As the island of Ireland continues high level Covid -19 restrictions, the NI Executive Restrictions of 16th of October 2020 have now had some clarification. The NI Working Group in conjunction with the Rowing Ireland Covid-19 working Group have put together a list of questions and answers to continue to assist clubs in NI. We are in continuous communication with Sport Northern Ireland for the latest updates and clarification to ensure we as a sport continue to operate within the guidelines laid down by the relevant authorities.
At Rowing Ireland, our number one priority at this time is the health and safety of all our members. We ask all our Affiliated Clubs and registered members to continue to observe the guidelines during these unprecedented times. We must play our part in reducing the R number throughout the island.
We are all Rowing Ireland.
Rowing Ireland Covid-19 protocols for NI Affiliated Clubs (River / Coastal / Offshore).
(includes school and University Clubs)
Frequently asked Questions
We have received clarification from Sport NI as to the interpretation of what is deemed “contact”. In summary the current interpretation is that anything under the Social Distance of 2m is deemed “contact”
| FAQ’s | Question | Answer | Reasoning (Information Resource) |
| 1 | Can rowers train in crew boats? | No | Unless ‘Elite’, or all rowers within 2m are from the same household. |
| 2 | Can rowers travel to clubs? | Yes. | Rowers can travel where this is necessary for their physical and mental wellbeing. |
| 3 | Can individual rowers go out in sculls from the club/ school/ university? | Yes | Individual training is allowed in groups of up to 10 people including any people coaching. A group may not gather with others to form a gathering of more than 15 people. |
| 4 | Can club/ school/ university boathouses remain open? | Yes | Indoor facilities for outdoor exercise, and for limited indoor exercise remain open, but changing rooms (or any related “touch” points) remain closed. |
| 5 | Can Gyms with plenty of room and ventilation be used while maintaining social distancing and apply strict sterilization protocols? | Yes | Club/ school/ university gyms may remain open for individual training only, for 1 athlete and 1 person coaching, with 2m social distancing. |
| 6 | Can more than one group of 10 train outdoors at the same time? | Yes | A clear and obvious separation must be maintained at all times. Coaches should not interact between groups. |
| 7 | Must attendees at allowed training sessions wear a face covering? | Yes | While it is not mandatory to wear a face covering outdoors, it is highly advised when a 2-metre social distance cannot be maintained at all times. |
| 8 | Can events for non-elite athletes take place? | No | The limitations on organised indoor and outdoor gatherings (in particular the limit of 15 participants) make it impossible to hold any Head of the River/time trial, indoor rowing or similar organised events at this time. |
| 9 | Can Elite rowers do more than others? | Yes | If all involved are elite then indoor and outdoor events may be held, but for gatherings of over 15 involving elite athletes there is a requirement to carry out a risk assessment and take mitigating measure to reduce the risk of virus transmission. |
| 10 | Does our club need to keep contact details of parents/ carers attending sessions? | Yes | A log of all people attending club sites, with contact information for contact tracing purposes should be recorded to enable contact tracing, should it be required. |
| 11 | Should our club have a COVID-19 Compliance Officer? | Yes | Designating COVID compliance officers is necessary to help with coordination of risk mitigation actions. |
Any club or group that is not in a position to apply these measures or enforce them should not hold training sessions.
ROI FAQ Link- https://www.rowingireland.ie/rowing-ireland-covid-19-working-group-update-28th-october/
