Dear Members:
First of all, the Clonmel Rowing Club hopes that all of our members and their loved ones are safe and well at this time. Given the aggressive action taken by the Irish government in the past weeks, we are cautiously optimistic that the current virus outbreak can be reduced to a manageable level and that we will soon be able to return to some of our activities at the club, although possibly in a modified form.
The Management Committee want to take this opportunity to update you on a few important items in connection with the club and the competitive season:
1) The club and grounds remain closed to all members. This will continue at least until the current restrictions on clubs, schools and businesses are relaxed. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
2) In light of the restriction on club access, the Committee has agreed to offer the loan of club ergs to its members on a first come first served basis. The assignment of ergs will be subject to certain conditions and the assumption of liability for damage to the machine or personal injury. Anyone who is assigned an erg will be asked for a small returnable deposit (€20) and must agree to undertake a minimum amount of training each week, subject to verification. This is to ensure that ergs go to those who really will use them. We may choose to reassign ergs on a monthly basis if the demand is there and restrictions continue. Please contact the club at clonmelrowing@gmail.com to reserve an erg.
3) The coaches have issued some home training schedules to the junior members to date. These programmes will be issued to all members going forward, via WhatsApp and Facebook for your fitness and mental well-being. You may want to arrange to train with your crew or post your workout activities to motivate yourselves and others. Feel free to share challenges and work out tips with fellow members if you have any great ideas.
4) Per a recent decision by Rowing Ireland, the Irish National Rowing Championships will take place on September 12th-13th this year, all going well. See Covid 19 – Working Group Update – 7th April for more details. The event will consist of Championships events only. J14/J15 and Masters events normally held during Champs will be held separately in a Grand League regatta format. Details to follow.
The Working Group has now asked the Domestic Events Committee to consider a mechanism to construct a regatta season in the lead up to the Championships. See Domestic Events Season FAQ for more details. Keep an eye on the Rowing Ireland website for more information.
5) Due to the current government restrictions, all Sport Ireland Safeguarding workshops have been postponed. However, an eLearning refresher programme is available online. See https://www.sportireland.ie/ethics/safeguarding-1-online-refresher for more information. For anyone with an interest in coaching this might be a good time to do an on-line safeguarding course and get your Garda vetting sorted.
6) Lastly, we had a number of fundraising and social events planned for the club through the rest of the summer. We are looking at how to reschedule some of these events and to modify them to comply with any social restrictions that may still be in place over the summer months. With a little creativity we hope that we can re-engage with club life and water-based activities in some way as we all learn to manage our recreational life in this new environment. We will keep you posted on progress.
Thanks again for your patience and support at this time. Stay well.
The CRC Management Committee
