Disclaimer
No part of this document will at any time supersede or nullify legislation or regulation. Please report any contravention of law or regulations in this document to the committee of Marlow Canoe Club for immediate revision. Marlow Canoe Club will, as far as is reasonably practical, aim to update or improve this manual as new legislation, regulation or guidelines become effective.
Definitions
In this document the terms club and Marlow Canoe Club have the same meaning.
Paddle UK (previously British Canoeing) is the national governing body for
canoeing in the UK.
The General Committee refers to elected members who act on behalf of
members to manage the business and activities of the club.
The Safety Officer is the member of the General Committee designated to
oversee all aspects of health and safety within the club.
The Clubhouse & Equipment Officer is the member of the General
Committee designated to ensure the maintenance of the clubhouse and
equipment including arrangements for repairs, renewals and replacement.
The Duty Officer is the role designated to ensure the safe and effective
management of local club led activities, which means waters between
Hambleden and Boulters locks. Individuals certified by the club can volunteer
to be the Duty Officer for individual activities.
The Leader of a club led activity means a qualified person who leads the
activities on the water.
The Trip Organiser for a non-local club led activity means the person who is
nominated by the Committee and, ahead of the event, ensures the competence
of participants and a suitable ratio of Leaders for the planned risk. This should
be updated based on prevailing conditions and the group.
The Welfare Officer is a member of the General Committee responsible for
advice on the safeguarding and protecting children and adults at risk.
Club led activities / Club sessions are the activities and trips organised on
behalf of the club and sanctioned in advance by the General Committee. They
are published in the club calendar.
A paddler can be a qualified person based on their British Canoeing
qualifications. Also, the General Committee can assess someone to be
qualified through their ability, experience, training and other certificates.
Key holder A qualified person may apply to the committee to hold an access
key to the clubhouse
Responsibilities
The General Committee has a responsibility to:
Ensure any club led activity takes place within a safety framework that
incorporates appropriate risk management.
Ensure that Committee Members and Club policies meet the Paddle UK
Standards for Deployment Policy.
Ensure club led activities provide a level of challenge and perceived risk that is
appropriate to the aims and abilities of the group, and the conditions.
Ensure all club members have received training / assessment to make sure
they are aware of the risks and are safe to paddle on at least sheltered water.
Develop the club safety framework with changes to health and safety
legislation, regulations, incident reports, and other guidance from governing
bodies.
Keep a record of Club members’ British Canoeing qualifications and their
validity.
Approve Key Holders where appropriate, based on experience and judgement.
Maintain a list of Key Holders.
Publish a Duty Officer Policy.
Train and assess Duty Officers; maintain a list of approved Duty Officers.
Ensure there is a Duty Officer, Leader or Trip Organiser for each Club led
activity.
Monitor and maintain club equipment and facilities in a safe working condition.
Monitor and investigate incidents, accidents, near misses or hazard
observations.
Trip Organisers have responsibility
to:
Clearly communicate trip difficulty, required skills, and safety roles in the trip
invites.
Ensure all leaders and participants are suitably experienced.
Cancel or adjust the trip if conditions become unsafe.
On the day, carry out a dynamic risk assessment with leaders and local
knowledge.
Choose safe paddling areas; and, if splitting the group:
- Assign people to leaders.
- Set up a safety comms plan and equipment sharing.
For multi-day trips, delegate daily safety checks.
If no certified leader is available, agree on how decisions will be made
Coaches, leaders and organisers of activities (on/off site) have responsibility for:
Leading club activities that provide a level of challenge and perceived risk that
is appropriate to the aims of the session, the abilities of the group, and the
environmental conditions.
Applying the club safety policies and making further risk assessments specific
to the activity, venue, participants, and environment.
Checking the suitability of equipment participants will use for the activity.
Safeguarding the physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing of the
participants.
Working in accordance with the British Canoeing Environmental Definitions
and Deployment Guidance for Instructors, Coaches and Leaders.
Holding, and updating every three years, first aid and safeguarding certification.
Recording Continual Professional Development (CPD) to be recognised as
current in accordance with Paddle UK Standards for Deployment Policy.
Making sure the club holds up to date records of their training and CPD.
Notifying the club of changes to their qualification status.
Members have responsibilities to:
Accept that paddle sports are activities with a danger of personal injury or
death. By taking part, they accept these risks.
Take responsibility for their own actions and involvement, commensurate with
the limits of their training and experience.
Cooperate with coaches, leaders, duty officers or General Committee
members to protect the physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing
of themselves and others.
Advise the Trip Organiser and Leader of any condition that might affect their
ability to participate safely.
Check all club equipment before use.
Use club equipment and facilities in a safe manner.
Segregate and label defective equipment; and report this to the Clubhouse &
Equipment Officer.
Report incidents, accidents, near misses or hazard observations using the
Incident Reporting procedure.
To follow club policy on the participation of children:
- Members aged 15 or under need to be supervised on the water by an
adult qualified person, who takes parental responsibility for them.
- Members aged 12 or under need to be supervised on the water by their
parent or guardian who must be a qualified person.
Non Club-Led Activities
Outside club sessions, the following applies to any member-organised
activity not sanctioned by the General Committee as a Club Activity:
- Members are responsible for themselves, at their own risk, within the
club or on water and not covered by Club insurance.
- Members may use club equipment and facilities at their own risk,
ensuring they select the correct equipment for their activity and take
responsibility for waterways licences (if required) and equipment insurance
Updated June 2025
Marlow Canoe Club 