SUP SAFE Courses
Our safety education courses cover how to choose and use your safety equipment, understanding the conditions, and what to do when things go wrong. They’re the perfect way to really improve your general water knowledge.
The 2-3 hour classroom course is presented by our trained SUP SAFE presenters around New Zealand, and delivered in an interactive way, giving you examples and scenarios to work with in order to make it as interesting as possible and maximise your learning. You’ll get some good information to take away, as well.
Check out this year’s course schedule at the bottom of this page.
In the course you will learn about:
- Choosing the right leash for the conditions, and what could go wrong
- Choosing the right life jacket for the conditions, how to use and service them, what could go wrong
- Communication on the water
- Other safety options and equipment
- Understanding wind direction and strength
- Understanding tides and currents
- How to interpret weather forecasts
- Planning a SUP trip
- The SUP SAFE code
- What could go wrong and how to deal with possible emergency scenarios
There may be a small charge for the classroom course, which will depend on the local presenter (as some have support from local councils etc in order to run them FOC, while others have to recoup costs for renting rooms etc), but should not be more than $40 per person. A small outlay in return for knowledge that may save your life!
Check out also the SUP RESCUE course. With the skills you will learn in this 2.5 hour practical and classroom course, you will be equipped to save someone from drowning. It’s a vital skill that every stand up paddleboarder should have. Unfortunately, preventable drowning incidents are all too common around the New Zealand waters, and you never know when you might come across someone in trouble.
Course Schedule
We plan to have SUP SAFE courses at a variety of locations and our upcoming courses are below. Click on the course title for more information.
If there are no courses listed, we don’t have any scheduled right now. Check back later to see if we have any courses coming up.
Click here to register for a course
| Course | Date and Time |
|---|---|
| SUP SAFE Course - Northcote | 1795197600 Fri, 20 Nov 2026, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
| SUP Rescue Introduction - Takapuna | 1795255200 Sat, 21 Nov 2026, 10:00 AM - Sat, 21 Nov 2026, 11:00 AM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Orewa | 1795366800 Sun, 22 Nov 2026, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Hamilton | 1795802400 Fri, 27 Nov 2026, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Mt Maunganui | 1795874400 Sat, 28 Nov 2026, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Thames (time tbc) | 1795910400 Sun, 29 Nov 2026, 12:00 AM - Mon, 30 Nov 2026, 12:00 AM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Safety Equipment Webinar | 1796428800 Sat, 05 Dec 2026, 12:00 AM - Sun, 06 Dec 2026, 12:00 AM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Environment Webinar | 1796515200 Sun, 06 Dec 2026, 12:00 AM - Mon, 07 Dec 2026, 12:00 AM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Whangarei | 1797688800 Sat, 19 Dec 2026, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Kaitaia/Opua | 1797775200 Sun, 20 Dec 2026, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Orewa | 1800637200 Fri, 22 Jan 2027, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
| SUP Rescue Introduction - Takapuna | 1800698400 Sat, 23 Jan 2027, 10:00 AM - Sat, 23 Jan 2027, 11:00 AM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Grey Lynn (time tbc) | 1800748800 Sun, 24 Jan 2027, 12:00 AM - Mon, 25 Jan 2027, 12:00 AM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Hamilton | 1801764000 Thu, 04 Feb 2027, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
| SUP SAFE Course - Whanganui | 1802023200 Sun, 07 Feb 2027, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM |
We are hugely grateful to the Safer Boating Forum for their funding contribution towards the SUP SAFE program and education in New Zealand.
