Location
Swimming will only be permitted in the permitted Dock on Wednesdays 18.45 until 20:00 or dusk, whichever is soonest. A club official will decide when swimming is no longer safe. All swimming will be as directed by the club officials present. This will depend upon prevailing conditions.
All swimmers must be a paid up member for the current season of Mersey Tri or City of Liverpool Masters Swimming Club.
Membership card must be shown and an emergency contact telephone number provided on registration.
Ability
Members are responsible for their own medical fitness and ability to swim. Members must be able to swim 1500 meters non-stop and unaided in a pool. Evidence of capability may be asked for.
Swim strokes allowed are crawl (freestyle) and breaststroke. Backstroke is not permitted.
In normal circumstances the minimum age of swimmers is 16 years old. Any variation from this rule will be at the discretion of Mersey Tri coaches and will be based on known capabilities. Under 16 year olds must be a Mersey Tri member, wear a wet suit and hat, have parental consent and be accompanied by parent or guardian.
Swimming Procedure
All members must register before entering the water and pay the swim fee of £3.00. No entry in the water is allowed until 6.45pm or when an official indicates it is safe to enter.
At registration, each member will be issued with a numbered wrist band. This must be worn while in the water and returned immediately to the registration person on leaving the water.
All members must wear permitted colored hats. Novices will wear a white swim hat, experienced members a yellow swim hat and coaches a blue swim hat. No other hat is acceptable.
Entry and exit to the water is via the ramped and designated areas only. No diving is permitted.
For all members, circuits must only be swum in an anti-clockwise direction.
Less confident or novice open water swimmers can book into some of the introduction sessions that will be set up for members throughout the season. If in doubt, consult a club official.
Members must NOT swim into adjacent dock areas.
Safety
Solo swimming is not permitted. The minimum number in a group is three. If a group breaks up due to different swimming speeds, swimmers must re-group and carry out a head count of their group at the end of each length or width. Swimmers must check on the welfare of fellow swimmers in their group.
If in difficulty swimmers are advised to turn onto their back and wave an arm in the air to attract attention.
In the event of an emergency an air horn will be sounded.
All members must stop swimming immediately the horn is sounded and check around themselves for another swimmer in difficulty or an approaching vessel. (docks are reserved for our exclusive use, however, rogue vessels do appear occasionally and members need to be aware of this)
The temperature of the dock usually requires the use of wetsuit.
The use of MP3 players or any other audio device requiring the wearing of earphones is not permitted.
Swimmers are advised not to swim if they have any open or deep wounds due to the risk of water born infection. Cuts should be covered with waterproof dressings.
Swimmers should wash their hands before handling food and shower at the earliest opportunity. Wetsuits should also be cleaned
Members
Please note: Proof of membership is required for scheduled Open Water Swims. If you have not received your membership card in time please provide printed membership confirmation from this website.
All members should read a copy of the current dock swim rules which should be available at the dockside or on the club website and agree to abide by them
The Dock is within a public area. Members need to be mindful of this, particularly when changing before and after the session.
Valuables and belongings are left are the owners risk. The club cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage.
These rules may be changed or amended by the club’s officials as dictated by prevailing circumstances on the day.
Any member transgressing these rules, or whose activities put either themselves or others at risk, or bring the club into disrepute, may be excluded from further participation by the club’s officials.
WATER SAFETY IS EVERY SWIMMER’S NUMBER ONE PRIORITY
