EOC Coordinator Manual

Safety Policy

1. To coordinate a trip at a D4 level or higher, the coordinator should have recently (ie. in the last year) completed at least three trips of that type at that, or a higher, difficulty level. For example, before you coordinate a D4 hike, you should have completed/attended at least three D4+ hikes in the past year. Note that your relevant experience does not have to be with the EOC. Events of D4 or higher will be checked to ensure that the coordinator has the required experience and if it does not appear in their EOC event history, then the event may be put on hold pending communication of applicable experience. Before you post your first event of a specific type rated at D4 or higher, if your EOC event history does not include the relevant experience, you should send an e-mail with your relevant experience to the Safety and Equipment Officer.
2. To coordinate a trip the coordinator must be comfortable with the challenges of the trip.
3. To coordinate a trip the EOC Executive Team and Safety/Equipment Coordinator must be comfortable with the coordinator coordinating the trip.
4. Coordinators must lead by example and follow ALL items in the Safety Policy. Any violation of Safety Policy will result in a written warning. A second violation of Safety Policy will result in a probationary period where the Coordinator cannot coordinate all/certain types of events. The probationary term and conditions will determined by the Executive, Volunteer Coordinator and Safety Officer on a case by case basis.

1. All EOC events will strive to achieve good group management. This means that the event coordinator will ensure the group does not become stretched too far apart such that group communication is lost. Some suggestions on how to achieve good group management are:
   1. Stop and collect at every junction
   2. Stop and collect every 15 minutes
   3. Don't make assumptions about the events members at the front or back.
   4. Confirm through fact.
2. Minimum Group Sizes: The minimum group size for any out-of-town event is 3, except for where Parks rules or other laws require more, in which case the EOC policy is to follow the legislated minimum.
3. Conflict: In a situation involving conflict, the top priority must be the safety of all parties, including any offending members. Do whatever you can to minimize conflict (ie. rearrange carpools to separate the parties in conflict) but make the safety of all persons the number one consideration.
4. In a situation where a participant does not listen to the coordinator (e.g. charges ahead of the group and does not wait), the coordinator is encouraged to report the behaviour so the participant can be issued a warning by the Executive and not cause the same problem for other Coordinators.
5. Turning Back: When a situation requires an event attendee to turn back mid way through the trip, the event attendee should not go back alone. The event coordinator or any of the other event attendees may volunteer for the return trip. The event coordinator will try to get an experienced attendee to volunteer to go back with the person. Barring that, the coordinator will go back with them if it does not put the rest of the group in jeopardy.

1. A member (ie. non-volunteer) interested in coordinating a trip must contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Rhonda at volunteer@edmontonoutdoorclub.com.
2. Events that are technical or extreme in nature will be reviewed by the EOC Executive Team and Safety/Equipment Coordinator for approval on a case by case basis.
3. Events currently not accepted by the EOC unless run through an external organization are described in our FAQ on Scope.
4. Coordinators must do a reasonable amount of due diligence in researching the conditions and safety of the event they're planning. Some good resources can be found on our Links page. We request (but do not require) that our coordinators subscribe to the alert service from Trailex.
5. All EOC events will abide by the laws and regulations of the area in which the activity occurs. This includes, but is not restricted to: group minimum and maximum laws and guidelines, dog control laws and guidelines, required equipment/gear laws.

1. Members are required to provide the appropriate equipment for each trip.
2. Helmets are MANDATORY on all EOC inline skating events
3. Helmets are MANDATORY on all EOC cycling events, bells are MANDATORY on all events within the City of Edmonton, and reflectors are recommended for events that will (or may) go into the evening. See Edmonton Bicycle Laws for complete information on the laws governing the Edmonton area, but do note that although helmets are required by law only for those under 18 at the time of this writing, for EOC events they are required for ALL attendees. The use of bells to warn pedestrians before passing is also required by law in the City of Edmonton. No Helmet = No Ride.
4. All attendees MUST wear PFDs on any/all water trips (ie. river floats) whenever it is the law to do so. Many people ignore this law, but on club events, we will follow this law to the letter.
5. Location-Specific Considerations:
   1. All EOC trips going to Mount Yamnuska for any reason, which will include traversing along the front of the cliff, require climbing helmets from all participants, and require that those helmets be worn while in front of the cliff. Note that bike helmets and other helmets are NOT sufficient... proper climbing helmets are a must. This is to protect people from being killed by a rock falling from the cliff. It doesn't take a very big rock, nor a very far fall for the rock, to seriously injure or kill someone if they're struck by one.
   2. Trips going to Canyon Creek Ice Caves with the intention of entering and exploring the caves require a Mountaineering Helmet.

1. All ratings mentioned below are based on Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies by Alan Kane. All scrambles not in this book will be considered at least moderate for group size and helmet requirements.
2. Group size: Easy scrambles - No more than 12 people. Moderate and difficult scrambles - No more than eight. If you're new to scramble coordination, consider even smaller groups for your first few events with a maximum of eight for even easy scrambles. For some scrambles, even smaller groups may be appropriate no matter how experienced you are as rock fall and exposure risks increase.
3. Helmets: Rock helmets (no bike or other helmets!) are required for all scrambles rated moderate or difficult. On easy scrambles, helmets will be required for all scrambles new to the club and a decision can be made after the event on whether the risk warrants helmets on subsequent trips to the same location. Some easy rated scrambles will always require helmets. To date, the following fall into this category: Yamnuska, Tower of Babel and Mount Burgess. This list may be expanded as the club completes more trips to new areas. On events where it’s been determined they are not necessary, always add helmets to the list of recommended equipment anyway so people have the choice on whether or not to bring them.
4. General advice: don't coordinate trips at the top end of your ability. i.e. it's a good idea to have completed several difficult scrambles before coordinating moderate trips. Don't be shy about questioning the ability of registrants especially on the moderate and difficult trips. And don't take on more than one or two people who you think might be pushing their limits on a trip, especially if you're not that experienced yourself.

1. Barrier Lookout, including Prairie View Trail, Stoney Trail and Jewel Pass
2. Benchlands Trail at Canmore
3. Grotto Canyon
4. Heart Creek
5. Heart Mountain
6. Johnston Canyon
7. Lake Agnes (not beyond)
8. Prairie Mountain
9. Rawson Lake (be careful to avoid the other end of Upper K-Lake, which has known avalanche areas, and the far end of Rawson Lake - ie. the ridge)
10. Silverton Falls
11. Tunnel Mountain
12. Vista Lake