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RAW
Tandem Escort Guidelines
Contact Johnathn Steinberg (Steiny!)
What it takes: There are 6 things it takes to be tandem escort
For RAW:
1. Experience: You need to be an accomplished swimmer, surfer
and paddler with at least 5 years of experience. Training/experience
as an EMT, Lifesaving and/or Lifeguard are excellent skills
to have. Long board experience is a plus.
2. Physical Strength: Strong shoulders and backs are a must
for long periods of paddling and assisting with participants.
Escort boards are 10-11 feet in length, in addition to paddling
you will need to be able to maneuver the board quickly and easily
in the when escorting. It is a long paddle from the beach to
the break, having to jockey for position, often assisting the
tandem team catch waves (hopefully 3 waves for each participant)
and paddle all the way back in. You will definitely need strength
and endurance to do this all day.
3. Technique: The single most important thing to remember is
to insure the safety of the participant. As an escort you are
the back up eyes and ears for the tandem team when paddling
out, waiting in the line up and while surfing. It is important
to establish communication with the participant; this will make
them more comfortable and help keep the tandem surfer aware
of how the participant is fairing. When escorting you may need
to assist the tandem team with catching waves by either pushing
or "the sling" approach. Once on a wave, the escorts will "shadow"
and/or lead the way. The escorts need to protect the tandem
team from possible collisions with other surfers and is there
to assist in the event of a wipeout. You may have to ditch your
board to help "rescue" a tandem participant in the event of
a wipeout; to avoid additional confusion, an escort should not
be leashed to their escort board. One very important item is,
as an escort, you need to remember we are there to insure the
participants catch and ride waves and we may be blocking others
or asking that they not ride a wave; as a courtesy, escorts
should not catch and ride waves during the event.
4. Courage: It takes courage and confidence in your own abilities
to be able to have a participant put their life in your hands.
Cowell's is extremely difficult to surf because of the crowd,
and it is imperative that your concentration remains unbroken
by the challenges you will face.
5. Commitment: You must show up when you say you will. Upwards
of fifty people, participants and volunteers, work together
to make RAW an incredible experience. Every individual must
be committed to their word and the program for RAW to remain
a success. If you say you are going to show and help, please
do so!!!!!
6. Common Sense: Enough said :)
Surf Escort Guidelines
1) Ideally there should be 4 escorts per tandem board consisting
of: * one pusher-- assists the tandem paddle
into waves.
* one escort on the inside catching loose boards,
keeping the area clear of non-participants, helping the tandem
surfer securing the board and guest while turning to paddle
back out to the line up. * 2 escorts-- one
on either side of the tandem board. These two need to hold these
positions in order to keep non-participants away from the tandem
surfer/guest. Sorry to say, but if it appears that a non-participant
is going to collide with the tandem board, it is your responsibility
to try and get between them so that our guests are not harmed.
2) As an escort you are the eyes for the tandem surfer. Be constantly
aware of the guest's facial expressions and communicate back
to the tandem surfer on the guest's condition. A guest could
be happy one moment, but as this is new to many of them, sudden
changes to fear can appear in an instant.
3) Be consistent and check in with the guest on a regular basis
to see if they are comfortable, etc. Because of the disabilities
that many of our guests have, they may have poor blood circulation
and can get cold very easily. On the other hand, if you are
waiting on the beach to go out surfing, check in with the guest
to make sure they are not over heating in their wetsuit.
4) Lots of physical contact along with verbal contact with the
guest is very reassuring for them.
5) Check with the counselors for any special needs the guest
may need while on the board. Inquiry is most important. Some
guests are non-verbal or can have sudden spastic reflexes or
seizures that we need to be aware of. Check to see if they need
to be positioned on the board in any special way in order for
them to have maximum comfort while in the water.
6) DO NOT RUSH WITH ANY LIFTING, and be sure to know how to
lift guests properly. It's too easy to pull joints out of sockets
if not lifted properly. Especially when you are in deep water
and you are trying to re-position the guest on the board.
7) Under no circumstances are escorts to stand up while on waves.
This even includes times when you get separated from your tandem
team. You MUST remain prone or on your knees at all times.
8) Do not take it upon yourself to change escort teams. Check
with the team leader before making any changes.
9) Absolutely no one is to take a board until they are assigned
to a board.
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