I have been selected as the GUY IN CHARGE for the yearly safety clinic for our club. I am dealing with a tough crowd who could give a hoot about any safety. Most of my club can't low brace. Any fun ideas/tasks/games I can throw at these people? Along with the usual rescues I am going to set up a slalom course and a limbo bar. Yes I am that desperate. Food will be the main attractant to the clinic. Perhaps I need to buy a bubble machine and have them dodge the oncoming bubbles while paddling.... Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Jim One of the ways we teach low braces is to run a competition - first person to fill their cockpit without capsizing. If you capsize you must start again. Offer good prizes for first second and third for best results Ian Dewey *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Sat AM is the safety clinic. I have incorporated many of the ideas given here into the days events. Thanks for the encouragement. It will be intriguing to see what occurs. I have decided to arm my kids with squirt guns to harass the paddlers during various events. Anything to help train under realistic conditions. I would have included water balloons but don't feel like policing the lake afterwards for all those brightly colored pieces of balloon floating everywhere. If we ever meet I will show my gratitude and dedication to good training by pushing you over. Hopefully you will be in a kayak at the time. Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Any fun ideas/tasks/games I can throw at these people? There's always dead fish polo -- basically a game of tag with a wet sponge. Bracing is one of the skills that helps when you need to duck! Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
on 11/6/04 13:55, Jim Farrelly at JFarrelly5_at_comcast.net wrote: > I have been selected as the GUY IN CHARGE for the yearly safety clinic for our > club. I am dealing with a tough crowd who could give a hoot about any safety. > I want to know about the reasons for the training, if no-one wants it. Is it a legal requirement, a "we really should do it" type of thing, or just good sense? Back channel if more appropriate. Knowing this and the type of organisation involved would help in your approach, as THE GUY IN CHARGE can be an awfully lonely place to be. It sounds like a good challenge, and I'm keen to hear more. Cheers JKA -- John Kirk-Anderson Banks Peninsula NEW ZEALAND *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Jim said: > > I have been selected as the GUY IN CHARGE for the yearly > safety clinic > > for our club. I am dealing with a tough crowd who could > give a hoot about any safety. How about making it a fun thing. For example, you could have contests to see who can do a solo paddlefloat rescue the fastest, or who can do any kind of solo re-entry and have a dry cockpit and be ready to go the fastest. You could also do a kayak tug of war to help with towing--have two kayakers paddle in opposite directions while having their tow lines clipped together. A rolling contest could also be fun--who can do the most rolls in 30 seconds. It can be hard to get people to practice safety skills. In our club, I usually host a session about once a month. Instead of putting one person in charge, we get several experienced boaters to be mentors and we break up into small groups and practice what the participants in each group want to practice. We also get in touch with the local outfitters who support us and negotiate a special "club price" for some professional classes. For example, many of them usually charge about $120 for a full day lesson and we have been able to get them to offer a "club special" for $75. The outfitter gets a class that is totally full, the members get a break in the class, and the club for the last 2 years has been rebating $25 back the people who took the class. It's a win-win situation for all. We don't compete with the outfitters by giving classes, students get to learn from some of the best kayakers in the country and wind up spending only $50 for a full day class. Some of the classes we did this year were: Bracing Power Strokes Navigation Guiding and Leadership Steve Holtzman Southern CA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Most of my club can't low brace. Any fun ideas/tasks/games I > can throw at these people? Back deck paddling! Have paddlers sit on the rear deck of their boat with legs dangling over each side and race. For the more skilled, have them put their feet in the cockpit. Low bracing almost guaranteed. Also good intro into capsize recoveries... Woody ================================= = Woody's Kayak Trip Reports = = http://www.kayaktrips.net/ = ================================= *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Chuck wrote: > With 90% blockage in one of my coronary arteries, I might > have finished the trip okay, but there was also a strong possibility of a > heart attack far from any aid. > > This issue does bring up a couple of questions, though: (1) What would the > club's legal liability be if that man had had a heart attack during the > event? (2) Should a club restrict participation by people with obvious > health problems? > Suspect that there are gray answers to both questions, depending on [insert scenario here]........ And how could one define 'obvious health problems'? Maybe the best solution is a thoughtfully worded and very factual assumption of risk form, perhaps including a statement about unknown pre-existing medical conditions? And maybe having the 'trip leader' (if there is such an individual) verbally review the provisions of said form with all participants prior to a trip? I remember a friend who was an avid whitewater paddler and often took total strangers - though perhaps recommended by closer friends - down some pretty difficult whitewater rivers. Part of his SOP on such trips was to have all others sign an assumption of risk form, as he was the 'trip leader'. Perhaps some of the PW members who run commercial ventures could offer some perspective on this topic? I suspect that any trip run under a liability insurance program likely has pretty specific requirements for what kind of documents the participants have to sign. Erik Sprenne (who is not a lawyer or any kind of legal or insurance professional and insists that the above comments are worth what you paid for them) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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