The only globally recognised raft guiding certification
The IRF Guide Training & Education (GTE) Award was created to provide commercial operators, industry organisations, national rafting federations, government regulators and other interested parties worldwide with a common standard for whitewater guiding professionals. To date, the IRF GTE system is the only globally recognised raft guiding certification.
The IRF is recognised by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the two largest tourism bodies in the world, as the world body responsible for establishing and administering commercial raft guiding standards.
The GTE system is managed by the IRF through the Guide Training & Education (GTE) Committee. The system was first published in 2001 and has been revised several times since then. Significant changes were introduced in 2016/17. Version 6.0 was launched in July 2021 which includes improvements overall to the award system and supporting documents and introduced teh new Whitewater Guide Award.
Learn more about raft guiding:
- IRF GTE Certification History and Development
- GTE Certification Requirements, Processes and Fees
- GTE Certificate renewal – how to renew your IRF GTE certificate
- GTE Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – two page overview of the system
- GTE Workshops / Assessments – list of authorised guide qualification courses
- Certified Guides / Instructors – list of all current IRF GTE qualified persons
- GTE Instructor Resources – resources, forms & templates for GTE Instructors & Assessors (password protected)
- River Signals – globally recognised river signals
- River Safety articles and videos – further reading on river safety
Recent guide / safety news
1st women only guide workshop in Mexico
By Ena Buenfil This summer the 1st women only guide workshop was held in the Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico. The area has great potential for rafting activity with beautiful rivers of different classifications in states such as: Veracruz, Morelos, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and of course San Luis Potosí in the Huasteca region. Eight women attended
APTAE joins the IRF as an Associate member
The Peruvian Association of Adventure Tourism, Ecotourism and Specialised Tourism (APTAE) is the guild of adventure tourism in Peru. They are the Peruvian union that aims to disseminate, encourage and promote adventure tourism, ecotourism and specialised tourism in the country. We welcome them as Associate Members. APTAE History APTAE was born on October 29, 1981
We welcome our new GTE Committee members
Despite the pandemic, the IRF’s Guide Training & Education (GTE) System has continued to grow in leaps and bounds across the globe. In order to keep up with the changing GTE environment, we regularly review the make up of the GTE Committee and so it is with great pleasure we welcome our new GTE Committee
