Re: [Paddlewise] Group paddling

>Harold wrote :
 Club paddles seem to suffer from a political correctness that
says nobody can be refused, or that the paddle must always be downgraded to
the least common denominator, with no limits on how low that denominator can
go;
<

Our University Kayak Club uses a rating scale developed by (I think) the
Washington Kayak Club.  Search out these web sites to study the scale.
I haven't done a sea kayak trip with the WKC yet, so my experience applies
only to the UKC.

The key is to have standards and stick to them.  Newbies may only come on
SK1  or SK2 trips, and must demonstrate buddy rescues and paddle float rescues
before doing any trip over SK1.  On any trip, the leader decides who may
come.  If s/he doesn't know you, get another leaader to vouch for you or
you'll have to argue convincingly that your previous experience is 
adequate.  It is up to the leader to have the spine to say "No," which
is not always the easy choice.  The fact that the University 
owns the gear for the UKC may change the power dynamic a little, but
is still the leader who feels the pressure to balance safety vs.
seeming like a hard-ass.  In this group, I have heard of few cases of 
complaints.  I was never told I could not go on a trip, but early on I was
told the specific hazards of one short but risky trip, and asked to make the
choice myself.  I made the right choice, so that was a nice
way of finessing the problem.  If a leader tried that and
got the wrong answer, that might be support for the idea that the
paddler in question doesn't have the experience needed.

Perhaps a distinction needs to be made between a group as a team or crew and
a group as a crowd in an area.

Highly recommended reading on leadership:  _The Caine Mutiny_ (Haven't seen 
the film, so no opinion of it.)

Mike Wagenbach
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