2.30pm Tuesday, 22 December 2020
To members of the NSW surfing community,
See this as an update for our Surfing NSW position which relates to COVID-19 as of today.
As you are all aware the COVID-19 information (not only from a state and national perspective but also a global scale) is evolving constantly. The health and safety of our Surfing NSW team and your environment is paramount; therefore we will endeavour to keep abreast of updated information and act accordingly in compliance with State and Federal Government advice as it happens.
A lot of Surfing NSW staff are working remotely. Surfing NSW’s working days are Monday – Friday and the office phone (02) 9093 6035 will be attended 9 am – 5 pm on these days.
If you physically need to visit the office please call (02) 9093 6035 to arrange an appointment.
As at today information on public gathering indoors and outdoors can be found HERE
The medical advice is that we should all do everything we can to implement what is called “social distancing”.
Surfing Competitions: Surfing NSW is currently running a range of state-based events that comply with all Government protocols. Please refer to our Covid event plan here.
Boardrider Clubs:
From Monday, 7 December, the following restrictions relating to gatherings for sport and recreation activities apply:
Gatherings in outdoor public places
- Up to 100 people can gather in outdoor public places
Organised outdoor gatherings
- Other organised outdoor gatherings including community sport and recreation activities will be permitted to have up to 3,000 people, inclusive of people taking part in the activity, officials and spectators (subject to the one person per 2sqm rule).
Controlled Outdoor Gatherings
- A controlled outdoor gathering is a gathering held in an outdoor space that is fenced, ticketed, and seated.
- A maximum of 5,000 people is permitted at a controlled outdoor gathering, provided all attendees are assigned specific seats.
- A maximum of 3,000 people is permitted at a controlled outdoor gathering where attendees are assigned to a seating area, but not specific seats.
- Both capacities are subject to meeting the one person per two square metre rule.
- Activity organisers will still be required to have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place – updated templates will be available from the NSW COVID Safe Business page.
Our Surfing NSW boardriders club manager is here for more detailed help on the above.
Matt Lawson matt@surfingnsw.com.au 0402 830 767
Otherwise please call our Surfing NSW office on 02 9093 6035 or info@surfingnsw.com.au
Planning advice for End of Season Awards Functions and Team Gatherings
End of Season Awards Functions
End of season awards functions for clubs and associations are permitted to take place, in line with the relevant COVID-19 Safety Plan at the venue at which it is being hosted.
Clubs and associations should discuss their plans with venue operators to determine requirements such as capacity limits and event formats. From Monday 28 September 2020, corporate functions and events held on a premises that are a function centre will be permitted to have up to 300 attendees, subject to adhering to the one person per four sqm capacity limits (whichever is lesser). The definition of a corporate event is detailed within the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order (No 5) 2020, which can be found on the NSW Health website.
The following key principles apply for end of season awards functions, regardless of which venue type is selected.
- Functions must be seated.
- Consider allocated seating and ensuring people remain seated as much as possible, to minimise mingling between seated groups.
- Seating must be separated by 1.5 metres. Household or other close contacts do not need to physically distance.
- Ensure no more than 10 people at a table.
- Dancefloors are not permitted.
- Promote online ticket purchasing and electronic ticket checking were possible.
- Have strategies in place to manage gatherings that may occur immediately outside the premises.
- Ensure alcohol at any event is only consumed by seated attendees.
- Children count towards any capacity limits.
Team Barbeques and Social Gatherings
End of season team gatherings such as barbeques are permitted to take place.
From Tuesday, 1 December:
- Up to 50 people can visit a residence as long as an outdoor space is being utilised, however, it’s recommended no more than 30 people gather if the residence has no outdoor area.
From Monday, 7 December:
- Up to 100 people can gather outdoors in a public space.
Physical distancing should be adhered to for non-household groups.
Teams may wish to consider hiring of facilities that can accommodate larger gathering sizes such as community halls, however should note that they will still be required to comply with the relevant Public Health Order and COVID-19 Safety Plan requirements for that venue.
For adult community sport, teams are encouraged to hold their social gathering at a single venue, rather than multiple venues throughout the day.
Surf Schools:
Based on the current advice from the Australian Government in relation to group gatherings (stated below) Surf Schools can proceed until further notice – our recommendation though is to contact your local council as every council in NSW is faced with different challenges based on their region.
A full Surfing NSW statement on Surf Schools can be found here.
If Surf School lessons do run we strongly encourage that strict hygiene protocols are followed as outlined below by the State Government.
We have liaised with a few surf schools and have come up with some examples of operational procedures to help with best practice in regards to health and hygiene in the current situation;
- Staff adopting good hand hygiene in the office/reception desk
- Wiping down all phones and surfaces
- Use gloved hands when they hand out the wetsuits
- Participants to use hand sanitiser before and after lesson/session
- Hanging wetsuits outdoors
- Encouraging participants to arrive in their swimwear and limit the use of change rooms
- Doing the pre-surf instructions outdoors adopting the 1.5 social distancing principles
- Not using Zinc and using BYO or pump pack sunscreen
- Not using rash shirts and encouraging BYO wetsuits.
- Only one staff dispensing sunscreen and sanitiser to participants (limiting touching of the bottles)
At Surfing NSW internally we are dividing all major stakeholders communications to different departments. For Surf Schools please note your main point of contact is:
Mark (Winny) Windon
winny@surfingnsw.com.au (former email was markw@surfingnsw.com.au)
0427 378 077
Surfers Rescue 24/7 and Education Courses:
Surfing Australia and NSW will be running Foundation Coaching Courses (formerly known as Level One Coaching Courses) online through its digital platform, you can find out more about the courses here.
Surfers Rescue 24/7 courses are able to be run online with the CPR component running through Surf Life Saving NSW’s Living Room Life Saver program. More information can be found here or touch base with Matt Lawson matt@surfingnsw.com.au
Recommended hygiene protocols
The protocols outlined below are essential to limit your exposure and prevent the spread of germs, in particular as they relate to COVID-19:
General hygiene
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol‐based hand sanitiser
- Wash or sanitise your hands before eating
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Stay home and seek medical treatment when you are sick
- Cover your mouth to cough or sneeze
Surfing hygiene
- COVID-19 or not, do not share wetsuits, drinks, towels, wax, sunscreen with others.
- Place hand sanitisers around change rooms and encourage the use of them.
- Ensure all member facilities are maintained and cleaned to a high standard with appropriate cleaning agents – consider more regular cleaning of facilities.
- Limit physical contact such as avoiding shaking hands, pre or post-event
- Work with other community clubs that share club facilities, if appropriate, to implement practices consistent with this communication
For any further information, the Surfing NSW office is contactable on (02) 9093 6035
We will continue to monitor medical advice and plan to provide an update as changes are announced.
John O’Neill, Chairman, and Luke Madden, CEO, Surfing NSW.
