Following the recent Coronavirus (Covid-19) government announcement regarding new lockdown measures, British Canoeing has today received confirmation that recreational paddling and exercise on the waterways in England is permitted.
British Canoeing has been in conversations with Sport England, Sport & Recreation Alliance and the waterways authorities over the past few days to present our views and seek clarity for our members and the paddlesport community.
Guidance issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England confirms that recreational paddling is permitted within the government measures so long as you are:
on your own
with the people you live with (your household)
your support bubble
on your own and with one person from another household – this could be a coach for 1:1 coaching
Children under the age of five, as well as disabled people dependent on care, are not counted towards the limit on two people meeting outside.
Outdoor exercise limits - There is no limit on the amount of time spent exercising outdoors, or the amount of times per day you can exercise outdoors.
Travel - You can still travel to exercise outdoors, but where possible we would strongly advise paddlers to paddle locally.
Coaching - 1:1 coaching/personal training sessions can take place in a public outdoor space, so long as social distancing is maintained.
A thorough risk assessment for all activity and appropriate safety frameworks should be in place. Any coaching of under 18s and adults at risk on a 1:1 basis should be avoided. Coaches are reminded of the principles of British Canoeing’s safeguarding policy.
Elite training - Elite training has been identified as an exemption and is defined by Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to include professional sport and lottery funded athletes within Olympic and Paralympic sports.
This does allow for the lottery funded athletes in the sprint, slalom and paracanoe World Class Programmes to continue to train, subject to full compliance with a number of detailed Covid-19 requirements laid out in the new government measures.
We are grateful to the National Water Sports Centre, Lee Valley White Water Centre and Dorney Lake, who have worked in partnership with us in order to facilitate these arrangements.
Safety - We fully advocate staying safe on the water as we head into winter conditions and individual paddlers should restrict their paddlesport activities to environments which are well within their capabilities, alert friends and family to their activity and predicted return times and ensure they have a means to call for help, handy at all times.
A guide to staying safe during winter paddling is available on the Go Paddling website.
Waterways licence - Paddlers are reminded that a waterways licence is required to paddle on licensed waterways. Full details on membership is available on the British Canoeing website.
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