Student Attendance policies

i) Attend the entire course

Our education programs are for students who can commit to attending classes for an entire course. Before registering for a particular course, please check over the dates for the course and be sure you can attend. 

If you can only make some of the dates, please choose another course from our schedule. We make a considerable effort to hold courses on evenings, weekdays and weekends, as well as throughout the summer, so that students with different schedules are able to participate.

Why this is important:

Attendance is important for your own development. We pack a lot into each class; each session builds on material taught in previous classes; and missing classes means you'll be missing fundamental skills necessary to understanding the next classes. 

Attendance is important to your classmates. Most of our boats are sailed by two people, and we book just the right amount of students to ensure that everyone sails with a buddy. If you don't show up, then someone else's opportunities will be impacted that day.

Student attendance is also important to the club. There is a lot of demand for our courses, and we want to offer space to students who can participate for an entire course. In addition, for our CanSail 1&2 courses, experienced club members dedicate a lot of volunteer time to helping new students learn, and we want to respect their time by ensuring that the students they help can keep attending for the remainder of the course. 

Back-up days:

Back-up days listed on the course schedule are extra days that will be used only if previous sessions are cancelled by an instructor or the commodore (typically for to much or too little wind). They are not days that students can use to make up for missed classes.

ii) Arrive on time for class, and stay until the end

Students must arrive at the club before class in enough time to change into sailing gear and setup boats. It’s better to arrive earlier if you can, especially for students enrolled in CanSail 1&2 who may need extra time to complete setup. While the fastest most experienced sailors might setup their boat and dress for sailing in under 10 minutes, new sailors may take up to an hour. The same can be said for hauling your boat out of the water, and taking it apart. These skills take time to learn, and time to complete. Please budget your time accordingly.

Why this is important:

Being late affects the entire class. It delays everyone from getting out on the water, and takes up our instructors' time if they must repeat information for latecomers. Moreover, practicing setting up and putting away boats is an essential part of learning to sail. It’s important for students to fully participate in setup and takedown before and after class.