The wealth of knowledge aquired by Ye Olde People is collected here in order to help you run an RUCC trip in the most faff-free, fan-tastic, marvel-mouse way possible! Well, maybe not faff-free, but perhaps faff-reduced...
The Golden Rules - if you can't be bothered to read the rest of this, please read these - there are only 2...
GOLDEN RULE NUMBER ONE - Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
GOLDEN RULE NUMBER TWO - Don't panic if things go wrong or change at the last minute
If you remember those two then you cannot go wrong. But let us get a bit more into the gritty details... Point by point, here is the contents of our guide to running a trip - use this as a check-list, but read the more in-depth stuff below as well...
01 - Book your accommodation well in advance
02 - Check the status of river access before you decide on a date for your trip
03 - Decide who is going to run the trip and get the rest of the committee to support them
04 - Set a date for the trip and tell everyone about it
05 - Book buses and start persuading people to drive as soon as possible
06 - Start a trip list early and take deposits
07 - Assign boats to each person going on the trip and work out how they are going to be taken
08 - Load boats and check equipment at the Wednesday paddling session before the trip leaves
09 - Tell everyone what to bring, what the deal is with food, what time and where to meet, what time the vehicles are leaving and where they are going
10 - Make sure people pay the remainder of the trip cost before they get on the bus
11 - Assign someone to purchase club breakfast items at the supermarket stop
12 - Sort the cooking rota and paddling groups out on Friday night
13 - "Many hands make light work" - leave nothing but your thanks behind
14 - Unpack everything ASAP once back in Reading and make sure people get home safely
15 - Return the bus and the keys on time, check over your equipment and do the sums!
More detail (yes, I know it's long!)...
01 Book your accommodation well in advance - when I say advanced, I mean advanced. This means booking bunkhouses, campsites and youth hostels by the end of the term before the term of the trip. So, at the end of the summer term in 2005 we had already booked accommodation for Fresher's Trip, the Dart Trip, and the Teifi Tour in the autumn/winter term. Sound crazy to you? There are limited paddling opportunities in this country and there are loads of other unis out there all competing for places to stay at similar times of year. The most disappointing thing in the world is having to cancel a trip because you cannot find somewhere to stay. If in doubt, do it now! We even have a forum to help you - have a look at this. And please feel free to add to it if you find new and exciting places to stay, or if somewhere doesn't live up to scratch. As it says in the tag-line - it's "better than your memory"...
02 Check the status of river access before you decide on a date for your trip - some rivers have limited access and shouldn't be paddled outside of particular times. If you are unsure of dates for access on rivers, have a look at the UK Rivers Guidebook which tells you loads of stuff and is added to all of the time, so recent changes may already be public. There is nothing worse than getting to your destination and realising then that you cannot paddle the river you set your heart on without contradicting an access agreement that people have worked really hard to sort out. It's not so bad if it's a small group, but 40 paddlers... For more info on access issues in the UK have a look at The Rivers Access Campaign website.
03 Decide who is going to run the trip and get the rest of the committee to support them - Very important that someone is in charge and co-ordinating the trip, although this can be fairly flexible (for example if one of the organisers has to drop out at the last minute). Traditionally two members of the committee will share the responsibility of running a trip, but may delegate certain tasks to other members of the committee or indeed the rest of the club. It is useful if one more experienced member of the committee shares the job with someone less experienced, hence passing on their knowledge. The organisers will make sure that all preparation is carried out efficiently and that it is in fact carried out - and kick some arse if it isn't! Make sure that both organisers are definitely going on the trip and in club vehicles! In fact, it is every important that ANY member of committee going on the trip travels on a club vehicle not in private cars. There are obviously exceptions to this, but generally this is a Very Good Thing.
04 Set a date for the trip and tell everyone about it - Communication is the key. Always. Use the website, use email, call people, tell everyone about it at every paddling session, tell the rest of committee to tell everyone about it at every paddling session, tell everyone at every paddling session to tell everyone about it at every paddling session and then - tell them again! A constant battering of "it's the best trip EVER" (and I maintain that I never lie when I say this cos they just keep getting better and better) is bound to persuade people in the end, and keep going right up until the day you leave. The number of times I have filled bus spaces that have become empty at the last minute is uncountable, people will always change their minds. Maximum fillage of bus/beds = maximum fun, maximum funding and minimum worry that you're not going to make ends meet.
05 Book buses and start persuading people to drive as soon as possible - Many of the lovely lovely people who drive our buses are actually working people not students, and require a few weeks advance notice if they are to be asked to drive. People generally go out of their way to help the club, but it is always worth being nice to them as one day you might just ask too much of them and they might tell you where to go! So, my address for gifts of flowers, chocolates, ice cream etc is 14 Christchurch Road...! For more information about minibus driving and the law, have a look at this. Buses need to be booked at Membership Services in the Student Union building. Two drivers per bus is the minimum, for longer trips it is helpful to have more.
06 Start a trip list early and take deposits - The best way to get people fired-up about a trip is to make it sound like it's already happening and you'll miss your chance if you don't hurry and get your deposit in ASAP. Make it VERY clear that deposits are non-returnable and that seats on buses/beds in bunkhouses are not bagged until a deposit has been taken. This is particularly important for the longer trips to the Alps and Scotland where there is a bit more at stake financially.
07 Assign boats/kit to each person going on the trip and work out how they are going to be taken - This is generally the job of the Equipment Secretary, but the Captain also has responsibility of this as he/she will know which boats people are most comfortable in. It's very helpful if you can work out where boats are going to be placed (on the roof of a bus, on top of a car or on the trailer) before the day you go. Make sure you have enough paddles (left and right-handed), decks, cags, helmets, thermals, wetsuits for each person, plus plenty of spares. For more info on equipment that the committee is responsible for, have a look at this.
08 Load boats and check equipment at the Wednesday paddling session before the trip leaves - The more you can do in advance the better. Encourage freshers, newbies and all those lazy people skulking in the background to tie boats on so that you don't have to. If they look unsure about how to tie boats on, show them how to do it - next time they'll know how already and and be super-speedy. If they still don't look happy about this, give them an alternative task to do - pass the boats up to people on the minibus roof or trailer, fetch boats from the shed, check whether the boats all have airbags/drain-bungs, untangle the straps, gather other kit together etc. Don't be afraid to tell people to do things as the chances are they have no idea what is expected of them and are waiting to be told!
09 Tell everyone what to bring, what the deal is with food, what time and where to meet, what time the vehicles are leaving and where they are going - Again, communication - it really is the key! Make sure the bus drivers know when they can pick up the bus and what time they need to be at the shed/Union. Often it will be the drivers who limit the time buses can leave as one or other of them may be at work. If a trip list has not already been made, it may be the bus driver's job to give this to the Union - now is the time to call the trip leaders and make sure they have an accurate list of people going. If people are unsure of what stuff to bring, point them in the direction of the trip kit list, which can be a valuable memory jogger. Make sure that at least one person on each vehicle knows where they are going! This includes getting to the accommodation on the Friday and getting to the rivers. Remember that some of the places we go are remote and do not always have good phone reception.
10 Make sure people pay the remainder of the trip cost before they get on the bus - unless of course there is a valid reason not to, or they have made special arrangements. Keep a list of who has paid and who hasn't, and make sure you chase people who are slack - never be afraid to ask people for money, you are quite within your rights to, and making ends meet or even making a profit on one trip makes it easier for the next one to run smoothly.
11 Assign someone to purchase club breakfast items at the supermarket stop - here's where maths comes in handy! Don't forget that there may be vegetarians and also people who may prefer cereal to a cooked breakfast. Don't forget the ketchup or the orange juice!
12 Sort the cooking rota and paddling groups out on Friday night - and pin them up in the bunkhouse/hostel. Be VERY CLEAR about what time people need to be up, fed, watered, packed and out of the door the next day. Be prepared to bash pans together, tug covers off dead/groaning bodies, "wet-willy" people, bundle them and generally encourage people to get up - the earlier you can get people up, the earlier you can leave, the earlier you can arrive and scout rivers, get changed, paddle, get off, get changed again and - get back to the beer-drinking!
13 "Many hands make light work" - leave nothing but your thanks behind - ay-op, it's all over already and time to leave, but the place is a mess and everyone is super-hungover on Sunday morning! Get EVERYONE to help tidy the place up, assign tasks to people, drag people out of bed, anyone who looks bored gets to clean the toilets... Many of the places we stay at we return to year after year, so it's very important that we leave them in a good state so that we will be welcome on the next trip. If your group is struggling, my best advice is lead by example - people are in fact just bald, two-legged sheep and if you start acting like one they'll all join in! Baaaaaaaaa! Seriously though, if one or two people are clearly getting stuck in, this will always encourage everyone else to get involved too.
14 Unpack everything ASAP once back in Reading and make sure people get home safely - Often we will arrive back in Reading late on Sunday evening. It is important that everyone gets home safely with all their kit. This means getting one or other of the bus drivers to drop everyone off close to their homes. Before all this however, make sure everything is unpacked and put away neatly in the shed, and that the bus is completely emptied and rubbish removed before being re-packed. Most importantly, thank everyone for a wicked weekend!
15 Return the bus and the keys on time, check over your equipment and do the sums! - Very important to get the bus/keys back on time or we'll be charged an extra day and be in serious trouble. Check all equipment over once back in the shed, note anything broken or missing, check the first aid kits if they were used and replace items as necessary, uncoil the throwlines and rinse in a large bucket of water before hanging out to dry, hang all decks, cags and bouncy aids up, put boats on racks, keep paddles tidy, if you've been surfing make sure all kit including boats is rinsed using the hose - salt rots kit and rusts canoe fittings. Check your sums, chase anyone who hasn't paid completely for the trip, do your sums again, work out if the trip broke even, made a loss or a profit and let the committee know. And - relax!
That's it! Easy when you know how... 
Sounds daunting? Remember those golden rules...
Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
Don't panic if things go wrong or change at the last minute
Simple!
And when it's all gone tits-up...
....the chances are it hasn't. We very rarely have an unsuccessful trip, and when we do it's usually due to circumstances beyond our control. There is always a way round problems, you just need to think sideways as well as straight ahead. Remember, you are not alone, delegate, communicate and work as a team, share your responsibilities, teach others your knowledge so they can help you more efficiently next time and eventually they'll be teaching everyone else. Result!
Learn from your mistakes, pas de panique and it'll all be fine! Honestly...
Any questions? Ask the committee or post on the forums. They've done it all before and made all the mistakes, but hopefully they can help you avoid as many as possible.
Good luck and have fun! Happy paddling m'dears, I'll see you on the water...
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Article written by Diana "Whiskers" Clark and Action Against Faff!, December 2005.
Action Against Faff! allows extensive, unlimited reproduction of this article in full or in part, provided it is for the continuation and bettering of University canoe club organisation and the reduction of the evil entity that is known as Faff. However, no part of this article may be abused, twisted or spanked without written permission from the author and her team of elves, who are generally completely uncontactable and even if they were attainable, absolutely stone deaf. Action Against Faff! is a non-profit organisation, although donations of cheese and other things elves like to eat will be gratefully received by myself at 14 Christchurch Road... I thank you for listening, if in doubt - PADDLE HARD!
Action Against Faff!
Together we'll crack it...