Dawlish Coasters | Health & Safety Policy

Health & Safety Policy

Club Responsibility 

Dawlish Coasters, as far as possible, aim to protect the health and safety of all members engaged in club training and  participating in club competition.  

The scope of the Health & Safety guidelines extends to training sessions and any organised club events.  To achieve this aim, the club will:  

▪ Endeavour to provide helpful guidance to members verbally and make the Health & Safety Guidelines  available on the club website. 

▪ Publish and review specific risk assessment documents where appropriate, such as individual events or to  ensure adherence with government health guidelines. 

▪ Ensure that additional risks associated with leading groups such as darkness and adverse weather conditions  are considered, mitigated and shared with members. 

▪ Ensure the club coaches and run leaders are suitably experienced to lead club training sessions and groups. ▪ Provide suitable facilities and equipment for training sessions and events including first aid and welfare  facilities.  

▪ Ensure that any organised sporting event is subject to a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. 

Any failure to follow the instructions of the coach/leader may result in the immediate cancellation of the session.  The coach or leader’s decision will be final. 

A member causing disruption to the group or acting in a manner likely to cause an accident or injury will be asked to  leave the group and that person will be reported to the general committee for any further action against him/her  that may be deemed appropriate and in accordance with the Club’s constitution. 

Member Responsibility 

Members will: 

▪ Familiarise themselves and abide by the Health & Safety Guidelines located on the club website when they  join and on annual renewal of membership. This guidance includes advice on weather, terrain, personal  limitations and protecting fellow club members. 

▪ Do their best to prevent harm to themselves, fellow club members or members of the public. ▪ Acknowledge that they owe a duty of care to not wilfully injure themselves or others by negligent acts or  omissions.  

The club relies on its members to report any problems encountered whilst running on training routes. For example,  dangerous stiles, pavements, potholes, poor visibility etc.  

Policy & Guidelines Review 

The Health & Safety Policy Guidelines will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that they remain accurate and  reflect the club ethos.

The Guidelines 

All members agree to abide by the clubs Health & Safety Guidelines as follows: 

General Safety 

All club members must take personal responsibility for their own safety, whilst keeping a watchful eye on others  running in the same group, particularly new members. 

Consideration should be given to others, and common sense used. 

In adverse weather conditions, members must take extra care and be vigilant to additional risks such as slippery or  uneven surfaces. 

Members should exercise common sense for personal safety issues, including hydration and the treatment of strains  and injuries due to participation in the sport. 

If additional advice is required, members should seek advice from experts and professional practioners outside of  the running club as appropriate.  

No headsets or music players to be used during any training session or running event in which the club members  may participate as this can obstruct and hinder any instructions given.  

Medical Conditions 

All members of the club declare themselves medically fit to run at their own risk and shall not hold the club  responsible for any incident occurring through a personal medical condition or injury.  

As appropriate, members should request regular check-ups with their GP. Members with any medical conditions  agree where appropriate to carry with them the relevant details of their condition and their name, address, and  emergency phone number contact details.  

Voluntary disclosure of medical conditions shall be the responsibility of the individual member or their cere in  circumstances where they consider an individual risk assessment approach to their welfare may be appropriate.  

Appropriate Clothing 

Members should understand the value of wearing appropriate clothing for the time of the year and appropriate  shoes for any variations in terrain. When running in the dark, members should take responsibility for making  themselves highly visible by wearing bright clothing with reflective strips and be aware that drivers may find it  difficult to see you. In addition, the use of head / chest / hand torches to improve their own visibility when running  and to also make themselves more visible to any drivers, cyclists and members of the public, is mandatory for  running in the dark.  

Appropriate footwear should be worn at all times and consideration should be given to the surface being trained on  (e.g. shoes with extra traction for running on grass / trails). It is responsibility of members to check the website /  social media to ensure that the correct footwear is worn for the planned training.  

Failure to wear appropriate clothing may result in you being unable to participate in a club run due to risk. 

Staying Together 

The group endeavours to stay together as much as possible. Members should take care to listen to the proposed  route before setting off. The group leader should ensure that a head count is taken and if possible, a tail runner be  assigned to ensure that no one individual gets left behind. However, runners should be aware that this is not always  possible.  

Whenever mixed ability occurs within a group, regrouping should take place at appropriate times along the route to  ensure that no one individual gets left behind.  

If anyone decides to leave the group whilst out on a run, they must inform at least one other runner in the group  who then must ensure the run leader is made aware.  

Upon returning to the start after completion of the session the group leader should check that everyone who started  out has returned or can be accounted for.  

The run leader should carry a mobile phone to be able to call for help if required.  

Road Sense 

Routes shall be planned to avoid unlit roads at night during hours of darkness, as much as possible.  

On roads without footpaths runners shall run to the right to face any oncoming traffic or to the left at bends where  forward visibility to the right is limited.  

The run leader will ensure the safety of the group when crossing any main roads and ensure members are across  safely before carrying on the session.  

Incident Reports 

Any incidents should be reported to the Welfare Officer, for future reference, and for making known to all club members when appropriate.  

Actual incidents involving any member, or third party shall be formally recorded with a committee member. 

Endorsement 

These guidelines are endorsed and annually reviewed by all committee members.