Background
USRowing joins other successful organizations in issuing written guidance governing their oversight of and response to pandemic planning. This policy provides guidance in these areas relating to pandemic response.
Guidance
USRowing statement in “US Rowing Re-opening the Boathouse/Return to Training Considerations Post-COVID-19”:
The knowledge and circumstances around COVID-19 are changing constantly and, as such, USRowing makes no representation and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this information. The guidelines in this document are subject and subordinate to federal, state and local laws, rules, ordinances and regulations that apply to your location (“Applicable Laws”). USRowing does not condone or recommend disregarding or engaging in conduct not in conformity with Applicable Laws. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the guidelines in this document and any Applicable Laws, the Applicable Laws shall control.
Insurance Guidance
Rio Salado Rowing Club’s insurance through USRowing contains an explicit exclusion for loss or damage caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or can induce physical distress, illness, or disease. Row at your own risk for infection.
Policy Summary
- Maintain physical distance at least 6 feet apart.
- Wearing a mask is encouraged and optional.
- Use hand sanitizer upon arrival at the boatyard.
- Wipe oars with disinfectant before and after use.
- Boat size and class size requirements are addressed in the Appendix.
- Self-monitor for symptoms and if you are sick or exposed to someone with COVID-19, stay home (report COVID-19 exposure or illness to coach).
Guiding Principles
- Rio Salado Rowing Club and all athletes must follow state and/or local rules and regulations set forth by the public health authorities, including group size. When regulations differ between state and local authorities, Arizona guidelines must be followed unless the state has specifically delegated authority to counties and/or local authorities. The guidelines of the overriding authority for our location will be followed.
- Training will focus on a “get in, train, get out” approach, minimizing unnecessary contact.
- Individuals must always maintain physical distancing of at least six (6) feet in all areas. This includes coaches, athletes and staff.
- Training will be allowed in all boat classes.
- No coach or athlete should report to training if they are experiencing a fever or any symptoms of COVID-19, or if they have been exposed to an individual who has COVID-19. If any doubt exists, stay home.
Refer to the Appendix to this Policy for current requirements on allowable boats and class size.
These will be updated by the Rio Board as conditions dictate. Update of that list shall be
denoted by a stated revision number and date of revision. Update of the Appendix may occur without requiring issuance of a full revision of this policy by the Rio Board.
Team Boats
- The following standards published by FISA (based on WHO recommendations) will be followed in order to resume rowing in team boats.
- Training in team boats may resume when the local infection rate is less than 100 new cases per 100,000 people in total for the last seven-day period for two consecutive weeks. This is determined by rate for Maricopa County.
- If Maricopa County’s infection rate is near the recommended case limit and in an upward/worsening trend, it is encouraged to proceed with caution before moving to rowing in team boats in order to prevent having to shut down again.
- It is recommended to row in the same training groups each day to limit cross-group exposure.
Additional General Guidelines
- Masks are encouraged and optional.
- All athletes, coaches and staff must use hand sanitizer or wash hands with soap upon arrival.
- Any personal items that are placed or stored at the boatyard should be considered contaminated and be wiped down with disinfectant before and after every use.
- Wipe all oars down with disinfectant before and after use.
Return to Training/Athlete Health Monitoring
- Any individual (athletes, coaches, and staff) returning to the boathouse or to a training environment after travel should follow recommended CDC guidelines.
- Any individual known to have been exposed to a person who has been sick and/or diagnosed with COVID-19 must self-report to the coach (who will report to Rio’s COVID-19 Response Coordinator) if they were at the boathouse within the prior 14 days; and the individual must self-quarantine for 14 days before returning, per Arizona Department of Health Services guidelines.
- All individuals should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 daily. Each person should take their temperature daily prior to arrival at the boathouse. If temperature is 100.4 degrees or over, the person should not come to the boathouse.
- If someone feels sick, they must not attend practice. The individual should reach out to his or her doctor for assistance.
- If an individual has had a documented case of COVID-19, USRowing recommends they receive clearance from their doctor to resume training.
Resources
USRowing COVID-19 website
Maricopa County COVID-19 Cases