West Virginia Wildwater Association Calendar

Guidelines for Participants and Coordinators of River Trips

Trip Coordinator Incentive/Drawing

All participants in West Virginia Wildwater Association trips do so as common adventurers. The club or its individual members may coordinate paddling trips but no one is considered leader of a trip. All participants take the responsibility for making their own decisions including, but not limited to, whether to participate on any particular water body or section, what equipment they use, the routes they may choose to paddle, whether their skill levels and abilities are appropriate for the activity or whether climate and water conditions are appropriate for their participation.

These trip ratings are informal ratings only. They are based on the "International Scale of Difficulty", as published by American Whitewater. They should never be considered absolute since weather and water conditions can alter the difficulty of any river.

River courtesy extends beyond aid to a fellow paddler. We ask all paddlers to consider the following and to promote river courtesy by example:

1. The rivers are shared by fishermen, rafters, picnickers and wildlife. Intruding on each as little as possible encourages and improves enjoyment of the rivers for all.
2. While boats leave no tracks in the water, the banks, put-in and take-out points show evidence of our presence. Please treat each put-in and take-out as the delicate ecological specialty that it is.
3. Litter, from whatever source, detracts from the beauty of the river. Make each river a cleaner place for our having been there. Carry and fill a trash bag on each river trip.
4. Over-night camping and lunch-stops should be located on shore away from the fragile river beaches and banks. Blackened fire rings do nothing for aesthetics and attract more fires and trash.
5. River clean-up, done little by little by each paddler, will do much to retain the very special character of our southern rivers. Courtesy is a very real means of preserving the rivers for now and the future.
6. Remember the landowners. They live there and we are but guests. Strive to be a polite guest. Always ask permission, and leave things better than you found them.

• All West Virginia Wildwater Association Club trips are conducted in accordance with the American Whitewater Safety Code.
• Some of the trips will be limited in size and/or split up if other participants are willing to coordinate groups.