Burway Rowing Club is committed to keeping members safe when on the water and when doing land training activities. We endeavour to meet these requirements by following “ROW SAFE” – A guide to Good Practice in Rowing (British Rowing)

Water sports by their very nature involve some risk, all those who take part should be aware of those dangers and must accept them whilst trying to minimise them.

Parents and Guardians of Junior members should also acquaint themselves with the dangers.

As a general rule every club member shall be responsible for his or her own safety and the safety of others both on and off the water, however, every member must also:-

1. Not behave in a way which endangers other members or the general public.
2. Assist and advise other members who are less experienced.
3. Help, as far is practical any person who gets into difficulty on the river.

Swimming Standards

All rowers must be in good health and must be able to swim “at least” 50 meters in light clothing, this is a minimum requirement.

All members, parents and guardians of junior members will be required to sign a declaration on the club application form confirming that he or she can meet the minimum swim standard.

The club will hold regular swim tests together with capsize drills to ensure that all members   can meet this requirement.

Safety Checks – Club and Private Boats

Before any outing is undertaken, all equipment must be checked to ensure that it is in a safe condition and in working order:-

• Check the hull and canvases for damage
• Check the bow ball
• Check the heel restraints
• Check all hatch covers are in place and secure.

Under no circumstances whatever shall any boat be taken onto the river if it does not meet the above checks.

All deficiencies must be reported to the Captain or in his absence any Coach or the Club Safety Officer, who must take appropriate action to ensure that the boat is not used until it satisfies safety requirements. A notice –  “DO NOT USE” with a description of the deficiency should be prominently,  (and firmly), affixed to the boat, so that others do not take it out on the water until the repair work has been completed.

Safety Equipment

Lifejackets – All coxswains “MUST” wear a life jacket at all times.

Lifejackets are available in the main entrance of the boathouse adjacent to the blade rack.

First Aid / Emergency Equipment

First Aid Kits: – These are located by the door in the left hand bay and in the upstairs kitchen.

First Aiders:- A list of trained First Aiders is displayed on the Safety Notice Board and also by the First Aid kits.

All members are to inform the Captain, Coach or Safety Officer, prior to accessing the First Aid kits (if possible) or as soon as practical afterwards, so that:-

a) the Captain/Coach/Safety Officer are made aware of the situation,

b) that they can ensure that the appropriate level of stock is maintained in the First Aid kit, c) that an Incident Report is logged.

Thermal Blankets: – There are located in the club house

Throw bags: – All coaches shall carry a throw bag while accompanying any crew or sculler.

Throw bags are located in the boathouse adjacent to the blade rack.

Training

The club has a number of Concept Rowing machines (Ergos) for members use; these should only be used following a course of instruction.

Weight Training equipment

All members shall be instructed on the use of the weight training equipment.

No Junior members shall use any of the weight equipment unless they are being supervised by one of the Junior coaches.

Rowing has a good safety record (as far as major injuries are concerned) however, it is incumbent on all its members to respect all club equipment and to take care in its use.

Running

When running at night time and during low light conditions all runners “MUST” wear a High Visibility vest.

Junior runners shall not run alone, all should run at least in pairs.

Emergency Phone Numbers

A list of emergency phone numbers is located at the club telephone which is positioned alongside the escape door at the rear of the boat house.

Boating

All members shall refer initially to “The basic rules for all Steerspersons and Scullers using Laleham Reach”, which is displayed on the Safety Notice Board.

All rowing shall take place between 50 meters downstream of Penton Hook Lock and the upstream of the M3 Motorway Bridge, under “NO CIRCUMSTANCES” shall any crew or sculler pass through the Motorway Bridge.

All boats leaving from the club landing stage shall be carried out with the bows facing upstream, likewise all landings at the landing stage shall be with the bows facing upstream.

It is the responsibility of anyone boating unsupervised, or anyone supervising crews, to carry out a risk assessment prior to going afloat.

This must be based on the state of the river stream, experience and strength of those boating, the type of boat, the direction and strength of the wind, water and air temperature, weather and visibility.

If there is any doubt “DON’T GO OUT”

The Club uses the Environment Agency river state coloured board system. These boards are displayed at both Penton Hook Lock and Chertsey Lock. This information is also available on the club website via a link to the EA website.

Generally the boards indicate as follows:-  White Boards   –  Normal river conditions

Yellow Boards Stream Increasing or Stream Decreasing – Experienced members only to boat following a risk assessment by the captain or coach.

Red Boards:- “NO BOATING” under any circumstances by any member.      

Junior members may only boat under supervision of a Coach. No junior scullers shall boat alone unless authorised to do so.

In the case of lightning storms, there will be no boating until it has cleared, as recommend by British Rowing. If crews are afloat they shall leave the water as quickly and safely as possible.

Night Rowing

Rowing at night is hazardous and can be extremely dangerous for participant, coach on bike or in launch and also for all other river users.

Consequently, at Burway, NIGHT ROWING IS NOT ALLOWED for anyone, whether private or club equipment is used.

Road between club and river

Always take great care crossing the road in front of the club, particularly when carrying boats, blades etc.  Vehicles, cyclists often appear at speed.

Incident Reporting

No matter how careful we are, accidents do happen. Sometimes there is no accident but there is a “near miss” or an event or circumstance that could cause harm or damage.

Whatever the incident is, no matter how minor, it must be reported to the Captain, Coach or the Safety Officer, who must ensure that the Incident is reported on the British Rowing Incident Reporting Section of their web site. Anyone can submit a report and members should be encouraged to do so.

Each report is automatically passed to the Regional Safety Adviser and also to the Club Safety Officer.