Important Information

Please register your child. At the start of each season you are required to complete a new disclaimer for your child with up to date contact details and medical information. Registration documents can be printed from the website and your child cannot sail until this form has been completed and handed in. If you require a printed form you can collect one from the Club Office and either hand it in before the start of the season or when you bring your child to their first sailing session.

If your child has a life-threatening condition (for instance a heart problem, epilepsy, acute allergy needing an epi-pen or diabetes), please alert the WJS office leader that he/she is sailing that day. It is important that Helpers are made fully aware as we do not all recognise every child.

Your child will need some special clothing for sailing. There is a real danger of children becoming very cold if they are not suitably dressed, so anyone we judge to be inadequately dressed for the weather will not be able to sail. We are going to be much more strict on this point this year, especially with those children who we know to get very cold. This is a list of the absolute minimum clothing requirements for your child to be able to sail:

Warm outer clothing - Waterproof top - A change of clothes in case of rain or capsize - Footwear with a sole that grips even when wet

Recommended additional clothing. A wet-suit is a super buy for a keen Junior Sailor, especially if they feel the cold. Brand new wetsuits are available from only £20 from www.First-Wetsuit.co.uk or from www.twfshop.co.uk Any wetsuit is useless on its own and it must be worn with a waterproof top to stop wind-chill. Once a wetsuit gets wet the child will get very cold unless they are wearing a windproof top over it. Wetsuits with short arms and legs are virtually useless except in the hottest of weather, and the British Summer is usually quite short lived. Waterproof trousers are a very good idea as they will keep the legs warm by keeping out the wind. Dry suits are expensive and easily damaged and for this reason they are really only necessary for serious racers.

Bouyancy Aids. We have a good supply of buoyancy aids that Juniors can borrow, but there is often a queue for these and we recommend that keen Junior Sailors get their own. However do ensure that these comply with the 50 newton standard. Do not be tempted to buy one that is too large on the basis that the child will ‘grow into it’. If the buoyancy aid is too large, the child may slip out of it into the water. If you are not sure that your buoyancy aid complies, please show it to the staff in the Wednesday Sailing office. We will not let a child onto the water with a badly fitting buoyancy aid.

Long hair must be tied back so it does not pose a threat to your child’s safety. This applies to both boys and girls and again your child will not be able to go afloat without their hair tied back.

Sun Block. Burns from the sun and the wind can be very painful and dangerous. Even when it is windy and does not feel very warm, the sun can be very harmful. Please make sure that your child is well covered on sunny days and send some sun cream with them in their sailing bag.

Open wounds should be covered with a suitable dressing or plaster before sailing. In the event of a skin cut occurring during a session, a supply of plasters is kept in the Wednesday sailing office.

Mobile Phones are not allowed at Wednesday Junior Sailing. The only place for them is in the safekeeping of the WJS Office. They are not permitted in the changing rooms, even in kit bags, and they are certainly not allowed on the water or the pontoons. If your child must have a phone please ensure your child hands it to the Office staff when they sign in.

Please do not leave your children until you have made sure that the Session is running and that your child has been able to register. This is most important as numbers of children on the water are limited according to how many Helpers and Instructors have signed in. If we have insufficient Instructors, we may have to turn children away. We may also have to cancel the second session if the weather deteriorates. If you leave your child and they are not not signed in, then we have no record of them and cannot be responsible for

Who is in charge? Please remember that the SI (Senior Instructor) has a great responsibility and their decision on the day is final. If you have a query or problem that cannot wait, please speak to the SI in charge on the day. If it is not urgent then please speak to Amanda Dingwall or whoever is co-ordinating the office on the day and they will make sure the right person deals with your enquiry. Overall responsibility for Wednesday Junior Sailing belongs to Ali Husband but she cannot be there every week and will back any decisions made by the SI in charge of the session.

Who has priority? We give priority to children of regular Helpers and Instructors, and children who have passed their first (yellow) card. They can usually come every week. Any child on their yellow card who is turned away one week will have priority the following week, so no child should miss two weeks running, as long as they make sure their names have been noted by the office when the session is full. You can help us prevent having to turn children away by becoming a Helper, provided that you are able to do something practical to help. (See Volunteers).

If there are too many children wanting to sail every week, we may have to use the ‘alternate week system’ for those on yellow cards and possibly even red cards, but we will tell you if we have to do this. You can help us avoid having to turn children away by becoming a Helper – see note above! (See Volunteers)

The First Session is for Schools. The first session is primarily for organised school parties as it takes place during the normal school day from 2pm – 4pm. During school holidays the first session is much quieter and all children are welcome to come to the earlier session if they would like to.

The Second Session can get very busy and WJS office will not start to register second session children before 3.30 pm. There is no priority for any school or group. The second sailing session does not officially start until 4.00 pm and children will not be able to go down onto the pontoon before this time. The first session children have every right to the Instructors’ and Helpers’ attention until the end of their session.

Only yellow-card children are restricted for the second session! They form a queue, and register if there is space, according to the numbers we can allow to sail that day. Please note that if your child is on a Red, White or Green card, they join a separate queue which allows them to go in quickly once the Office opens for registration. There is also a third queue for children of Instructors and Helpers who are helping on that day, whichever card they are on, which gives them priority at registration.

Please let your children play! When you leave your child with us we will do our best to encourage them to learn and have fun. Parents are welcome to stay and watch their children but please do not feel the need to push them along. We are not bothered how long they take to go through the Card System – in fact, sometimes the longer they take, the better they will sail! Encouragement is, however, always welcome and most children are very proud to show their parents how well they can sail or row.

Capsizing. Capsizing is a normal part of sailing and children will be encouraged to capsize and learn how to right their boat in a controlled environment as part of the Card System. This will teach them how to deal with any accidental capsize they might experience.

Our responsibility for the children ends as soon as they hand in their card and disc. However there are always adults in the WJS office until at least 6.15pm and your children should wait near there if they are at all concerned about your whereabouts. If you are delayed and will be very late to collect your child, please phone the Club to let us know. (01590 672677)

Children must be able to behave and show respect. We actively encourage the children to have fun, but they are expected to behave sensibly both on the pontoons and ashore. They are using privately owned equipment and being taught by people who devote a great deal of time to Wednesday Junior Sailing so both should be treated with care and respect. If they are not able to do this consistently, we reserve the right to exclude them from W.J.S. until we feel they will conform.

Bullying. If your child has any problems with any form of bullying, either on or off the water, we need to know about it straight away. Please tell your children that if they have a problem of this sort, they can talk to one of the older Juniors (eg. Green Disc Instructors), or to any adult at W.J.S. they feel happy to talk to. Those people will report back to the Senior Instructor running the session who will take whatever action is necessary to resolve the problem under the Club guidelines.