Hygiene

COVID – 19 & Hygiene (2020-2021)

With the arrival of COVID-19, the BSRA is conscious of each school applying new hygiene measures should rowing be able to resume.

The return to rowing will require the adoption of practices to mitigate transmission of the virus. Each BSRA school will have policies and procedures to implement practices and each rowing facility will need to consider how to adapt the practices in the most effective way in relation to our sport.

The Queensland Government – A step-down approach to COVID-19

The Australian Sports Commission has delivered this information –

The Australian Institute of Sport Framework for Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment

Rowing Queensland are currently (12 May 2020) updating their guidelines for a return to rowing and seeking approval from Queensland Health. These guidelines will be available here directly and should provide useful detail in your planning.

This list of considerations is relevant to training and can be updated and expanded to detail a competition environment should the decision be made by the Board to resume the season:

  1. List the various demographics that enter your rowing facility and keep an accurate attendance roll
  2. List everything they are likely to touch
  3. Then list ways to mitigate the transference of the virus in each of these cases
  4. Think of implementing a requirement for the flu shot for all your athletes
  5. Have your rowers sign up to the Covid-19 tracing app
  6. Design separate entry and exit points for the facility including showers, bathrooms, kitchen etc
  7. Limit the number of people that assemble in groups
  8. Keep the coaches at a distance to the rowers before the row and post. Debriefing conducted 2 metres apart
  9. Get the girls to take the tinnies to the water and bring them back. That is, do not have overlap in the demographics that have certain roles
  10. Make sure the girls bring their own socks, wash their Zooties after EVERY row, dip their handles in disinfectant as well as scrupulously wash inside and outside the boat after each session
  11. No communal breakfast – take away only
  12. Cleaners arranged after each session to wipe everything down that you have identified as important
  13. Parent helpers must be briefed. Spontaneous helpers arriving must be discouraged as they will not have been briefed
  14. Parents must understand that if they have no specific role to play at the rowing shed they are (under these circumstances) not welcomed on the premise
  15. Each person’s presence at the rowing facility must be accounted for and dealt with in view to cancelling any potential contamination for subsequent sessions.