SAFETY
/ EMERGENCY ARRANGEMENTS
The Metropolitan Regatta adheres to the ARA Water Safety Code.
Competitors and Officials must follow this Code at all times.
Coxswains must provide and wear an appropriate buoyancy aid or lifejacket when
afloat. All Umpires, Officials and
Staff must wear a buoyancy aid or lifejacket at all times before, during
and after racing, when afloat - including when on the start bridge.
All in-boat safety equipment must be in good working order.
If a member of a crew should for any reason leave the boat once afloat,
the crew MUST stop to assist that person in the water until a rescue boat
arrives. Failure to stop will result
in the crew not being placed and paragraph 2-6-1b in the ARA Rules of Racing
shall be amended accordingly.
The racing lanes are numbered 1 to 7, from the left-hand side of the course as
seen by the Starter (see plan). Lane
1 is on the side of the course nearest to the spectators.
Crews proceeding towards the start must use the new, separate
return lane and then enter the course carefully at the start.
Marshals will be on duty to control this.
Lane 8 is a closed lane separating traffic flow.
For safety purposes, a CLOCKWISE circulation pattern will operate
at ALL times both in the main racing lake and in the return lane.
Four rescue boats will idle in Lane 0 (start, 750m, 1250m and finish) on
the spectators’ side of the course and two will patrol the return lane.
The Regatta does not provide rescue cover on the River Thames, adjacent
to the course, and crews are NOT allowed to boat on the River from the Regatta
site.
Cars and motorbikes etc are NOT allowed to follow races on either side of
the course. Cyclists may follow
using the road on the island to the south side of the course by the finish
tower. Please follow the one way
system, exercise care at all times and especially when approaching the bridges
on the cycle track. Please limit the
number of bikes to 2 following each crew. Cycling
is not permitted in front of the boat house, nor on the path on the
spectators’ side of the course.
On land, the First Aid point (staffed by paramedics) is located near Check-in
and the boating rafts. Instructions
from rescue teams on arrival at an incident MUST be followed.
Umpires and rescue teams are equipped with radios on their own frequency.
Management radios and Timing radios also link the Start and Finish,
amongst others, to Race Control in the finish tower. Race Control can telephone
to summon the Emergency Services.
If an injured person needs to be taken off the water, it will probably be best
to disembark on the main boating raft. Umpires
and/or Officials should use their radios to alert the rescue teams as necessary.
The helipad (the circle of grass to the south of the Boat House) must be
kept clear at all times.
Umpiring will be from launches. Umpires
are reminded that their first duty to competitors is that of safety.
If weather conditions deteriorate, the Race Committee will postpone or
abandon racing. Please listen for
announcements on the PA system and radio nets.
Safety equipment, including First Aid, will be located at the Start, Finish and
in Race Control. Fire extinguishers
are located in the Boat House and in the tentage on site.
A mobile telephone is available in Race Control for emergency use with a list of
emergency telephone numbers. There
is no public telephone on site. The
nearest Accident & Emergency Unit is at
Wexham
Park
Hospital
,
Wexham Street
, Slough,
Berkshire
, SL2 4HL. Tel: 01753 633000.
Please let me know if you have any comments about the safety arrangements: 07796
430153.
Nigel Smith - Hon Secretary & Safety Adviser