Hello Paddlers,
There are many things happening I should tell you about.
New insurance provider
We have a new insurance provider for trips, classes, and pools. As a result, ACA membership is no longer required for club activities. Not only will this save members on the effective cost of membership, it will also make club management far simpler, and we hope that volunteer participation in some of our leadership tasks will increase as a result.
Our new insurer requirements are much simpler: we must collect signed wavers, and we must have someone certified in CPR/First Aid at each event. We are still working on a waiver system that hopefully will incorporate electronic signatures, and are now offering CPR/FA training through the club and a substantial discount.
WKC remains a Paddle America Club, and we encourage support of the ACA for their training programs, safety standards, and environmental protection activities.
Trip planning
We had a very large turnout at both the sea kayak and whitewater parties. Trips are going up on the calendar and we hope to make detailed announcements about that soon. It looks like we will have a very full trip calendar this year! We want all members to register for trips through the website, we are anticipating that waiver signing will be done as part of that process. Which brings me to:
Web Site
Our new web site is filling up with news and events, and more features are being activated. Please return to it frequently to remain informed of new event offerings.
It is important to log in to use many features, such as the event registration. The login link is at the upper right. If you do not know what your username and/or password are, simply enter your email address and they will be mailed to you. Click the ‘remember me’ box and you won’t have to remember this ever again.
The event calendar has many viewing options. Besides the summary on the right of each page, the main calendar page can be viewed as a grid or list. In list view, it can be filtered in various ways: 1) by date range using buttons, 2) by trip type - click the downward arrows to the left of the leftmost button.
Edit your Personal Profile by clicking your name on the upper right which shows after login. I will describe this in more detail in some web site docs that will appear soon, but it is mostly self-evident. If you want the club to communicate what is happening to you directly, turn these feature on: in contact info, membership directory, and forum preferences.
By popular demand, there are now two new forums for announcing trips, either your own, or what is on the calendar. There is also a forum for you to start any sort of paddling discussion you like. These forums will be of most useful to you if you select to have email sent to you (see forum settings under your profile) – there are many options.
Happy paddling, enjoy your club, and may you always wash ashore!
Dave Ortland
Washington Kayak Club President