University Kayak Club
Rules and Customs

Index

I. Membership and Participation in Club Activities

III. Officers and Club Representatives

IV. Meetings

V. Pool Sessions and Beginner Trips

VI. New Member Kayak Wet Exit and Tow

VII. Three Members Per Trip

VIII. Restrictions on the Use of Equipment: Class of Whitewater and Duration of Trip

IX. Safety

X. Signing Out Equipment

XI. Priority Use of Equipment

XII. Other Restrictions on Equipment Use

XIII. Exceptions

Postscript

I. Membership and Participation in Club Activities

Registered students, faculty, staff, and their spouses or domestic partners are eligible for club membership.  Only students are eligible for voting membership.  Membership expires as described in the club constitution.

To be an active member a person must:

1. pay required dues and fees
2. successfully demonstrate a kayak wet exit and tow
3. fill out and sign an IMA waiver card, the Waiver of Liability and Acknowledgement of Risks and Responsibilities, and the Member Data form 

Instructor memberships are provided to individuals who are not eligible to join but whose presence on river trips enhances paddling education and safety.  Instructor memberships will be designated by the club executive committee and up to date list of instructors will be maintained on the club website.      

II. Dues and Fees

Definitions:

1. Lake Membership: These members can use club equipment only on Lake Washington, Portage Bay, Lake Union, and connecting waterways east of the Ballard locks.  These areas are collectively referred to as "the lake".
2. River/Sea Membership: These members can use club equipment on rivers and on flat water other than the lake.  This includes, among various places, Puget Sound, the San Juans, the Pacific Ocean, and the sunshine coast of British Columbia.  Use of the club's sea kayaks requires a River/Sea membership when not paddling on the lake.
3. Self Sufficient Membership: These members cannot use club equipment in any club activity except pool sessions.  They must be able to provide all necessary equipment.

For the last several years, the dues schedule has been:

 

Membership Type	Dues for Joining in Autumn, Winter, or Spring Quarter	Dues for Joining in Summer Quarter
Lake	$20	$10
River/Sea	$40	$20
Self Sufficient	$5	$2.50

In exchange for their services to the club, UKC does not assess membership dues of club officers or instructors.  In certain other special cases, such as sign language interpreters providing services under contract to the University of Washington for deaf paddlers on club trips, membership dues may be also be waived.

Club ID cards are color coded to indicate the type of membership.  ID cards are to be given to office personnel at the Waterfront Activities Center (WAC) exchange for the club boathouse key and returned when the key is returned.  ID cards will be provided to new members only after they have successfully performed a swim test, completed their forms, and paid their dues.

Membership forms may be completed, the swim test taken, and dues may be paid at any club pool session during autumn, winter, or spring quarters.  Pool sessions are held on most weekends in a quarter.  During summer quarter, the club conducts, according to demand, lake sessions which fill the same role.  The dates of both pool and lake sessions are announced on the club's website. 

III. Officers and Club Representatives

The officers of the club are the president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and equipment manager. (See the Club Constitution for information on members who serve as club representatives to the Student Activities Office).

Club officers are elected at a meeting held at the end of each spring quarter. The term of office for all officers and committee chairpersons will be from the spring quarter election meeting of one year to the spring quarter election meeting of the following year. Any vacancies in the officer and committee chairmanship positions that arise will be filled to serve the remainder of-the term by vote of the executive board.  The club executive committee may appoint members to serve as beginner trip planner, environmental affairs chairperson, safety instructor, canoe chairperson, racing committee chairperson, and other ad hoc positions.

Each fall, the safety committee will draw up a list of ocean touring trip coordinators and whitewater trip coordinators for Class II, III, and IV water, review the Safety Guidelines, and update the Safety Guidelines as necessary.  Also at this time, the safety committee will designate individuals who will receive instructor status memberships.

IV. Club Meetings

Unless other arrangements are announced, club meetings will be held the evening of the second Thursday of each quarter in the upstairs meeting rooms of the Waterfront Activities Center (WAC).  The final club meeting of the academic year is the election meeting held during the last two weeks of the spring quarter.  All club meetings will be announced via email or posted on the club web site.

V. Pool Sessions and Beginner Trips

Pool sessions will be held at the Hec Edmundson Pavilion pool each Sunday morning 9:00 am to 11:00 am during the fall through spring quarters. Pool sessions will not usually be scheduled during holidays, near finals, and breaks between quarters. Typically, there are a couple Sundays each year when use of the Husky Stadium preempts UKC access to the pool.

Only UKC members or people joining the club may attend pool sessions, and those doing so are expected to arrive at the WAC boathouse at 8:30 am on Sunday to help transport boats to the pool.

Boats have to be rinsed out thoroughly, with any float bags removed, outside the pool building before bringing the boats inside to the pool. Care must be taken in moving boats into and out of the pool building to avoid damaging benches and tiles. When paddling in the pool, avoid sharp blows with your bow or stern and the sides of the pool.  At one time tennis ball halves were taped to the bow and stern points of boats.  Because the damaged tennis balls would often fill up with dirt that was difficult to rinse out, however, this practice was discontinued.

The club vice-president is responsible for organizing pool sessions.

Beginner trips often follow Sunday morning pool sessions. By custom, beginner trip coordinators do not pay transportation costs to and from the river.

VI. New Member Kayak Wet Exit and Tow

All new members are required to demonstrate a kayak wet exit and tow prior to use of club equipment on any body of water.  This test is known as a swim test, as a wet exit following a capsize is called a swim in kayaker parlance.  Swim tests are conducted at pool and lake sessions.  Other arrangements can be made by contacting the club vice-president.

VII. Three Members Per Trip

At least three club members must paddle together on any club river or flat water trip.  One of these club members must be a trip coordinator.  The three member rule does not apply to paddling on the lake.

In general, club equipment can only be used for the purpose of engaging in club activities.  The principal exception to this rule is when someone is participating in a slalom race, slalom race practice, or whitewater rodeo where other paddlers will be present.  Such exceptions are made on a case by case, prior approval basis by the club president and should be made in a written form, such as email.

For other rules governing the use of the Club's sea kayaks, see XII-B below and also Section VI of the the Safety Guidelines on ocean touring safety rules.

VIII. Restrictions on the Use of Club Equipment: Class Of Whitewater and Duration of Trip

Club whitewater trips, and thus the use of club boats and other equipment, are restricted to rivers listed as permitted under Section VII of the document titled Safety Guidelines. The water flow limits specified in the permitted rivers list further constrain the choice of rivers for a club trip.  Note that club equipment use on Class IV water is limited to a few runs and Class V use is not permitted.  See the Safety Guidelines for other rules concerning trip coordinators responsibilities and required safety procedures and safety equipment.

Boat use is permitted on multiday club trips of more than three days and to rivers which are not named in the permitted rivers list only with the approval of the club president or equipment manager.  Such decisions will be made on a case-by-case, prior approval basis and should be made in a written form, such as email.

IX. Safety

Details concerning safety are described in the Safety Guidelines. Key safety rules include:

1. Every trip must be conducted by a designated trip coordinator who has previously run the river and is approved for the class of water expected.  See the Trip Coordinator List described in the Safety Guidelines.  The trip coordinator and other trip members must be listed on the trip sheet filed in a notebook in the boathouse (see Section X, below).
2. A break-down paddle, two throw ropes, and a first aid kit should be brought on every river trip.  A special trip pack is required for ocean touring, and this is described in Section VI of the Safety Guidelines.  Every club member on a trip must have a helmet, life jacket, and spray skirt.  A wet suit or dry suit is usually required, although this may not be necessary in the summer.
3. If a trip coordinator deems a person's equipment insufficient or unsafe, or a person's paddling skills inadequate for a particular run, the trip coordinator may refuse to allow that person to participate or continue on a river trip. The trip coordinator's decision is final.
4. Checking the river level (cubic feet per second flpw rate) is a must before each whitewater trip.

X. Signing Out Equipment

Club equipment used on the lake must be signed out by completely filling out a yellow card listing all equipment, by number where possible.

Yellow cards for lake paddling are located and filed on the desk in the clubroom.  For river trips and all other paddling, yellow cards needn't be filled out but trip sheets, must be.  Trip sheets contain the same information as the yellow cards and are filed in a notebook in the clubroom.

Both yellow cards and trip sheets contain statements obligating users to compensate the club for the replacement and repair of lost or damaged equipment, or to perform acceptable repairs themselves.  The equipment manager will be the judge of what repair work is acceptable to the degree that compensation isn't required.  Members may appeal the decision of the equipment manager to the executive committee.  The executive committee will determine the amount of compensation if necessary.

Yellow cards and trip sheets will be used to determine who is responsible for lost or damaged equipment.  An honor system of self-reporting by those responsible for losses or damages is expected to prevail, however.  Other purposes are served by filling out yellow cards and trip sheets.  These forms are retained and used to document equipment use and for lobbying for UW/IMA support of the club.  They are also used to document the recreational use of certain rivers that may be candidates for dams or increased water withdrawals and provide a component of the club's legal protection.

XI. Priority Use of Equipment

The equipment manager will organize work parties to repair or construct boats and equipment. Work parties will be announced in advance via email or the club website.  Those who participate in a work party have priority in the choice of all equipment (wet suits, spray skirts, helmets, life vests, paddles, and boats) for all subsequent trips up to the time of the next work party, when new priority is established.  Equipment is otherwise allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

XII. Other Restrictions on Equipment Use

1. The Seda Impulse sea kayak is fiberglass boat for advanced paddlers.  It should be treated with care as it does not have a bow bulkhead and is not as durable as the plastic sea kayaks.  When the Impulse is paddled without the use of a sea sock, the Impulse's special bow float bag must be in place, inflated to fill most (but not quite all) of the bow volume, and secured in place with its special lanyard.  Like all float bags, the volume of air in the Impulse's bow bag will expand and contract as the temperature changes.  Because of the bag's size and close fit to the Impulse, there is risk thermal expansion could cause high pressure to develop in the bag, possibly exploding either the bag or the Impulse's bow.  Leaving the bag slightly less than full protects against this hazard, and the bag should be deflated slightly if it is found to be pressurized.  If use of the bow float bag is made impractical by the stowage of overnight equipment in the Impulse or other reasons, equivalent floatation must be present in the bow and a sea sock must be used to prevent possible loss of floatation due to flooding of the bow in the event of a capsize or leak.  Wet exiting and reentering a sea kayak fitted with a sea sock is somewhat different from doing the same with a kayak without a sock.  Thus, paddlers needing to use the Impulse in a configuration with the sock are required to practice, beforehand, at least sea kayak self rescue techniques with the sock in place.
2. The fiberglass downriver (DR) kayak is a fragile, fiberglass boat for advanced paddlers who are learning racing skills. River use of these fiberglass boats will be restricted by the president to those who are interested in racing AND who have demonstrated a willingness to help maintain these boats.
3. The Raven 17 whitewater canoe with bow, stern, and midship floatation bags in place can be paddled in up to Class II water such as the Big Eddy run on the Skykomish (900 to 2000 cfs) and the Lower Gorge of the Green River (under 1500 cfs). However, this level of difficulty is to be attempted by only experienced open canoeists.  All Class III open canoeing will receive case by case, prior approval from the president or equipment manager.

XIII. Exceptions

Exceptions to the above rules may be made by the club president but only on a case by case, prior approval basis.  Such exceptions should be made in writing.  The president will be expected to seek the advice of advanced paddlers on the safety committee when it is appropriate.

Postscript

It will soon become obvious to new members that this club, like any other, faces unavoidable problems in maintaining and controlling the use of its commonly owned property.  The only practical solution to this problem is to promote strong bonds of trust and friendship within our group.  Please join us in doing so.