British Rowing welcomes Government’s COVID-19 Roadmap
Whilst there are some clarifications that are still required, here’s what we know so far
British Rowing welcomes the roadmap to opening the country back up from the current lockdown. We fully endorse the assessment that sport and physical activity has a critical role to play in reducing the adverse effects of the pandemic on the population’s physical and mental health.
The document published by the Government provides a good outline for how sport will return. There are some further clarifications that we require, however, to help clubs start to make plans, we have set out how we think the different Government steps will align with our framework. It’s important to note that the guidance below is subject to change as more clarity on the Government’s restrictions becomes available.
Step 1a (March 8)
For the avoidance of doubt, lockdown restrictions remain in place for clubs at this step.
| Club Facilities | Hospitality Facilities | On-Water Activity | Indoor Training | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing Level 5 All club facilities closed | Rowing Level 4 COVID-Secure takeaway only | Rowing Level 4 Single household crews for personal exercise only* | Rowing Level 5 No indoor club activity | Rowing Level 5 No competition |
- Club Facilities:
- Rowing Level 5
All club facilities closed - Hospitality Facilities:
- Rowing Level 4
COVID-Secure takeaway only - On-Water Activity:
- Rowing Level 4
Single household crews for personal exercise only* - Indoor Training:
- Rowing Level 5
No indoor club activity - Competition:
- Rowing Level 5
No competition
Step 1a will not significantly change much for rowing except for school rowing. At this stage we expect this to allow schools to restart rowing from school facilities only. Existing exemptions allowing for adaptive rowing continue to apply.
* Personal Exercise during lockdown and Step 1a
Whilst personal exercise is permitted once a day, with club facilities shut rowing will only be possible if:
- you are able to safely access, launch and recover your boat without accessing your club (e.g. stored at home and launched from a public space);
- if you are able to do this without leaving your local area;
- in a single or single household/support bubble crew; and,
- if the relevant waterway authorities permit recreational boating.
- Particularly, given the current cold weather conditions, we would recommend carefully considering your risk assessment before exercising in this way. As a rowing community, we do not want to put any additional pressure on emergency services having to rescue rowers or treat the effects of cold exposure.
We would also advise that you should check your insurance cover to ensure you are covered for this activity. As a reminder, British Rowing membership (including ROW, RACE and COACH membership) provides personal accident and public liability insurance for rowing activities.
Step 1b (March 29)
| Club Facilities | Hospitality Facilities | On-Water Activity | Indoor Training | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing Level 4 Minimum facilities to allow COVID-Secure boating | Rowing Level 4 COVID-Secure takeaway only | Rowing Level 2 All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols | Rowing Level 5 No indoor club activity | Rowing Level 4 COVID-Secure intraclub competition (TBC) |
- Club Facilities:
- Rowing Level 4
Minimum facilities to allow COVID-Secure boating - Hospitality Facilities:
- Rowing Level 4
COVID-Secure takeaway only - On-Water Activity:
- Rowing Level 2
All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols - Indoor Training:
- Rowing Level 5
No indoor club activity - Competition:
- Rowing Level 4
COVID-Secure intraclub competition (TBC)
At Step 1b, outdoor organised sport will be allowed to return and will not be subject to limits on gathering sizes. This means that crew boat rowing of all sizes will be possible in all rowing clubs with mixed households (subject to the appropriate COVID-Secure protocols). Indoor training will not be possible.
We are clarifying rules relating to competition but we anticipate intra-club competition to be allowed at this stage.
Mixing of different households indoors is not permitted and as such opening of club facilities should be limited to the minimum required to allow crews to get on the water.
Step 2 (no earlier than 12 April)
| Club Facilities | Hospitality Facilities | On-Water Activity | Indoor Training | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing Level 3 All COVID-Secure facilities open with specific limitations | Rowing Level 4 COVID-Secure catering & bar facilities open with specific limitations | Rowing Level 2 All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols | Rowing Level 4 Personal or household exercise only | TBC |
- Club Facilities:
- Rowing Level 3
All COVID-Secure facilities open with specific limitations - Hospitality Facilities:
- Rowing Level 4
COVID-Secure catering & bar facilities open with specific limitations - On-Water Activity:
- Rowing Level 2
All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols - Indoor Training:
- Rowing Level 4
Personal or household exercise only - Competition:
- TBC
As we move into Step 2, households will still be prevented from mixing indoors and so indoor training facilities may be used for individual (or single household) exercise (once more information is available, we will clarify how this will work). Hospitality facilities at clubs may reopen for outdoor hospitality only (subject to the rules on group sizes).
Competition may be possible at this stage, however, we are looking to clarify what restrictions there may be on travel and how they might affect this. We hope this will allow for affiliated competitions to run with limitations on how far clubs and volunteers can travel for the event.
Step 3 (no earlier than 17 May)
| Club Facilities | Hospitality Facilities | On-Water Activity | Indoor Training | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing Level 3 All COVID-Secure facilities open with specific limitations | Rowing Level 4 COVID-Secure catering & bar facilities open with specific limitations | Rowing Level 2 All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols | Rowing Level 2 Indoor training allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols | Rowing Level 2 COVID-Secure Private Matches and Affiliated Competitions (TBC) |
- Club Facilities:
- Rowing Level 3
All COVID-Secure facilities open with specific limitations - Hospitality Facilities:
- Rowing Level 4
COVID-Secure catering & bar facilities open with specific limitations - On-Water Activity:
- Rowing Level 2
All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols - Indoor Training:
- Rowing Level 2
Indoor training allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols - Competition:
- Rowing Level 2
COVID-Secure Private Matches and Affiliated Competitions (TBC)
When Step 3 is confirmed, we expect that organised COVID-Secure indoor training and group exercise training will become possible. Indoor hospitality will be permitted subject to the rule of six. With domestic stays allowed, we would expect Affiliated Competitions to be allowed at this stage.
Step 4 (no earlier than 21 June)
| Club Facilities | Hospitality Facilities | On-Water Activity | Indoor Training | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowing Level 2 All COVID-Secure facilities open | Rowing Level 2 COVID-Secure catering & bar facilities open | Rowing Level 2 All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols | Rowing Level 2 Indoor training allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols | Rowing Level 2 COVID-Secure Private Matches and Affiliated Competitions (TBC) |
- Club Facilities:
- Rowing Level 2
All COVID-Secure facilities open - Hospitality Facilities:
- Rowing Level 2
COVID-Secure catering & bar facilities open - On-Water Activity:
- Rowing Level 2
All crew boats allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols - Indoor Training:
- Rowing Level 2
Indoor training allowed subject to COVID-Secure protocols - Competition:
- Rowing Level 2
COVID-Secure Private Matches and Affiliated Competitions (TBC)
At Step 4 – we expect that the rowing community will be fully operational following COVID-Secure protocols.
We are aiming to clarify our remaining questions and some of the detail of particular steps as soon as possible. Once we have this information we will publish an updated version of our Managing COVID-19 guidance.
