03 Oct 2021

Effective from Monday 4th October we are pleased to confirm the following changes to the spectating and changing room protocols for our sessions at Ribblesdale Pool ONLY :

Spectating

We will be allowing parents back into the spectating gallery to observe sessions, however given the prevalence of Covid19 in the Ribble Valley area, the restricted access to the viewing gallery, and the small reception area we are taking the following measures:

• Parents wishing to access the gallery will be admitted to the building once the swimmers are in the pool.
• Parents will be asked to leave the gallery about five minutes before the end of the session and wait to collect their swimmers outside the building. This is to allow us to get swimmers in for the next session and avoid congestion at access points to the pool and in the reception area.
• Parents using the gallery are requested to consider taking the following measures to minimise risks to themselves, other parents, coaches, and pool staff:
  • Please do not queue to enter the building or block the access ramp until the poolside volunteer on duty has got the swimmers into the pool and gives the go-ahead to enter.
  • When entering the building please use the hand sanitiser provided at the doors.
  • When sitting in the gallery the venue are advising the use of face coverings and an element of social distancing. Please do not encroach on other gallery users space and respect their wishes.
  • Refrain from entering and leaving the gallery unnecessarily as access is limited.
  • Consider the use of lateral flow testing prior to attending sessions. Our volunteers have been doing this throughout our return to the pool.

As its been a long time since parents were last admitted to the building, we just want to remind you of the parents code of conduct and request you adhere to it. Please do not interfere in any sessions already in progress as the coaches are employed to coach the swimmers, so please let them do their job.  We appreciate as parents you will have have questions but please refrain from:

• Interrupting the coach mid session, unless it is vital for safety reasons.
• Coaching your swimmer from the gallery, as this usually confuses the swimmer and often detracts from the coaches objectives in the session.

Finally as a club we are trying our best to keep the swimmers, coaches and volunteers safe, so although at times it may be frustrating and we may seem over cautious, please work with and follow the instructions of the volunteer on duty. Please treat them with respect as they are giving their time freely and are important for our programme to continue.

Use of the changing rooms

We have been given the go ahead to use the changing rooms again, however we are still asking swimmers to continue to come swim ready and enter the pool as they do now. They will still get ready for their session on poolside as this will allow us to avoid congestion in changing rooms.

It is also our preference for swimmers to go home 'wet' as they do today and minimise changing room use as this also minimises covid risks. However it is now the choice of the parents about their swimmers use of the changing rooms. Feedback is that many parents prefer the approach we use today of drying off poolside before going home 'wet' and we will support this approach. However we will make the changing rooms available for those wishing to use them.

Please note for safeguarding reasons parents will not be allowed into the changing rooms if their swimmer chooses to use them.

Exiting the building.

As we are now using the gallery we will only use the main entrance. Swimmers will no longer exit the building using the fire exit and instead will exit through the changing room and out through the main door. For this reason please do not linger in the reception and on the access ramp.

 

Thank you all for your patience as we work through these measure and we will have an update on Stonyhurst shortly.

 

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