Dear Swimmers, Parents and Guardians

I’m writing to you for three reasons;

1)            To introduce myself to those who don’t know me

2)            To give you a further update on the latest status of the return to swimming

3)            To let you know about some of the documents which are attached to this email, and which we need you to fill in in order for you / your children to return to swimming

 

Covid Lead

My name is Andy Clayton.  I’m currently Club Treasurer, but in addition, I have now taken on the role of Covid Lead for MASC.  All swimming clubs have to appoint such a person, so I now have the following responsibilities;

·        To co-ordinate our return and our subsequent activities with the management of the Blue Pool, in the light of existing restrictions and regulations due to Covid 19

·        To act as the main contact for all club members with regards to Covid and how it affects club activities

·        To keep up-to-date with the latest government advice and guidelines as the situation changes

·        To oversee the implementation of our Risk Assessments, and to generally keep an eye on swimming sessions to ensure they are happening as safely as possible

·        To make recommendations to the committee and to make changes to procedures where necessary

I will be present at as many training sessions as possible, wearing a club T-shirt, with a couple of helpers.  Thank you if you volunteered your services in our questionnaire – I may well be in touch!  If I am unable to attend a session, I will make sure that one of these helpers will be in a position to carry out the same duties.  Hopefully, we will be able to answer any queries you have, but we have specific Covid support from Swim England if we have to refer a query upwards.  Attached are some Frequently Asked Questions.  The first section of this document covers the (Covid) safety aspects of a return to swimming.  Please have a look through these FAQs but for any queries not addressed there, I can be reached at;

[email protected]

 

Update (24th September)

Following a committee meeting last night, we have decided that we should be able to return to lane swimming sessions on Thursday 15th October (further government restrictions notwithstanding).  As Claire mentioned in Monday’s update, unfortunately the Blue Pool have not yet offered us the opportunity to recommence Teach To Swim, partly because they are operating under an enforced, reduced timetable, but we hope to be able to restart these lessons soon.  As soon as we have more news about TTS, you will see it in a further update.

With regards to lane swimming, we finished detailed discussions with Blue Pool management this week, and we now have a great deal to work through, given that many of the processes for running sessions will be very different to the way they were pre-Covid.

 

Attached documents

I must apologise in advance, but the mitigating measures that we are required to take mean that there are some things which you need to complete, and others which we would ask you to read through, before finally completing and signing an online declaration form.  Until this is done, it will NOT be possible for you / your child to return to club sessions.

 

MASC Session Availability Survey

As swimming will be organised differently, the coaches will need to pre-organize returning swimmers into sessions and numbered lanes, before the first session can begin.  So we would firstly ask you to complete the MASC Session Availability Survey as soon as possible.  This can be done online, by pasting the following link into your browser;

https://proteusresearch.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6GaNdP4opqxd59b

It contains information about the (more limited) sessions which we have been offered by the Blue Pool, along with some of the restrictions which Covid safety has made necessary.  The sooner we have all responses to this survey, the easier it will be for the coaches to make preparations in good time.

Any casual swimmers, who used to pay on the door, on a Pay As You Go basis, will have to book in advance.  Please fill in the survey and we will do our best to accommodate you, but bear in mind the restrictions on swimmer numbers outlined in the survey.

MASC Pre-Training Covid 19 Health Screener Survey

This is a Swim England recommended survey.  Depending on your responses, it may offer advice, such as what to do if you have had known exposure to someone with confirmed Covid 19 in the last two weeks, for example.  Again, we would ask that this be completed as soon as possible.  This survey can be accessed by pasting the following link into your browser;

https://proteusresearch.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abBFzxLhU5tbFJj

NB. This requires a signature, but you can either upload a pdf of such, or use your mouse to sign in a box, if preferred.

FAQ’s

Please click thislink to view the FAQ document;

COVID FAQs

Pool Layout and MASC Swimming Session Procedures

I hope that these, when viewed together, are self-explanatory, but please read them carefully, as things like where to come onto the pool site, and where to leave it, along with how sessions will run, are very different to before. Please click the links below to view the documents;

Pool Layout

MASC Swimming Session Procedures

Return to Training (Declaration)

Please complete this ONLY once you have read through the other documents and completed the surveys.  This must be completed before a swimmer will be allowed into a club session.  The declaration can be accessed by pasting the following link into your browser;
 

https://proteusresearch.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ahD6p8hL5P5pbIV

 

Lastly, please keep an eye out for our Facebook page this weekend.  Saturday was originally to be the date of Club Champs 2020.  Of course, neither that, nor our presentation evening can take place, but there will be one or two highlights from last year on Facebook.
 

Kind regards
 

--

Andy Clayton
Treasurer
Melksham Amateur Swimming Club
Tel. 07 950 950 063