Location: 840 Delaware, Berkeley
Attendees: Ryan, Vinny, Natasha, Bill, Chicken, Mel, Juan (Phone), Jon (G-Chat)
Publicity Proposal from Jon Wurl
Vote: 8-0. This is neither a quorum or a majority. Vinny to follow-up on remaining votes.
CARP
Suggestion from Juan Byron: Require CARP for everyone
Discussion
Whether required or not, integrate into Basic Training and/or Winter Retreat.
If changing SOPs, request draft proposal.
Instead of mandated requirement, higher cultural emphasis on regular CARP instruction.
Would be helpful and more effective if CARP content was new and fresh, and/or more applicable to us.
Juan and Mel will tailor the CARP content to better serve our needs.
Bill will talk to Lam about adding CARP to the BT curriculum.
Digression: OLT 101 requirement for all.
Guide Application Process
Context
Disallowing Apprentices from guiding their own boats made staffing more difficult this year.
Skills checklist made getting Guide approval more difficult this year.
Judgment has been removed from the process, when it existed in the past.
"Home grown guide" policy and ATA policy needn't be combined, but can be.
No formal policy is before the committee. Searching for common ground to develop policy.
Discussion/Brainstorming
Checkoff list not required to be complete? If so, then the notes at the end of the checklist would need to be modified.
Need clarity on skills checkoff. What does it mean to get checked off on a rapid? See it? Run it? Run it successfully?
How much do we need to protect ourselves, legally? What is the best way to do so?
Our standards and policies well exceed those of the Sierra Club, who caries our insurance.
General agreement on Bill Weinberg's draft proposal for Section 2.8 regarding guide approval process, which permits incomplete skills checkoff sheet and steering committee judgment.
Bill will draft revision of the Guide Application, including merging with Skills Checkoff list with revised notes. Will pass to steering committee for comment.
Generally, policy is compatible with ATA promotion.
Restricting guide or TL application votes to those position holders
Suggestion by Juan Byron
Discussion
That's the way it was done in the past.
We trust steering committee members to vote on important issues, they should be able to vote on applications, too.
Per River Checkoff
Suggestion by Jared Kelly (not present).
Discussion
TLs can mitigate risk on unfamiliar rivers by scouting, explaining challenging rapids, using protective boat order, exercising good judgment about the skills of the guide staff, recruiting appropriately skilled guides, and other measures.
Mission/Unity Discussion Meetings
Please fill out the Survey! It's super quick!
This is really important, please come.
Discussed setting up phone tree to encourage people to come.