Planning continues for Harken Youth and Marlow Ropes Women's Match Racing Championships
Planning is still underway for the Harken Youth Match Racing Championship on the 5/6th September and the Marlow Ropes Women’s Match Racing Championships on the 12/13th September both at Weymouth Sailing Club.
With all of the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic multiple options are being considered in the review of how we may be able to continue to run these long standing championships. With legislation and government guidance continually evolving, we will always stick by our core principles of being considerate and conservative in our approach to these events, with this in mind our current approach is as follows:
· If we feel that we are unable to run the events safely due to COVID-19 we will cancel with three weeks’ notice, for the Harken Youth Match Racing this would be notified on the 14th August and the Marlow Ropes Women’s Match Racing this would be notified on the 21st August.
· If we cancel events at this stage we would issue a full refund as soon as possible after this date.
· Entry limits for both events are currently ten teams but for reasons of hygiene we may need to limit this to six teams to avoid swapping boats, this would be done on a first come first served basis so early entry is advised.
· We may have to restrict entry to teams from the same household or social bubble as it will not be possible to physically distance three/four sailors on an Elliott 6M. If social distancing is still in place we will review all entries four weeks before each event and if we feel that teams do not fall in to this category then we will contact them to reject their entry. Skippers will have five days to appeal this decision by providing us with evidence that they have a team from the same household or social bubble after which their place will be offered to the next registered, eligible team.
· Given the difficulties associated with arranging a crew with the above restrictions, if social distancing is still in place four weeks before the Harken Youth Match Racing Championship and skippers could compete with crew members up to the age of 25 in a social bubble or same household we will amend the NoR to allow this to happen. Skippers must still meet the age requirements of the current NoR
· We may have to run briefing/debriefing sessions and prize giving online rather than in person
· We may need to change the venue
· We may not be able to hold the traditional debrief and cocktails at the Marlow Ropes Women’s Match Racing Championship
· We may put tighter weather restrictions in to ensure we race in a more conservative way
· We may need to reduce the number of umpires so that there is only one in a rib but we will always ensure that they are trained to the highest standard and comfortable with umpiring on their own
We are continually monitoring the situation and evaluating the possibility to hold these championships and will always communicate our thinking to those who have entered directly and those who may wish enter through our RYA Match Racing Facebook group to ensure that you are always as informed as possible. We will adapt to current and future government guidance and legislation with the aim to run these events and make them as competitive and enjoyable as possible.
If you have any questions or suggestions please get in touch, keelboatracing@rya.org.uk