Do or should paddlers be given a choice to paddle where they would like to? It seems to me with every regatta season,. there's always shifting of paddlers from one club to another. Is this wrong?
If a paddler( paddlers ) is going to be welcomed by a club, shouldn't that paddler(s) be given that choice to go. Why is it that people seem to get mad at the people who choose to go to another club or nor allow to go?. If the individual is not happy at their club or wants to experiment, but wants to continue to participate in canoe racing then shouldn't that decision be made by the individual and the club he/she is going to? Or are we obligated to stay with the club that you first signed up with? Last time I checked...... I was paying memebership to paddle. No one was paying me to paddle.
Submitted by flyama on Wed, 05/17/2006 - 12:38pm
I don't know where you paddle, but in HCRA, the only reason any paddler can be denied a transfer is if they owe money to the club or association they are leaving. No one is obligated to stay with a club or association if it's not a good fit or if they want to explore other options.
My experience has been that people jump clubs all the time and often end up back where they started. The best thing to do is just let people go if that's what they want to do. No sense in laying loyalty guilt trips or whatever, since people are going to do whatever they want to anyway. Just have to do the best with the paddlers you have and paddle with aloha, in and out of the boat...
Of course the people in your crew will still be mad and try to talk you out of leaving (if you're a good paddler anyway), but people just have to do what's best for them, right?
#1 Wed, 05/17/2006 - 1:39pm
The instances of transfers not signed are rare. Most clubs would not want to hold onto, or refuse to release, a member who wants to leave. It's just not good for morale.
Many reasons for a paddler leaving are based on personal issues, and many transferring paddlers would rather walk away from an issue rather than trying to stay and resolve it.
There, no question, needs to be respect for paddler's rights and freedoms, but there also needs to be respect given to a club's rights. Paddle like a girl is right about most paddlers returning to their orginal club, but there seems to be a growing number of paddlers who
would like to be renegades and find a club who is willing to take them as an individual or as a crew. It is not a new activity. It is the way most new clubs get started.
#2 Fri, 05/19/2006 - 1:31pm