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Walk Leaders and Leader-Walker Relationships
It is the responsibility of the leader(s) to co-ordinate everything that is involved in ensuring a walk is completed safely and enjoyably for all the participants. As safety is paramount, all leaders are competent map-readers and navigators and capable of leading groups in all types of weather and terrain encountered on the Irish mountains.
In the Clare Outdoor Club the leader decides how many people may participate in a walk on a given day. If the leader feels that someone is not wearing the proper personal clothing, has not given the requisite notice or is not carrying the recommended equipment then the leader may decide to exclude that person from the group.
The leader, together with the assistant leader, co-ordinates the car-pooling arrangements and rendezvous points en route to and from the walk. He/she will book the hotel/restaurant and advise on the sharing of petrol costs. All participants should immediately inform the leader of any changes of plan or personal arrangements that involve breaking away from the group for any reason or for any period of time, no matter how brief or trivial this may seem.
Practically every mountain-walking club in the country has too few qualified Mountain Leaders and the COC is no exception. At present there are only about 7 or 8 together with an equal number of aspirant leaders who have passed a Mountain Skills Assessment and are capable of assisting leaders. By qualified leaders we mean either those who have passed a Mountain Leader Assessment, organised by Bord Oiliunt Sleibhe (BOS), the Irish Mountain Training Board (c/o MCI) or are experienced navigators/map readers and group leaders.
The club offers two walks on each scheduled Sunday. This has put pressure on club resources as 4 people from the leader pool were nominated to lead on each Sunday. For safety reasons we try at all times to keep the Leader:Walker ratio as close as possible to the recommended 1:6 or 8 but if more than 32 people turn up to walk on a particular Sunday, reinforcement leaders are difficult to come by.
Crowds on a mountain are a liability; too many people in a group defeat the purpose of "getting away from it all"; the group may become disjointed and spread out and, depending on weather conditions, more difficult for the leaders to control safely.
Finally, OBSERVE THE COUNTRY CODE AT ALL TIMES: LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS,
TAKE NOTHING BUT PHOTOGRAPHS.
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