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WAKE Trip Leader Rules and Requirements


To help ensure the safety and quality of WAKE trips, all official club trips must be led by at least one approved WAKE trip leader. Below is a description of how a person can become a WAKE trip leader, and their roles and responsibilities.


NOTE: It’s critical from the outset to recognize that WAKE trip leaders are not the same thing as a guide. Trip participants on a WAKE trip are responsible for their own preparation, skills, training, equipment and safety on any trip, as well as their assessment of whether a trip is suitable for them. Trip leaders are there to coordinate and assist.


(Thanks to the Mountaineer’s Seattle Sea Kayak Committee, the North Sound Sea Kayak Association and the Hole in the Wall kayak club for much of the information and language used in this document.)


Becoming a Trip Leader


A person can become a WAKE trip leader with a unanimous vote of the WAKE leadership committee.

  • Committee members will be volunteers approved by the club board. Approval requires a majority (>50%) vote in favor by attending board members.
  • The committee members will select a committee chair by majority vote.


How to Qualify for Leadership Consideration:


It is recommended that the leader Candidate have the following experience or some combination of outdoor activities and WAKE trips that provides an equivalent background:

  • Have a paddling career that has given them experience paddling in the diverse conditions found in our local waters. For example, 10 trips done over three years
  • Have been active with WAKE enough to understand the WAKE culture and how WAKE trips work. For example, 1 year and 4 trips.


Paddlers who have the necessary sea kayaking experience, familiarity with how WAKE trips are run and meet the following criteria may request to become leaders through mentoring and assessment.


Skills Requirements


  1. The Candidate must have an existing foundation of these skills:
  • Group Management, party size and composition guidance
  • Vetting and Interviewing
  • Boat handling
  • Reading weather forecast and developing conditions
  • Reading tide predictions and observing actual currents
  • Navigation
  • Kayak incident management
  • Own and know how to use a marine VHF radio.


2. The Candidate must have successfully completed at least one full-day on-water sea kayak-specific incident management course or courses that cover comparable elements as an incident management course (complex on-water rescues, towing, repairs, decision making during an incident).


This course or courses could be offered by WAKE or by other recognized clubs (e.g. The Mountaineers) or by an instructional service (e.g. Body Boat Blade).


3. Recommended but not required:

  • Completion of a wilderness first aid or wilderness first responder course.
  • Skills and leadership training provided by professional trainers


Mentoring


Mentoring is our primary way of training new leaders. Candidates must lead at least one official mentored trip. Candidates may do as many additional mentored trips as they wish. “Official mentored trips” are done with a mentor leader designated by the Committee who subsequently writes up a report. The leadership committee shall maintain a list of qualified mentors


Assessment


The Candidate completes the process by leading an assessment trip with an assessor leader designated by the Committee. Between official mentored trips and the assessment trip, the Candidate must paddle with at least two different leaders. It is suggested that the assessor be someone other than the last mentor leader.


The leadership committee shall maintain a list of qualified assessors.


Assessment Criteria

The candidate will be evaluated in the following actions of leadership:

1.       Judgment to choose appropriate trips for their paddling and leadership skills


2.       Trip Planning

  • Weather
  • Tides and currents
  • Route plan


3.       Awareness of the paddling environment


4.       Risk management

  • Aware of risks from the environment and within the group
  • Thinking about options should problems be encountered


5.       Incident management equipment and skills


6.       People skills

  • Attentiveness to the needs of participants
  • Aware of limitations of participants
  • Tries to create an enjoyable and physically and emotionally safe outing.


7.       Equipment

  • Possesses and maintains the equipment required for the specific trip planned. Also familiar with the use of this equipment.  
  • Ability to communicate with others in a group about what equipment is needed and ensure an adequate mix of equipment for the entire group's safety.


8.       Knowledge of WAKE trip leadership process

  • Creating a Club Express event
  • Announcing the event to club members
  • Managing the roster
  • Managing an incident during the trip
  • Posting a trip report
  • Reporting incidents after the trip


All leaders are in the process of learning to be better leaders. Therefore, we don’t expect a high level of leadership competence at the outset. We are looking for leaders who are unlikely to create hazardous situations and will continue to improve. To summarize our expectations, leaders must:


  1. Have the judgment to choose trips within their skill set
  2. Have the skills to perform and/or manage all actions of leadership on the trips they choose.
  3. Represent the core values of WAKE.
  4. Ensure an environment of inclusion for all.


Approval


Mentors and the assessor leaders will submit reports to the leadership committee chair.


The Candidate must be approved by a unanimous vote of the leadership committee members present at the meeting after the Candidate has successfully completed the assessment trip.


The Leadership Committee Chair will ensure that a vote on the Candidate is included in the meeting agenda and is announced to the committee members at least a week before the meeting a vote is taken.


The Leadership Committee Chair may solicit further feedback about the Candidate’s ability to lead trips from the larger community.


External Organization Credentials


The committee may waive or reduce any of the above requirements for leader Candidates holding appropriate sea kayaking credentials from other established organizations.


Maintaining Currency


Leaders must maintain their leadership skills by leading a qualifying trip at least every two years.


Responsibility of Leaders


  1. Exercise good judgment in selecting trips and participants.
  2. Represent the core values of WAKE and ensure the actions of the group represent the club well.
  3. Ensure an environment of inclusion for all.
  4. Use your leadership position to create opportunities for other adults to engage in kayaking activities.
  5. Maintain your personal kayaking skills, general trip skills, and leadership skills.
  6. Lead at least one trip every two years.


Removal of Leaders

Leaders may be removed for inactivity according to the following process:

  1. Leaders who have not led a qualifying trip for two years will become “inactive”, removed from the leader list, and notified.
  2. By request from the leader
  3. A two-thirds vote of the committee members present at the meeting wherein the nominee’s name is presented for removal with cause.


Leaders who have been removed from the list can be reinstated with

  1. Review of their recent kayaking and leadership activity showing that they have retained those skills.
  2. Leading an assessment trip.
  3. The committee will review the leader’s recent activity and assessment report. The Candidate must be approved by the unanimous vote of the committee members present at the meeting.


The rules as listed above were adopted by the WAKE Board on June 8, 2026, to take effect Nov. 1, 2026. For a formatted PDF of this document, see the following link: WAKE Leadership Rules & Requirements