Hamilton Cycling Club. 2021
This Risk Management Policy covers all relevant activities of the Hamilton Cycling Club and follows closely the Ontario Cycling Association guidelines for club activities.
Club Activities:
A club activity is defined as a bicycle activity including but not restricted to a road race, a criterium, a time trial, a pursuit, and a track meet. It also includes training rides and club tours. The Hamilton Cycling Club acknowledges that if it wishes to run either road races (other than Australian Pursuit) or criteriums under the clubs umbrella it is required to submit an Event Permit Application to the Sport Coordinator at the OCA.
These activities are primarily for the benefit of club members. Except for a sanctioned race, participants must be members, in good standing, of the said club. Event organizer will have an up to date membership sheet in his/her possession at commencement of the event.
A rider signed up as an Associate Member shall be eligible to ride in a club event at the club discretion so long as he or she is a member in good standing of the OCA (Citizen Permit / UCI license holder) or a club affiliated with the OCA (must provide proof of membership via current club membership card of an OCA affiliated club). The club will ensure per above that the majority of members in an event shall be full club (as opposed to Associate Members) members.
All club activities must be registered with the Ontario Cycling Association with the proper affiliation documents before the event and have the approval of the club executive. The relevant waiver forms must be completed, signed and dated before the event and held on file by the Ontario Cycling Association. Associate forms will be obtained prior to the event and forwarded to the OCA in a timely fashion. The club will retain a copy of these waivers.
A team of competent officials appointed by the club will directly supervise racing type activities which have been approved by the OCA. These officials shall include, but not be limited to, a registrar, a timekeeper, a starter, marshals, first aid personnel, etc. The same individual may perform more than one duty (e.g.: a marshall and a first aid person). These officials will ensure rules regarding bicycle components and rider attire etc as outlined by the OCA/CCA/UCI are complied with.
Specifically for training rides and tours, the club will designate a group leader who will be responsible for the group conduct. The group leader will be required to have or ensure a rider with the ride has a cell phone to call for medical or other help.
The Group leader will ensure all riders in a ride are wearing ANSI approved helmets. Riders are expected to ensure their bikes are in good and safe running order. Where twenty or more riders show up for a group ride the group leader will split the riders into two or more smaller groups.
In the event that there are insufficient officials, the activity shall be cancelled and participants asked to leave the general area. It is not permitted to hold an ‘unofficial’ activity with the participants.
Sanctioned Events
A sanctioned race shall be organized by the club under the auspices of the Ontario Cycling Association with the appropriate insurance coverage, paperwork and city and police approvals. The club shall designate a team of officials to oversee the race (including Commissaires as appointed by the OCA). This team will be staffed with personnel as demanded by the type of race. The race shall be open to all club members, in good standing and possessing a current racing license and all others complying with the rules and regulations of the OCA/CCA/UCI the governing bodies of the sport of cycling in Canada. The Commissaires will ensure rules regarding bicycle components and rider attire etc as outlined by the OCA/CCA/UCI are complied with.
Safety:
All club activities will obey the rules of the road (as laid out in the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and local area bylaws) and any rider not complying (upon first warning) will be immediately expelled from the activity. The same will apply to riders observed to be under the influence of alcohol, drugs or items that may influence their judgement. The expulsion shall be final with no appeal procedure.
In the event of an accident, first aid will be administered as required. An accident report will be prepared and sent to the Ontario Cycling Association within 48 hours of the incident. The report should contain details of the accident with names and addresses of the individuals involved, the names and addresses of
witnesses and if possible photographs of injuries, damaged property and the general area of the accident. This report will be filed in the club records and a copy registered with the Ontario Cycling Association for future reference.
Covid19:
The club will follow best practices for the safety of riders as detailed in the OCA Guideline “Progressive Return to Cycling” more specifically section entitled “Guidelines for affiliated clubs and teams”
In conjunction with the foregoing Covid restrictions for as long as they are active, entrants in club events will be restricted to full members. Registration for events will be on line in advance only and for competitive events such as time trials or hill climbs registrants will designate their estimated time to complete the event in order for the organizers to seed the event and advise participants when to arrive. Additionally the OCA may have restrictions on the number of participants and this will be dealt with on a first registered basis. Riders will ride in order slowest to fastest unless the reverse is ordained by the OCA. In that case the club reserves the right to commence riders at 30 second intervals. No congregating will be permitted before during or after the event and results will be posted on the club web site usually within 24 hours (as opposed to a live announcement which would encourage congregating).
Members will be required to wear a mask when not riding and will be asked to confirm their health status relative to covid issues that will be posted at start line. Those with relevant medical issues will be required to leave the site.
Where there is a conflict between these Covid 19 rules and other policies the Covid19 rules will supercede.
The Club reserves the right to cancel any club activity in poor weather and will cancel any activity if lightning is sighted.
Hamilton Cycling Club