and Papua New Guinea, where he just happened to pick up two gold medals in the 1999 World Sea Kayak Championships, and has over 20 years experience in sea kayaking.
He is a British Canoe Union (BCU) Level 5 Surf Coach, a Level 5 Sea Coach and formerly Coaching Development Officer for the Welsh Canoeing Association (WCA). He is also qualified to assess at this level. He now runs courses, throughout Europe and America and from his home in Pembrokeshire where he was born and brought up, and most of his life has been spent close to or on the sea, kayaking, surfing or sailing. After graduating from Bangor, he became Welsh Canoe Association's Coaching Development Officer, a post he held until 2003 during which he saw massive developments in the whole world of outdoor activities. "There's been increased exposure for all outdoor sports, and I have to say that I don't like either the activity or the environment its practised in being 'exploited' without people having an understanding of that environment and a realisation of the impact they may have on it," says Nige. "And that's one of the things I like about kayaking - you have to make an effort to go out and use a kayak in terms of preparation, reaching your paddling location and, of course, physically, and I think that will ensure that it doesn't take off in quite the way some more accessible sports have. "There's a positive side to all that effort too, in that being out in the wilds, travelling under your own steam in an environmentally-friendly form of transport, you can develop an awareness of and appreciation for the activity and the environment in which it takes place, and I think this is really important given the pressure on the outdoors these days."Whilst working with the BCU and WCA Nige is responsible for co-writing and implementing guide-lines and syllabi and an accreditation process for BCU centres. He is also chairman of the Sea Kayaking Technical committee. For the past three years he has worked as a part time inspector for the Adventurous Activities Licensing Authority and the Wales Tourist Board. This experience allows him to offer expert advice on risk assessment, operating procedures and technical matters for many aspects of kayaking and canoeing. Nige has also been heavily involved in writing and contributing to coaching guidance notes and sea and surf literature, including the following; BCU Coaching Directory BCU Coaching Handbook Sea Kayaking (Crowood Press)
