Earlier this year, safeguarding in sport took centre stage in the media, and in its wake, we have renewed our commitment to ensuring every athlete has a safe and enjoyable experience in rowing.

Over the summer every coach and athlete support person working with our GB Senior and Para squad athletes took the time to update their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding, in addition to their annual clean sport education.

In September we set out eligibility requirements for any coach or support person who would like to be considered for working with one of our GB or England teams. These requirements are intended to encourage a culture of ongoing learning, designed to keep athletes safe, and empower coaches and support personnel with the knowledge of how to spot the signs of abuse, and what good practice looks like.

Whether working with new rowers, or talented rowers, commitment to maintaining up to date Safeguarding, Clean Sport and First Aid training should be embraced by every responsible coach and support person across our sport.

British Rowing requirements of a responsible coach:

• British Rowing Membership.

• British Rowing’s Introduction to Safeguarding certificate – free and available on RowHow (valid for 3 years).

• UK Anti-Doping’s Coach Clean certificate or Introduction to Clean Sport Certificate – free and available on UKAD’s Clean Sport Hub (valid for 2 years).

• A current/in date practical Emergency First Aid training course which includes CPR.*

In addition, if working with under 18s, coaches and support personnel in regulated activity (section 7.1) must have:

• A current enhanced DBS check carried out through British Rowing which is no more than 3 years old.

• UK Coaching’s Safeguarding and Protection Children training (which can be renewed online if it was completed face-to-face three years ago) or NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport training. British Rowing also recognise sport specific training that has been carried out in an academic setting (schools/colleges/universities/academies) see section 6.1 on page 23 of Safeguarding Handbook 1 (valid for 3 years).

If working with adults and not under 18’s:

• Coaches or athlete support personnel in regulated activity (appendix A) with an adult at risk must have a current enhanced DBS check carried out through British Rowing which is no more than 3 years old.

• UK Coaching/Ann Craft Trust’s Safeguarding Adults training (valid for 3 years).

The information above is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change. Look out for communications from British Rowing, your club/university/school and regional rowing networks.

* There are many Emergency First Aid training providers, for example St Johns Ambulance and Red Cross, however your local authority or club may also organise first aid training. Depending on the provider the duration the training is valid for may vary. All coaches should ensure at a minimum the training includes practical CPR (not online learning).

If you or anyone you know what like to know more about getting into coaching, take a look at our Coach Development webpage.

For coaches attending any GBRT Trials, you are expected to maintain coaching membership of British Rowing or Scottish Rowing throughout the season.

One of the key benefits of coaching membership is that it gives you professional indemnity insurance cover for your coaching. This is in addition to the personal accident insurance and third party liability insurance provided by standard membership when you are taking part in rowing or rowing-related activities, as specified by the policies of British Rowing and Scottish Rowing. It is your responsibility to keep your membership up-to-date to provide you with this insurance cover. Memberships will be checked before any residential activity.

Details about the insurance provided by British Rowing membership are here: https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/british-rowing (includes coach eligibility requirements - see FAQs)

Details about the insurance provided by Scottish Rowing membership are here:

https://www.scottish-rowing.org.uk/takingpart/coach/coachmem (includes coach eligibility requirements)

https://www.scottish-rowing.org.uk/images/Scottish_Rowing_Summary_Cover.pdf

If you do not hold a British Rowing Coach Qualification or do not own a recognised qualification form another county you can request your club to complete an endorsement form (British Rowing endorsement form)

Registering as a U19 coach will add you to the GBRT U19 information distribution list. All registered coaches will receive information for U19 programme trials, training plans and support. Only coaches/clubs/schools with rowers actively taking part in trials will receive trials data and results unless published on the British Rowing website.

Information sent out about camps and competition will only be sent to coaches, not directly to parents/guardians or rowers. It is important that clubs/schools pass on all relevant information to parents/guardians of rowers taking part.

In order to attend certain GBRT U19 Programme events a coach must be in possession of a valid enhanced CRC disclosure issued through British Rowing. The following events are classed as regulated activities and you will not be allowed to participate in them without the required disclosure, which must be valid for the duration of the event:

• • October Potential Camp (Oct 2022)

  • December Potential Camp (Dec 2022)

  • Spring Assessments (March 2023)

  • Munich Regatta (May 2023)

  • European Rowing Junior Championships (May 2023)

  • Crew Formation (July 2023)

  • Coupe de la Jeunesse and associated GBRT training camps

  • World Rowing U19 Championships and associated GBRT training camps

The following J16 events will also be classed as regulated activities and have the same CRC requirements for coaches:

• J16 Crew Sculling Camp (April 2023)

• GB v France J16 Match and associated GBRT training camps (July 2023)

Rowers attending the Spring Assessments, Crew Formation, the J16 Crew Sculling Camp and the GB v France J16 Match and associated training camp must be accompanied by a coach with a valid CRC disclosure and you should be aware that if you are not able to fulfil this requirement the rower will not be permitted to attend. It is generally expected that a rower will be accompanied by their registered coach but, in the event that this is not possible, another coach or adult can be nominated to be responsible for the rower as long as they are in possession of the required disclosure, agree to taking on the responsibility and parental permission has been obtained.

Proof of your possession of the required disclosure must have been provided to the GBRT Office in accordance with the deadline set out in the information circular for each of the above-mentioned events if they were not provided at the time of coach registration (or have been renewed since then).

Only coaches with a valid disclosure will be considered for selection for any GBRT U19 Teams.

Please note: British Rowing does not accept portability of disclosures obtained through other registered bodies, including schools and Scottish Rowing, and therefore it is essential that you obtain the disclosure through British Rowing.

Applying for a CRC through British Rowing

In order to begin the application process for the enhanced CRC through British Rowing please email lso@britishrowing.org.

Any queries relating to CRC should be directed to governance@britishrowing.org.

You should be aware that the application process has several stages and can take several weeks (in some cases longer) to be completed.

British Rowing Introduction to safeguarding

All Coaches need to complete the British Rowing Introduction to Safeguarding Course. To complete the course, log into RowHow which can be accessed through the British Rowing website. Select ‘Welfare and Integrity’ followed by ‘Introduction to Safeguarding’.

• When complete download the certificate and upload it to your British Rowing ClubHub Membership.

• Select ‘Qualifications’ from the Left had menu. This looks like a rosette logo on your profile

• Select the credentials tab and chose ‘Add credential’

• Select Safeguarding – British Rowing Introduction to Safeguarding’ from the list

• Enter the date the certificate is issued, upload the certificate, and click ‘Save’

Safeguarding and Protecting Children

We require all coaches to have Sport specific Safeguarding Training.

Club Coaches - UK Coaching Course

• When complete download the certificate and upload it to your British Rowing ClubHub Membership.

• Select ‘Qualifications’ from the Left had menu. This looks like a rosette logo on your profile

• Select the credentials tab and chose ‘Add credential’

• Select Safeguarding Children and Young People’ from the list

• Enter the date the certificate is issued

• Select the Provider of the course, UK Coaching, NSPCC or Active Partnership.

• Upload the certificate, and click ‘Save’

School Coaches

If you have completed safeguarding training through your school which covers safeguarding children in a sporting environment. Please print out a copy of the British Rowing Safeguarding and Protecting Children School Declaration to be signed by your Diversity and Safeguarding Lead.

Clean Sport

We will be running iRowClean workshops at the October Potential Camp, Spring Assessments and Pre Worlds Camp.

Coaches not attending these camps but wishing to be selected to coach for an event will need to sign up to an online workshop which can be found on the British Rowing Website 'iRowClean' Education.

Once you have registered and attended a workshop, your certificate of attendance will show up on your British Rowing ClubHub Profile.

• Head to the UKAD Website

• Click Athletes & Support Personnel page and choose 'Coach Clean e-learning'

• Register on the Clean Sport Hub to sign up for the online course.

• When complete download the certificate and upload it to your British Rowing ClubHub Membership.

• Select ‘Qualifications’ from the Left had menu. This looks like a rosette logo on your profile

• Select the credentials tab and chose ‘Add credential’

• Select 'Clean Sport’ from the list

• Enter the date the certificate is issued, upload the certificate, and click ‘Save’

If a coach is to attend a camp or competition, GBRT may request that information on emergency contacts, allergies, dietary requirements and passport details are uploaded to their ClubHub account. Please only update the GBRT section of ClubHub if you have been asked to by the GBRT Office.

ClubHub guidance can be accessed below.

British Rowing acknowledges the complexities surrounding weighing of rowers and coxes and that we have a duty of care to safeguard the physical and mental health of the individuals.

Through the season the British Rowing U19 programme collects, or askes to be submitted, a number of anthropometric measurements. Typically, these are standing height, arm span, and athlete mass. Though in some cases the physios that work with the U19 programme may take other anthropometric measurements as part of their assessment of an athlete.

One or all of these measurements could be collected at Early ID Trials, February Water Assessment, J16 Crew Sculling Camp, with the submission of the U19 trial ergo submissions, and during camps or competitions as part of the athlete readiness to train or compete morning monitoring process.

Standing height is measured with the rower wearing no footwear and standing so that their heels, back, and head all touch a wall or equipment designed for the measuring of height. The rower should look directly forwards and be asked to breathe in and ‘stand tall and relax’. The measurement is then taken from the top of the rower’s head. Arm span is measured in the same position as standing height but with the rower’s arms stretched out at shoulder height. The measurement is taken across the back of the rower’s shoulders, from the tip of each middle finger. Athlete mass is conducted using the key recommendations which are laid out in the British Rowing Weighing Rowers Guidance.

Providing anthropometric data helps provide further understanding of trial and ergo performances with respect to growth spurts etc. in the young developing rower. It also allows the U19 Programme to better advise coaches and athlete support personnel in the support and development of their rowers. The data also helps with identification of rowers who have the anthropometric attributes that fit trends shown further along the British Rowing Olympic Pathway.

Providing anthropometric data is not compulsory and it is not used as a selection tool. Rowers or programmes who choose not to submit this data are not penalised in any way.

All anthropometric data falls under GDPR regulations and is stored digitally and password protected. The only people that have access to this data are British Rowing staff that have direct involvement with the running of the U19 programme.

For further guidance on the topic of weighing rowers we recommend reading the British Rowing Weighing Rowers Guidance

If there are any concerns please get in contact with Dan Cooper (dan.cooper@britishrowing.org - U19 Programme Manager).

Sections 10.9 and 10.10 of the British Rowing Selection Policy 2021-2024 provide information on handling of medical and other factors affecting performance in the selection process.

If an athlete is unable to complete an ergo test or compete at a trial due to a medical reason please contact holly.furniss@britishrowing.org for an exemption request form. The form should be submitted by the rower (if over 16, and their parent/guardian if U16) in advance of the ergo deadline or trial wherever possible, and no later than four days after the event.

Supporting medical notes can also be submitted securely via a form, which will be provided by Holly Furniss or the Medical Coordinator along with the exemption request form.