In order to mitigate risks associated with the event, all institutions are asked to share this safety information with all attending.

General Briefing

• Institutions are responsible for providing water safety to their paddlers although additional event safety will be provided
• Access to a first aider is available via the green hut at the course
• Emergency Telephones are located in the main building
• Life Saving Equipment is positioned along the length of the course.
• Showers are available in the changing rooms at the centre and are recommended after paddling

Water Quality

The whitewater course is fed by untreated water drawn from the River Trent. The water quality is  monitored and publicly classified here. This will be monitored to minimise the risks to paddlers however at any level, there are risks to participants. All are advised to:

• • Avoid immersion in the water
  • Avoid swallowing the water
  • cover minor scratches or cuts with a waterproof plaster
  • Shower as soon as possible after being in/on the water
  • Wear footwear when bankside
  • Rinse equipment after use
  • Regularly wash your hands

Immersion and capsize in the water may result in illness. If this results in needing to subsequently consult a  doctor, they should be informed that they had been in the Trent Waterway.

Participant Skill

HPP is Grade 3 whitewater. This is tougher than Tees (grade 2) where the event has been recently held. Participants may  well capsize and all should be able to roll or exit their boat safely. For less experienced paddlers it is  possible for another team member to accompany them down the course for safety reasons. This  should be arranged with control and the starter at the time. Team managers are responsible for  identifying when this may be appropriate.

Equipment

All participants MUST be wearing an appropriate for whitewater / slalom buoyancy aid and helmet which must be properly fastened before starting and throughout the run. Those not complying will  not be allowed to start or disqualified.

Boats must be able to float level in the water even when full of water and must not sink. All boats  must have handles at bow and stern that allow them to be lifted out of the water from the side of the  course.

All paddlers should wear sufficient warm clothing for the time of year.

Incidents / Injuries

These should be reported to control even if treatment is not required. First Aid provision will be in  place for the event. Hypothermia, even if just suspected, should be reported to control immediately.

Participants must not attempt the course when intoxicated or otherwise incapacitated.

COVID

While there are no current legal requirements all should be cognisant that infection is still widespread and appropriate consideration should be made to keep yourself and others safe:

• You should not attend if you have any covid-19 symptoms, have tested positive or been told to isolate
• You should continue to follow good hygiene practises, to reduce the risk of transmission in sport environments.
• You should avoid sharing water bottles or other refreshment containers. Where possible, you should take your own drink, in a labeled or highly distinguishable container.
• Use face coverings were required and consider wearing them at all times when not participating.
• You should avoid sharing equipment where possible and practical, particularly equipment which is used around the head and face (such as masks and helmets). If equipment needs to be shared, it should be cleaned between users, where possible
   

Club Captains are responsible for ensuring that their members conduct themselves in a safe and responsible manner throughout the weekend, and follow the guidelines and rules set out by the organisers and the British Canoeing Slalom Committee, which will be amended in December 2021/January 2022.

The organisers reserve the right to disqualify any competitor or university if they do not conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. Anyone who is disqualified may be subject to BUCS disciplinary procedures.
 

Race Registration will be open at Race Control between 8:00am and 9:00am on the Saturday morning. Every club must register, pay their £40 bib deposit (Cash or Cheque) and collect their bibs.

There will be a Captains’ Briefing at 9:00am on Saturday in Race Control at the top of the course. A representative from all Universities must attend this meeting, failure to attend this meeting will result in a fine.

A Judges’ Briefing will occur on both days of the event (after the captains meeting on Saturday) where full training for judges will be provided. It is expected that all competing universities provide some judges – no experience is required. Please see the Judging section for further details. Again, failure to attend these meeting will result in a fine.

Bibs must be worn at all times during practice and racing. If providing safety for other club members your bib must be worn inside-out. A bib list will be published on the Saturday morning at the event. It is your responsibility to ensure your competitors wear the correct bib number; competitors wearing the wrong bib risk disqualification. All of a University’s bibs must be returned together to race control after the University’s final event, where the deposit will be returned.

If a bib is missing, the whole deposit will be retained until the missing bib is returned; if it is not, a charge of £20 will be taken from the deposit and the rest returned. Bibs not returned by the end of prize giving will be subject to a £5 administration charge.

Competitors must bring their valid university ID cards and produce them upon request by the event  organisers.
 

Each University is required to provide judges to assist the running of the event. It is likely it will require about 30 minutes judging time per entrant from each university. All judges should attend the Judges’ Briefing each morning at race control. Large universities are strongly recommended to bring dedicated judges.

Each university will be assigned a shared judging slot(s) which they MUST man throughout the day. Formal judging qualifications are not required but some experience of slalom would be a considerable advantage. Universities will need to supply a second judge for the team runs.

Universities will be penalised (at the organisers’ discretion up to the extent of complete disqualification) if  their judging position is not filled at any point during the day.

The following points must be adhered to:

1. No one should judge for more than 2 hours at a time.
2. Judges must be in dry clothing and suitably equipped to sit outside in minimal shelter for the duration of their stint.
3. Anyone acting as a judge must attend the Judges’ Briefing or speak to the Judge Controller before starting to judge.
4. Universities failing to provide sufficient judges to cover their allocated sessions will not be allowed to race    for a period determined by the organisers.
5. Each judging position must be manned by two judges at all times for individual events and our judges for teams. Both judges must come from at least two different universities.

Nottingham and Nottingham Trent are also providing wider event volunteers

Judging runs for non-competitors will be available – please speak to race control on the day.

The race will be run in accordance with the British Canoeing Slalom Committee rules.

It is the responsibility of club captains to ensure their members are familiar with the race rules. Because of the close time constraints of the weekend we would like to draw your attention to two rules in particular, of which all competitors must be aware:

If a competitor capsizes and exits their boat they cannot continue their run, even if they self-rescue. They must leave the course at the earliest opportunity.

In the event that a competitor is caught up by the competitor following them, the gate judge will blow a whistle and shout out the number of the slower competitor. The slower competitor must immediately move out of the racing line and allow the faster competitor to pass before continuing. A re-run will not be permitted. (Note: This does not apply if the following person is just missing all the gates).

When starting, paddlers taking second runs will get priority over waiting paddlers, however, if a paddler is not ready to take their second run when they reach the top of the travellator they will have to take their turn like everyone else. That is, paddlers should wait in the lower pool if they want a short break between runs.

All competitors must wear suitable safety equipment and boats/equipment should be in a river worthy condition. All boats must be fitted with grab loops at the bow and stern and must contain 2 air bags. All paddlers must wear CE approved buoyancy aids and helmets. Helmets fitted with polo faceguards are not suitable for use on white water. Paddlers should wear sufficient warm clothing for the time of year. The organisers will conduct spot checks on equipment and reserve the right to refuse entry or disqualify as a result.
 

The event will be run in accordance with the British Canoeing Slalom Committee guidelines.

Clubs are responsible for the safety of their paddlers. Any safety provided by the organisers is additional to this. Clubs may provide safety boaters for their members (they must follow competitors down the course, not lead). The organisers should be made aware of this at the start line. Club Captains are advised that bankside safety is usually more appropriate. The organisers will supply some additional safety to assist if required.

Clubs bringing more than 12 paddlers are expected to supply at least one safety personnel to assist with general course safety. A copy of their qualifications (WWSR/Rescue 3 Technician or equivalent) should be emailed to [email protected] and [email protected] ASAP (by 9am Wednesday 9th February 2022).

The institutions required to supply water safety personnel are:

Event control, by the mid-course bridge, will be the main contact point for any First Aid situations.

Please raise any welfare concerns with Richard Stacey-Chapman, either via event control or on 07540722070.
 

There will be no formal start list. Paddlers must paddle within their class window (see below for details). Second runs may be taken at any time within this window. Universities are responsible for ensuring they allow enough time for all their paddlers to compete. There will be no extra time available for runs not completed by the end of the class window.

Saturday 12 February

08:00-9:00   Registration open at Race Control (green hut by mid-course bridge)

08:30         Practice session starts

09:00         Captains’ Briefing at Race Control (green hut by mid-course bridge)

                           A REPRESENTATIVE FROM EACH INSTITUTION MUST ATTEND

09:15         Judges’ Briefing

                           ALL JUDGES MUST ATTEND - see judging section for more info.

09:25           Practice session ends

09:45         Judges in position

10:00-14:00  Men’s K1, Women’s C1 runs

                           Runs may be taken in any order at approx. 1 minute intervals

                           Please do not leave all runs until the end

11:00-11:30  Priority given to national ranked paddlers-British Canoeing Div 3 & above

Others can take runs, but ranked paddlers will take precedence.

         11:30-12:30  General MK1/WC1 runs

         12:30-13:00  Priority given to national ranked paddlers

         13:00-14:00  General MK1/WC1 runs

14:00-15:00* Mixed Teams (One run only)

                           Approx. 3 minute intervals

15:15          MK1, WC1 and Mixed Teams Results & Prize Giving by Race Control

15:30          Estimated event finish time

Sunday 13 February

08:00         Practice session starts

08:45          Judges’ Briefing

                           ALL JUDGES MUST ATTEND - see judging section for more info.

08:50         Practice session ends

09:15         Judges in position

09:30-14:30  Women’s K1, Men’s C1, Open C2 runs

Runs may be taken in any order at approx. 1 minute intervals

                           Please do not leave all runs until the end

11:00-11:30  Priority given to national ranked paddlers-British Canoeing Div 3 & above

Others can take runs, but ranked paddlers will take precedence.

11:30-12:30  General WK1/MC1, C2 runs

         12:30-13:00  Priority given to national ranked paddlers

         13:00-14:30  General WK1/MC1, C2 runs

14:30-16:00* Open Team (One run only)

16:15          WK1, MC1 & Open C2 Results & Prize Giving by Race Control

16:30          Estimated event finish time

*Team events may run up to an hour early - changes to be announced over the PA system. All times are provisional and may be subject to changes on the day.
 

Holme Pierrepont White Water Centre operates operate an ANPR process, which stands for Automatic Number Plate Recognition, this will be in operation so all universities must pay the appropriate charges.

The charges are Off-Peak: £3.00 per day (Weekdays), Peak: £5.00 per day (Weekends & School Holidays), the charges are a day rate and apply daily between, Monday - Sunday.

A fixed penalty notice will be issued in the post by a third party if no payment is allocated next to a registration number. Information on disputing these will be contained in the notice. This will be the first step that members of the public will need to take if disputing the penalty notice.

You can pay prior to your visit by going to www.paybyphone.co.uk, our location code is 800800. Instructions on how to pay are located on the signs around the parking area.
 

Free Tea & Coffee will be available on site, but competitors are requested to bring their own mugs for using  this facility.

Hot and cold drinks and food will be available through the centre cafe and a catering van throughout the event.
 

Live results will be available throughout the event here.

Full results will hopefully be published on the BUCS website on the following Monday.

Medals will be presented at the end of each day.