Sarasota Invitational

  • Hosted By: Sarasota County Rowing Club, Inc/dba Sarasota Masters
  • 2016 Registered Regatta

UPDATED:    02 - 04 - 15

SEE   BELOW   FOR   UPDATES   ON   U.S. ROWING   RULES   CHANGES   FOR   2015   AND   FOR   CLARIFICATIONS   ON   YOUTH   LIGHTWEIGHT   QUALIFICATIONS.
 

RULES   FOR   ALL  DIVISIONS :

FEE  CAP  LIMITS:
>   In order to ensure a fair cost structure and also maintain the Fee Cap for all teams,  it is necessary for us to institute an upper limit on the Fee Cap.    This limit will be  $ 3500  in gross (undiscounted) entries.
>   Once a team reaches $ 3500 in gross entries, all additional entries will be at a 30% discount off the undiscounted list price as shown for individual boats on the regatta Overview Page.
>   Our regatta treasurer will contact you if your entries exceed  $ 3500  gross dollar value.
>   All Youth teams must additionally follow the per event entry limits noted below for Youth team.

EVENTS  MAY  CLOSE  EARLY:
It is anticipated that some events may see significant entries, usually in singles.
In the event we have more than entries than can reasonably be accommodated, we will have a head-style Time Trial.
Time Trials will take place the start of competition on Saturday, and possibly even on Sunday.
In order to complete racing at a reasonable time, we may have to limit the number of flights per event to three.
This would allow for a maximum of 24 entries per event for the actual races.
If some events are under-subscribed, we may be able to add additional flights.
We reserve the right to close some events before the deadline if necessary.

POSSIBILITY  OF  TIME  TRIALS :
Depending upon the total number of entries received, certain heavily subscribed events may have Time Trials added.
If Time Trials are added, they will take place near to or at the beginning of the daily schedule.
A determination on Time Trials will be made after Standard Registration closes.
If Time Trials are needed, you will be notified as soon as the decision is made.

ALL  TEAMS  MUST  COMPLETE  THE  REGISTRATION  SURVEY:
The survey shown on Regatta Central  MUST  be completed  BEFORE  you can pick up your packet at Registration.
Please do it in advance of Regatta Weekend.

SAFETY   MARSHALS:    HEED  ALL  INSTRUCTIONS :
You  must  heed the instructions and warnings of  any   course marshal  or  Regatta Official,  not just  Referees.

Failure to do so may result in  penalties being assessed  to Saturday / Sunday races.

WAIVERS:
ALL  ROWERS   must  have  valid  a   US Rowing  waiver   for  2015.
Waiver must be executed  after  Jan, 01, 2015.
FSRA / NOARA Waiver does not apply to this regatta.

WAIVERS should be done  on-line  at  Regatta Central  for maximum convenience and efficiency!
The processing of paper waivers  will slow you down at Registration.

SCRATCHES:
1.    Scratches made after  Wed, Feb 18  at  11:59 pm  Eastern time will not be entitled to refunds.

2.    Scratches made on regatta weekend:
       a.    Each team will be allowed four (4) scratches without additional penalty.
       b.    All scratches beyond the four (4) allowed will incur a penalty of  $ 50 per scratch.
       c.    Scratch penalties must be paid before awards are picked up.

ADDRESSING  U.S. ROWING  RULES  CHANGES  FOR  2015:

2-204   Rowing Near the Course while Race in Progress
Crews shall not stop at a point that hinders or obstructs the view of the start line by the Judge at Start or the finish line by the Chief Judge.     Violators may be subject to penalties.

2-310   Broken Equipment
US Rowing 2015:  Breakage is  only  recognized after the starting commands but before the crew has left the starting area (the first 100 meters of the race).

SIR Local Rule Variation for Rule   2-310  for 2015: 
a.    In the event breakage occurs prior to the Start of the race, crews which report breakage to a race official will have a maximum allowed repair time of 15 minutes  past the scheduled  start of their race.

b.    Whether breakage occurs  prior to the Start  OR  within the first 100 m of the race, 
repairs must be completed within  15  minutes  after the scheduled race time.

c.    If the crew with breakage cannot complete repairs by that time,
they will be excluded and their flight will proceed at the next possible opportunity.

d.    Other flights will not be delayed while waiting for the repair to be made.
It is therefore in your best interests to report breakage promptly to give your crew as much time as possible to complete repairs.   This modified rule allows maximum opportunity for crews to repair problems, while minimizing any negative impact on other crews in the race and subsequent races.

4-103   Eligibility to Compete in Events
Places responsibility on competitors to only enter events for which they are eligible.

4-104.1   Classification by Age
US Rowing 2015:  Removed Junior and Junior B as categories and added Youth (same age restrictions as Junior). Also added age group categories U23, U19, U17, U15.

SIR Local Rule Variation for Rule   4-104.1  for 2015: 
These changes were announced after our  Standard Registration  was opened, therefore, for  2015  we will leave designations as shown in the  Order of Events  posted on  Regatta Central.

5-208   US Rowing Progression System
US Rowing  2015:  The progression is to be listed in the regatta packet.

NOTE:  SIR 2015 has no progression of Heats to Finals, however, notification has been made that we may utilize Time Trials in certain events if necessary.

TRAFFIC  PATTERN  ON  WATER:
Launch from south side of Regatta Island & head due south;  follow  length  of  Wave Attenuator
Row south to southern end of lake and turn to starboard,  Cross past the southern end of the Wave Atttenuator;
Turn to starboard and enter the race course. 
DURING  PRACTICE  SESSIONS:  On the course, you may  ONLY  row northward.    Do NOT cross lanes.
>  Preferred practice lanes:  #'s  1,  3,  5,  &  7  --  spread yourself out.
>  Pass through Finish Line;  Keep rowing to clear area;  turn to Starboard;  proceed through island canal.
>  Circle island in canal;  pass under bridges  and  return to recovery docks on south side side of island.
(For a visual, please see venue maps posted under Venue on Regatta Central)

AVOID  DAMAGING  YOUR SHELL:
DO NOT row in the area marked off by buoys near the southeast corner of the lake:
    

Same as in previous years; avoid rowing in this area or there may be damage to equipment.

SCULLING  MAY  BE  NECESSARY  AT  THE  START:
Coxswains must be trained in keeping the bow pointed in the correct direction.
Please review proper sculling technique with all rowers.

This is especially important with Novice and Freshman rowers.
Boats which are unable to lock on in a reasonable amount of time may be excluded from the race.

NOVICE  ROWER  DEFINED:
The definition of  novice  is a rower in his/her first year of competition in  either  sculling or sweep.
The first year of competition is defined as being within  365  days of your first competition in that discipline.
Therefore, it is possible to be a novice sculler but an experienced sweep rower, or vice versa.

REQUIRED:    BOW  BALLS,    BOW  NUMBERS,   &   QUICK  RELEASE  SHOES:
All boats must have adequate Bow Balls, Bow Numbers, and Quick Release shoes as per US Rowing rules.
These will be checked prior to launching.

BOW NUMBERS:
Please provide your own Bow Numbers.    These will not be supplied by the regatta.

PARENT - CHILD   EVENTS:
>  Restricted to  parents and their children   or   grandparents and their grandchildren.
>  Can be  single gender,  or  one female and one male.

COXSWAIN  WEIGHTS:
There shall be no minimum weights for Coxswains.

CLUB  REGISTRATION  WITH   US ROWING  :
For our insurance to cover you, each club entering must be a current member of USRowing.
Unaffiliated individuals must be individual members of USRowing.
Please make sure your membership is current.

MEDALS:
Beautiful, heavyweight medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each flight.
Champions of the Lake Trophies  will be awarded to the Fastest Overall racer in certain specific events (tba).

ALL POINTS CUP SCORING SYSTEM: 
The points calculation for the All Points Cups will be based on the Event as a whole.
All boat finish times for each event will be ordered as though they are in a single heat.
Points will be awarded based on overall finish time placement.
Points will be awarded to 6th place based on the US Rowing points system (tbc).


RULES   FOR   YOUTH   ONLY :

ENTRY  LIMITS  /   YOUTH  DIVISIONS :    
The youth entry limits per club established in 2013 will be repeated:
1X :         max  6  per club per event
2X,   2- :          max  3  per club per event
4+,   4X,   8+ :          max  2  per club per event
Middle School  8+ :          max total  6  per club

EXCEEDING  ENTRY  LIMITS   /   YOUTH  DIVISIONS :
Due to the growth of the regatta, entries in excess of the entry cap limits cannot be allowed in 2015.

LIGHTWEIGHTS :
>    Each rower in a Junior Women's lightweight crew shall weigh no more than 130 lbs.

>    Each rower in a Junior Men's lightweight crew shall weigh no more than 150 lbs.

>    There shall be no boat averaging.

>    We do not require minimum weights for Coxswains.

>    There is  no  Friday weigh in period.

>    Lightweight crews must weigh-in together in seat order bow to stern.
      Competitors shall be weighed in racing uniform, without shoes or other footgear.

>    The weigh-in area will be open for lightweight crews starting at  7:00am  on  Saturday.
      Priority will be given to those crews which must be on the water first.
      
Weigh-in must be completed at least 1 hr prior to the scheduled time of the first race where the weight is relevant..

>    Opportunity for reweighing:  If the official scale reveals that a rower does not qualify as Lightweight, he / she is allowed one (1) opportunity to reweigh, but   only if   the rower's weight during the initial attempt is   less than   one (1) pound in excess of the maximum allowed.    Therefore, if a Boy rower's first attempt is  151.0  or greater, or a Girl rower's first attempt is  131.0 or greater, this rower is ineligible to attempt a reweigh.

GOVERNING  RULES:
Unless otherwise noted herein, FSRA eligibility rules will apply.

YOUTH  RACE  DISTANCE:
Youth events will be  1500 m  and start via  Anchored Starting Pods.

SPECIAL  RULE  FOR  YOUTH   MIXED 8+,   MIXED 4+,   AND  MIXED 4X:
Youth Mixed boats must have a  minimum  participation of  50%  female rowers
However, you are allowed to seat the boat with greater than  50%  female rowers;
i.e.  five or more females in a Mixed 8+, or 3 or more females in a Mixed 4+  or  Mixed 4x. 

SPECIAL  RULE  FOR  YOUTH   1V,   Lightweight,    &   2V  classifications:
>    As per FSRA rules, in order to enter a  2V 8+  race, you must enter a  1V 8+.
>    In order to enter a  3V 8+, you must first enter a  2V 8+.
>    The  1V  should  always  be faster than the  2V;  the  2V  should  always  be faster than the  3V.
>     A Lightweight 8+  may  take the place of a 1V  if  the Lightweight 8+ uses your Varsity rowers.
Therefore, if the remaining 8+ is truly not your Varsity 8+,  you can skip the  1V 8+  and enter directly to the  2V 8+.
>    This rule is to be applied if entering the Ltwt 8+ negatively impacts your remaining 8+.
>    It is designed to place crews in the appropriate classification, so that true  1V8+  crews will race other  1V8+  crews.
>    If you have any doubt as to whether or not you should skip the 1V8+ classification, please do not.
>   This rule is designed to make the competition more even and fair throughout the levels.
>    Please advise [email protected] if you will be taking this exemption.
>    In the interest of fairness to all teams, exemptions to this rule will be watched closely.

>    The Sarasota Invitational Regatta Organizing Committee reserves the right to examine race times and  may  disqualify a team which is found to abuse this rule.

SPECIAL  RULE  FOR  YOUTH :   NEW PROGRAMS :
>   If your school is just starting competition, contact the director for exceptions to the above rules.

 

RULES   FOR   MASTERS   ONLY:
SPECIAL  RULE  FOR  MIXED  MASTERS  NOVICE  8+ :
The Mixed Masters Novice 8+ may have up to (2) experienced rowers in the boat.

SPECIAL  RULE  FOR  MASTERS  WOMEN  COMPETITORS :
In order to increase potential for participation, the SIR allows provisions that:
>    Masters Women may participate in Masters Mens' boats
>    Masters Mixed boats must have a  minimum  participation of  50%  Women rowers.
      However, you are allowed to seat the boat with more than  50%  Women,
      i.e. five or more Women in a Mixed 8+, or three or more Women in a Mixed 4+, etc. 

SPECIAL  RULE  FOR  MASTERS  COMPOSITE  BOATS :
Composite boats will be awarded  Team Points  on a pro rata basis.
Teams must clearly identify participating team of each rower.   (Coxswain's team will not be counted.) 

MASTERS  RACING  DISTANCE :
Races will be 1000 m and start via Anchored Starting Pods.

MASTERS  HANDICAP  SYSTEM :
Masters events will use US Rowing Handicaps.
We will  NOT  be using a staggered start; all handicaps will be calculated at the finish.

MASTERS  PRACTICE  SESSION  ON  SATURDAY :
TBA.

MASTERS  DIVISIONS  FOLLOW  US ROWING  RULES :
Unless otherwise noted herein, US Rowing eligibility rules will apply.

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