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General Rules


To be a member of OutVentures and participate in OutVentures events you must:

1. Be over the age of 18 or be accompanied by a guardian who is a member over the age of 18
2. Agree to the Limits of Liability
3. Agree to abide by these stated General Rules and the By-Laws of OutVentures
4. Keep your membership payments in good standing
5. Abide by all laws applicable to the area where the event is taking place (local, state, federal, forest service...)
6. No Nudity is permitted in profile pictures.
7. All members are expected to maintain a professional level of personal behavior; public drunkenness, indecency or refusal to follow trip leader instructions may result in expulsion from the club and legal action.

 

Posting a Trip


1. All trips must be posted and lead by a current OutVentures Member.

2. There is no deadline to post a trip, but the sooner you post it, the more people can plan for it.

3. All trips must be directly related to the outdoors and the general
mission of OutVentures; namely, outdoor/nature based activity events.  Events such as Bingo, socials with other groups, HRC gatherings or dinner-at-my-place...would not be considered "outdoor activity" related.

As much as OutVentures would like to be an avenue for other LGBTQ groups/interests to reach our members as a kindred audience, this would open up our calendar to a flood of non-club related postings and activities. 

4. Events from other clubs or interest groups that have events that fall within the general scope and mission of OutVentures: Mud Runs, bike rides,  AIDS Walks, Kayak for Equality, may be posted ONLY if a current OutVentures member agrees to lead a group of OutVentures members to this event.

5. Events from other clubs or interest groups cannot be "blindly" posted on the calendar as advertising and will be removed.

6. Events where OutVentures will collect funds and then pay vendors on member's behalf will require a few extra steps:  

 
A. These trips must turn in an OutVentures Trip Proposal and Budget form.

B. For tax reasons, OutVentures Trip Leaders cannot hold money collected in the club's name in a personal, interest-bearing account.

C. These events must contact a member of the board to use the integrated credit card system to track club income, taxes and expenses.

 
7. Events where members will pay vendors on their own (ferry fees, trailhead parking fees, carpool fuel money, lunch...) do not have to turn in a budget request, but should make those trip-fees clear in the trip posting.

 

Noise Levels


As most members are in the outdoors to "experience the outdoors", music/noise/sound effects from personal devices or radios should be limited to your personal space and not audible to others. Headphones should always be available and worn upon request to respect and avoid disturbing the natural experience of those around you.

 

Carpooling


While OutVentures encourages carpooling to get to-and-from events, we would like to remind all members that OutVentures cannot guarantee any member a ride. For example, if 50 people show up at a meeting place to carpool and there is only 1 driver...only the people who can fit in that one car will go. 
Carpooling Points:

1) Carpools are private agreements/verbal contracts between people, and OutVentures has no "real" control over carpooling.

2) No member/driver can be forced to transport anyone they do not wish too. 

 

A) However, if  you are given a ride TO an event, you can expect a ride FROM the event.  Failure by any carpool to provide return transportation for reasons that are not "adult", "rational" and "reasonable" could result in a revocation of membership. These issues will be solved on a case-by-case basis, and a board review will be held.

B) For clarity, as far as club enforceable rules are concerned, reasons such as: someone who smells after a long day's hike, who constantly complains or who has a conflicting personality, would NOT be considered rational reasons to refuse
 someone RETURN transportation.

*If your carpool driver cannot provide these "adult", "rational" and "reasonable" reasons why RETURN transportation was denied, they could face removal from the club.

C) However, and also for clarity, those same reasons: someone who smells after a long day's hike, who constantly complains or who has a conflicting personality, CAN be used to refuse someone transportation TO an event in the first place...however unfriendly that may seem.


6) It is a generally accepted custom to help compensate the driver for fuel expense.

7) Seat Belts:

Washington's Seat Belt Law (RCW 46.61.688) requires:

  • Every person 16 years or older operating or riding in a motor vehicle shall wear the safety belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner.

  • No person may operate a motor vehicle unless all children passengers under the age 16 are either wearing a safety belt or are securely fastened in an approved child restraint device.

Q. Can I get a ticket if a rider over the age of 16 refuses to wear a seatbelt? 

A. NO. The driver of a vehicle is only responsible for ensuring all persons 15 and under are properly secured in a seat belt or other safety restraint device as required by law.

**All persons age 16 and over may be issued a separate Notice of Infraction.

 

Weapons


OutVentures' by-laws state that weapons/firearms are not permitted on any OutVentures event. 

This condition has been stated in the OutVentures Liability Waiver, it is a stated condition of membership.

Members who carry weapons/firearms to an OutVentures event will be asked to leave or remove the weapon/firearm to a mutually agreed location. Refusing to follow the Trip Leaders requests may result in revocation of membership.

The "right to carry" in Washington State, does not extend to private events, regardless of location.


 
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