With spring in full swing and with the advent of our new website based trip list it’s a good idea to have a refresher on GCA club trip sign-up guidelines. For the full version click here.
Make sure that you have contact with the trip coordinator (TC). Don’t consider an email to be sufficient contact to be on the trip. It is the participant’s duty to get in contact with the trip coordinator, not the other way around. Look at it from the TC’s perspective; it’s hard to play phone tag with 10 to 20 different people and keep everything straight. If you don’t reach them the first time, leave a message. If you don’t get a call-back, try again. If the TC’s phone number is not listed on the events calendar, look it up in the directory.
TC’s want to make sure you have the proper equipment, skills, and experience for a given trip. All of this information is hard to ascertain in an email or a text message. The screening process is for the safety of you, your fellow adventures, the trip coordinator, and other passer-bys on the river. Being on a river that you are not ready for can be dangerous for everyone involved; the best rescue is the one that doesn’t have to take place.
Making trips as easy as possible for our trip coordinators encourages them to do more trips in the future, and that’s good for all of us!
