The Mechanics of Organising a Paddle – Making the arrangements

There are four main elements to making arrangements for a paddle.

  • Arranging for support (if you need it)
  • Setting up the registration system
  • Publicising the trip
  • Managing the registrations

Arranging for Support (if you need it)

An initial question to ask yourself is whether you need support from other experienced (F2+) paddlers. This is going to depend on your own capabilities, those of the participants, and the number of participants. You, as the organiser, do not need to be the most experienced paddler, you simply must have enough people around you to help you, guide you, or occasionally take control if things are going wrong. See Organising and Leading Trips for more information on this.

Setting up the registration system

The River Canoe Club uses Paddle Australia’s (PA) JustGo Membership and Events Portal to manage its paddling events. JustGo allows paddlers to register for specific trips, and it incorporates certain requirements such as the PA disclaimer. Organisers can ask for information you need from people at the time of registering and can monitor and manage registrations.  Where fees involved it takes care of the payments on-line.

A useful feature of the JustGo system is being able to select rules around who can register.  Using rules you may restrict registrations to RCC club members, open it up to members of other PA affiliated clubs or even to non-members under a “single event registration”.

To be able to set-up your trip in the JustGo system you will need to be granted certain access by the RCC Committee. If you are only going to be using this rarely it may be worth asking someone to set up the trip for you, usually the paddle convenor for the type of paddle you are doing. If you think you will be running more than a few trips per year, it’s better to be set-up in the system yourself.

For detailed instructions on using JustGo see the PA JustGo Event Guide: https://helpdesk.paddle.org.au/event-admin/

Once you have set up the trip in JustGo you will need to copy the registration hyperlink in section 4 of the form (Event Settings). That link is important to provide to participants when advertising the paddle (see below).

Publicising the trip

You will need to let people know about your trip and there are several ways you can do this. As a minimum RCC members should be notified of a club trip using email and the website Calendar. 

Be careful about providing full details of a club paddle on anything other than the JustGo registration system, particularly the precise location you will meet. You want people to register and not just turn up.  If people just turn up, it can mess up the planning you have done beforehand, including the paddle competency ratios and the participant list that you have prepared in-case of a mishap or emergency. Rarely you may even have a stranger that is unknown to the club turn-up and ask to join you. You will need to politely turn them away. Usually, it is enough to simply state the suburb and time of day that you will meet.

Email – This is the formal communication method to members. The club uses an emailing service. To notify members, email to rivers@rivercanoeclub.org.au. Your email will be sent to members once it is approved by a committee member.  This is usually done quickly but if it’s urgent you can contact someone directly to prompt them. Note: There is a list of all club email addresses on the website. 

In your email include some details of the trip such as

  • The title of your trip
    • A description or your trip idea (where and when it is, the paddle objective, the category of water, the paddling ability required to participate).
    • State if club boats can be used and if the participant is required to organise this themselves. 
    • State that registration is required and include a hyperlink to the JustGo Registration page.

This information can usually be copied from your float plan

Club Calendar – The website has a calendar of events and with a few exceptions all paddle trips should be added to it. To add your trip to the Calendar you will need to be granted admin access by the RCC Committee. If you are only going to be using this rarely it is worth asking someone to set up the trip for you, usually the paddle convenor for the type of paddle you are doing. If you think you will be running more than a few trips per year, it’s worth being set-up in the system yourself.

Once you have access rights to edit the Calendar you can add your trip by:

  • Log into the RCC website – the Admin Login is at the bottom of each webpage. 
  • Click “+New” and select “Event” from the top ribbon of each webpage
  • Complete the on-line form
    • Add the title of your trip
    • Write a description or your trip idea in the main box (where and when, the paddle objective, the category of water, the paddling ability required to participate). State if club boats can be used and if the participant is required to organise this themselves. The description can often be copied from your float plan. State that registration is required and include a hyperlink to the JustGo Registration page. You may also include photos in this description if you wish.
    • On the right hand side add the start and end times and dates
    • On the right hand side check the appropriate ‘Event Category”
    • Other boxes do not need to be completed. DO NOT complete the “Where” or “Bookings/Registration” boxes
    • Click Publish on the right hand side.

WhatsApp (optional) – You can use the general club WhatsApp to let people know the trip is in the Calendar, and to attach a link to the JustGo registration system. You don’t need any more details other than where it is and when it is. They can get all of that from the Calendar and JustGo links.

FaceBook (optional) – The RCC FaceBook page has the widest reach to publicise your paddle trip and to promote the club generally. Remember that it is completely public. If you decide to use FaceBook you should include the same sort of information that you have in the Calendar (see above). You should include pictures to attract attention and interest. Ensure there are no copyright issues with the pictures you are using. Your own or other members previously published pictures are safe to use. In you post tell people they need to register and include a hyperlink to the JustGo registration page.

There are two ways to let people know about your trip via FaceBook. A standard post is the simplist way and is effective for paddles that are happening soon (a few days). You can provide the information and registration link in the text of the post. Where the paddle trip is more than a few days away a normal post can be quickly lost under newer posts. In this instance it is often better to set up an “Event”. FaceBook applies certain notifications to Events and you can see if mutual friends are interested. You can put more detailed information into an Event but this isn’t all needed. Make sure you provide an instruction and link to the JustGo registration page.

When a club trip is not advertised – The RCC strives to be inclusive wherever possible. Occasionally you will come across an account of a club paddle that was not advertised beforehand. This will usually be for trips where there are particular dangers involved and specialist skills needed, and where being able to rely on a trusted paddling group is crucial for safety. The most common type of activity where this happens is whitewater paddling or exposed ocean paddling. If you are interested to do these paddling activities, check out the RCC development pathways. When people get to know you and your abilities you will start to be invited on these paddles. Note for whitewater paddling the Penrith Whitewater Stadium has several courses that, combined with practice in public sessions, can fast track your development.

Managing Interest and Registrations

Managing registrations is straightforward.  JustGo shows you a list of registrants and the information they provided at registration. This can be viewed directly from JustGo or exported to a CSV or Excel file.

There are a few things to watch for:

  • Is there anyone registered that you don’t know? If so:
    • Reach out to other organisers to find out if they know the paddler and if they can vouch for the paddler’s suitability for your paddle.
    • If they are still unknown, send them and email or give them a call to determine their suitability.
    • If they do not have the capability to join your trip, tell them gently and keep it positive.  This trip may not be right for them, but others will be. It’s often useful to suggest beginners and new members do a club paddle from the club so that everyone can get to know each other.
  • If anyone needs to pull out the paddle their tickets can be cancelled and any money paid refunded.  This is done clicking the cancel and refund tab against their name (on the right side of the page).
  • Make sure you have sufficient F2 paddlers that are prepared to help you with on-water leadership. Although it’s rarely a problem, if there are not enough F2 leaders you can put a request out for help on the WhatsApp group or contact the Paddle convenor for advice.

When registrations close, add the participant list to the float plan. If there are only a handful of people registered this can be done manually. If there are a lot of registrations, it is easier to download the participant list to an CSV or Excel file. This can be quickly tidied up in a spreadsheet and attached separately to the float plan.

In the run-up to the paddle, you can email participants with information not included in JustGo registration. This may include the precise location and time to meet, any useful information and what they need them to bring to the paddle. Sending out a list of equipment can prevent problems on the day, especially if there are beginners or children (note that the club policy is not to have unaccompanied minors on our paddles).  The equipment list can be copied from the float plan.

If you need to cancel the whole paddle (usually due to the weather) this can be done through JustGo. Even so, it is also nice to send out an email explaining the reason. It is also good to give people as much notice as possible of a cancellation, however note that weather forecasts can often improve as a paddle approaches. There is no hard and fast rule to the notice period – it’s a judgement call.

Finalising the Float Plan

After registrations close you need to finalise the float plan.  This includes:

  • add the participant list to the plan either manually or using JustGo (see above)
  • update the plan with anything missing or changed for example paddler numbers and weather forecast
  • If a final version of the flat plan was requested by the club convenor or a committee member send it to them
  • Send a copy to your trusted emergency contact and make sure they understand what to do if you do not check in

If you are using a PLB, it is best to register the trip on the AMSA website and attach a copy of the float plan. This is especially important if you are paddling in remote areas. 

You are now ready to run the paddle. See Execute the Float Plan.