On Wed, 4 Mar 1998, Sarah M Ohmann wrote: >> >>Hi Folks- >> >>I have been thinking about Richard Culpeper's post on club >>safety and trip leadership for the last few days. Our club (Twin >>Cities Sea Kayaking Club- Minneapolis) is also grappling with the same >>issues raised, partly due to the fact that in the last three years our >>club has grown from five people who knew each other pretty well to about >>sixty (I think membership just about doubled last year). While some of >>these points have been discussed in a general way during the last few >>weeks, I would like to hear specifically from members of other clubs on >>how they have dealt with the following questions- >> >>Are trip leaders for your club strictly organizers or are they expected to >>be responsible for safety of participants? What are their >>responsibilities in the event of an emergency? we have no "leaders" they are "coordinators. our club waiver [signed when you join, and agin on each trip] are explicite about each person must take care of themselves, yadda yadda yadda >> >>What, if any, are the requirements in terms of skills, training or >>certifications for trip leaders? For participants? coordinators: no requirements. i have even coordinated one trip at a location _i_ had never been to!! participants: that's a little harder. nothing "formally" required, except they have the ability/skills to participate without being a hinderance. we also have "mentor" trips, where it _is_ expected people will swim, etc, and we try and have enough skilled folks to help the lessor skilled folks. the idea there is to help people climb the "skills ladder" i have backed out of more than one trip at the halfway point, due to some form of unfavorable conditions or another. i've had friends on my trips that have decided the conditions were not right for them either. >> >>Does your club have any sort of process for approving trips or trip >>leaders? nope. we do have a "trip planning meeting" in the spring [in 2 weeks] where we plan the majority of the clubs trips for at least the first half of the season. so we meet the trip coordinators there. and they are usually the same people year after year. >> >>Do you have trip ratings such as beginning, intermediate and advanced? If >>so, how do you define the different ratings? for us that's easy. most are river trips and we use the standard "class I-VI" river ratings. and then when it's really time for the trip, the coordinator should know if the water is high or low, and what effect that will have on their trip. >>To answer Richard's question, our six member board of directors is >>currently considering forming a safety committee. Initially, at least, >>the policies that need to be worked out seem too complex to leave to one >>person. >> >>Some of the discussion about safety rules and/or guidelines in >>our club has to do with liability issues. So these next questions are >>for any attorneys on the list, or any other clubs that have >>experience with the legal aspects of club safety. >> >>Our club is incorporated, we do have a liability waiver (for what it's >>worth) and since we are a chapter of the ACA (American Canoe Association) i'm not a lawyer, but in the law class i took in college, and the general consensus is: a waiver is worth what _you_ claim it is, to an extent. i'll explain. [see our waiver at: http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmcc/waiver.html if you first have a good waiver, it can be ruined by you saying "here's our lousy waiver" which indicates _you_ don't believe in it... >>our trips are covered by their liability insurance. But some are >>concerned that we have not covered our butts legally, and that safety >>rules may be required for this reason in addition to ensuring the safety >>of our club members. Is there any information on this, maybe from clubs >>who do other activities such as ww kayaking or mountaineering? >> >>Personally, I worry that too much obsessing about liability will result >>in no club activities at all. But then, I have no good information on how >>much of a concern lawsuits should be. Are there any examples of clubs or >>club members being sued? Are there any cases of club activities resulting >>in fatalities in sea kayaking? I sincerely hope the answer to these >>question is "no"! >> >>I would really appreciate any feedback from other clubs who have faced or >>are facing these questions. >> >>Thanks! >>Sarah Ohmann >> >> mark #------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com-------------------------------------- mark zen o, o__ o_/| o_. po box 474 </ [\/ [\_| [\_\ ft. lupton, co 80621-0474 (`-/-------/----') (`----|-------\-') #~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~ http://www.diac.com/~zen/cpr [Colorado Paddlers' Resource] http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmskc [Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club] http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmcc [Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page] http://www.diac.com/~zen/mark [personal] -- Fortune: "When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut." *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Mar 06 1998 - 08:00:06 PST
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