Feeling safe around your club

March 31, 2021

This month’s Governance update focuses on safety around arriving to and leaving your club

In this update, we wanted to encourage all readers to take time to reflect on member safety, but more specifically how we can ensure all members feel safe not just in the club, but also coming to – and leaving – your club. All clubs are different but here are just a few thoughts we had in the team:

Are the paths to and from your club, or in your car parks well lit? Could the local authority support your club to improve the visibility particularly late at night?
Could your club offer an informal buddy system, so groups of people can meet in a given location and walk together to and from the club?
Do you have sufficient procedures in place for dealing with missing people? Do you have emergency contact numbers for members?
If appropriate, could you encourage members to let their family or friends know when they have left the club and are expected to return home?
Consider new members and whether the experience of arriving and leaving a club could be daunting.

The other area we encourage everyone to reflect on is how to challenge or call out inappropriate behaviour.

Every club and member must abide by British Rowing’s Code of Conduct and any individuals who behave in a way that is not in keeping with British Rowing values, Teamwork, Open to All and Commitment, should be reminded that there are processes in place for dealing with poor practice. By speaking out about behaviour which contravenes our rules or codes we can ensure that rowing remains a safe and enjoyable sport for everyone.

In the first instance where there is a concern, members should go to their Club Welfare Officer (CWO).

If anyone who has been affected by crime or a traumatic event, Victim Support is an independent charity with a helpline, 0808 1689 111 or there is an online form available here.

Thank you to Pippa Randolph

At the end of last month, we said a fond goodbye to Pippa when she retired from British Rowing after 15 years. We wish her the best and she will be sorely missed. DBS enquiries now sit with Tom who you can contact via [email protected] and all other governance enquiries can continue to be submitted to [email protected].

iRowClean

Since the launch of our new iRowClean workshop, over 300 individuals have been educated online. We are steadily working our way through upskilling all staff, performance coaches and talented athletes.

If you are keen to learn more about the changes to the World Anti-Doping Agency Code (2021), you can either watch the webinar (delivered by UK Anti-Doping National Trainer Anthony Sheppard) which is available for another month here – or carry out our iRowClean online modules here.

Transport Guidance

New guidance is available for coaches transporting junior rowers to and from clubs.

You can view the guidance on our Welfare Guidance Documents page here. We encourage you to share this guidance with your juniors’ parents and carers.

CWO Newsletter

The latest Club Welfare Officer newsletter should land in the inboxes of all CWOs this week, if you are a CWO and don’t receive the newsletter please email [email protected] so you can be kept up to date with information and guidance to support you in your role.

Further information about safeguarding is available from our Safeguarding and Welfare web pages here.

The NSPCC has been promoting resources available to ensure that children are kept as safe as possible during the pandemic, they are available on their website here.