COVID-19 announcements
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS DURING PANDEMIC
Just like all organisations, we need to adapt to what is possible in this current era. This page is dedicated to keeping followers updated on our approach to training. All updates related to our approach to making Dover Channel Training COVID-19 safe and compliant will be posted here.
26th July
Bringing back longer swims
We continue to assess the situation including the prevaling Covid risk for volunteers and swimmers and how that impacts the training that we can safely offer.
Covid-19 is not static, and neither are we.
This weekend is the first weekend that we have trialled longer swims with feeds. Naturally, it’s nothing like ‘it used to be’. The numbers are limited so that we maintain social distancing at all times and our previous process of sharing cups would clearly not work, so we have numbered bottles to go with the numbered swimmers and each bottle is surface sanitised after each feed. We can offer kayak based or beach based feeding.
Last week we observed that the beach seems to get busy in the afternoon, and hence an early start to the session (I’d much prefer a later start!!).
We altered the structure of the Dover Dips too, to minimise different groups of swimmers meeting and so the beach wouldn’t become congested - all with the aim of ensuring that we can maintain appropriate social distancing.
Of course it does impact the ‘vibe’ on the beach, that comes with the banter and sharing time together. That said, it’s wonderful to still see friendships building along with the confidence.
I’m happy that everything went as planned today and as a result we will extend these longer training swims to Saturdays as well.
Thank you for being so very understanding as we navigate through these challenging times.
18th July
INTRODUCING LONGER SWIMS
Today was a good opportunity to see how busy the beaches now are on a nice day given the other things that have opened up with the further relaxation of our lockdown.
Swimmers’ beach was quieter than it has been in recent times. It seems the busy period is after lunch.
As a result, I am going to start trialing longer sessions with feeding. A bit like lockdown, it is possible that we will go backwards as well as forwards and I apologise if we have to do this. Numbers will remain limited.
Start time for the longer swims will be 8am with 6 hours as the maximum. I will alter the short dip times to avoid too many people on the beach at any one time. As we already have some bookings it will take some time to phase to the new times.
If next Sunday works as a trial, we will consider whether we can also introduce Saturdays.
Please bear with us as we progress to the type of training we’d like to have back.
NB, if you’ve already paid for this season, there will be no charge for these sessions. Message me for the discount code.
3rd July
COVID policy & processes
We’re looking forward to welcoming some of you for our first Dover Dips this weekend and to the start of the Ramp-Up Camps starting next week.
Our COVID-19 policy & processes are ready to go. If you would like further details, please get in touch.
23rd June
Further information as promised
I promised a further update and here it is. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you for all your support following my big announcement at the weekend. I know as channel swimmers and wannabe channel swimmers that we learn to expect the unexpected, but this one hasn’t been easy for any of us.
I have now updated the website with further information on the support options that I’m proposing in our hybrid approach along with pricing. There are lots of options for you to choose from.
You’ll see that the COVID-19 part of the website has been updated with a number of new sections. Listen to this short update and have a look at the information now available. If you have any questions, please ask.
20th June
Time to innovate
They say that a week is a long time in politics. Right now, in this COVID-19 world that we live in, a week is a very long time in any context.
Last weekend I laid out my plans for how we could run COVID secure training this summer. A lot has changed in this last week that has caused me to further reflect. During the week I met with what I’ll refer to as part of my Senior Leadership Team – a core group of DCT trusted advisors. All of whom are experts in their own fields and have direct experience of adapting to changes in this COVID world.
I realised that I had been asking myself the wrong questions.
Listen to this audio recording to find out more.
“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.”
14th June
UPDATE ON ARRANGEMENTS BEING PUT IN PLACE FOR Training
I’ve been beavering away in the background, working out how to run COVID-19 safe training. It’s more complex than you might imagine! I now have a view on how things can run safely and to do this what I and the volunteers need to do, and what you as the swimmers need to do.
This is a long update, so grab yourself a cuppa!
Reminder of our assessment of Government guidelines
In my 12th May update, I shared my assessment of what the Government’s 3 step plan for the gradual release of lockdown meant for our training group. I concluded that step 3 was the earliest that we could restart training. The earliest that step 3 can happen is 4th July. That remains true today.
My assessment considered a number of areas where adaptations would be required. The text in italics was my original assessment. The other text brings us up to date.
Physical contact: Would need to change processes around suncream, vaseline, signing in, feeding, kit management. All these adaptations have been planned ✅. Risk around support in emergency remains. It is important to be honest with yourself about your own personal risk levels and when you should or should not train.
Social distancing: Would need to reposition volunteers and set maximum capacity for each session & possibly stagger starts and feeding. More complex & requiring more volunteers which would reduce capacity. All these adaptations have been planned ✅.
Non-essential travel: This restriction was lifted in step 1 of the Government’s 3 step plan ✅.
Exercise guidelines: Dependant upon restrictions on how many can meet to be lifted. This remains vague in the guidelines but my interpretation is that we are now OK. Commercial lakes are now opening ✅.
Protect the NHS: Hypothermia risk reduces throughout the season. Small risk of SIPE and small inherent risk of drowning remain. Each of which would require the emergency services & NHS support. With the increased water temperature the risk is reducing down to the normal inherent risk of the sport. Post COVID-19 training considerations will be covered by the webinar on Tuesday and I would encourage all swimmers to attend or watch back on replay. If you have not swum since the lockdown in March I would also encourage you to be sensible in building up time in the water to reduce risk ✅.
Risk to others: Introducing additional risk to people local to Dover. Increased risk to volunteers and risk of transmission between swimmers. Would need RLSS, RLNI etc guidance to be updated. I believe that our COVID-19 secure processes are compliant with all relevant authorities. We must remain considerate to members of the public and maintain social distancing at all times.
Reputation risk: As an extreme sport it is not an essential activity. To go ahead and cause an issue would lead to reptuational damage to DCT and the sport. Would depend upon how the nation is coping. I would hope that we are now passed the highest risk in this area. Our processes in place are COVID-19 compliant and we are putting in many measures to minimise risk to swimmers and others. I would ask that all swimmers are considerate of others, the reputation of DCT and the governing bodies. ✅
The one consideration remaining is accommodation. A few of our volunteers, Paul & I included, travel long distances to run training. It is not practical or safe to do this on a daily basis. We will need access to safe hotel or B&B accommodation. Whilst 4th July is the earliest that this can happen, my understanding is that not all hotels will be open to non-essential workers from this first date. This is one area that may yet trip us up.
Capacity
As a reminder, this is the categorisation that I’ve created for swimmers:
Those who have solos or relays in 2020 that are still likely to go ahead
Those who have already paid for the entire season of training for 2020
Those who have solos or relays planned for 2021 and intend to do the majority of their training with the group
Those who have solos or relays planned for 2021 and want to be a drop in swimmer
Everyone else
At this time, the following numbers have contacted me in order to be added to the list of prioritised swimmers:
Priority 1: 46 swimmers
Priority 2: 8 swimmers
Priority 3: 3 swimmers
Priority 4: 1 swimmer
Priority 5: 0 swimmers
Before I go into the detail of the plans, I have been in touch with Dover Harbour Board to share my plans and understand if they wish to place any additional constraints upon us. Their reply was that as long as we are complying with the Government and Swim England guidelines ✅ then they are happy. I did ask if we could negotiate exclusive use of swimmers’ beach but they weren’t able to do that (it was worth asking!). So, because we share the space with the public, there may be times when we need to react and adapt.
I’ve made a roughly to scale sketch of swimmer’s beach at high water (theoretically there is more capacity at low water and on neap tides, but that’s a whole level of complication that I’m not planning in!).
Assuming a 2m bubble for each swimmer and their gear, with a 2m space around it to enable access and allow for the fact that no one will stand dead straight in the middle of their bubble to get changed, I have established that we have room for 27 swimmers plus 2 volunteers.
Admittedly, I’m not an artist!!
I intend to put numbered markers down for each of the ‘spots’ so that you know where your ‘spot’ is.
Of course, if this were a private lake or beach front, I could say with certainty that this would work. As mentioned above, we may need to react & adapt at times as we share this space with the public.
So, with a capacity of 27 swimmers at any one moment, and 58 swimmers wanting to swim, it’s clear that we won’t be able to accommodate everyone at every swim. I would ask that only priority 1 and 2 swimmers book sessions when slots are first released. If there are still slots left the day before then I am happy for priority 3, 4 or 5 swimmers to take these slots.
For those who snuck in and booked when I first created the booking system, I will leave your booking in if you are a priority 1 or 2 swimmer, but if you are 3, 4 or 5 then I will unfortunately cancel your slot at this time.
As respect for other swimmers, can I ask that priority 1 and 2 swimmers initially only book one day at the weekend to allow all swimmers the chance to train. Again, if there is capacity remaining a couple of days before the weekend, feel free to book the second day. I imagine that as we progress through the season, swimmers will either do their crossings or agree to transfer to a subsequent year, therefore reducing the number of priority 1 swimmers and releasing capacity to others.
I will open bookings as follows:
You can book a maximum of 7 days in advance
Last bookings taken 12 hours in advance
You can cancel or reschedule up to but not beyond 12 hours in advance
No bookings will be taken on the day (i.e. if you haven’t booked online in advance, you can’t just turn up on the off-chance)
Your slot will allow for 15 minutes either side for changing. After this point the ‘spot’ will be made available to the next swimmer.
COVID-19 secure processes
I have taken advice on appropriate PPE and cleaning procedures to enable the beach to be ‘COVID-19 secure’. Volunteers will be provided with:
Disposable gloves
Disposable aprons
Face coverings (with filters)
Hand sanitiser (also available to swimmers)
I am documenting all of our COVID-19 secure processes for the activities that we normally carry out on the beach and the additional activities that we now need to include to be COVID-19 secure. For example:
Setting up the beach
Preparing feeds
Feeding processes (whether fed on the beach by volunteers or someone from your household or in the water)
Signing in
Entering / exiting the water & handling of crocs
As you can see, there is a lot to think about. At the bottom of this update you’ll see links to some of the process diagrams. I’ll have the full suite ready before training begins.
All of these documents plus our policies, risk assessments etc, will be shown in links at the top of this page before training starts.
I will create an event in the dates & altered sessions section of the website with the safety briefing for the day, which you must read before training. On each event you’ll also be able to see each of our COVID-19 documents. Whilst they will be downloadable, please remember that these are dynamic documents which may change, so any documents downloaded may not remain current.
So far several hundreds of pounds have been spent on PPE and safety related equipment. I will not knowingly compromise on safety.
Swimmer requirements
Here is an outline of requirements that you will need to comply with in order to swim:
If you, or a member of your household have COVID-19 symptoms or have had symptoms in the last 14 days, do not come to training. Please cancel your slot to allow someone else to train. By attending you are confirming that you have not had symptoms in the last 14 days.
You will need to complete the joining process on our new app (if ready in time or on our LoveAdmin system as a back up process). This ensures that we have your details and emergency contact information and that you have read and understood our disclaimers etc.
You will need to sign-up online for any session in which you wish to swim
Clearly, because we cannot have physical contact, you will need to put your own suncream on (or have someone from your household do it). If you don’t have someone else who can do it and you can’t reach all parts of your own back (I know I can’t), then I would suggest using a sponge on a stick to get to those hard to reach places.
As with suncream, we can’t put vaseline on for your or provide the big tub to dive into. You will need to bring your own vaseline and apply it yourself. I suggest you wear gloves to do this to avoid getting vaseline on your goggles. If you don’t know where to apply vaseline, please ask.
You will either need to leave your footwear with your kit bag or have footwear that is ok to be submerged in disinfectant solution. Please ensure any footwear that we do handle for you is clearly personalised so that we can easily identify yours. I’d suggest either writing your name with a sharpie or adding jibbitz or ribbons etc to your shoes. Your shoes will need to be unique.
Relay swimmers should allow 1 hour between swims and ensure that the volunteer with the iPad has seen you get in and out on both occasions.
I won’t be able to sign paperwork on the beach, but if you have any documentation that you need to be signed, you can scan it and email it to me and I will sign it and return it to you via email.
We will not be able to provide treats for soloists. If you require treats at a feed then you will need to have a member of your household pass them to you.
Soloists will need to bring your own uniquely identifiable feed bottle with you. Please ensure that it is either dishwasher clean or that you have cleaned it with warm water and detergent. You will place this in a feeding crate and note the colour of the handle.
We can provide warm CNP, UCAN or water feeds. We will sanitise the outside of all bottles at each feed. Your feeding bottle will always be in the feeding crate with the correct handle colour. Please ensure that you maintain social distancing at feeds, being prepared to circle if others are feeding at your crate (6 swimmers per crate). Always put your bottle back in the same slot and only touch your bottle.
If you wish to be fed by a member of your household, that is fine. Please still maintain social distancing at feeding time.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the volunteer with the iPad has recorded your feed and when you get out.
Multiple locations
As you are probably starting to realise, a lot of thought and consideration is required to transform the processes that we have used in the past to COVID-19 secure processes. One of the ideas that I am still considering is whether we can expand our capacity by offering training at another location in addition to Dover. I am extremely grateful to the 11 people who have already volunteered to help out. We therefore have the volunteer capacity to support this on at least some weekends. However, it is complicated to ensure that we are always COVID-19 secure and there is a considerable expense in doing so. So, before we do this I do want to see how things work in practice in Dover before expanding. I suspect like all good plans that experience in the initial sessions will lead us to tweak some of our processes. I’d like that to happen whilst we have a more controllable scale with experienced volunteers rather than starting off running before we can walk.
Shop
The online shop remains open. You can order items to be delivered to your home or to be collected on the beach. I will not be bringing the shop to the beach each weekend for casual purchases. So, if you need swimming hats, bobble hats, earplugs, foggies etc, please order online in advance.
Red hats for soloists
Yellow hats for relay swimmers
Purple hats for recreational
Payments
Given that all sessions are paid for in advance and online and the same is true of purchases from the shop. I can’t think of any reasons why there would be a need for payments on the beach. But if somehow I’ve missed something and you do need to pay for something, then only card payments will be accepted (contactless is preferred). No cash will be handled on the beach.
With the exception of those who have already paid for the full season (and I will provide you with a discount code so that you don’t have to pay again), all training will be payable on a per session basis via the online booking system.
Two week ‘catch-up’ camp
I am still happy to offer two weeks of catch-up training for those who are able to train during the week. At the moment I have provisionally booked leave from work for the two weeks commencing 6th July. The feasibility of holding this depends upon hotel / B&B availability.
Weekdays
One of the other ideas I had for increasing capacity was to offer training on another weekday, likely Fridays. I am still happy to consider this. I do want to see how training goes in the first week or two though to establish whether we do need to offer this additional capacity. This will have an impact on my business, volunteers’ annual leave, other activities etc, so not something to be taken lightly if the demand does not dictate it.
In summary
We are living in uncertain times. Even with the best laid plans, we may have to further react and adapt. I put safety of all and potential reputational damage to the sport above everything else. Let's work together to make the most of the opportunities that we do have and always remember that many people have lost their lives already, members of our group have worked hard as front line or essential workers to enable us to be in the position where we are able to consider starting training. If we do have to adapt along the way, remember, there is a bigger and more important picture to consider here.
Example process documents:
12th June
Free webinar - Post covid-19 training considerations
Come and join our free webinar about Post COVID-19 training considerations, capacity is 500 so we have plenty of room, so forward the details on to friends who may not be in the group (and may not even be swimmers) but may find the information useful.
The format will be fairly relaxed and you'll be able to post any questions that you have.
30th May
UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND
Thank you for all your messages following my update yesterday. Some even snuck in and booked sessions, and whilst the system was ready for that, I think I need to understand a bit more about the likely demand before I open the flood gates. So, if you scroll down and find the booking system and see no slots available, keep calm, we’re not yet sold out, I’ve removed the option until we have more information on how things progress.
At the time of writing (3pm) we already have a high level of demand for training:
Priority 1: 27 swimmers
Priority 2: 1 swimmer
Priority 3: 1 swimmer
Priority 4: 1 swimmer
Since the COVID-19 update page has been added to the website there have been 113 visits to the page and 514 views of my original review of the Government’s COVID-19 lockdown release plan.
I want to say a very big thank you to those who have also emailed to ask me to prioritise other people as your swims are deferred or you have another way to train.
In ordinary times these are very manageable numbers. With social distancing requirements on the beach (and only able to consider the space at high water), also taking into account space for volunteers and the public, these are not ordinary times. We probably can’t handle all the demand that exists if everyone were to train every day. I just want to be transparent.
In most years, training starts to thin out mid to end of July as crossings start. This year things are different and I suspect the peak of swims will be later in the season than normal.
I am also thinking about what else could be done. I haven’t come to any firm conclusions yet, but here are a couple of ideas that I’m mulling over:
I like Howard’s idea of using a second base in Hythe if we have sufficient volunteers. However, given the open nature of the beach and the prevailing wind direction, we’d probably need to have two locations and choose the one each day depending on the wind direction. Ramsgate is the logical choice. Hythe is a beautifully long beach where social distancing is less of an issue, however, Ramsgate has been, well, rammed during the good weather and may be problematic. I’d also need to consider how to use one app in multiple locations and other challenges like that.
Offering one weekday session some / all weeks - like a Friday - would anyone be interested in that? I’d need to work out how to still do all my Friday tasks!!
I’m wondering whether an open zoom meeting once or twice a week might be useful for those who:
Want to train elsewhere but want some high levels tips on structuring a training plan. I’d clearly want to ensure that your training location is a safe choice (e.g. don’t swim alone etc).
Want help in deciding how long a session to book online given that the usual process of turning up and being told how long you’re swimming is a little tricky this year
I wouldn’t charge for the open zoom session. If you want more assistance than that and really want to talk in detail about your training plan and how things are going, I can arrange 1:1 sessions, though these would be chargeable.
If there are other ideas that you have, please do share them, we are a team after all. I’m happy to do what I can safely do, but do also have a day job and need to be mindful of that.
Finally, I will continue to keep an eye on how the measures to lift the lockdown progress. Remember that 4th July was the earliest date that I could envisage training starting. I did consider whether it was appropriate to start a small training offering now that up to 6 people can meet outdoors, but I concluded that the risks to swimmers & volunteers were too great at this time. I’ll continue to review over the coming weeks.
29th May
a need to prioritise
Yesterday, in the Downing Street Coronavirus update, Boris Johnson announced that we will be moving to Step 2 (see below) of the planned steps of relaxing current lockdown arrangements. Further information was shared that included the fact that from Monday we can meet up to 6 people from outside our household in outdoor settings whilst maintaining social distancing.
Nothing to date has changed what has been laid out for step 3, so fingers crossed we’ll continue on this path.
The other thing that has not changed is the need for social distancing. Here is where one of the main challenges is for our training group. What does this mean for us?
We’re on a public beach, with public also walking behind us on the promenade
No big briefings when we all gather round
Need to maintain social distancing on the beach which limits the capacity on that beach at any one time
We can’t apply vaseline to swimmers without making some significant changes
We can’t apply suncream to swimmers
We can’t move crocs up and down the beach as the tide goes in and out
We can’t pass feeds to swimmers without thinking through if we can sufficiently adapt
We can’t share a signing in book or pens between volunteers
Volunteers will need to have appropriate PPE
So what can we do and how have I started to prepare adaptations?
Geoff Gardiner is very kindly creating an app that we can use to sign swimmers in and out. We can sanitise an iPad between uses
I am currently working out what our maximum safe capacity is at any one time
We will all have to take responsibility.
Ever since Freda first set up this group, everyone has been welcome with no need to pre-book. Some weeks we have small(er) numbers, some weeks over 100. Clearly, at this time, we can’t leave numbers to chance. So I am working out how to introduce a booking system.
Also, ever since Freda started this group we have had a set training start time to make group briefings possible, in order to maximise capacity I will need to rethink this. My plan is to prepare a briefing that will be provided online and it will be your responsibility to ensure that you have read it before training.
So, I’ll work out the number of people I can accommodate on the beach at any one time and then there will be slots available throughout the training day for each one of those people. Let’s say for convenience sake that the capacity is 10. If all 10 swimmers want to do 7 hours then I will only see 10 people that day. If there is a mix of people wanting to do different durations then we can fit more people in with staggered starts. The booking system will allow for 15 minutes before and after the swim for changing, but I would have to ask everyone else to step off the beach, at least temporarily, to allow those within that number to have free access to their bags / feeds etc. I.e. don’t come on the beach more than 15 minutes before your slot and aim to be changed and free up your space within 15 minutes after your swim.
Now, because this is severely limiting the number of people who can train, realistically we need to prioritise. Whilst I could operate a first come first served basis, given the purpose we are here, that’s not the fairest for this period of time. So here is how I propose to prioritise:
Those who have solos or relays in 2020 that are still likely to go ahead
Those who have already paid for the entire season of training for 2020
Those who have solos or relays planned for 2021 and intend to do the majority of their training with the group
Those who have solos or relays planned for 2021 and want to be a drop in swimmer
Everyone else
This does mean that we will have to disappoint many people, and for that I do humbly apologise. Just as soon as it is possible to revert to our previous ways of working I will.
There will be further communications as I work through the details of how we can operate and once I have spoken with Dover Harbour Board.
In the meantime, if you believe that you fall into categories 1 or 3 above and would like to train with us this year, please do get in touch and I will ensure that you are prioritised in the booking system.
Pricing is of course tricky. With the previous methodology of paying for an entire season, you were able to choose when you swam and make the very best use of your investment. I appreciate that you don’t have that same ability now. Some of my costs may change (e.g. feeding & vaseline) but the bigger costs of the long commute and overnight stays (if and when this is possible) actually remain as do administrative costs like insurance and maintaining a booking system and website (as examples). So I’m not in a position to offer free training. What I am proposing will almost certainly run at a loss, but I am prepared to do that in these extraordinary times. You can choose:
To pay for the entire season as normal
Pay per session on an hourly basis, I’m currently thinking £1 per hour with a minimum spend of £3, which works out the equivalent price of previous seasons.
There will be many other adaptations (like signing paperwork) and I will work through these over time.
With regards to a ‘catch up’ training fortnight, I’m still happy to do this when the time is right. The same booking system will apply.
Clearly, we will need to keep in mind how we progress through the steps laid out in the Number 10 lockdown relaxation plan. We may need to adapt further. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do more! Let’s wait and see.
12th May
COVID-19 impacts to training
I have now finished reading the 50+ page UK government briefing paper on the next stages of relaxing the current COVID-19 restrictions in place. As a result I have now updated my risk document and assessed when would be the earliest that training could start in Dover.
The document talks about three phases with phase 1 being the tight controls that were introduced at the start of this pandemic.
We are now moving into phase 2. With phase 2 there are 3 steps. The further out you go the more vague the guidelines are at this stage. At a high level:
Step 1 (13th May) removes the ‘once a day’ restriction to exercise and means that you can enjoy unlimited exercise outside of the house. You can also travel an unlimited distance for that. You can meet up with one person from outside your household whilst maintaining social distancing. Theoretically swimming is permitted exercise but RLSS are encouraging people to not exercise in water.
Step 2 (earliest 1st June) is all about schools and education and talks about some scenarios where small gatherings are permitted to facilitate things like small weddings.
Step 3 (earliest 4th July) is the first time that public places and leisure facilities are mentioned. It implies slightly larger gatherings.
Based on this, the very earliest time that we would be able to train in Dover would be step 3. Even then there would need to be some very significant mitigations in place and we would be reliant on various bodies being in agreement. For example:
RLSS would need to remove their current guidance of not swimming outside.
RLNI, Swim England, Dover Harbour Board would all need to endorse training
We’d need an app to be ready for managing signing in and out to remove the need for physical contact with surfaces that can’t be sanitised (e.g. signing in books)
Adaptations would be required around physical contact (e.g. greasing, feeding, suncream, volunteer positions etc)
Hospitality industry re-opened to enable volunteers travelling from afar to be able to stay locally.
We’d also need to assess the current phase of the pandemic to ensure that the NHS and emergency services are coping and that as small a risk as it is, that the additional risk of cold water swimming would not place an additional burden and in turn damage our reputation.
You can access the full document by clicking on the button below.
If you have any questions on this, please let me know.
Booking system
NB - I’ve temporarily taken the booking system down as I want to establish the list of priority swimmers and see how step 2 of the lockdown lifting goes before everyone gets a little too excited. It will be back!