KCK membership benefits:

• Informative and entertaining presentations at the monthly meetings.
• Network with other boaters to get trip partners or gain first-hand knowledge.
• Eat! KCK provides food for the summer BBQs and Thanksgiving potluck.
• Door prizes, with luck you may take one home from a meeting.
  
• Receive a subscription to Eddyline, KCK's regular newsletter.
• Stay current on gear, locations, issues & people.
• Sign-up for the listserve email and connect with other paddlers.
• Cruise KCK's website for valuable info and links.
  
• Increase your safety margin by attending the Annual Safety Meeting.
  
• Participate in classes in rafting, canoeing and kayaking held each Spring.
• Explore Alaska with experienced paddlers through club sponsored trips.
  
• Learn new skills, be safer and have more fun on the water.
• KCK offers a respected, unified voice as an advocate for paddler's concerns.
  
• Support waterways conservation and access rights issues through KCK.
• Member commercial discounts for rentals, lodging, instruction and more.
  
• KCK is all volunteer non-profit so any income benefits members and community directly.
  
• Volunteer for activities and sharpen your skills at the same time.
• Feel good about being a part of such a relevant organization!
  

More detail:

MONTHLY MEETINGS: Normally on the fourth Thursday of each month KCK holds a general meeting for members which is open to the public. The location of these general meetings for the months of September through May is usually the Wilda Marston Theater of the Loussac Library, although scheduling conflicts may sometimes result in an alternate venue. During the meetings we discuss important current and future paddling related issues as well as provide slide shows, videos, and other interesting presentations about safety and paddling in Alaska or other parts of the world. From June through August potluck barbecue meetings are held at the Jewel Lake Park Pavilion to swap stories or check out new equipment. KCK provides burgers, dogs and tableware for the barbecue.  Exceptions to the above are: May meeting is held on the third Thursday of the month; November is a Thanksgiving potluck with election of officers held at Russian Jack Park, Lydia Selkregg Chalet; December there are no KCK meetings. The KCK Board of Directors meets on the first Thursday of September through May (except December) at the BP Energy Center. Members are invited to attend.
For the latest information check the calendar in the Eddyline newsletter or the KCK home page.

NEWSLETTER: As a member, you'll also receive the Eddyline, a high quality newsletter that keeps you informed of important paddling and conservation information, stories about Alaska paddling, notes from the board meetings, notice of the next meeting presentation, calendar of KCK classes and trips, members classified ads, great recipes for waterside cuisine, and more. Once a year, the Eddyline will include a member contact list (not available online) through which members have elected to share their contact information and chosen area of paddle sports interests and skills.  From June through August you'll receive a postcard reminder about the barbecue meetings.

SAFETY: Each spring KCK provides an evening of paddling safety information for its members an.d the public at large to assist in your enjoyment and safe return. Topics include: float plans, personal equipment and clothing, rescue and safety equipment, trip planning, river etiquette, reading and understanding water hydraulics, International Scale of Difficulty (Class I-VI), safety signals, tidal influences, defensive swimming, and hypothermia. Attendance is required of all people enrolled in any KCK paddling classes unless waived by the instructor.

CLASSES: Learning a new sport can be difficult. KCK understands this and provides informative club supported introductory paddling instruction each spring. Our emphasis is focused primarily on safety followed by education. KCK teaches classes to the membership in basic flatwater canoeing, moving water canoing, sea kayaking, rafting, inflatable kayaking and pack-rafting . Each class is a mixture of classroom and hands-on exposure to equipment and techniques followed by one or more days/evenings of practical on-the-water experiential learning. Winter pool rolling sessions are also organized by KCK members as well as commercial instructors to learn, practice and improve paddling skills during the non boating season.

RECREATIONAL OUTINGS & EVENTS: KCK sponsors a variety of evening to week long outings and events for members. These functions are scheduled to provide a forum both for learning/improving skills and socializing. It's also an opportunity to meet others who share your interest in paddling, aquatic conservation, and to check out the myriad of options for paddling equipment. While outings vary from year to year, some of the perennial trips include the Memorial Holiday weekend on the Gulkana River, Tazlina, Tonsina or Copper Rivers, Prince William Sound, Wednesday / Friday evenings/picnics on Eagle River, Resurrection Bay, Talkeetna River, and a fall trip on the upper Kenai River. Opportunities for other non KCK sponsored private trips may be planned through to talking with fellow members.

CONSERVATION & LEGAL ISSUES: KCK is dedicated to the preservation of Alaska's waterways. As a club member you become part of a larger voice for the support of vital issues that affect all paddlers from waterway access rights to the taxation of paddle sports. As a respected and well established grass roots organization representing paddlers of Alaska, KCK has the influence to sway opinion of governmental agencies and legislative officials on the critical decisions that affect paddlers. KCK works with American Rivers, American Whitewater Association, and other national, state and local groups with strong lobbying arms in Washington DC. and Juneau. Alaska is not immune from the destruction of our waterways. Reauthorization of and new dams, fees, user permits, allocation, and pollution are common place in other parts of the United States. Your membership and support helps insure these problems do not threaten Alaska.

By-Laws of Knik Canoers and Kayakers, Inc.