Pushing the boundaries of SUP - Sanni ASI Instructor
Posted: 27 August 2017
Sanni Rantanen is head disability nurse in the city of Ylöjärvi in Finland. She recently completed her Level 1 & Level 2 SUP Instructor training and plans to offer Stand Up Paddling for people with special needs.
Her dream. one day is to participate at the Special Olympics in Florida with some of her clients. This is her story.
Sanni has been paddling for around 4 years. After seeing it on television 5 years ago she immediately wanted to try it and when she did, she instantly fell in love with it. She says: “I love the combination of nature, water and training. I think it is also the best way to relieve stress.”
She graduated as a public health nurse in 1997 and has been working with people with disabilities since 2001 and as head nurse since 2002. She has studied disabilities and behaviour problems in people throughout her career and this autumn, she starts her pedagogy studies at the Open University of Tampere.
Finland is known as the land of a thousand lakes. There are 188,000 lakes in the country. Sanni says: “Drive through Finland in the summer and you’ll find two colours dominating the scenery; green and blue. The forested landscape is dotted with patches of water and a great part of Finland is covered by water. So, it’s only natural, that the Finns adore their water sports.”
Sanni lives in Tampere, a city in southern Finland. They have 160 lakes in Tampere, with clean and crystal clear waters. You can see why the environment is so great for SUP. With so many lakes that it’s easy to choose the best and safest ones for all types of weather conditions.
For a great part of the year the land is covered by frost and snow so the stand up paddling season isn’t too long because the lakes are frozen. Sanni says: “I usually start my paddling in April and paddle as long as I can before the lakes are frozen. For a couple of years, we’ve had much warmer winters and have been able to paddle throughout November.”
She enjoys working with her clients who all have intellectual disabilities. Some years ago she took a disabled client paddleboarding. She says: “Actually, we weren’t standing up but we left the wheelchair on the shore and hopped on the board. And it was amazing. The look on my clients face when she paddled. I thought this is the thing I want to do. It’s easy to teach something that you love. I decided then to become better paddler and eventually become a better instructor. And now I’m on my way!”
She hopes to continue her senior nursing job and her goal is to start her own specialised SUP School for people with special needs. She says: “Now I’m teaching paddling during my working day. And I have to say that I’m very grateful to my employer, the city of Ylöjärvi, that they have allowed me to do this. “
On paddling with her clients, she says: “When I first started to paddle with my clients, I was looking for information on disabled paddlers and I found out that in Florida they have the “Special Olympics” where they have the sport of stand up paddling. My dream is that we could compete there one day. But we are not ready yet. We have to practice more.“
Teaching people with special needs to SUP takes a lot longer. Sanni says: “Learning can be quite slow sometimes. First, we have to look at pictures before we go to the beach. Then we have to get used to the water and life jackets or buoyancy aids. We have to figure out how this person is able to move or be on the board. Kneeling is quite difficult for many people. We practice it on the shore first.”
Sanni is also interested in the effects of SUP on people with disabilities. She says: “One of my dreams is to do a research project on the effects of SUP. Especially the effect of relieving stress and the way to prevent behaviour problems of people with disabilities. “
“I have noticed that SUP gives my clients an experience of the nature that they haven’t had before. They also gain an experience of success and it makes them stronger. Their balance and muscles get great training too. They get one-to-one instruction and we tell them to be yourself and to do your best.” A great metaphor for us all.
Sanni is an inspirational person who’s taken her passion for her work with people with disabilities and her passion for SUP and is finding a way to combine them. Allowing disabled people and people with complex special needs to experience the freedom, fun, exercise and enjoyment from Stand Up Paddling, that we all know and love.
ASI (Academy of Surfing Instructors), is the worldwide peak body for Instructors and Coaches in the outdoor recreation and sport industry for surfing, stand up paddle and bodyboarding.
www.academyofsurfing.com
We set the standards for education, accreditation, professional development and ongoing support for our members, offering pathways from entry level to elite level.
International Instructor and Coach Accreditation. You can travel the world with ASI.
ASI Accredited Schools abide by the high international standards for operations, training and safety.
