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British Rowing club safety audit: a quick guide for clubs

The annual safety audit, in plain English, and how to have the evidence ready before the reminder lands.

By Civil Digital, the team building BoatLog · Last updated

BoatLog is independent software from Civil Digital. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by British Rowing or any organisation named in this guide. Always check the current official guidance and follow your club's own procedures.

What the safety audit is

Each year British Rowing asks every affiliated club to complete a safety audit: a self-assessment of how the club manages safety, completed by the club and reviewed by your Regional Rowing Safety Adviser. It is built around RowSafe, British Rowing's safety code.

When it runs

The audit has opened in the autumn in recent years, with a deadline before the end of the year. Dates change, so check the current window in British Rowing's club safety pages and ClubHub. British Rowing has said that clubs without an approved audit can lose access to competition entries, so a missed audit is a racing problem as well as a safety one.

What helps you answer it

  • An up-to-date risk assessment and safety plan.
  • A record of incidents and near misses, and what changed afterwards.
  • Evidence that boats and launches are checked and that defects are fixed.
  • Who holds which qualifications (swim tests, capsize drills, first aid, Powerboat Level 2), and when they expire.
  • How the club decides whether it is safe to go out, and how members know.

How BoatLog helps

Most audit answers are about records. BoatLog keeps them as the club works: incidents and near misses, repairs, the daily safety flag and member qualifications with expiry dates. When the audit opens, the evidence is already there.

BoatLog screenshot with example club data: Qualifications in BoatLog: who holds what, what is unverified, and what expires soon.
Qualifications in BoatLog: who holds what, what is unverified, and what expires soon. Example data from a fictional club.
BoatLog screenshot with example club data: The incident log your safety adviser can review before answering the audit.
The incident log your safety adviser can review before answering the audit. Example data from a fictional club.

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Questions

FAQ

Who completes the British Rowing safety audit?

Usually the club's rowing safety adviser, working with the captain and committee. It is then reviewed by the Regional Rowing Safety Adviser.

Does BoatLog submit the audit for us?

No. The audit is completed through British Rowing. BoatLog keeps the club's safety records so the answers and evidence are easy to find.

What happens if we miss the deadline?

British Rowing has said that clubs without an approved audit can lose access to competition entries. Check British Rowing's current guidance for this year's dates and rules.

Related

Guide: British Rowing incident reporting: a club's step-by-step guide What counts as reportable, who's responsible, and how to file a report within 24 hours. Guide: The club rowing safety adviser role: duties and checklist What a club rowing safety adviser does: duties, a first-month checklist for a new adviser, and how to make the role manageable for a volunteer. Guide: Rowing club risk assessment: a simple, RowSafe-aligned method How to write a rowing club risk assessment that people actually use: hazards, controls, who decides, and turning it into daily go/no-go rules.

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