Contingency Plans 2001

Summary of Contingency Plans to be used in High Water Conditions

Staged Events

It is important to accept that conditions may occur which are not conducive to safe paddling by inexperienced juniors. Likewise those conditions may offer the necessary flow rates for experienced paddlers to strive for record-breaking attempts. DW Organisation Ltd wishes to conduct the event in a manner which allows each and every crew to have the information available to them to reach a satisfactory decision regarding their suitability to paddle. It is hoped that, by enabling all crews to participate in the final day's paddling on the Tideway, all will feel rewarded for their efforts and sacrifices in training

There will be 5 'states' which will be set by the Devizes to Westminster (DW) management Team in co-ordination with the Environment Agency and a team of Highly Experienced and Respected DW Canoeists.

State 0 Normal conditions. The event will run as per the rulebook
State 1 A formal meeting of the team managers (or an adult representative of every crew) will be held one hour after the finish window on Days 1 and 2 (Newbury and Marlow).It is not deemed necessary to impose additional conditions at this level.
State 2 Additional compulsory portages will be imposed. These will be identified at the meetings as described above.
State 3 Assessment of all crews. Crews not deemed to have sufficient experience/strength will be asked not to paddle from Dreadnought Reach to Teddington. This assessment will be carried out by the above team of Highly Experienced and Respected DW Canoeists in conjunction with school coaches/responsible adult. With respect to Junior paddlers the decision will be final. The decision for Day 2 (Dreadnought to Marlow) will be made at the meeting in Newbury; the decision for Day 3 (Marlow to Ham) will be made at the meeting in Marlow. The DW Management Team reserve the right to change any decision for reasons of safety.
State 4 All crews will stop paddling at Dreadnought Reach (or earlier if specified) and proceed to the campsites at Marlow/Ham. There will be no paddling on the River.

Senior K2 Event

It is anticipated that all entrants for the Senior K2 event accept an element of risk involved in undertaking such a gruelling challenge. In truth, a major challenge of DW is the unpredictability of the course each Easter. We believe that it is the duty of the organisers of the event to have in place such safety procedures as can reasonably be expected in terms of monitoring the whereabouts of crews and in providing marshals at known danger spots. However, it remains the responsibility of each and every crew member to assess their own capabilities and to act accordingly to ensure their own safety and the safety of others.

There will be 5 states which will be set by the Devizes to Westminster (DW) Management Team in co-ordination with the Environment Agency and a team of Highly Experienced and Respected DW Canoeists. It is anticipated that the state will be set prior to the start on Saturday morning and that the whole event would run at this contingency state. However DW Organisation Ltd reserve the right to amend the state for reasons of safety. The current state will be posted on all checkpoint noticeboards; it is the responsibility of the crew/support crew to look at these notices.

State 0 Normal conditions. The event will run as per the rulebook.
State 1 Each crew will be warned of increased risks prior to starting at Devizes.
State 2 Additional compulsory portages will be imposed. These will be posted on the official noticeboard at Devizes and at each checkpoint along the course.
State 3 All crews will be assessed at Dreadnought Reach, Marlow and Teddington by a team of Highly Experienced and Respected DW Canoeists. Crews deemed lacking in experience/strength at these points will be asked not to paddle at night and some basic overnight accommodation will be provided.
State 4 No night time paddling will be allowed on the river. All crews will be stopped at the next available checkpoint or campsite. Some basic overnight accommodation will be provided at Dreadnought Reach, Marlow and Teddington (Ham).

State 0	Normal conditions. The event will run as per the rulebook
State 1	A formal meeting of the team managers (or an adult representative of every crew) will be held one hour after the finish window on Days 1 and 2 (Newbury and Marlow).It is not deemed necessary to impose additional conditions at this level.
State 2	Additional compulsory portages will be imposed. These will be identified at the meetings as described above.
State 3	Assessment of all crews. Crews not deemed to have sufficient experience/strength will be asked not to paddle from Dreadnought Reach to Teddington. This assessment will be carried out by the above team of Highly Experienced and Respected DW Canoeists in conjunction with school coaches/responsible adult. With respect to Junior paddlers the decision will be final. The decision for Day 2 (Dreadnought to Marlow) will be made at the meeting in Newbury; the decision for Day 3 (Marlow to Ham) will be made at the meeting in Marlow. The DW Management Team reserve the right to change any decision for reasons of safety.
State 4	All crews will stop paddling at Dreadnought Reach (or earlier if specified) and proceed to the campsites at Marlow/Ham. There will be no paddling on the River.

Contingency Plans 2001

Summary of Contingency Plans to be used in High Water Conditions

Staged Events

Senior K2 Event

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