COC Coordinator Manual

Waivers

• The Calgary Outdoor Club has five waivers:
  1. Annual Member Waiver - to be completed and submitted once a year
  2. Non-Member Event Waiver - to be completed and submitted every event
  3. Child Event Waiver [NEW] - to be completed and submitted every event
  4. Member Event Waiver - effective June 19, 2008, the COC has moved to an online event waiver which participants must accept when registering for an event.
  5. Avalanche Terrain Event Waiver to be signed in addition to the Annual Waiver on file for all events going into Challenging (Class 2) Terrain. You must check the weather and avalanche bulletin before heading out, verify that all participants have completed AST1 training (or equivalent) in the past 5 years and completed a COC Transceiver Search Practice event each season, AND test transceivers before heading out.
  
   
• Full (individual) waivers can be downloaded from our web site here: Waivers.
   
• Make sure you are familiar with all waivers and if you have any questions about the waiver content itself, please ask the Legal Coordinator, Marta, for clarification.
   
• If your list (Carpool List or Dtl List) says someone needs a waiver but they say they've already done one, you MUST get them to do a new one. Apologize for the inconvenience and explain that while it is possible that the other volunteer just hasn't recorded the waiver yet, it is also possible that it has been misplaced or was filled out wrong and destroyed.
   
• If you are using the Avalanche Event Waiver for your event, be careful to check your lists and make sure that anyone who does not have an annual waiver on file signs one, any non-members sign the full Non-Member Waiver, and then EVERYONE still must sign the Avalanche Event Waiver.
   
• As soon as possible after your event, use the Waivers link under "Coordinate" - "Past Events" to record the annual member waivers that you collected (non-member waivers don't get recorded). Select all the waivers you have in your possession and submit. If any waivers are no good (ie. wrong date entered), destroy them and e-mail the members to let them know what's happened and that they have to do a new one before their next event.
   
• Effective May 1, 2007, waivers are required for any/all COC events, including socials.
• Effective April 19, 2008, waivers are required for any/all COC events, except for:
  - Socials
  - Meetings
  - Volunteer: if a "Volunteer" event is similar to a social, you don't need to do waivers. If it's more like an outdoor event (ie. Trail Maintenance) then you do. If you're not sure, please ask volunteer@calgaryoutdoorclub.com or legal@calgaryoutdoorclub.com.
  - Learn: if a "Learn" event is similar to a social, you don't need to do waivers. If it's more like an outdoor event (ie. Canoe Lessons) then you do. If you're not sure, please ask volunteer@calgaryoutdoorclub.com or legal@calgaryoutdoorclub.com.
  
  IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a policy change only and will NOT be implemented on the web site. In fact, it would be impossible for the web site to determine, in the case of Volunteer or Learn events, if they require waivers or not. So, after Volunteer and Learn events, you may still get the "Waiver Not Recorded" nag e-mails. If your event was waiver exempt, just ignore them, and the club will do the same.
   
• You should always have extra member and non-member waivers on-hand, and child ones if applicable, for people who do not bring one. You may withhold any copying costs from donations you receive.
   
• All waivers must be filled out completely on the signature page, and initialed on all other pages.
   
• Waivers should be signed and dated in your presence if you are witnessing them.
   
• The CHILD waiver is required for anyone under 18 (including infants) attending the event.
   
• Identity: There is no need to check ID for verifying identity of members/non-members over 18 - if a person joins the club as John Smith and signs the waiver as John Smith in front of the coordinator but isn't John Smith, the waiver would still stand up in court because the person was presenting himself as John Smith and signed as John Smith.
   
• Age/Minors: We should verify age if someone looks to be around 18 because we could be in a lot of trouble if they are under 18. There is also a problem if someone signs up a minor as his/her child when in fact they are not. In the instance of minors, we should check ID of the minor and his/her guardian.
   
• Signing: When collecting waivers, advise the signer that signing the waiver means you can't blame anyone in the COC if you get hurt, die, get in a car accident or your car gets stolen etc." Give them enough time to read the waiver before signing. Confirm they have understand and agree with the waiver.
   
• Check the waivers to make sure they're signed and that the date is the correct year (we often get the wrong year in January)
   
• Send in the waivers: It is not sufficient to send just the signature page in - the entire waiver must be submitted for each attendee - members and non-members. Submit waivers regulary - approximately once per month - to the legal coordinator. You may withhold any shipping/mailing costs from donations you receive. Be sure to send ONLY waivers in envelopes to the legal coordinator - do NOT include any stuff, especially payments, for the treasurer!
   
• Submit ALL waivers to the club - annual member waivers, guest waivers, and child waivers.
   
• Send waivers to:
  Marta
  Calgary Outdoor Club
  Suite #918, 1919B - 4th Street SW
  Calgary, AB, T2S 1W4