Liverpool University Canoe Club

This document describes the use of club equipment by club members, and the storage of personal equipment by club members.

Borrowing club kit

The club has various boats and equipment - these are for the use of club members on river trips (and other trips, sea, polo, slalom etc).

To use club boats and equipment, you need to be a fully paid up member of the club.

When borrowing club kit, write down, on the list in the sheds, the kit which you have borrowed, and tick it off again when it is returned.

By borrowing club kit, you accept that it is your responsibility to bring back the kit which you have used, in good order. You also accept that you are going to use it for its intended purpose.

Using kit safely / checking safety of kit: The club equipment officers carry out regular checks of the kit - they check for damage, measure the buoyancy of buoyancy aids etc, and repair or retire kit which is not fit for purpose. However, users also have a responsibility to check for themselves that the equipment seems to be in working order and fit for use. Please check for yourself, and for any novices in your group, whether the boat you are using has enough buoyancy (airbags or equivalent) in it (buoyancy is required on river and sea trips, though not polo), whether your BA can be done up and secured properly, whether your helmet can be secured properly, whether your spraydeck has a release loop on the front, whether your boat has footrests, whether any polo faceguards are intact, whether polo boats have adequate padding, whether polo paddles have sharp bits, and whether any of your kit has broken parts to it, especially things which may constitute “snag hazards” on a river. If there is any problem with kit seeming worn, broken, or not fit for its purpose, then please if possible move such kit to the end of the shed, out of the way, and report it to the kit officers personally or by email.

Public Keys: For club trips, the trip organiser will arrange for the sheds to be opened up by one of the key-holders, so that you can get the equipment you need. For small group trips, contact one of the key-holders (see contacts page) and arrange keys. Trip Leaders: Try to contact the key-holders as early as possible, so that you can fix a time convenient for them and you. Please try to coordinate with other users who may also need to take out kit or return kit on a second trip running at the same time.

Kit sign-out List. Write down what you have borrowed in the list, and tick it off later when you return it. Each piece of kit has a number on it - record what the piece of kit is, and its number. For a club trip with lots of people borrowing kit, the quickest way to do this is for the trip leader to delegate to one of the other helpers the task of recording all kit on the sign out sheet at once.

Kit Breakage / loss while in use: Sometimes kit does get worn out, swept away, or broken. When this happens, please tell the kit officer - this is very important because kit which has been broken could be dangerous for others to use, and kit which is missing means that others may not have things to use next time.

Kit Breakage Fee: There is a kit breakage loss/fee of £20. However, some normal wear and tear, breakage, and (very occasionally) loss-on-river of kit is to be expected, and, at the discretion of the kit officer, the kit breakage fee can be waived in those circumstances where the borrower was not negligent. I.e. Waived in those cases where the kit was simply in normal use. Furthermore, it is important to remember that retrieving kit from a river situation can sometimes be dangerous - use your common sense when assessing whether to attempt to retrieve kit - kit can be replaced, you can’t.

When returning kit to the sheds, please store it sensibly, on the racks, pegs and rails provided.

Storing personal equipment

Private kit space: The club has some space where members can store their own boats/kit. If you have a boat/kit you’d like to bring to uni and store in the personal kit space, ask the kit officer (or anyone else on the committee) how this works and they will find some storage space for you and explain the system, which is separate from the club kit system.

To store your kit, you must be a fully paid up member of the canoe club.

There is not a lot of space, but there should be enough for each member with private kit to store at least one boat. With this in mind, if you no longer need to store your boat in the private shed, please do remove it to your house, to free up space for people with no storage space at home.

Please stack your boat carefully, using the bungees provided, and keep the private kit area tidy so that everyone can use it. Please treat other people’s boats with care when you are getting or returning your boat - for example: do not stack plastic boats on top of more delicate carbon boats, and be careful not to damage paddles.

Never use other people’s private kit without their express permission.

If you have any queries or suggestions about the above procedures and this document, please talk to the kit officers or captain.