As a trip leader, you need to be concerned about the paddling abilities of your participants. It becomes even more critical when leading on more difficult novice level runs. It is always hard to tell someone that is swimming most of the rapids they need to take-off for their safety and the group's safety as well. Trip leaders need to perform adequate screening prior to the trip. Another concern are boater/s that just show up at the put-in. A good case can be made for controlled distribution of the float plan to only registered participants and helpers. This makes it more difficult for last minute participants to join your trip.
What are some decent techniques for screening participants? I shy away from the typical have you paddled class II whitewater or taken formal classes. Many troublesome boaters will overstate their abilities. There are also some paddling schools that never take their students on real whitewater runs either and simply stick to Anglers Inn. A much better approach is to ask them what local streams they have paddled and then ask them what their favorite rapids were and why. Ask them what kind of boat they are paddling as this can also provide some decent clues. Ask if they have all the gear they need or if they need to borrow equipment. You will also do a gear inspection at the put-in as well to eliminate bike and hockey helmets as well as loose fitting gear. Do they have a flat-water roll or have they tried this skill? These are all friendly questions that will help you determine if this trip is suitable for the participant.
On beginner runs, you will have a much wider variance of skill sets and equipment. Sit on tops and recreational boats can be fairly common and work perfectly well. One area of concern is swimming ability. Although a properly fitting PFD will float a swimmer, people that don't know how to swim will often panic when upside down and when they get pulled underwater swimming over drops. Ask if everyone knows how to swim - a very crucial safety question. In my opinion, no one should take up this sport if they can't swim without a PFD 50 yards in flat-water. This sport will scare the living daylights out of them (and perhaps you as a trip leader as well). One innocuous way of determining water comfort is to have everyone perform a wet exit - one participant per instructor/helper. I combine this with the typical hand signal for a bow rescue while upside down. Persons uncomfortable with water will try not to perform this crucial exercise or skip the hand signal and exit their kayak is about one millisecond - LOL. You can then ask them about their swimming comfort and perhaps have them demonstrate that ability. If they can't swim and wet exit appropriately, they shouldn't be allowed on your trip.
Pick short runs 5 miles or less for beginner trips. I also like to avoid long flat-water paddling as well especially upstream. Most beginners will be pretty tired after a full day of paddling. Start in flat-water and set up a short course with objects to paddle around. Have everyone paddle the course to see how well they can paddle their kayak. Provide tips where necessary. By now you should have a good handle on the skill levels of your participants and where to place them in the paddling party.
Many trips I lead are labeled as "Work Outs". These trips provide lots of training opportunities as well as a fun river run. I cover both paddling skills and a number of rescue skills as well. These trips are very popular even for the helpers.
