rollerski - Submission to Royal Parks Consultation on Skating and Rollerski Instruction in Hyde Park




	Hyde Park rollerskiing - 30/10/14 Submission to Royal Parks' Consultation - Commercial Skating / Rollerskiing Instruction in Hyde Park Please make your own contribution (in under 2 minutes), here, by 5PM Friday 31st October - https://www.royalparks.org.uk/park-management/consultations/commercial-skating-in-the-royal-parks-consultation/commercial-skating-consultation-form Here is what I have written To - Kate Rogers Royal Parks The Old Police House Hyde Park London W2 2UH Dear Kate Submission Re Consultation on Commercial Skating Instruction in Hyde Park I am getting in touch re the consultation on skating and rollerski instruction in Hyde Park. As you know, I organise the rollerski courses and training in Hyde Park, you recently granted temporary licenses to me and my fellow instructors. In addition to the online consultation, I wanted to provide some further information that you might consider relevant. We passionately believe that roller skiing and inline skating should continue in Hyde Park, as healthy and enjoyable outdoor activities. We consider responsible instructors as absolutely fundamental to ensuring the safety of beginners, and in shaping positive and respectful attitudes towards other park users. We would broadly be in favour of a plan to licence instructors. It seems sensible to ensure that instructors are insured and teaching in a safe and responsible way. Our main concern is that any license would be set at a reasonable cost, proportionate to our usage of the park, and taking into account the costs and benefits of having us in the park. In brief, I would make the following points in relation our instructors - Usage As a team, we are in the park for four hours on a Saturday morning, and two hours on a Tuesday evening; Motivation None of us are full-time fitness professionals, we are only part time rollerski instructors, qualified by Snowsport England, skiing's governing body. For the most part, our aim is not 'commercial gain', as emphasised in your survey, it is development of the sport; Cost to the Royal Parks We rollerski on the tarmac, and this creates very little wear and tear. Unlike field sports, which create a lot of work for the park's grounds staff, or horse riding, which requires the upkeep of separate tracks, etc, we are very 'low maintenance'; Benefits to the Royal Parks Safety - we are introducing people to rollerskiing in a safe and controlled way. We make sure people are wearing knee pads, elbow pads and helmets and are using well maintained equipment. We start skiers off with good habits, and equip them with the skills to stop, turn and ski safely. We imbue them with an awareness of and respect for other park users. All our instructors are licenced by Snowsport England - this means they are insured, CRB checked, Safeguarding Children qualified, re-validated as instructors every 3 years, and carry a First Aid qualification which is also renewed every 3 years; Health - we are introducing people to a healthy and 'low impact' outdoors sport. But more than that, we are training them and encouraging them to ski regularly and make the sport of roller skiing an integral part of their lives; Diversity - we have a diverse group of participants in terms of age, background, gender and ethnicity. Our regular skiers range in age from 8 to 71. We attract people from all parts of London and further afield. As one of the less expensive activities in Hyde Park, we are bringing the sport to people from many different backgrounds; Revenue - we bring at least one vehicle into the park each week, and pay the parking charges. In addition, we can maybe have half a dozen skiers parking in the carpark. As we meet at relatively quiet times, the parking spaces would not otherwise be used. Rollerskiers and instructors are also great supporters of the coffee kiosks in the park. In terms of the groups, we usually have two or three beginners' groups each week, one or two on Saturday at 11.30, and one on Tuesday at 18.30. In the Winter, we may have slightly more activity, and in the Summer slightly less. As it is based on cross-country skiing, it tends to be Winter biased, and therefore follows an opposite cycle to inline skating, which is more popular in the Summer. Groups may have up to 10 participants (10 is our maximum for insurance purposes), but are usually about 4-6. In addition to this, we have our 'club' training groups. I wasn't sure whether the club sessions would be part of this consultation, as the club is not at all commercially focused. The aim for the club is really just to cover its costs, with surpluses reinvested in equipment and adding new sessions. Our club groups meet at 09.15 on Saturdays and at 18.15 on Tuesday, and are more 'training' and less 'instructing' focused. We have around 20 attending the Saturday sessions, and 10 on Tuesday. The club is affiliated to Snowsport England, and members take part in rollerski races (not in the Park! See race results links below). In the wider scheme of things, the numbers of people we have rollerskiing in the park - and the times we are there - are very limited. We would therefore appeal for a modest license fee. A high license fee may result in us - Being unable to continue; Being under great pressure to increase numbers, and become far more 'commercially' minded; Having to Increase prices, making roller skiing far less socially inclusive. All this would lead us away from our community-centred 'social enterprise' ethos, to a far more commercialised approach, which is something we would regret. We would suggest you issue a license to cover our whole team, rather than individual instructors. There are about 10 instructors we can call upon, but some may come once a month at most. We would like to continue involving instructors who cannot commit much time, as they have something very valuable to contribute. On any given week, our entire team probably has less impact on the park than a single professional fitness instructor working full-time. It would also be good if the license could include the parking for our vehicle. I think you have this arrangement for BMF. I am aware that nobody from the Royal Parks has actually been to see one of our sessions. I do very much encourage and welcome you, or one of your colleagues, to come to see what we are doing, and see the great work and passion of our instructors and regular skiers. I know some of them have already filled in the consultation forms, and it would be great for you to get a sense of what it means to us all. Yours sincerely Iain Ballentine Rollerski Instruction Chairman, London Hyde Park Cross-Country Ski Club Copies of this submission have been sent to - Jan Doyle, Head of Development, Snowsport England Chris Coleman, Community Sport Relationship Manager, Sport England Kate Hoey MP, London Mayor’s Commissioner for Sport Richard Spencer, Sports & Physical Development Officer - Participation, Westminster Council Previously sent to the Royal Parks - risk assessment, individual details of instructors. Rollerski Race Results - London 10k Time Trial: http://www.rollerski.co.uk/downloads/London_2014_10k.pdf GB Standings - Ladies: http://gb-raceroll.org.uk/Senior%20Ladies%20Final%202014.pdf GB Standings - Men: http://gb-raceroll.org.uk/Senior%20Men%20Final%202014.pdf