Why PaddleSafe exists

In-app help: open Help → Why PaddleSafe exists, or present it as slides.

A short talk for committees, coaches, and partners. How each role uses the app is a separate walkthrough: How PaddleSafe works (by role).

PaddleSafe records. People decide.
Two books, one session.
The club is the data controller.

Origin

It started with a workable first problem: the Paddle Safety & Rescue (PSRC) course, and session booking so a club night had a roster instead of a paper list.

That was the seed, not the destination. The product was always meant to be:

• a personal log — your journey and skills, without other people’s names
• club session booking — join link / QR, spaces, family enrol, duty booking a verified leader
• personal and organisational responsibility — the app records and warns; people and clubs still own the decision

Safety & Rescues is still a family in the skills catalogue. The book is for every session, not only a rescue course.

flowchart LR
    A[PSRC and booking] --> B[Every club session]
    B --> C[Personal log]
    B --> D[Club archive]

National award courses still book through your home-nation Delivery Centre. CPD points still live on JustGo. That split is a choice, not an unfinished feature.

Four jobs

PaddleSafe does not replace JustGo, issue a Paddle Award, or grant a leadership remit.

Two books

One session writes two stores on purpose.

Need who was on the water? → Past sessions. Need your lasting CPD / skills book? → Log.

Detail: Log book and Past sessions · Skills and learning outcomes.

Privacy

The organisation remains the data controller. PaddleSafe records a versioned privacy notice, a tick on join, role-based rosters, redaction, a 24-month archive purge, and a JSON copy of your information.

Paddlers: Privacy and your data. Committee: Handling a data request (slides). Notice: Privacy.

One session loop

Booking is how a session gets a roster and a log line.

flowchart LR
    A[1 Plan] --> B[2 Join]
    B --> C[3 On the water]
    C --> D[4 Safe return]
    D --> E[5 Close and archive]

How each role does that loop: How PaddleSafe works (by role).

People decide

PaddleSafe records. It does not take the decisions people still own.

• Does not call 999, text emergency services, or trigger rescue. People call; then share the roster and ICE.
• Awards, first aid, and safeguarding dates are self-declared. Blank or expired dates do not stop a session launching.
• The remit map warns; it does not hard-block. Wind, tide, river level, and the group still decide.
• Pinning launch (A) and take-out (B) records a planned route for shore duty. It is not a sea passage plan (charts, tides, forecast). Sea kayak leaders: Planning a sea kayak trip (A to B).
• The Code of Conduct line on print packs is a reminder. The official tick stays on JustGo.
• Profile is a can-do log, not a Paddle Award and not a remit.

If something goes wrong: Emergency response.

What the club still owns

The organisation remains the data controller. This app does not replace club procedures.

Detail: Account roles · Leadership remits · Handling a data request.

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