Great job by the safety guys at HPP last weekend.
I would say that the job was made slightly testing by the amount of people who insisted on crossing the wall to try and assist in retrieving boats or even just going to talk to paddlers in the finish pool. I won't mention the bike.
Also the old issue about how to swim crossed my mind several times.
When people sign up to an event with a pre-existing injury which then becomes relevant and end up being rescued or receiving first aid - are those involved in the handling in anyway liable if the condition is hampered by doing what is necessary i.e. pulling out of the water. I would hope not but don't know legally.
In addition it became evident that those in the finish pool were not strong enough to rescue capsized boats or lacked knowledge; this resulted in having to chase two boats down to the steps below the Daleks; not great for the paddlers involved or the bank guys. On the second occasion, I felt this could have easily been prevented if the paddlers in the finish pool had reacted quicker; however, as well as being called to react they were also being told not to cross the finish line - so neither happened and then it was too late. This could have resulted in a broken boat - happily it didn't.
I know the responses to this last point are gonna fall into two camps
The Old Safety Chestnut
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Seedy Paddler
- Posts: 440
- Joined: Wed May 26, 2004 2:00 pm
Re: The Old Safety Chestnut
To respond in part:
1/ Not only how to swim but how to swim with your boat, also how to fit and check air bags (both bow and stern) if you are liable to swim. The additional weight is in grammes with a boat providing buoyant uplift in the order > 100kg so down to fractions of per cent. You probably put more weight in with the extra thermal or heavy winter cag. Air bags can prevent the boat swamping and if in bow and stern prevent pencilling when most damage is liable to be generated. They make no difference to paddling. Holding onto your boat provides a ready buoyant uplift and eases subsequent rescue of paddler and kit, if you throw your kit away the rescue will focus on you not your kit.
2/In terms of assisting then in general legally you would be covered provided you could demonstrate that in your perception the risk was greater in leaving in situ than in moving. For example someone in a car smash may complain of a sore neck - is it whiplash or something more serious, however if leaking fuel and potential sources of ignition you are legally permitted to move them as life in a wheelchair may be more beneficial than time in a BBQ. So if someone is struggling in cold water unable to touch bottom, the potential for injury in lifting out may be less than potential for more serious injury if left in situ.
3/ Rescue of kit is courtesy and not safety, no paddler should risk personal harm or injury to recover kit. If personnel are involved then all reasonable efforts should be provided. Personal safety cannot be regulated by racing rules and hence if someone was swimming down and a boat at finish could provide assistance then should the organiser or Jury Chair opt to penalise, they would be putting themselves into a direct position of liability and culpability for any subsequent law suit.
CD
1/ Not only how to swim but how to swim with your boat, also how to fit and check air bags (both bow and stern) if you are liable to swim. The additional weight is in grammes with a boat providing buoyant uplift in the order > 100kg so down to fractions of per cent. You probably put more weight in with the extra thermal or heavy winter cag. Air bags can prevent the boat swamping and if in bow and stern prevent pencilling when most damage is liable to be generated. They make no difference to paddling. Holding onto your boat provides a ready buoyant uplift and eases subsequent rescue of paddler and kit, if you throw your kit away the rescue will focus on you not your kit.
2/In terms of assisting then in general legally you would be covered provided you could demonstrate that in your perception the risk was greater in leaving in situ than in moving. For example someone in a car smash may complain of a sore neck - is it whiplash or something more serious, however if leaking fuel and potential sources of ignition you are legally permitted to move them as life in a wheelchair may be more beneficial than time in a BBQ. So if someone is struggling in cold water unable to touch bottom, the potential for injury in lifting out may be less than potential for more serious injury if left in situ.
3/ Rescue of kit is courtesy and not safety, no paddler should risk personal harm or injury to recover kit. If personnel are involved then all reasonable efforts should be provided. Personal safety cannot be regulated by racing rules and hence if someone was swimming down and a boat at finish could provide assistance then should the organiser or Jury Chair opt to penalise, they would be putting themselves into a direct position of liability and culpability for any subsequent law suit.
CD
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BaldockBabe
- Posts: 307
- Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:55 am
Re: The Old Safety Chestnut
I completely agree with this. I will always do what I can to rescue a person (even just following them down a river shouting directions i.e. location of any eddys can be useful) but I will not do the same for kit. I have given up chase of kit on the Washburn before as I was in my C1 and did not know what was around the corner after finish. My view is that the rule requiring a person to assist in safety relates to the safety of a person not their kit. Kit is replaceable.Seedy Paddler wrote:
3/ Rescue of kit is courtesy and not safety, no paddler should risk personal harm or injury to recover kit. If personnel are involved then all reasonable efforts should be provided. Personal safety cannot be regulated by racing rules and hence if someone was swimming down and a boat at finish could provide assistance then should the organiser or Jury Chair opt to penalise, they would be putting themselves into a direct position of liability and culpability for any subsequent law suit.
CD
On a side note, if a boat does not have airbags in it then I will generally leave it even if I am capable of rescuing it. If you can't be bothered to put airbags in your boat then I can't be bothered to rescue it.
Re: The Old Safety Chestnut
The safety issues at HPP seemed to be exaccerbated by the running order. It felt as though someone had thought "Right, which class is likely to have the most swimmers - OK lets send the C1 women down first!" This meant that for official practice there was no-one at the bottom of the course when three paddlers swam in quick succession. Perhaps if some judges (who are most likely to be Prem paddlers at an event of this standard) had been sent down first things would have run more smoothly - or perhaps a rescuer in a plastic boat could have been sitting on the wall at the bottom ready to launch if equipment came down past the finish line at least at "high risk" times.
The event organiser's handbook says in APPENDIX A-9 section e "At the start of your event, you should ensure that there are two boats on the water at the finish to provide safety cover for the first two finishers. This may also be necessary after any break in the programme." I saw no evidence of this!
To me, the rescue of swimmers seemed fairly good - I saw some throwbag throws which anyone would be proud of (though throwing a rope to a swimmer just as they were going into a stopper is questionable - why not wait until they come out into the eddy below rather than risk an entanglement). Allowance for the recovery of equipment seemed poorer than other events at this level and improvements should certainly be considered. Yes, I agree that the recovery of equipment is a secondary situation, but the sport is expensive and it seems irresponsible to risk unnecessary and forseeable losses when measures ccould have been put in place to dramatically reduce these risks.
To finish, I would just like to say that I thought that it was a great event (as a parent of a competitor) and really appreciate the efforts of those who helped with safety (and all other aspects of running it). Thanks!
The event organiser's handbook says in APPENDIX A-9 section e "At the start of your event, you should ensure that there are two boats on the water at the finish to provide safety cover for the first two finishers. This may also be necessary after any break in the programme." I saw no evidence of this!
To me, the rescue of swimmers seemed fairly good - I saw some throwbag throws which anyone would be proud of (though throwing a rope to a swimmer just as they were going into a stopper is questionable - why not wait until they come out into the eddy below rather than risk an entanglement). Allowance for the recovery of equipment seemed poorer than other events at this level and improvements should certainly be considered. Yes, I agree that the recovery of equipment is a secondary situation, but the sport is expensive and it seems irresponsible to risk unnecessary and forseeable losses when measures ccould have been put in place to dramatically reduce these risks.
To finish, I would just like to say that I thought that it was a great event (as a parent of a competitor) and really appreciate the efforts of those who helped with safety (and all other aspects of running it). Thanks!