Safety is among the most important things in any aspect of life, including rafting and other nature activities. Even when you’re at your home just sitting around, you hope that someone took a good care of the construction safety standards and rules so that you would be safe just being there. That’s the exact same thing when it comes to rafting licenses and licensed rafting guides. This is why we need them and this is why Tarasport takes good care of its every guest, rafting and nature lover.

When it comes to going outside, spending a day in nature and going for a wild rafting trip, you’ll want someone that can guide you through every step of that amazing and unforgettable journey, so that it could really become awesome and not a long lasting nightmare. So here’s couple of notes about what IRF and IRF licenses are, and why licensed rafting guides are the most important thing to us, here at Tarasport.

What is IRF? (International Rafting Federation)

International Rafting Federation is exactly that. IRF is an international non-government and non-profitable organization formed by rafting professionals and rafting lovers who wanted to bring every rafting lover closer together on mutual benefit with idea to spread rafting experiences throughout the World and to introduce rafting as a vital and rising extreme sport and recreation activity in nature. IRF was founded in 1997.

It slowly grew to become the most important authority in rafting world, so that not only spreading the word and connecting people was its main mission, but to create and make rafting tours safe for its regular rafters and for those who wish to try out rafting for the first time. For that to be possible, they had to create internationally applicable rafting safety standards, rules and tests for licenses for new guides, which will guarantee the highest level of safety on rafting tours in those rafting clubs which posses IRF licenses and guides. Like Tarasport Rafting Club and its rafting guides do. Universal minimum standard for commercial river guides and instructors had to be made, and IRF did it!

Last but not least, IRF takes environment safety very seriously so that it gives its best to make every river they raft on safe and conserved. Since they’re not able to monitor every river in the world, IRF created programs for education of every rafting club and guide in manner to make those rivers sustainable and not affected by rafting tours that are organized on a daily basis.

IRF licenses

Covering the most important international laws and inside country laws is difficult thing to do during creation of universally approved standards and rules. But when it comes to human safety, there is usually common ground where those standards can meet and build new important rules. After a beginning struggle, that common ground became very important and made IRF the most important international body to oversee rafting activities around the World. IRF created a certification award scheme which is applicable for every rafting organization around the planet.

The product of these efforts is The IRF Certification Award which is awarded to those organizations and rafting guides which passed the tests and made sure to meet all requirements.

Licensed rafting guides

Licensed guides are the most important part of your rafting trip. Guides and rafting instructors are entrusted to inform and teach everyone on a rafting trip about the most important rafting rules and every needed step during rafting tour. Also, this Certification Award and license guarantees that your rafting guide is able to help you in time of need, and that will guide you through the whole rafting experience.

No matter how extreme rafting sometimes can be, the point of rafting isn’t for you to be scared, but to feel excited and safe in every moment during your rafting tour.

The IRF regulations imply that every licensed club needs to update its certificate and pay the fee every three years, while every guide, trip leader and instructor needs to update his license in every three years also, either through workshops or conferences but no paying is included, unless he/she wishes to get plastic card which they need to pay. But this is not important for our today topic.

IRF licensed guides and tour leaders at Tarasport Rafting Club

When it comes to Tarasport Rafting Club, you already know that we offer the most amazing rafting tours in Montenegro and for that to be possible, we needed to create safe environment and to match all of the necessary requirements for safe rafting tours. This is why we have IRF licensed guides, instructors and tour leaders from the very beginning of our existence.

Igor and Ivan are one of the most experienced rafting guides and tour leaders you can find in the World. They are both owners of required rafting certification awards, awarded by the IRF, which is very important since they’re guiding a large amount of people every day through the 2^nd deepest river canyon in the world and other extreme rivers in Montenegro and Bosnia.

If you’re maybe one of those people who think that a piece of paper doesn’t mean much, maybe the fact that Ivan and Igor as professional guides take a couple of groups on rafting tours each day, will ensure you that they’re experience is impeccable. Even though you should always consider if your rafting guides have all of the certification needed, no matter where you decide to go rafting.

We hope that we managed to bring you closer to the rafting world, awards and certifications necessary for safe rafting tours, and that you acknowledged that there are no worries when it comes to licensed Tarasport rafting guides. All that is left is for you to come here and experience extreme fun at its best. Tarasport awaits you.