Recommencement of on-water rowing
James Stewart has kindly volunteered to run the boat bookings as we return to on-water activities. [Also thank you to the others who volunteered to help.]
This will work in the following way:
Any Senior or Master wanting to us a Club single, double or pair must email James on sbcboatbookings@gmail.com asking to use a boat at a set time. Please do not email James’ personal email with boat requests – these will be ignored
Privately owned boats can be used at any time without any need for booking a time slot
James has a list of Club boats available and will allocate broadly on a first come, first served basis although we will monitor this to make sure everyone who wants to scull/row gets a fair opportunity to do so
If James is not sure of the competency of an individual, he will check with the coaches before confirming an outing
Anyone wanting to scull/row must be able to carry and get in/ out of their boat without relying on assistance from anyone else at the Club. Bringing one family member along to help is permitted provided they observe the applicable Club rules
Based on the number of emails I have had today, there is strong demand for boats, I would ask that anyone who can scull during the week or “out of hours” does so leaving boats free at peak times for those who have no or little choice
In order for the boat booking to work smoothly, everyone will need to cooperate so, for example, do not send James an email at 10pm on Friday asking for an 8.00am slot on Saturday – it won’t happen. Try and give him at least 24 hours’ notice of requests, preferably more initially. Also, if you have booked a slot but for some reason can’t then make it, please let him know so that boat is available for someone else to use
James and I will monitor how the booking system is working and, if changes are required, we will publicise these at the time
Although things are reopening, Covid-19 has not gone away and we need to remain vigilant. This means anyone attending the Club must maintain social distancing, clean boats/ blades and implement good personal hygiene. With these measures in place, we can begin to return to normal, although we are still some way off that.
We hope to have the changing rooms open and accessible again this weekend, but this will only be done once they have been cleaned and I have not had this confirmed yet so do not assume they will be, although I hope they will be. The main bar/training room will remain locked.
For those going out this weekend, it is important that you give your allocated boat a good clean and check over before boating. The boats have been sitting unused for several months so need checking and cleaning inside [Don’t forget to check for spiders in the shoes!]. Also make sure all riggers and top nuts are tight.
For the Juniors, there is going to be a separate process put in place as supervision is required. Trial outings are being undertaken by a limited number of Juniors (who have been notified separately) and their coaches early next week. The development of their training and boating arrangements will be taken forward under the supervision of their coaches, the Junior Coordinator and the Welfare Officer. The booking of boats for Juniors will probably be through the coaches rather than direct with James.
I look forward to seeing more of you out on the water this weekend.
Alan Douglas
President, Staines Boat Club
