Each year, volunteer instructors in clubs across Denmark hold around hundred courses to teach people how to kayak. Instructors have started to use the guide to support their teaching during and between lessons. Students are also using the material to prepare for certification tests and, after the winter season, to review what they need to remember again. The material is grouped in five sections: weather and water conditions, equipment, getting into and out of a kayak, paddling techniques, and rescue procedures. It is designed to give novices all the essential information needed to obtain an IPP2 certificate, which is required for membership in most kayaking clubs. The guide exists as both a website and a booklet. The website is free to use, and the book is available through the Danish Canoe and Kayak Association (DKF). Although the captions are currently only in Danish, there are plans to publish the guide in English this summer and promote it internationally.

Different kayak clubs have long had to create their own instructional materials, which typically consist of a few typed pages, occasionally combined with videos for specific techniques. When visual material exists, it invariably features male paddlers and instructors. Unfortunately, these teaching handouts is spotty and poorly organized. As a result, the essentials are communicated chiefly through oral instruction. Many would-be kayakers find it difficult to remember the basics from the teaching sessions, they’re often preoccupied with the possibility of capsizing. In addition, most recreational kayakers only go out on the water during the summer season. Yet they have no resource that they can use to review what they need to know about basic techniques and safety precautions before paddling again. “A universal visual reference on basic techniques in kayak touring and racing – something we’ve been needing in the sport." Casper Licht Danish Canoe & Kayak Association

How to Kayak gives instructors and novice paddlers a shared framework that facilitates learning, discussion, and review. It was inspired by the designer’s own experience of learning to kayak and her frustration with the poor quality of existing instructional materials. The visuals are designed to focus attention on only the essential aspects of each technique and situation. The illustrations were developed through an iterative process in conjunction with numerous instructors in the field. They feature a simple gender-neutral figure to keep the focus on what to do, rather than who is doing it.