PADDLESMART Paddle Canada has partnered with the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSRS) to produce Pad- dleSmart, a new AdventureSmart program, to be rolled out this fall. Paddle Canada’s partnership with NSRS in the past months has involved consultation on water safety material for the AdventureSmart project. PaddleSmart is designed as a guide to deliver recreational paddling safety instruction and information to novice and experienced paddlers before they set out on their trips.
PADDLE CANADA INTRODUCES
SAFETY LINES TEACHING OUTSIDE
OF YOUR COURSES While Paddle Canada instructors are water and paddling experts, there is room to improve our engagement with our local communities and connect them with the vast paddling resources available. As instructors and experts, we take for granted the weather, navigation, forums and other online and easily accessible resources that we frequently use. What we need to be asking ourselves is whether new paddlers are accessing
these resources as well. Part of our responsibility as instructors and paddling experts is to connect our students and the community with the tools and resources they need to have safe and enjoyable trips outside of course time, and outside of the Paddle Canada curriculum. In our courses, on our websites and in our interactions with the public we should
reference and direct people to resources like the website of the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC). Paddle Canada is a member of the CSBC. Their website,
SmartBoater.com, is an important resource that new paddlers should become famil- iar with. The website provides links to Safe Boating Awareness Week, cold water information, the Weather To Boat infomercials, the fishing Hooked on Life Jackets campaign, Operation Dry Water, and the Canadian Safe Boating Awards. As instructors, we should reference such websites while teaching courses, link to
them on our websites, and generally promote them as helpful and important resources. There are countless other weather, navigation, safety and general knowledge resources that we frequent and we should ensure that our students and the public do as well. There are many other ways that instructors can reach out to the public outside
of courses. Online forums, chat communities, Twitter, Facebook and other social networks are excellent platforms to provide expert information while building your professional brand and reputation among recreational paddlers. Post signs at your local launch areas reminding paddlers of safety considerations and put your company logo and contact details on the signs. Promoting safety and advertising in one swing! It is also important to have a media presence in your area. Get on the radar of the
local reporters, write letters to the editor or even pitch an article or two to the local paper on paddling topics. However you do it, identify yourself as the go-to expert for paddling advice and spread the safe paddling and boating message. You will raise your profile in the community and increase enrolment in your courses or trips. ERIC WILLIAMS President Emeritus, Paddle Canada Director, Canadian Safe Boating Council
PaddleSmart will consist of three modules: Survival and Recreational Paddling Safety, Survival on Ocean, and Survival on Moving Water. The core message of the modules will be AdventureSmart’s three safety prin- ciples: Trip Planning, Training and Essentials for Safety and Survival. Paddle Canada is currently apply- ing to the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund for grant money to begin training Paddle Canada instructors to offer the PaddleSmart program to the public.
•••
AN ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM WITH NO OVERHEAD!
A barrier for most small businesses looking to have an online sales system is the high monthly fees that many booking systems and credit card gateways charge. Rezgo is an online booking system that charges a five-percent commission for sales it makes. Rezgo can function as a con- solidated booking system because it also accepts manual back-end book- ing entries for a one-percent commis- sion. There are no additional fees or charges for Rezgo. You can receive payments through PayPal Standard that charge a commission between two and three percent on completed transactions. There are no contracts; so if your online sales volume grows there are many options to reduce or eliminate the commission fees. Coupling Rezgo and PayPal is the only way I have found to experiment with a full online booking system without any overhead. Rezgo and PayPal are very easy to set up. Rezgo also has a unique and sophisticated resource management system where multiple trips/accounts can draw from one resource (boats, guides, instruc- tors, etc.) pool.
www.rezgo.com. —Adrian Camara, Editor
www.adventurekayakmag.com 59
PHOTO: PRISCILLA HASKIN
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