COVID-19 Level 2 and Waka Ama -  Auckland

It is important to understand what will be possible in terms of practising, participating, or competing in Waka Ama during level 2.

Waka Ama activity at Level 2 is as follows:

You may participate in W1, W2, W3, W4, W6 & W12 under the requirements that follow in this pānui.

Club training must adhere to the following health requirements:  

Contact tracing requirements:

1.     Clubs must keep a register of paddlers, coaches and managers who attended practices.
They must capture; date, time, name, and phone or email address

2.     Clubs must also keep a register (as in 1) of any whānau or friends that attend practices and may not be paddling.

3.     These records must be easily accessed for contact tracing and kept for at least 4 weeks after the attendance was recorded. The information collected may only be used for the purpose of contact tracing at the request of the Ministry of Health or local district health boards and must be kept secure.

Here is a link to Contact tracing information on the Sport New Zealand website: sportnz.org.nz

Club QR codes:

Clubs who do not already have them, should download a QR code to be displayed at your club's facility/area to allow club members to check-in each time they are onsite.

You can find more information here: https://wakaama.co.nz/stories/read/1005357

Hygiene requirements:

1.       Clubs must put in place processes to wipe down and clean all shared waka and equipment before and after use (This also applies to shared paddles, life jackets, safety gear, and other shared equipment)

2.       Waka Ama clubs that have a physical club facility or one that is shared with another organisation, must ensure that public health guidelines are adhered to regarding that premise.

3.       Waka Ama Clubs that rent or lease facilities must ensure that the owner has adhered to the public health guidelines and should request a copy of what guidelines have been put in place for the facility.

4.       Individuals must maintain a high level of personal hygiene, especially handwashing and surface cleaning.

Here is a link to Contact tracing information on the Sport New Zealand website: https://sportnz.org.nz/covid-19/sector-advice/contact-tracing/

Gathering requirements:

1.   Gatherings at clubs – indoor or outdoor, must not exceed 100 people that includes spectators, paddlers, coaches, managers, officials, and supporters.

2.   For Waka Ama club practices where multiple waka are on the water, congregations of paddlers, coaches, and managers before, during, and after practice must not exceed 100

3.   Spectators and whānau who are not paddlers, coaches or managers should be discouraged from attending practices 

4.   Care must be taken where up to 100 people may congregate in groups at communal points such as entries, shared toilet/changing room facilities and car parks, and to maintain physical distancing within and between groups. Phasing of activities is recommended to allow time for people to pass through these areas safely.

Social Distancing:

1.     It is recommended that individuals physical distancing of 1 metre and in the case of someone who is not known to you, you should maintain a 2 metre physical distance.

2.     It is recognised at alert Level 2, that contact during physical/recreational activity will occur, but this should be minimised as much as possible and distancing should resume when not participating in sport or recreational activities.

Travel:

If you’re living at Alert Level 2, you can travel anywhere in New Zealand that is at Alert Level 1 or 2, but make sure you do it in a safe way.
You legally must wear a face covering when travelling to, from or through an Alert Level 2 region on public transport, including flights.

Travel from any Level 2 area to a Level 3 area will be heavily restricted. Anyone wanting to travel to or through Level 3 should check to see if they are eligible. 

Further travel information can be found here: https://covid19.govt.nz/travel-and-the-border/travel-within-new-zealand/regional-travel/#travel-between-regions-at-alert-level-2 

Events at Level 2 

Sanctioned events may only be held at Level 2 where:

·         Application is made to Waka Ama New Zealand and approved.

·         Events must not exceed 100 people including paddlers and officials

·         Waka Ama New Zealand will set the paddler entry limit

·         No spectators are present

·         COVID 19 protocols, hand sanitizer and contact tracing QR codes are easily accessible.

·         All participants are entered and recorded via the Waka Ama New Zealand online Entry system prior to race day.

·         Waka Ama New Zealand will appoint someone to oversee the COVID 19 procedures on the day of the event.

·         Should part of New Zealand be in level 2.5 or level 3 then paddlers or officials from those areas are not permitted to take part in the event.

·         Wearing  of masks for officials, volunteers and paddlers (when not racing) is mandatory

·         No Prizegiving or Indoor gatherings

·         Waka Ama New Zealand will provide COVID Level 2 sanction criteria and templates

We recommend that your club take time to carefully read and understand the requirements and consider how your club will implement them. It is very important that all of the requirements are actioned by clubs and adhered to by paddlers and teams.  Please don’t rush back to practice and get it wrong. 

Waka Ama New Zealand are happy to answer any questions that you may have or for you to contact us to bounce some ideas off us, around how your club may implement the Level 2 requirements as outlined. Contact [email protected]

• More Level 2 information can be found here: covid19.govt.nz
• You can stay up to date with the latest information and advice from the New Zealand Ministry of Health here: health.govt.nz
• There is also a dedicated Government a website where you can find all essential information covid19.govt.nz
• COVID-19 Alert levels: https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-system/covid-19-alert-system/#alert-level-2%C2%A0%E2%80%94-reduce

COVID-19 Level 1 and Waka Ama -  Rest of Aotearoa

For Level 1 there are no restrictions to Waka Ama activity, except for International border restrictions that still exist.

Individuals and clubs should remain vigilant and continue to practice good hygiene to minimise the risk of future community transmission.  

It is important to remember that If you feel sick at all – Please stay home
If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 even a runny nose, please get a test and then stay home until you get the results back. https://uniteforrecovery.govt.nz/covid-19/about-covid-19/covid-19-testing/

In Alert Level 1 we should be prepared to quickly move into higher alert levels if we need to.

Club QR codes:

As we continue to progress through this new COVID life, we are advising clubs to download a QR code to be displayed at your club's facility/area to allow club members to check-in each time they are onsite.

You can find more information here: https://wakaama.co.nz/stories/read/1005357

Waka Ama Events:

All events on the Waka Ama New Zealand calendar (existing and new) will need to complete the updated sanctioning policy in order for events to be sanctioned.

The sanctioning policy includes the following:

·         It will be compulsory for all sanctioned events to use the Waka Ama New Zealand Online Entry System. This will help with contact tracing systems.

·         It will be compulsory for clubs to add participants into the online entry system within the specified time frame. Failure to do so will mean teams will be withdrawn from the event.

·         Event organisers must provide the opportunity for all those who attend an event to ‘check in’  keeping a record of attendees, this includes contractors, officials, volunteers, whānau and spectators. This can be through electronic means or in a paper form.

·        Event organisers must encourage best practice hygiene is practised

·       Event organisers need to be aware they may be asked to postpone or cancel gatherings under the circumstance that a significant outbreak has re-occurred, or if case numbers increase. 

• Level 1 area events can proceed under all required COVID restrictions however  for events that will have over 100 people; entries will be restricted with no paddlers from a level 2 area being permitted to enter Level 1 area events. 

Further information regarding Sport in general and Level 1 can be found on the Sport New Zealand Website here: https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/play-active-recreation-and-sport-at-alert-level-1/