British Open/ HPPCC/SS open

[Mark H]

Are there plans for the British Open to be run this year?

HPPCC & SSCC have offered to run an open at HPP in September/October

What are the stoppers for these events not to run?

What do we need to do to overcome them?

I feel that any measures we have to put in place to run an event this year will probably be with us next year as well,
if the measures are reduced for next year then happy days, if not we have a bit of a guide to see what works and what doesn't.

Lots of grassroots sports at all ages are now running and matches being played (at all age groups) Is it not time for Slalom to run a test event in a large outdoor space?

Local lockdowns might mean that not everyone has the chance to attend a race, but this could be a thing of the future for ranking events, when they finally get going again( next year we hope)

On another note, if there are no ranking events in 2021 are we going to extend the season for 3 years as the same discussion points stand, for and against the extension of the season for 2 years? Just thought I would put this one out there for future planning.


I know Peter Curry is looking at the H&S side of things and we appreciate all of the work being done in the background.

[Dee]

Nothing is simple and the rules keep changing. I guess the real stopper is the number of people on site and the minimum number of volunteers need to run such events.

Sincerely hoping ranking racing becomes possible next year, though it seems highly possible to me that we might lose the first couple of months of the season. Really don't want to go down the "what if" route yet, though ...

[Mark H]

Hi Dee,
Some races are run on public sites anyway.
There must be more to it than that. Water parks have 30 people on an inflatable
whilst other activities like open water swimming,wake boarding and other water sports
are going on at the same time, along with the cafe being open to the public.

Do you know what the stoppers are for clubs to run an event at somewhere like HPPCC or LV as well as
other large public sites or small remote venues where people can be very well spaced out both on the water and
on the bank or in the wider parks and area's.

We are just trying to get a view on what the sport has to overcome to get going again.

Let's for argument sake we are still in the same position next year as we are today. What does our sport have to do to get races on again?

Do we need to:
sit judges behind shields, buy more headsets, increase room for the timing team, sort out more online results only, supply masks and gloves for the safety team, look at a process for appeals and the jury, set one way routes around the water course for paddlers to go after their run( if possible) set two meter plus walkways and tape them off, masks to be worn inside taped area.
( this list isn't exhaustive)

I would suggest all of the above, and people too also keep themselves safe as we would expect them to do by wearing the correct equipment that allows them to take part in an event.

If we are to have any chance of running races this year or next we need to know what race organisers are expected to put in place for an event to run. If we work on the tightest restrictions, if they ease great if not we can have them in place. We have roughly six months until ranking races will/ may start again, we need time to plan and get extra measures in place and made if necessary.

[PeterC]

Hi All

This is my personal position and not the formal position of the Slalom Committee.

The enthusiasm for the sport is admirable and I fully understand the desire to get back to competition. There is as Mark notes a lot going on in the background and COVID 19 has filled much of my time over the last 7 months. This is not a benign disease, you get it get better and thats the end of it. Apart from the elderly and others at risk of dying all are at significant risk of long term and possibly permanent organ damage even in those who apparently have a mild illness only or are even asymptomatic. It is incredibly infectious and needs very active precautions to limit spread. We can hope for a vaccine which will go to health care workers first, then the vulnerable and it may well, even in the best scenario, be about 18 months before everyone gets vaccinated. We are a long way from returning to "Normal".

I had hoped for a window in October where we could realistically consider running a national competition of some sort in a secure environment. That however is not coming to fruition as we continue to have different rules across the nations and a variety of lockdowns including Aberdeen and many areas of the North of England with others to come. That window is essentially now closed.

We have at least reached a situation where paddlers are back on the water and paddling.

Is competition as we know it now realistically possible - in a word No. However we can start to think about how we might manage some form of racing. In Scotland we are looking at a virtual championship. We will set up a course at Pinkston which will stay up over a weekend. Small groups will then book slots at the site and do the course looking after themselves, timing and judging themselves. After the competition has finished all results will be reported and published. Other alternatives include mini race sessions that involve no more than 30 people (the 30 limit is absolutely everyone there not paddlers) and would be much easier to comply with the rules (of which there are quite a few) than anything larger. Large events are still prohibited although the English Government has not defined what large is, In Scotland large is greater than 100 and in Wales greater than 200 currently. Anything larger than 30 must be run in a fully COVID Secure environment and there are literally hundreds of pages of rules all which must be complied with. Clubs are of course free to organise their own events and do not require the sanction of the Slalom Committee but if over 30 would be well advised to independently check their proposed arrangements with British Canoeing or the SCA etc. I am personally happy to discuss what is appropriate with anyone and will set up meetings if needed. All should remember that if an event fully complies with the rules (and I am aware that there are things going on now in various sports that don't) then liability will be limited however should an activity result in a super spreading event then the financial penalties could be significant.

Challenges include, the welfare of unaccompanied minors (as parents need to be excluded to control numbers), the need to exclude those who should be isolating, in lockdown or quarantining (note the consequences for Celtic when their player nipped off to Spain without telling anyone), cleaning everything, the bar to doing anything that would get participants to congregate thus no publication of the results until the session is over etc.

Thanks to Dee we would be in a good position in respect of the requirement for prior booking of any activity.

However financial risk and responsibility need to be considered carefully for any proposed activity as rules and situations may change with only hours of notice.

As to the future, my crystal ball is somewhat hazy but I do think that it is likely we are not going to be able to get back to normal ranking competition without any special arrangements as we continue the season next year.

Sorry to be a Doom Monger and contrary to what you may think I am trying hard to get racing going safely.

Stay safe all

[Mark H]

Thank you for your time efforts Peter, they are very much appreciated.

[Dee]

If you want to see some of what sport is up against and, like me, find the gov website a little tricky to search at times , try this link https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... n-guidance

[Mark H]

At least I can sit and watch 30 guys beat the living day lights out of each other playing rugby now.

I am very confused.

[Dee]

At least I can sit and watch 30 guys beat the living day lights out of each other playing rugby now.

I am very confused.

Know what you mean; I'm thinking of changing my middle name to "Confused"

[PeterC]

Thank you Mark

A colleague is supporting Scottish Rugby and they have had to jump a huge number of hurdles. One of the things they can do is afford £250 a week for testing each player and finance has driven them back. It is far from easy.

It would be possible in theory to run a competition at a fully closed site such as Lee Valley however the required provisions would seriously challenge financial viability and would need to be prepared to cancel at very short notice together with absorbing the financial consequences. I was hoping to try in October but currently rather too challenging.

Much as I would like to decide now what will need doing in 2021 it really is not possible other than it is likely to require special measures. I am hoping it will be clearer by November / December.

[Mark H]

Thanks Peter,
My brother is the safety officer at Tigers RFC and he says it's been busy getting ready for the fixture on Saturday.
He has also offered to help Slalom out if we need any help and support moving through the processes to
get races back. I am sure as a team we will get there eventually.
Keep safe
Mark

[PeterC]

I worry for your brothers hair. Leicester Tigers have a completely different position in that they can dictate the actions of their players and expect them to comply (even then they can err).

All help is welcome but remember the considerations for different activities are often very different. Within Paddlesport we are already dealing with rules from three different countries which are different and then add in quarantining and lock down areas. So for example a Scottish paddler who had been in Switzerland this week would not be able to compete next week and would need to be identified and excluded but one from England would not.

I am also involved in managing Scouting activities and their compliance with another whole set of rules and it goes on...

[Jasper]

Just recently there have been a few ICF run ECA races which several U.K. Junior paddlers competed at.

Why were those events (attracting paddlers from different countries) allowed to take place if similar home events are deemed too dangerous?

What measures were put in place to mitigate any issues in regard to spreading the virus?

Did anyone from the Slalom Committee attend any of these events who could share feedback on what they experienced?

If not, perhaps the parents of the UK paddlers who competed at them could share their thoughts on what took place.

Just a suggestion and not to say that UK based events should be possible but what could be done to try and make them possible.

Jasper

[PeterC]

Indeed they have Jasper. However the UK has had and still has one of the worst outbreaks of COVID 19 in Europe. We have to comply with the rules here.

It is theoretically possible to run an elite race here however the requirements are extensive and significant and challenging to meet (as well as potentially expensive). All participants would need to comply with behaviour and actions ensuring they are all COVID free. Compare that with an Open which at present >10% of the population could not attend before excluding isolating and quarantining individuals. Getting it wrong and having an outbreak has significant potentially negative consequences.

I suppose the question should be what is the value of organising such a race now? The cost per paddler of organising such a race and making compliant as a COVID Secure event are significant. How much would paddlers be prepared to pay to race? I am assuming that anything over £100 would be prohibitive particularly if no ranking points are available. Such a race would still be far from normal with various requirements e.g. no results published or available on site until after the event to prevent people collecting together. Also anyone attending would need to be prepared to Isolate for 14 days afterwards should transmission be identified at the event by Track & Trace.

[JimW]

I don't know if different disciplines got different advice from BC, but what I saw through WWR was that all GB teams with possible exception of WWR J/U23 (the event is so late in the year that no team has been selected, and it looks like it will now be impossible to select a team due to home nation differences, and the event may yet be cancelled) had been pulled out of international competition, and that if any international events did go ahead there would be no support to anyone competing, and they would be required to not attend any domestic events (if there were any) for at least 2 weeks after returning (that was to include ITO's as well as athletes).
So those that have been abroad racing (and I have friends in a couple of disciplines who have done it) have essentially done it against BC advice, although government have been keen-ish to get some of us travelling to support the tourist realted industries. Those events could not have been run in the UK and have only been possible because of different levels of infection in different countries, and these are constantly under review - ICF scheduled a WWR world cup for Spain next month, but the venue is right in the middle of a couple of bad outbreaks so it looks extremely likely it will be cancelled.

The current situation in Scotland is that we are not (apart from SPL presumably) allowed to travel for competition, and may only go to competitions at our normal training venue, respecting the numbers that are allowed to meet outdoors (15 from 5 families). But we can travel to train at different venues, which is a bit confusing.

The bottom line is that transmission is broken/restricted by people not travelling. Not travelling at all is unfeasible (essential goods deliveries for example), but limiting as much travel as possible to local travel with or meeting the same group of people limits the number of onward paths if the virus does get into a group, and makes tracing and dealing with it much easier. In terms of priorities, essential workplaces come first, followed by schools, followed by less essential worplaces, and finally social gatherings. There is quite enough contradiction with having to enourage some socialisation to generate business for some non-essential workplaces in support of the economy and allowing the big televised sports to get under way, I honestly can't see smaller sports like ours returning to normal for quite some time - that is to say, I don't see any rush to allow national level competitions, and I suspect we will need to think about what we can do more regionally to keep things alive in the mean time.

In WWR some of us are doing time trials on our own on our local water and then comparing them to how others are doing - it does not make foor a completely level playing field though, some people have canals or lochs to use, whilst others have rivers with different flow rates, and even if we could get the water conditions the same the wind strength and direction will vary across venues and on different days.

The best solution I have seen for slalom so far is a proposal for a Scottish champs on a course set and fixed at Pinkston in advance, with paddlers attending in small groups and timing/judging each other and then heading away before the next batch turns up for their runs. Presumably if it goes ahead most of us will attend as clubs, because those are the people we normally see. There are quite a lot of obvious pitfalls, it certainly wouldnt stand up to the scrutiny required at Prem level competition, but if it is something that can get us using our boats for what they are meant for it will be worthwhile!

I had been remaining optimistic that we might be able to get back to open competition around about now, but the reality is that UK governement have not reacted fast enough or hard enough for that to be a possibility, we have been set on the course of long slow recovery early on and the only changes that have been made have served to draw it out for even longer.

So, I think we need to change our focus onto what we might be able to do in terms of local events for the rest of this year and possibly next year.

[PeterC]

Thanks Jim

Absolutely. The SPL are close to wiping themselves out with the shenanigans in Aberdeen and Celtic. One more and I think it will be closed down. They are in theory abiding by very strict rules.

Anyone who attends an event elsewhere in Europe will be obliged to comply with quarantine rules whether a competitor or volunteer. That includes potentially travelling through a country or on a ferry from a country for which quarantine applies.

I do hope that we can get the Pinkston event up and running and am hopeful that we will.