Whitewater Trip Leader Information
Attention trip leaders!!
AMC policy requires that all trip leaders MUST use the liability release agreement (LRA) form below. Any trip run without use of this form is not an official AMC event and you will not have the backing of the club in case of any mishaps on the trip. Also, remember that your AMC membership MUST be paid-up and current on the day of the trip.
Please download the forms below before your trip.
Send the completed Liability Release Agreement to and CC Mark Schappert
Liability Release Agreement (LRA)
The Liability Release Agreement (aka Waiver Form)
Incident report form AMC Incident Report form
You may need Adobe Acrobat to view these forms. Get Adobe Reader
Posting a Trip
Keep in mind group size!! 1 leader and 10 participants is not appropriate if the majority of the participants are newer paddlers.
Consider asking in the posting for a co-leader. It is rare that there is not another CT-AMC whitewater leader on a trip.
Email your posting to Dana Warner and CC Mark Schappert They will register the trip with AMC and send out Email and Facebook postings.
Here is an example of a posting:
(LEADER) will lead a trip down the Tville section of the Farmington on Thursday, August 9th. This section is Class II-III. Must be able to self-rescue and have a reliable roll. Contact (Leaders email) if you would like to attend.
NEVER POST MEETING TIME AND LOCATION ON FACEBOOK OR OTHER MEANS!
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST CONTACT THE LEADER SO THAT LEADER CAN BE SURE THE PARTICIPANT HAS APPROPRIATE SKILLS AND EQUIPMENT)
Responding to Inquiries
People will contact you regarding your trip. Try not to give too much information at first, otherwise, word gets around and you have people who will just show up to your trip without contacting you.
You will also have to determine if those contacting you have the ability to paddle the river for your trip. You should determine that they have the abilities for your trip before providing trip details. (i.e. Are you familiar with this river? What other rivers have you paddled? What is your paddling experience? Are you able to roll? Self-rescue?)
Trip Details Email
Within 24-48, send out an email with details about the trip. Here is an example:
Hey everybody!
We’ve got about 6 people signed up for the Thursday Tville trip so far. This trip usually pulls in some last-minute paddlers so the numbers may go up. (Co-leader) will also be co-leading the trip with me.
Here are the details:
When: Thursday, August 9th at 5 pm.Where: Put-in at Tariffville Park, which is located off of Main St. Ext. in Tariffville/Simsbury.
We’ll unload boats, gear, etc. and then run cars down to the take-out and shuttle back. If you are able to help shuttle people to the put-in it would be greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to seeing you all!
(Leader Name)
(Leader Email)
(Leader Cell phone)
Trip Leader’s Paperwork
Trip Fees: There are no longer any trip fees. (unless there is food or camping costs are incurred by leader ALL receipts must be presented upon request.)
Trip Report:
- If the trip was cancelled, email Mark Schappert and Dana Warner
- Send the completed Liability Release Agreement to and CC Mark Schappert
- If there are other details or non-medical incidents that occurred on the trip email Mark Schappert
Trip Leader’s Responsibilities – Before the Trip
Although each paddler is responsible for his/her own safety, the trip leader is responsible for running a safe trip. To ensure this, the Committee authorizes you, the trip leader, to do as follows:
A. You should not accept paddlers who are not up to the challenge. Your decision is final, but use these guidelines.
- A: Rated paddlers may paddle up to one level above rating (Note: we accept the rating from any AMC chapter)
- B: new or unrated paddlers should be questioned on experience and use of proper equipment when questioning, be friendly… do not interrogate… we want them to come back!
- C: If they are not qualified, please suggest upcoming training classes or other trips where they can gain experience.
B. You may designate other(s), who are capable & willing, to be the on-river leader(s).
C. You may abort a trip, change its location, or limit the number of paddlers (as conditions warrant).
D. You must try to find a replacement leader if you become unable to lead your scheduled trip: If you cannot find a new leader call Mark Schappert. 203-240-3544
E. You should encourage interested paddlers to become a co-leader and learn the ropes… we need more leaders. If considering a change in location, you can get some recorded river readings and info from the CT USGS Current River Levels page.
Leaders’ Responsibilities – At the River
Trip Leader
Leaders who are AMC members have AMC liability insurance protection for listed trips (but no insurance can ever make up for a serious accident or injury).
The trip leader can designate another (capable and willing) paddler as the river leader.
River Leader – at the Put-in
- HAVE ALL PARTICIPANTS SIGN AMC LIABILITY RELEASE AGREEMENT WITHOUT THIS THERE IS NO INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR THE EVENT!
- Respect the rights of property owners and local residents – park legally and considerately.
- Before getting on the water gather all participants and have them introduce themselves and state their level of experience.
- Demonstrate AWA river signals and discuss whistle and hand gesture use on the river.
- Ask if anyone has any medical issues that should be known to leader. Offer a private moment to discuss with participant.
- Discuss procedures for keeping group together, scouting, and setting throw lines at heavy drops.
- Inform group of locations of first aid kit (in or near sweep boat(s)) and throw ropes (in lead boat(s)).
- Inform group before put-in of any known problems (heavy rapids, dams, obstructions).
- Inform inexperienced paddlers of safety procedures after capsizing (keep upstream of boat, feet up, etc).
- Things to have in the boat: Throw rope and first aid kit. Pin kit (optional)
- Assign a lead boat and a sweep boat, and explain their responsibilities to the group.
- If too many boats (more than 6), split into smaller groups (of at least 3 boats), each with a lead & sweep.
- Know where the closest hospital is (AMC has hospitals listed under Whitewater Trip Leader Information).
- Always set a lead and Sweep. Sweep does not need to be a leader, but a competent paddler for the river you are on.
River Leader – on the River
- Be the lead boat (in the first group).
- Be alert to changing conditions of river, weather and paddlers (fatigue, hypothermia); alter plans as needed.
- Maintain suitable distance between groups. Split or combine groups. Break up groups of weak paddlers.
- Take the lead in organizing rescue, or delegate it to an experienced person.
Lead Boat (of each group)
- Control the pace; make sure the group moves along at a reasonable rate.
- When scouting, make sure all boats eddy out far enough in advance of major drops.
- Wait at the bottom of heavy drops for all boaters in group to negotiate the drop, before continuing.
Sweep Boat (of each group)
- Never let any boat in the group get behind you (except at major drops where safety strategies may change).
- Make sure slower, weaker boats keep pace with the group; if necessary, send them to the front of the group.
Accident Report (adapted from AMC White Mt Guide)
Immediate Actions
- Calm everyone – yourself first (you don’t want to rush and make mistakes).
Make the victim as comfortable as possible, without risking further injuries.
- Describe the accident:
Date & Time:
Location:
Cause (falling, sickness, etc):
Injuries & severity:
- Get the victim’s vital signs:
Times
Pulse
Respiration
Pupils
Complexion
- Describe what first-aid was given, and at what time:
- List the victim’s medical information:
Current medications:
Pre-existing medical conditions (Medic Alert tag?):
- Determine whether to evacuate now or go for assistance:
Must the victim be carried out (littered)? _ Are there enough people to do a litter safely? _
If necessary, can victim safely spend the night? _
If Going for Assistance
- Get the following information:
Person
Victim
Group Leader
Person to Contact
Name
Phone
Address
Sex
Age
Weight
- List the equipment the rescue party will need to bring (food, clothing, medicine, splints, etc):
- Determine the action plans for the party which will stay with the victim while waiting for rescue:
- Update victim’s vital signs one more time before sending party to get help.
- Walk briskly (do not run) to nearest home, business, or phone booth.
Dial 911 and report all information calmly to rescue authorities.
Report the phone number from which you called and await instructions.
