RegattaCentral

We are looking forward to seeing you!                             

CLUB INFORMATION

New this year: 

• Saturday 12/7 COASTAL Beach Sprints.   

Communication to coaches and managers on WhatsApp https://chat.whatsapp.com/FRyLVZHXzZrKYHhMWPNQhw

All coaches and managers, please connect to 2024 Christmas Regatta group on WhatsApp. We will use it to keep you updated!

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Beforehand:

• Mandatory Participant and Coaching video, optional ‘Coaches and Coxswains Meeting’

MANDATORY COACHES AND COXSWAINS VIDEO. Chief Referee Bill Eldon, and his team of US Rowing referees will be officiating our 7-lane 850 meter course with start docks. The races will be run using 5-minute centers. The Coaches & Coxswains video is below.

Again and for safety reasons, it is expected that at all coaches and participants know the information in the video.

SATURDAY – ARRIVAL, BEACH SPRINT RACE & PRACTICE

• We are glad that so many clubs are coming into town earlier in the day on Saturday.  Plan to park and unload.  There will be security overnight in Marine Stadium.  Leaving personal items in the trailer is at your own risk.
• BEACH SPRINTS! LBRA invite you Saturday 10am-12:30pm on the beach in the Marine Stadium. We will have all the equipment, so you just need to show up and try! First come, first serve!
• Marine Stadium is closed to CLASSIC rowers prior to 1:30 PM.  From 1:30– 3:30 PM, the marshaled race course is open for practicing crews.  Launch from the beach and use the lane that is marked by buoys (technically the return lane) to head up to the start.  Come through the stake boat docks for practice up the stadium and then use the return lane ONLY to return to the beach or the start.  
• All Crews must be off the Marine Stadium course by 3:30 PM.
• Any crews beyond the Marine Stadium waterway outside of practice times do so at their own risk.
• Optional Coach & Coxswain meeting is at 4:00 PM at 7S (on the beach side).

• TRAILER PARKING entrance is at Bayshore Drive and Paoli Way, Long Beach, CA.  The entrance for the trailers will be open Saturday between 8:00 AM and 8:00PM. LBRA is assigning each club spots on the beach, for trailer and your towing vehicle. Part of the beach will not be available until after Beach Sprints complete on Saturday, but trailers may park as usual. Please plan to depart no later than 7:00 PM on Sunday, after racing. Rowing is a collaborative sport so please be respectful of other clubs and work together to share the space on the beach. 

Spectators and equipment trailers will be parking in two different locations within Marine Stadium but all will be on the race course (see attached map):

• SPECTATOR PARKING. The vehicle parking entrance for spectators is off of the intersection of Appian Way and E. 3rd St., Long Beach, CA 90803.  Be specific about this intersection in your navigation system for ease of locating the entrance.  There is no charge for parking in the parking lot.  Vehicle parking will begin on Saturday, December 2, at 7:00 AM and Sunday at 6:30 AM. Be aware that the parking lot is DIRECTLY in front of homes so please keep the noise to a minimum on both days.

SUNDAY – WHEN YOU ARRIVE

• CLERK OF THE COURSE AND BOW NUMBERS will be available at 6:30 AM. Bow numbers will be available on the beach for boats loading from beach and at boathouse, for the ones launching from the boathouse.
• Scratches: Please let the Clerk of the Course know if you have any scratches as soon as possible on Sunday morning, and also as they occur during the regatta. A scratch form will be available at the Bow Number table.
• Substitutions:  Please include the substitute name and NEW handicap age of the crew.  All subsequent scratches or substitutions should be communicated to the Clerk of the Course throughout the day as soon as you know. Do not write out the entire lineup but instead include the name(s) that are being scratched and/or swapped and the NEW handicap age.

• Heats will be available at Regatta Central.
• Medals for all heats.

• TROPHIES.
  • The Sean L. Walter Holiday Spirit Cup will be awarded based on degree of holiday spirit, cleverness, creativity and craftsmanship. COSTUMES MUST BE WORN DURING RACE.
  • ‘The JL Sonic Boom’ for the Regattas Fastest Men’s Boat and
  • ‘The Hudson Speed Demon’ the Regattas Fastest Women’s Boat. No handicaps, actual speed. 
• Preorder T-shirts from Sew Sporty. More info coming!
• During the event on the beach side, all LBRA members and visiting club members park in the parking lot east of the Lifeguard Museum.  The beach area and Paoli parking lot by Appian bridge is reserved for trailers and towing vehicles only.
• Clockcaster will be managing all timing and results from the finish line grandstand.
• Floating docks - graciously on loan from our waterways neighbor Long Beach Dragon Boat Club again, will be used for stakeboat holders.  

Review and sign up for the races at Regatta Central - there are races for everyone.  Please note that some of the Master's lightweight events are combined with heavyweight events.  With enough entries, there will be separate races but there will be medals for both categories if there are at least two entries per category.  Be sure to login to the US Rowing Membership Portal to sign your waiver, renew membership and update your profile.  Basic membership and a signed waiver is required to race and at the regatta.

Previous years, several visiting clubs provided many hours of volunteer help.  We will share the SignUp Genius in a later email with more options. If there are individuals or juniors who would like to be stake boat holders, we could use the help and this is a fun position!  Thank you for understanding that to provide an improved regatta, we need help with volunteering.  

Due to the number of entries, we have set up a staging system that will start just beyond the Davies Bridge.  It is critical for everyone to be in the correct place at the correct time so that crews have a calm and focused mindset before they enter the racecourse.  The following warm up protocol will provide plenty of room to avoid crews being on top of each other and ensure that the regatta will run on time.  All crews should be prepared to lightly paddle, scull for lateral position, and back as needed to hold staging positions as instructed.

Crews not following the staging procedures may receive a warning or be excluded.

Warm Up Instructions

Crews are to warm up beyond the bridge and stay in the warmup loop, which is a counterclockwise pattern to the seawall; please be aware of other crews as you make your loop turns at the turning buoys and please stay away from the middle of the loop!  This is an open course so be aware of power boats, paddleboard, swimmers and other traffic in  Warm-up Map and Staging for race.

There are 3 staging areas where crews will gather prior to their event:

1. Gather at the bridge 15 minutes before your start time.  Stop at the RED BUOYS past the bridge.  At 10 minutes prior to your race time, you will be called to the next area. Move forward through the middle span towards the beach; lanes 5, 6 & 7, move forward through the right span.
2. Next stop, Start Marshall – look for YELLOW BUOYS. Lanes 1, 2, 3 & 4 will gather near the middle of the waterway and 5, 6 & 7 will gather near the LBRA boathouse side of the race course and hold until called up at 10 minutes to start.
3. At 10 minutes, you will be called to the Shallow Marshall area.  Hold BEHIND your lane assignment. 

Once the prior race clears breakage, you will be invited onto the course.  Lanes are from 1 to 7 from beach side to boathouse side.  Please enter and lock on quickly.  Boats must be able to back into their start dock and know how to scull, to keep their boat on point. For the fairness of all competitors, racing will start on time and will not be held up by any inabilities. US Rowing sprint race start commands will be used.

CONTROL COMMISSION

There will be no control commission.  Crews are solely responsible for meeting US Rowing safety requirements for the athletes and equipment during this event.

SUBSTITUTIONS OR LINE-UP CHANGE

Please include the substitute name and new handicap age of the crew. All subsequent scratches or substitutions should be communicated to the Clerk of the Course throughout the day - ASAP, at the latest 1 hour prior to the race. Clerk of the Course is at the same table as Bow Numbers. Write only the name(s) of:

1. 1. whom is being scratched and/or
   2. whom is the replacement
   3. and the NEW HANDICAP AGE.

BOW NUMBERS

We will be using Alpha-numeric Bow numbers. Rowers only need to know their event #. Letters i, Q and O will NOT be used. Bow numbers will be collected and reused throughout the day, so please make sure to return them quickly, if it’s not collected on your return to the beach (dock). There are bow numbers on beach side and boathouse side, available from the side you are launching at.

CLASSIFICATIONS

The age categories follow US Rowing Classifications. In addition, the following race categories apply for this regatta.

• Youth: A Youth is a Competitor who in the current calendar year does not attain the age of 19, or who in the current calendar year does not attain the age of 20 and has been continuously enrolled in secondary school as a full-time student seeking a diploma. A Competitor thus ceases to be a Youth after December 31 of the year of their 18th birthday (U19), or upon completion of the 12th grade of secondary school, having been a full-time student within the year of their 19th birthday (U20). Athletes older than U20 are never eligible to compete as Youth.
• U17: A competitor may compete in the U17 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 16th birthday.
• U16: A Competitor may compete in the U16 category until December 31 of the year of their 15th birthday.
• Mixed: A Mixed crew is a crew which contains equal amounts of male and female rowers.
• Master Novice: A Master Rower is someone who has rowed for less than 2 years.
•  Master: A rower that has not represented USA the same calendar year.
• Junior Women cannot enter any Women’s Open events.

WEIGH-IN

There are no weigh-ins for any competitors.

MEDALS, TROPHIES and CUP

Medals and perpetual trophies may be picked up at the end of the beach near 7S, as soon as results come out. Medals will be awarded to each heat, gold, silver and bronze when 4 and more than 4 entries. In heats with 3 or less entries, only gold and silver will be awarded.

• The Sean L. Walter Holiday Spirit Cup will be awarded based on degree of holiday spirit, cleverness, creativity and craftsmanship. COSTUMES MUST BE WORN DURING RACE.
• Trophy ‘The Sonic Boom’ will be awarded to the Regatta’s fastest Women’s boat (actual time, no handicap)
• Trophy ‘The Speed Demon’ will be awarded to the Regatta’s fastest Men’s boat (actual time, no handicap)

Trophy, if won last year, return no later than 7am Sunday to the LBRA Boathouse. A club/team will not be allowed to race if their trophy has not been returned.

GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY

Marine Stadium is in a residential area with homes located less than 50 feet from the beach.  Essentially, this is their front yard.  As host to the regatta, we like to remind visitors:

• Please keep noise to a minimum especially before 8:00 AM
• Pick up and dispose of all trash.  There are plenty of trash and recycle bins that both the City of Long Beach and the Conservation Corp has provided.   There are also large trash dumpsters located at either end of the beach area.
• Along the beach, please do not sit or stand in the landscaped parkway that is located between the road that trailers are parked, and the houses.  In addition, please do not lay oars in the parkway.

VENDORS

• Urban Espresso will be providing breakfast and lunch items.  (Urban Espresso Menu).
• Sew Sporty is providing a diverse array of rowing apparel.
• Regatta T-shirts will be available from SewSporty. More info to come.
• StrokesideDesigns is providing hand crafted jewelry.
• ClockCaster – Our timing specialist! Brandin Grams and his team are the best!

DRONES

All drones that have not been approved in advance by the regatta directors are strictly prohibited, per US Rowing policy. Drone operators who do not comply are subject to removal from the regatta.

GOOD INFORMATION TO KNOW

• Marine Stadium is a beach launch but not rocky.  Low tide brings some seagrass, small rocks and shells.
• Water socks are a good idea but not necessary.
• Bring your pop-up tents for team setup and don’t forget your beach chairs!
• 2nd Street is a 10-minute walk from the course and offers a drug store, fabulous restaurants, coffee spots and shopping.

SPECTATORS

All parking is free. No admission fee. Races may be watched from either side along the beach, bike path or grass areas.

Successful Regattas depend on you so plan to race, socialize and volunteer!

Sincerely,

Hanne Chupik - Co-Regatta Director and LBRA President  
Elna Anderson Co-Regatta Director