Advice for Clubs and Classes running regattas

From 27 December 2021 the following rules apply

• People attending the club need to sign in with a COVID-19 Safe Check-in 
• Clubs that are hospitality venues need to limit people inside the venue to one person per 2 sqm.
• Face masks are required to be worn indoors by people 12 and over when not eating and drinking.

Many sailing clubs are continuing to require people attending the club to be fully vaccinated.  Australian Sailing supports this decision.

COVID Safety Plans 

As part of regatta risk management, a club should have a COVID Safe Plan that aims to reduce the risk to as low as reasonably possible.

Potential mitigation measures:

• Take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that people do not attend the event if they have symptoms of COVID-19 including sore throat, cough, fever or runny nose.
• Take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that persons do not attend the event if they have been advised by NSW Health that they are a close contact of a person diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Consider whether appropriate cancellation or flexible booking is available, allowing attendees to cancel due to COVID-19 factors, such as being unwell, being required to isolate, or awaiting test results.
• Consider how to maximise other measures that may help prevent transmission, such as masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene.
• Understand what the club needs to do if someone working, volunteering or attending the club tests positive to COVID https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/business/linked-with-positive-worker-case

When developing your COVID Safety Plan, consider how to minimise gatherings, such as:

• Registration and entries via email or the use of an app
• Online briefings 
• No presentation or functions
• Conduct briefings and presentation outdoors
• Where people need to be indoors, ensure good ventilation by keeping windows and doors open
• Split fleets into smaller divisions and stagger race times

Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions

It is not recommended to include legislation, protocols, or guidance from external authorities in an event’s rules, as breaches of such legislation are outside the jurisdiction of event officials and are subject to changes at short notice.

It is best to have the Club’s COVID advice on the club website, on the event entry page, email it to entrants, and post it on the Official Noticeboard, but not included in the Race Documents.

The following Sailing Instructions could be added:

• [DP] Competitors and support persons shall comply with any reasonable request from an event official. Failure to comply may be misconduct.
• Reasonable actions by event officials to implement COVID-19 guidance, protocols, or legislation, even if they later prove to have been unnecessary, are not improper actions or omissions.

The following Sailing Instruction could be added to deal with an event needing to end early due to a COVID outbreak at the club:

• If the event is ended due to COVID-19, before the minimum number of races to constitute a series have been run, the races already completed will constitute a series.

Participants from some states may be excluded by factors beyond their control - consider whether to classify the regatta a “national” championship.

In the Prizes section of the NOR you could use this wording:

• The Class Association will use its sole discretion to decide if the event satisfies the requirements to be classified as the Australian Championship.

For more information go to our NSW COVID Information Page