South Coast Championships 2020 & May and June Hants & Dorset Regattas.

South Coast Championships 2020 & May and June Hants & Dorset Regattas.

We hope that you are all staying well and safe in these unprecedented times. As an association, we wanted to give you an update on some developments and decisions taken with regards to the racing calendar for this season.

South Coast Championships 2020 - Royal Victoria Country ParkIt is with great sadness that we have had to take the decision, which is supported by the South Coast Council, to postpone this Septembers South Coast Championships. The decision was made after the evening reception venue cancelled our booking due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions of large gatherings in a public space. As the South Coast Championships can attract over 1,000 people on the day competing and spectating, this was obviously a consideration that the H&D organising committee had to take into consideration. Hosting and organising an event such as the South Coast Championships takes a great deal of time and resources and we were beginning to get to the stage where financial commitments would need to be made. Whilst no one knows at this point in time what restrictions we will be under as a country in September, it was felt that it was better to make the decision now, rather than later.

The South Coast Council which includes representatives from the respective CARA and WEARA associations were in full agreement of the postponement to 2021 which will mean that the H&D will host the 2021 championships and the subsequent championships in Paignton, due to be held in 2021 will move to 2022. We are hoping that we will be able to continue to host the championships in 2021 at Royal Victoria Country Park as a lot of work has gone into the logistics, course and venue by the organising committee, but this will be dependent on tides and venue availability for September 2021. If we cannot hold it at RVCP, we will look at an alternative venue in the H&D region. A decision will be made by mid May at the latest and we will keep all clubs informed of the decision.

May & June RegattasAs you will have seen from previous communications, all of the H&D May regattas have been cancelled with the hope that the host clubs will be able to reschedule at some point later in the season.
Many of you will have seen that British Rowing has cancelled all of its events for June, including the Masters Championships. We fully appreciate and understand the need for British Rowing led events to have taken this decision at this time. They are large, national events which not only take a lot of organisation and financial commitment, but will attract a large number of competitors and spectators. Whilst it is hard to say what restrictions the country will have in June, other events have also taken the decision to cancel due to the implications involved in such large events.

However, as an association, we are continuing to review our own racing calendar and feel that it is premature to fully cancel our scheduled June regattas at this point. Hopefully, the clubs due to be hosting regattas in June have heeded our recommendations and not financially committed themselves to any regatta expense at this time. No one knows what restrictions will be in place or may have been lifted in 8-10 weeks. This is why we feel that completely cancelling our June racing schedule at the beginning of April can be reviewed at the end of April/first week of May when we will have a greater understanding of how this pandemic is panning out.
We will have to sadly cancel Swanage regatta at the end of June however as this is run by the H&D and subsequently receive event insurance through British Rowing which will not be possible due to their events being cancelled in June. The H&D are looking to reschedule Swanage, dependent on Swanage Council approval, to the now free weekend of the postponed south coast championships of the 12th September. We will confirm this at a later date with you all.
For those clubs with a regatta in June, we would recommend again holding off on any financial commitments for now if at all possible. If you do feel that you will not be able to organise and host your regatta in June if restrictions allow, please let us know and if you are looking to reschedule to a later date in the season.

Once again, this is an uncertain time for all of us and we can only pass on our thoughts and wishes to all of our clubs and members that they, and their families, stay safe and healthy. As an association, we hope that we will see some racing at some point this season and will do everything we can to support clubs if we can get back to some form of normality.

Stay safe, stay home and thank you once again for your understanding and support.

Best regards.
Steve Bull and Penny Budd

Joint Association Secretaries.
Hants & Dorset Amateur Rowing Association.