Issue date
Yachting New Zealand are seeking clarification from Sport New Zealand as yacht clubs look to make a safe return to activity under alert level 2.
There has been considerable confusion around the 10-person gathering limit announced on Monday and how this applied to community sport.
Sport NZ moved to clarify the situation last night, confirming “that the 10-person gathering limits applies to all community sport”. But many in the yachting community, myself included, were still left with plenty of questions.
We believe that both dinghy and keelboat sailing and racing meets the intent of the government guidelines. Further to that, we believe the sport can be done safely even if more than 10 dinghies or multiple keelboats are on the start line due to the fact boats rarely come within 3m-4m of each other and staggered launching and retrieval can be easily achieved.
We are currently seeking clarification from Sport NZ and hope to have some answers in the next 24 hours. We will share this information with you as soon as it comes to hand but, in the meantime, respectfully ask for your patience.
Clubs should assess what they need to do to reopen safely and shouldn’t rush to recommence activity until they are ready. There isn’t a one-sized-fits-all answer to how this should be done because each club has a different set of circumstances and environment they operate in.
A comprehensive contact tracing system will be essential and, unfortunately, the Yachting New Zealand app won’t be able to be used as a tool in doing this. We had hoped it could be reconfigured to meet the needs of yacht clubs but have discovered this can’t be done at this time.
Clubs might consider using id.me or ripple. Alternatively, paper records can be kept but clubs will need to assign someone whose responsibility it will be to oversee this process, keep them in a secure place and be available at all times should the Ministry of Health require information.
If you need help with how to create an effective contact tracing system via Google Forms and QR codes, then see these two videos. Regional support officer Ian Darby would also be happy to help you with this.
- How to create a online form (I used Google Forms but you could use any online form maker)
- How to create a QR code
I will be in touch as soon as I have an update.
Kia kaha
David Abercrombie
