Rowing & Canoeing

General Rowing Sessions at Dorney Lake

are available to pre-book throughout the year.

To make a booking for our General Rowing Sessions, please contact our Reception Team:

Give us a call: 01753 832756

Drop us an email: rowing@dorneylake.co.uk

Bookings are available for established rowing or canoeing clubs for training. We are unable to take session bookings for individuals not part of a club or for recreational purposes.

We request that only the Coach makes the booking, where we will ask for a contact telephone number should we need to contact the coach on the day of your booking as well as information on the number of athletes, boats, and trailers expected.

Avian Flu 

Please be aware of an increase in cases of Avian Flu within the local area. Bird flu mainly affects birds, but it can affect humans and other mammals. We ask visiting clubs- 

• Do not touch or pick up a dead or visibly sick wild bird.
• Maintain good hand hygiene and wash hands thoroughly and regularly. 
• Keep dogs on leads at all times.

If you see a dead or visibly sick bird within our grounds, please call Swan Support on 07968 868172 or our Reception Team (Monday to Friday) on 01753 832756.

For further information on Avian Flu, please visit Gov.uk website here. 

Safety Information

Arriving for your General Rowing Session

• The club's coach in charge of the booking should report to Reception to book in all athletes, note the lake circulation plan (navigation plan), and be made aware of any safety information by the Reception Team before any athlete from their club goes afloat.
• No person shall access the water until this has been completed and bow numbers have been issued. Any crews without a bow number and who have not booked in, or are not following the circulation plan (navigation plan) will be asked to leave the water immediately.
• For your safety, all bow numbers must be returned to Reception at the end of each session. Bow numbers not returned will be charged at £5 per number.
• All rowing trailers must leave site after your session, or block booking of sessions has finished. If a trailer is left behind, this can severely impact other activities within the venue and the owner will be contacted to return to site to remove the trailer.

Going Afloat for your Session

• All coaches must have a bicycle to follow their crew whilst on the water and their own throwline.
• All Coaches must also carry a mobile phone to alert the duty manager if there is a capsize - THE EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER IS 07961 994442. This number is not to be used for Emergency purposes only, not for general communication. 
• Coaches are responsible for ensuring that their boats are safe and are prepared to the required standards at all times including practice.
• Crew and boating activities should be dynamically risk assessed by the club coach, depending on the level of crew competence and weather conditions.
• The Coach must be familiar with and implement ‘RowSafe’ whilst their crews are on the lake.
• Rowers must never be left unsupervised whilst on the lake.
• Coaches should be fully aware of the lake safety system in place and ensure that the rules for lake use are observed. A copy is displayed in Reception.
• Rescue boat service and safety procedures in the form of the Normal Operating Plan (NOP) and the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) are explained to the visiting coach when they register their crews with reception. A summary of both is shown in reception and on the notice board outside Reception.
• Emergency points are situated at 500m intervals around the Lake. EPs have emergency contact telephone numbers and two throw lines housed in a container.
• In the event of a capsize that cannot be righted, rowers must remain with their craft until the rescue boat arrives, where they will be collected and if necessary taken back to the boathouse.

Adverse Weather Conditions

• In cases of high winds or ice, we will review the weather reports and communicate this to the clubs that have confirmed for rowing.
• The duty manager reserves the right to cancel or delay boating until conditions have improved sufficiently.
• Fog - we do not permit general training on the lake if vision is impaired. A decision will be made on the day if it is deemed safe for rowing and communicated to the clubs that have confirmed for rowing.
• During the Winter Months, the water temperature of the Lake can become very cold. Individual Coaches are to dynamically risk assess each training session for their athletes based on their capability, and we ask that our Cold Water Guidance is read and understood.