Insight Essential Eligibility Criteria 

VOBS ESSENTIAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS - INSIGHT 1-DAY PROGRAMS

Voyageur Outward Bound School (VOBS) 1-day Insight programs share a common goal of changing lives through challenge and discovery.  The areas in which our programs take place are generally in a front county or urban environment within 1hr of definitive care, though some may take place in more remote settings.

The health and safety of our students and staff are a top priority, along with the educational quality of the course experience for all participants. To achieve essential group goals, the individuals on each course must be fully capable of and committed to learning, meeting physical and social challenges, and taking care of themselves and each other.

VOBS values diversity, equity, and Inclusion and strives to provide culturally responsive programming in a positive learning environment for all participants.  Our instructors are skilled experiential educators and group facilitators, but VOBS does not specialize in experiences for people with disabilities or with significant mental, emotional, or behavioral challenges. VOBS instructors are not therapists and are not trained in adaptive wilderness or integrative teaching skills.

The Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC) is applied to all students in VOBS single-day programs. A qualified person meets the general EEC for VOBS and the EEC for the specific program activities and program areas. If an applicant does not meet specific criteria, VOBS might be able to accommodate an applicant, but will not do so if it significantly alters the fundamental nature of the course activity, jeopardizes the health and safety of VOBS students or staff, or places an undue administrative or financial burden on VOBS.

GENERAL EEC 

• Able to consistently follow instructions, recognize safety hazards, and communicate danger, distress, or medical and/or mental health issues to staff in a timely manner. 
• Able to perform essential age-appropriate self-care with or without the assistance of an aide or chaperone, including maintaining adequate nutrition and hydration, dressing appropriately for environmental conditions, maintaining personal hygiene, and managing known medical conditions. 
• Able to refrain from the use of alcohol, nicotine, and all unapproved substances, and misuse of prescription or non-prescription drugs; refrain from sexual activity, exclusive relationships, harassment, bullying, and all other behavior that disrupts the learning of others.
• Able to be respectful of the various identities (such as race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and nationality) of others; refrain from behavior that is discriminatory to other’s identities, socially exclusive behavior, and language that is derogatory or harmful to others. 
• Arrive at the program neither experiencing nor presenting any signs or symptoms of communicable disease.
• Able to wear a face cover (such as a mask) when instructed to do so - masks must cover both the nose and mouth and fasten either at the back of the head or behind the ears.
• Able to learn the skills necessary to withstand the temperature extremes of the location and season:
• June - October courses: 32 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit
• November - March courses: -40 - 45 degrees Fahrenheit
• Texas courses: 20 - 110 degrees Fahrenheit

Activity-Specific Eligibility Criteria

Rock Climbing and High Ropes Course

• Able to wear a helmet correctly.
• Minimum head circumference is 21 inches (or 53 centimeters)
• Maximum head circumference is 25 inches (or 63 centimeters). 
• Able to wear a climbing harness correctly.
• Maximum waist measurements(circumference around belly button): 56 inches (or 142 centimeters).  
• Maximum thigh measurements: 36 inches or (91 centimeters). 
• Able to participate in climbing activities. This includes being able to ascend a steep or vertical natural cliff or human-made obstacle.

Canoeing

• Able to wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD or “life jacket”) correctly.  
• Minimum chest measurements: 25 inches (or 63 centimeters).
• Maximum chest measurements: 56 inches (or 142 centimeters). 
• Able to maintain a face-up position in water while wearing a PFD, and make progress through the water to shore or a rescue boat
• Able to follow instructions immediately upon sudden immersion into cold water, whether the instructions have already been taught or are communicated at the moment
• Able to sit and/or kneel in a canoe and maintain stability
• Able to control a paddle and pull it through the water to steer and move the canoe forward
• Able to travel over uneven terrain on and off trail

Winter Skills

• Able to move on cross-country skis or snowshoes over uneven terrain.
• Able to use hand tools such as axes and hand saws.