Re: [Paddlewise] Need help for new club.

>>Does anyone have a suggestion as to how to rate trips, paddler skills, and
>>equipment? I would like to present this to the club so that we can place
>>people and equipment on the right trip.
>>I am aware that the BCU rates skill level by their One Star, Two Star,
>>etc... Are there any clubs out there that use this system or something
>>similar now? If so do you rate trips in the same manner?
>>
>>Looking for any suggestion and trying not to reinvent the wheel, last time
>>it came out square!
>
>I dislike rating paddlers for club trips and would rather rate trips.
........

The NY-NoJ Chapter of Appalachian Mountain Club rates both trips and
paddlers.  Alas, this is mainly for open boaters and WW Kayaks;  maybe later
it'll be expanded.  For trips, we use the American Whitewater Affiliation
classification.  BCU's star system might be a good parallel for SKs.  Some
other clubs use Novice, Intermediate, and Expert classifications, but I
always though of this as a little too egotistic.  Something more descriptive
of the trip may be better.
    Paddlers are rated on the basis of performance and there are some
standards such as having taken this or that course, plus a safety course,
plus paddled a certain number of trips at the desired rating level.  There
are around 300-500 paddlers there, so some sort of rating system is very
useful.
    It is NOT intended to hold one back.  If you have a class II rating, for
example, you can generally sign up for Class III trips.  How else could you
hone your skills?  Rather, it is used as a tool by the trip leader to make
things equable.  Suppose it's a class 3 trip and a lot of class 2 people
have signed up.  I'd go and try to talk a class 3 or 4 paddler into coming
along so I could balance the skill levels.  Also, with that many people I'm
sure to have someone sign up that I've never paddled with.  A rating helps
me decide.


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************