LMS After-School Program

Mondays, 3-4:30

Junior Whitewater Guide Course

Students will learn the essentials of working as a whitewater raft guide. Course topics include safety and rescue, paddling and guiding skills, river features, customer interaction, first aid, equipment, river etiquette, and shared use of ecosystems. There will be two classroom sessions (May 1^st and 22^nd), and two “wet” sessions (May 8^th at the Old Town High School pool and May 15^th on a local river). Students must complete a written test after the course ends to earn their LMS Junior Guide’s certificate. The course will be physically active, and inherent risks exist in training exercises, such as flipping rafts. Course “graduates” are invited to an optional whitewater rafting trip with North Country Rivers on the Kennebec River, at a significantly discounted price. Participants will enjoy rapids such as “Whitewasher” and “Magic Falls”, while avoiding hazards like “Maytag”!

Primary Instructors: Mr. Gray (Manager of North Country Rivers, Level II Whitewater Guide for 9 years), Mr. Doty (Trip Leader for North Country Rivers, Level II Whitewater Guide for 3 years, EMT-I), Mr. Toothaker (Level I Whitewater Guide).

16 students representing all grades will be randomly drawn from complete applications.

Name:___________________________ Phone Number:__________ Homeroom:______

Limitations (physical or otherwise) which may impact participation:

I give permission for ___________________________ to fully participate in the Junior Whitewater Raft Guide course, as part of the LMS after-school program. I recognize that inherent risks are involved with physical activity and water activities, including, but not limited to, bodily injury, disease, strains, fractures, partial and/or total paralysis, death, or other ailments that cause serious disability. I hereby accept and assume all risks and dangers, and all responsibility for any losses and/or damages. I hereby voluntarily agree to hold harmless Old Town School Department and its employees, the staff and organization of the After-School Program, and the instructors of this course, from any and all claims, caused by myself or others, which may arise out of my use of whitewater equipment or my participation in course activities or the optional culminating experience.

I agree to abide by all school rules, behave safely, wear safety equipment, obey the direction of the instructors, and make good use of homework help sessions.

This includes permission to participate in “wet sessions” at the Old Town High School pool, and on a local river as part of National River Clean-Up week (see dates above), and acceptance of all associated risks. Transportation will be by foot and bus (and raft!).

______________________ (Parent Signature) __________________ (Student Signature)

If you do NOT give permission for your child’s name/picture to be published via newspaper, web site, video, or other media, check here:____(permission NOT granted)

Hi David,

John Keane told me Friday afternoon that you plan to run the Junior Whitewater Guide program past our insurance company early this week; I’m writing today to provide background about the program.

The primary objective of the after-school program (as I understand it) is to provide an incentive for students to stay at school in the afternoon, and receive an hour of academic help from teachers and tutors. Secondarily, the program aims to provide healthy, diverse, and enjoyable enrichment offerings that will contribute to our students’ social, emotional, and physical well-being. Over the past several years, as Matt Cyr has developed this program, our offerings have been quite diverse, ranging from a Red Cross babysitting course to a mountain biking club, from Russian to advanced fencing.

Obviously, our risk management responsibility requires that we carefully consider proposed activities with inherent risks (such as mountain biking, fencing, ice fishing, and whitewater rafting) to make sure those programs meet the objectives of the after-school program, and are thoroughly planned and supervised to reduce risk to an acceptable level. We must adequately communicate risk to students and parents, and do everything possible to manage risks, while keeping our program offerings educational, diverse, and appealing to students.

The primary objectives of the Junior Guide program are to encourage students to stay after school, receive academic help (for an hour before the program begins), and to participate in a healthy, educational activity. We expect the Junior Guide program will be of great appeal to our students, easily fulfilling those goals. Secondarily, we have the goals of encouraging teamwork and environmental awareness, encouraging careers in one of Maine’s largest industries (tourism), and developing a sense of responsibility and a work ethic that will apply in any profession. This program will be run as a course, touching on the many important aspects of the guiding profession. There will be study guides, and a final written test. Participants will be expected to act as students; while the program will certainly be enjoyable, the focus will be on safety and learning skills, which will promote an atmosphere of self-control, rather than an atmosphere of goofing around. The “carrot” of an invitation to an optional, discounted commercial rafting trip down the Kennebec river will also promote self-discipline, as students will not want to lose this opportunity. We have purposefully separated the Kennebec trip from the after-school program in order to insulate Old Town School Department; that experience will be a normal commercial whitewater rafting trip, and Old Town students will be prepared, equipped, trained, and supervised in exactly the same ways as the tens of thousands of other customers North Country Rivers (the largest raft company in the state) guides each summer. Rather than provide my biased view of North Country Rivers’ commercial and safety reputation, I encourage you (or the insurance agency) to contact the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, at (207) 287-8000.

The two classroom sessions will bear very little risk. During these sessions, we will address topics such as licensure requirements, river features, river signals, shared use of ecosystems, fitting life jackets, guiding responsibilities, first aid, and use of equipment. During the session at the OTHS pool, we will work further with equipment, inflate and carry boats, learn paddling and guiding strokes, learn to swim with a life jacket and a paddle, and get comfortable with upside down rafts (a very rare occurrence on the Kennebec; much more likely on the Dead or Penobscot rivers). We will lead students to grow comfortable with flip situations by encouraging (not forcing) them to swim under boats several times, then to participate in a flip without paddles, and finally to participate in a flip with paddles. The pool session is likely the most risky of the four, with risks including slipping on the side of the pool, and bruises associated with flipping rafts. The instructors will manage the event to make sure that it is controlled, and as safe as possible. Matt Vogel, a lifeguard and swimming coach, will also be present. During both the pool and river sessions, all students and instructors will wear a Coast Guard approved, Type III or Type V life jacket, when near, in, or on the water. These are the same life jackets the state requires for rafting Maine’s most challenging rivers.

The Junior Guide program will not include any actual interaction with significant whitewater; that is saved for the optional trip down the Kennebec for course graduates. The only rapid we intend to navigate during the program is “The Elbow” on the Stillwater River, as we participate in National River Clean-Up Week. The Elbow is a very mild rapid, likely classified as Class 2 (on a 1-6 scale). Its typical features (dependent on water level) are at most a single small hydraulic in the main current, followed by a wave train of 4-5 medium waves. The Elbow has a large eddy on each side, and below The Elbow is the calm current of the Stillwater River. Our purpose for visiting the Elbow is that it will illustrate to students what things like “hydraulics”, “eddies”, and “wave trains” are, and allow us to practice ferrying (crossing a current without losing position on the river) in a very forgiving environment. While the classroom sessions will have two instructors, we will bring in a third licensed guide for the river session, to have another safety boat if necessary. We will likely provide wetsuits for the students (depending on air and water temperature – at the current rate, it may be 95^o that day).

The optional trip down the Kennebec River certainly bears some risk, as it is an adventure sport. The majority of that risk will obviously be borne by North Country Rivers, but I am not so naïve as to think OTSD would be completely insulated should some tragedy occur. North Country and other companies take tens of thousands of customers down Maine’s three whitewater rivers each summer, with extremely few injuries. The Kennebec is considered the most family-friendly of the three rivers commercially rafted, as it is characterized by large waves, but few obstructions (such as rocks or shallow areas in the river). The Kennebec also has many eddies in which to “set safety”, and has intermittent rapids, allowing plenty of opportunities to retrieve swimmers. There are hazards (the two pourovers in “The Rock Garden”, “Goodbye Hole”, “Maytag”, “Hellhole”, and “Snaggletooth”), but while raft guides may build up considerable hype regarding these hazards to enhance the customer experience, each is easily avoided. The only rapid that occasionally ends with a flip, and is also unavoidable is “Big Mama”; I’ve never flipped there in my 3 years as a guide / trip leader; I believe Josh has flipped there once in 9 years.

Scrapes and bruises do happen, but serious events on the Kennebec are exceedingly rare (I’m aware of two fatalities in the past decade: one heart attack, and one drowning during a pre-scheduled “Turbine Test”, more than double the typical river flow, with an age limit of 16). The standard suggested age limit on the Kennebec is 10 years old; youth groups, such as schools and scouts, are extremely common. I’ve taken customers ranging from 10 years old to 80 years old down that river, at flows from 4,800 cubic feet per second to flood stage (11,000 cubic feet per second). The most dangerous part of each trip is the customer’s drive to the base in their own vehicle.

Admittedly, I’m biased in making this statement, but Josh and I are well-respected in the guiding community, each having repeatedly proven not only our technical guiding skills, but also having repeatedly proven our ability to make good decisions under pressure, and to appropriately handle emergency situations, such as CPR (Josh on the Kennebec and Dead rivers, me several times in 7 years as an EMT and EMT-Intermediate), severe trauma, fatal vehicle crashes, etc.

I hope this provides enough background for you to inform the insurance company. While this is certainly not a “core” educational experience for OTSD, it will meet the objectives of the after-school program quite well, and be a fun, safe, enriching, and inspiring experience for our students, at no cost to OTSD.

Thanks

Jon