Dave Kitching, Dave Martyn, Pete Gorman and myself are very happy to give you this update about activities from the Guildford Waterside CentreWith the latest updates from the government and BC we are pleased to announcement that we can now start some activity from the club. Its great we can do something now and we will work to extend this to other club members as quickly as we can while respecting the current situation, however, we are not allowed to operate the club or organise sessions so please follow the guidance below.

From Saturday 23rd May we would welcome individuals with their own boats and competent paddlers who wish to use club boats to return to the river. Conditions for paddling:

• Competent paddlers only. 
• You may paddle in groups of up to 6 people. 
• One of each pair must either have a coach, Paddle Sport Assistant award (PAA) or similar qualification. 
• Users of private boat need BC membership or a Wey navigation licence. 
• For juniors the head coaches must receive written permission from the parent/guardian stating they are happy for them to paddle independently and have agreement from their coach that they are competent. 
• Maintain > 2m social distancing. 
• Keep right particularly on the blind corners. 
• At quieter times we recommend paddling between the club and town so there are likely to be other paddlers on the same stretch of water this allows greater safety support. 
• Changing rooms and the gym are closed. 
• Toilets can be used in an urgent situation but we recommend planning not to need them. If you do wash hands, wipe down contact points. 

As paddling will still be in family groups or pairs we will still need to ensure everyone is competent.

A number of paddlers have now achieved PAA qualifications which allows them to take groups out using club boats on Tue / Thurs 14:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays 09:30 – 14:00. If you would like details of how to get into contact with these PAA’s you can e-mail webmaster@weykayak.co.uk.

The focus for coaches will be to get people through the PAA qualification. To do this from scratch takes about 5 hours, but for many competent paddlers it will be much quicker (perhaps an hour depending on the level of competence). Please talk to one of us about this.

In these unusual times it is clearly of vital importance that we treat ourselves and those we meet on the river with respect and plenty of space. Please do not organise to come to the club in groups and do not hang around at the club so others cannot access the facilities.

We think that you are more likely to be challenged by the Wey Navigation staff at this time, so we recommend that you carry your BC card with you to prove you have a licence, or display your Wey Navigation licence on your boat

Enjoy getting back on the water

Thanks

Jim Rossiter

Chairman