European paddle pass
The European Paddle Pass (EPP) is a certificate of competence for canoeing . It is divided into a total of six levels (white (base), yellow (1), green (2), blue (3), red (4), black (5)). Levels 1–3 should include basic knowledge, levels 4–5 special knowledge in the areas of white water and coastline .
The EPP was developed by a working group consisting of six European canoe associations (France, Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Slovenia) on the initiative of the EU Commission . The German Canoe Association (DKV) has been a member of this working group since 2006. The EPP is intended to contribute to training standards that are comparable across Europe and thus enable as many people as possible to have access to canoeing. The DKV sees this as an opportunity for canoeists to check their level of training themselves and, if necessary, to improve it. It offers canoe clubs the opportunity to attract new members with appropriate offers.
The conditions for acquiring the European paddle pass stipulate that successful participants receive proof of this. Such evidence could in future be made a prerequisite for being able to navigate certain (e.g. otherwise blocked, particularly environmentally sensitive) bodies of water or to participate in an organized journey on a dangerous body of water. Critics see the EPP as an attempt to introduce compulsory driving licenses for canoeing as well.