Scope of the RYA Safety Management System

The Scope of the RYA Safety Management System is shown diagrammatically.

Horizontal and vertical feedback or communication loops not only assist in the identification of safety hazards and reporting at each level, but they are also essential for communicating our own initiatives to improve safety in the sport and the way in which we respond to incidents.

In some cases the RYA will be involved in the delivery of an event at every level for a particular discipline (examples include Youth National Championships and 49er 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans); in these circumstances, participants have the right to expect that the RYA will make the events as safe as reasonably practicable by exercising professional skill and judgement. More usually the RYA establishes guidelines and rules for the safe running of events that are actually organised and managed by others. In this case it is they who have direct responsibility for the safety of operations running of an event.

In defining the scope of its SMS, it is critical that the RYA is able to identify the responsibility for safety at the correct place in the system. At all times the RYA is a strong advocate of personal responsibility of competitors, volunteers and event officials and relies upon them to adhere to event instructions.