It is with great sadness that we have to report that Dave Hossack, one of our longest standing members, has passed away.

His funeral will take place on 7th July at Slough Crematorium at 3 pm.

Our thoughts are with Maureen and the family.

Due to the unprecedented disruption to our paddling life this year, the committee have decided to  extend membership validity for currently paid-up members to the end of April 2022.

Looking at the Government’s ‘roadmap out of lockdown’ we anticipate that we will not be able to use the building without social distancing nor share equipment until mid-June at the earliest, so the club will continue to operate as we did last summer – i.e.

• no Wednesday evening sessions (try-it sessions, coaching etc.)
• members minimising time in the building with access to boat storage only
• members only use their own/allocated kit
• no guests in the building unless helping a member of their household/bubble to get their own/allocated boat out.

We are also extending the kit-loan scheme for this period of time.

Following the lifting of Lockdown-3, and taking into account British Canoeing advice Club members may paddle under the same conditions that were in place between the middle of June and December 2020 –

i.e. those who have been allocated a set of club kit and members with their own kit may use it with the following restrictions:-.

• To maintain social distancing, only members of one household/bubble are permitted in the building at any time.
• Please arrive to the building dressed in your paddling clothing – no changing inside.
• If on arrival you find the building unlocked, you may not enter.  Wait for the occupant/s to get their equipment out, (or put their equipment away), lock up and leave.
• If the building is locked, you can safely assume there is no-one inside and proceed to get your boat out/put it away.  Please minimise the time you spend inside the building so that others may access it after you in a timely manner.
• It is your responsibility to keep yourself safe, so use hand sanitizer or wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching surfaces people from outside your household/bubble may have touched.

For clarification, to avoid cross-contamination no club equipment is to be used at this time (boats, paddles buoyancy aids, gym equipment etc.) except the numbered equipment which has been allocated to you and only the boat-house will be accessible.  The combination to the rest of the club (changing rooms, toilets, club-room, gym) has been changed, so please do not try to enter.

Under Lockdown 3, British Canoeing have once again informed us that all club activities must cease. This means that paddlers who are not personal “on the water” members of British Canoeing will not be covered by the club waterways licence (for the Thames) or insurance should they go paddling.
If you want to become an “on the water” member of British Canoeing, you can do so here https://www.britishcanoeing.org.uk/membership/on-the-water-membership , otherwise you must not paddle using club equipment during the current Coronavirus National Restrictions in place until Mid February or beyond.

We must all avoid gatherings of any kind –  so the following restrictions remain in place at the boat-house:

• To maintain social distancing, only members of one household/bubble are permitted in the building at any time.
• Please arrive to the building dressed in your paddling clothing – absolutely NO changing inside.
• If on arrival you find the building unlocked, you may not enter.  Wait at a distance of at least 3 metres from the door for the occupant/s to get their equipment out, (or put their equipment away), lock up and leave.
• If the building is locked, you can safely assume there is no-one inside and proceed to get your boat out/put it away.  Please minimise the time you spend inside the boat-house so that others may access it after you in a timely manner.
• It is your responsibility to keep yourself safe, so use hand sanitizer or wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching surfaces people from outside your household/bubble may have touched.

For clarification, to avoid cross-contamination no club equipment is to be used at this time (boats, paddles buoyancy aids etc.) except the numbered equipment which has been allocated to you and only the boat-house will be accessible.