Toward an Ethical Code for Whitewater Leaders

Posted on Posted in Articles, Carolina Paddler

Toward an Ethical Code for Whitewater Leaders

By Teresa Gryder

A Carolina Paddler Shared Article

∞ We were brainstorming for the revision of the AW Safety Code. It was April 11, 2023. The group involved was a who’s who of people who’ve been involved in risk management and safety systems in whitewater and other sports. I didn’t know most of them, I’m the new kid in such circles.

I made this list back then. I edited it a few times. Then Kent Ford emailed me to say I should do something with that list. Get AW to put it in the journal. He also suggested that a final item about debriefing should be included. I agreed.

So, here’s the list. What do you think?

AS A LEADER IN WHITEWATER PADDLESPORT I WILL…

  1. Teach a cooperative culture of shared adventure and mutual responsibility (build the whitewater team)
  2. Guide newer paddlers (when to step it up, when not to, and skills needed)
  3. Model personal preparedness
  4. Share my decision making process (resources, flow parameters, trip needs)
  5. Model clear communication and open channels within my group
  6. Teach boat control and boating within my abilities
  7. Teach trip awareness (where is everyone, spacing)
  8. Ask “what if” and act to prevent problems (moderate optimism bias)
  9. Teach about the river (hazards, reading water)
  10. Speak out before the bad thing happens (don’t wait for the river to teach them the hard way)
  11. Facilitate debriefing of incidents, including my own lessons learned.

***

Teresa Gryder

 

Teresa Gryder has been running rivers since the 1970’s and now lives in what she calls Whitewater Heaven (the Pacific Northwest). She has worked in the whitewater business for most of her life and loves the community that grows around the river. These days she mostly kayaks but has acquired a packraft and can occasionally be spotted in a canoe or raft.

Teresa is Safety Chair for the Lower Columbia Canoe Club. “Safety is a personal passion project for me.”

This article was originally posted on the Lower Columbia Canoe Club website, lowercolumbiacanoeclub.org.   We thank Teresa and the LCCC for allowing us to use this. And Kent Ford for connecting us.

Special thanks to the ACA for the use of the graphics from the new ACA Safety Code.

There will be more articles from Teresa. Next up is her explanation of why you need a dry suit.  Even in the South.