————–
Notes from the Committee:
- We are now allowed to paddle on the whole of the lake including the polo pitches, although polo-related activities must adhere to the Council’s latest complete guidelines for all forms of paddling (see latest guidelines from the Council below).
- The council’s system allows for 1 hour bookings on the hour and at no point should more than 6 Meridian Club Members be on the lake at any one time.
- Club Members can book more than 1 hour at a time, the club will be charged for each hour so please if you book more than an hour, make sure you intend to use it.
- Bookings can be made through the club by emailing chairperson@meridiancanoeclub.com, the schedule of which will then be handed on members’ behalf to the Council’s booking system. The Council require that we provide both an email address and a phone number as well as the members name for contact tracing. These details will not be added to their marketing database and only used for contact tracing. All bookings according to the Council’s latest guidelines must be made 24 hours in advance. However, sessions appear to be bookable on the council system with only a 2hr lead time so please email the chairperson and if possible/practical your booking will still be made. An alternative point of contact or means of booking is being considered so please be prepared for this to change.
- For now, the changing rooms are closed and we should not change in the open air. You should plan to go home in your slightly damp paddling kit so keep yourself as dry as possible. Please do not change by your cars as this upsets local residents and our friends at the council.
- The club now has access to our fleet in the boathouse, with 1 person entering at a time unless help is required. Club members will need to make it clear that they wish to use a club boat when making a booking and we will need to sanitise the kayaks after use. Club members will need to be trained in these practices. Otherwise members should make effort to use their own equipment where possible. No soft kit, including buoyancy aids, cags or helmets will be available for members to use on a session by session basis. If members don’t own their own equipment then they should contact equipment@meridiancanoeclub.com and make arrangements to borrow the equipment on a long term basis. Please read the document regarding cleaning of club equipment.
- When getting on the lake we are to either get on from the end of the hard closest to the wooden jetty, the wooden jetty or directly into the old pedalo pool from the main park.
- Please consider public perception of all activity whilst using the lake and respecting these guidelines. Club Members should avoid interaction with the public regarding activities and if necessary advise them that the lake is only open for licensed access and to contact Danson Adventures for more information.
- Please find attached a copy of the risk assessment that club members must abide to while taking part in club activities during the Covid 19 control period
Latest Guidelines from Bexley Council and Danson Adventures (Including rules for Tier 2 and Tier 3 when applicable)
With the end of the national lockdown and the introduction of the new national tier system we have been reviewing the guidance provided by Government, Sport England and British Canoeing as well as reviewing our existing procedures, protocols and risk assessments.
From Monday 7th December 2020 club members will again be permitted to access the lake for club supervised activities. Below sets out the guidelines that will apply to Danson Park Lake. Please note, these guidelines may differ to those set by British Canoeing in practise elsewhere:
Adults
- No Adults from tier 3 areas should travel to and use the facility while the facility remains in tier 2 unless this is necessary to enable individual exercise or to exercise with people from the same household or support bubble and they should travel only a short distance
- Adults in tier 2 and 1 can access the facility while the facility remains in tier 2
- Club activities must be in line with National Governing Body guidance and London Borough of Bexley guidelines. Currently we are only allowing organised club activities up to a max of 6 people at any one time for each club. Paddlers should paddle only in family groups with other members of the same household or in pairs with one person from another household maintaining social distancing.
Under 18s (under 18 on 31st August 2020)
- Adults in tier 3 can travel to transport or accompany under 18s but travel should be kept to a short distance
- Club activities must be in line with National Governing Body guidance and London Borough of Bexley guidelines. Currently we are only allowing organised club activities up to a max of 6 people at any one time for each club. Again, paddlers should paddle only with other members of the same household or with one person from another household maintaining social distancing.
- 1:1 coaching should be avoided and at minimum social distancing maintained at all times beyond the need for health and safety.
Polo Training
- Paddlers may now use the polo pitches but all paddling including polo-related activity must adhere to the guidelines set out above. This should be kept to individual-focused training as much as possible. Members from the same household may pass a ball between themselves but not between members from separate households.
Off-Water
- When off the water members should adhere to national Government guidelines the same as everywhere else pertaining to the current Tier.
- Members should avoid standing around and chatting after getting off the water; this includes family members from the same household.
Track and Trace
- To assist with Track and Trace participants at all sessions must be pre-booked 24hrs in advance via the Centre on-line booking system.
- You will receive a confirmation email once you’re booking is confirmed. If you need to cancel your session please click on the link within your confirmation email and request booking cancellation within 24 hours, this will give the opportunity to other users in the club.
General
- No activities should take place in the dark
- No activities should take place if the lake is frozen
- No activities should take place unless at least two people are on site from the same club
- Social distancing , cleaning routines for facilities & equipment and hand sanitising measures should continue as before in-line with Covid secure measures and risk assessments
As the national tier system will be reviewed on a regular basis so too will these guidelines and any changes will be made in line with the national Government and London Borough of Bexley guidelines. For the present time maximum of six people can take part in any one session and this will be reviewed in the near future as conditions change.
Please note due to national lockdown water quality testing has been suspended so all activities at this time should be non-submersive .
Please ensure that any club member entering inside any part of the facilities at the whole site wears a face covering while indoors no matter how short this is unless they have an exemption.