RegattaCentral

EVENT DATE: April 25-26, 2015

ENTRY WINDOW: February 18 - April 20, 2015

The Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta event registration uses www.regattacentral.com

Oak Ridge Rowing Association will use USRowing 2015 Rules of Rowing

REGATTA LOCATION: 697 Melton Lake Drive, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830

REGATTA DIRECTOR: Terry Holley (ph: 482-6538(o) 865-850-0443(m), email: [email protected])        

Please email the regatta/event host with any related questions

REGATTA STAFF:

Director:        Terry Holley

Assistant Director:    Evelyn Radford

Chief Referee:        Mike Forster

FEES: 8+: $80,        4+/4x: $60,         2x/2-: $40,          1x : $20

The current racing schedule has changed

ORRA has worked with a group of Youth coaches to determine the 2015 racing schedule.  Due to increased number of entries for Saturday's events, some events will be run as Flights without a heats to finals progression.  This was the only way the regatta could be run without cancelling events.  We will send out a survey after this year’s regatta to solicit your feedback on the new schedule.

Sunday events have also been slightly changed to include sculling events.  Please see RegattaCentral for the current schedule.

Registration

ORRA strives to have a smooth and fast registration process. To that end, ORRA partners with Regatta Central to manage our regattas.  One of the biggest frustrations with the registration process is WAIVERS. We have a liability responsibility to verify all participants have a current waiver and we do that through our Regatta Central portal.  All too frequently, this is a source of frustration for both our visiting organizations and our registration team.

The issue (98% of the time): there are multiple USRowing waivers for the athlete/participant

The solution: Use USRowing’s roster management to clean up and verify all athletes BEFORE attending a USRowing regatta.  

Link: https://rosters.usrowing.org/

If you have questions or issues with roster management, please contact USRowing.

 

Lightweight and Coxswain Weigh-in Update:

Saturday: All Lwts and Coxswains must weigh-in between 6am - 9am.

Sunday: All Lwts and Coxswains must weigh-in between 7am - 9 am.

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The Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta

For over 30 years the Oak Ridge Rowing Association has sponsored the annual Dogwood Regatta in April. The Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta is a two-day event with youth on both Saturday and Sunday and master and open events on Sunday. ORRA hopes you enjoy a great weekend of rowing.

 

NEW!!! This year the event has been moved back to the fourth weekend of April. This is to accommodate the date of the Southeast Youth Regional regatta in May.

 

BECOME A REGATTA VOLUNTEER!  Click HERE!!

 

WAIVERS:  Due April 17.  Waivers must be completed on-line https://rosters.usrowing.org/ as no ‘hard-copy’ waivers will be accepted. Each team shall be responsible for the conduct, physical fitness, including the ability to swim, of its competitors.

The Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta is an USRowing registered regatta and requires USRowing organizational membership prior to arriving on site to participate. USRowing Membership can be purchased on-line at http://www.usrowing.org.

 

CHECK-IN: As trailers arrive, please check in at ORRA Boathouse with attendant.  Teams must check-in at registration at the ORRA Boathouse:

Friday April 24 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM and Saturday April 25 from 6:00AM - 9:00AM

 

COACH AND COX MEETING: There will be two C&C meetings for the Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta. The meetings will be held on the south side of ORRA Boathouse. All crews will be responsible for the information delivered at the meeting, regardless of attendance.

·       Saturday Events: Saturday April 25, 6:30 AM for Saturday events

·       Sunday Events: Sunday, April 26, 7:00 AM for Sunday events.          

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: The tentative schedule and times for all final events are subject to change; actual order of events will be published by on www.regattacentral.com under the events tab once registration closes.

BOW MARKERS: Registrants will be furnished with bow number markers.  Please return all bow numbers to the Launch and Recovery officials or to Registration. Crews/teams who do not return the bow number will be assessed a $10.00 fee. 

 

LANE SELECTION: Lane selection will be done using regatta software. This regatta management software collects the data from Regatta Central and automatically seeds crews randomly. Please note that we will be downloading and drawing the lanes draw on Wednesday evening. It will be posted on the web at www.regattacentral.com under the “Heat Sheet/Draw” tab that evening. This will not be the final heat sheet and will be subject to changes. The final heat sheet will be distributed to coaches on site upon signing-in. All lane assignments and updates will be posted on the www.regattacentral.com.

 

PROGRESSION: The Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta will uses the following progression systems all events shall consist of finals, and if necessary, heats, and semifinals. The regatta progression is subject to change until 24 hours prior to the first race. In the event that heat entries fall below the number that are to advance the last place crew will not be permitted to progress.

 

 

EVENT ENTRY LIMITS, DESCRIPTIONS, & PRIORITY

 

LATE ENTRIES: No late entries will be accepted. Withdrawals or scratches received before Sunday April 19, will be entitled to a full refund. Withdrawals or scratches received after April 19 but before Wednesday, April 22 will be subject to forfeit of their entry fee. Withdrawals or scratches received on or after April 22 will be subject to forfeit of their entry fee, plus and additional $100 scratch fee payable immediately, except for those due to a documented medical circumstance.

EVENT ENTRY LIMITS: There is an entry cap of 12-18 for events held on Saturday and an Entry Cap of 12-18 for events held on Sunday. There will be a waitlist used if entries reach the cap.

·       Hot seating must be arranged with the Control Commission official before the scheduled race.

·       No consideration shall be given to scheduling conflicts of competing in multiple events; the regatta will proceed on time and will not be held for hot seating crews.

·       Each event must have a minimum of three entries to constitute a race.  Races without three entries will be cancelled.

 

SATURDAY EVENTS: 2000m races from fixed starting positions finishing at the 2000m mark.

Youth or U19 Events: Participation is allowed to all athletes who, in the current calendar year, do not attain the age of 19 year as of December 31 of the current calendar year, or who are and have been continuously enrolled in secondary school as a full time student seeking a diploma.

·       1V Category intended for a programs top crews. Only one crew may represent each program in these events.

·       2V Category intended for 2V crews. A 2V event may not be entered without entering a 1V event of the same boat class.

Rowers that compete in the 1V may not enter a 2V event of the same boat class.

Lightweight Boat Events: Crews competing in the lightweight category are required to meet the weight standards described under “LIGHTWEIGHT” in the packet.

Novice Events: A novice event shall be defined as any athlete who started competing after April 1 of the previous year. A rower who has previously competed only as a coxswain can compete as a novice rower. A coxswain who has previously competed only as a rower can compete as a novice coxswain. Novice coxswains must be used in novice events.

Mixed Events: There will not be youth mixed events at the Dogwood Regatta.

 

SUNDAY EVENTS: 1000m races from fixed starting positions finishing at 1000m mark.

Open Events: Any athlete is allowed to participate that is over the age of 19 year of age and not in secondary school. (2000m event)

Master Events: will be open to all athletes who have attained or will attain the age of 23 during the current calendar year. A competitor’s age is determined as of December 31 of the current calendar year, rounded down to the nearest whole number.

The Dogwood Regatta will use the USRowings handicap formulas for calculating times.

A Masters crew shall be comprised of Masters rowers, excluding the coxswain. Competition is allowed in a younger age category but not in an older age category. Events will include novice and open weight boat classes in both genders. Athletes in each event are required to be of the same gender as well as in the similar uniform.

Every athlete in this category must be in a position to prove his age by presentation of an official document if requested. Events will be run in a flight only format with medals awarded to the top three winners of each race. Each event must have a minimum of three entries to constitute a race. Master events will be grouped for registration purposes. Athletes will be scheduled against rowers of similar age and not have time handicaps. Coxswains for Master and Open events are not required to weigh-in

Once the entry window closes, entries will be divided into the following categories:

Master                 23 to 35 years                            Senior-Master    36 to 49 years

Grand-Master      50 to 59 years                             Veteran              60 to 69 years

Senior-Veteran    70 to 79 years                             Grand-Veteran   80 and over

 

LIGHTWEIGHT AND COXSWAIN WEIGH-IN RULES

 

NOTICE: There is a potential danger of excessive and rapid weight reduction in the form of dehydration and severe dietary restriction.

Excessive water loss by sweating can seriously compromise the ability of the body to regulate temperature, can negatively impact athletic performance, and more importantly, can threaten the health of the athlete. Catastrophic injury can result from excessive dehydration and there have been deaths in top-level athletes. Water loss of more than 2% of body weight can reduce competitive and training performances. Re-hydration during the two-hour period following weigh-in may not adequately restore an athlete to a healthy hydrated state for racing.

It is the responsibility of all athletes, coaches, medical staff, and officials of the rowing community to work together to ensure that lightweight rowing is healthy and safe. This means that no athlete should voluntarily or upon instruction, resort to extreme measures for excessive and rapid dehydration by use of occlusive clothing, saunas or diuretics. The practice of dehydrating by the use of diuretics and re-hydrating by intravenous infusion are both banned. It is recommend that lightweight rowers and coxswains intending to compete at Southeast Youth Championship Regatta should weigh no more than 6.5 pounds above the required racing weight on January 1. By March, they should weigh no more than 4.5 pounds above their racing weight. It is recommended that in the 24 hours prior to racing, weight reduction should not exceed 2.2 pounds.

The LOC strongly urges all coaches to refrain from unnatural weight requirements for rowers. A rower who appears severely dehydrated or to have used extreme means to lose weight shall be required to be checked by on site medical personnel before being cleared to race.  A rower who requires intravenous re-hydration will not be allowed to race.

LIGHTWEIGHT category for Youth men’s crews shall weigh a maximum of 150lbs, with no crew averaging. A lightweight competitor in an event for women’s crews shall weigh a maximum of 130lbs, with no crew averaging. Crews and alternates will weigh-in together and must be accompanied by a Coach or Program Designate. Competitors shall be weighed in wearing the same uniform, identical in style, color, and detail, including any insignia without shoes or other footgear. No one will be weighed-in wearing more or less clothing. Crews are to step on the scale in the order that they row in the boat (i.e. bow to stern). Each rower shall have only one (1) initial opportunity to weigh in. Re-weighs will only be allowed if the rower is within one (1.0) pound of the event maximum as stated above and must be done within the weigh in time window. A competitor whose initial weight is greater than one (1.0) pound above the weight standard will be ineligible to compete in the event. No one will be allowed to "check their weight" on the official scale during the official weigh-in times. Un-official scales will be on site as of Friday at noon.

COXSWAINS in Men’s events shall weigh a minimum of 120lbs and a minimum of 110lbs for Women’s events. Coxswains for mixed events shall weigh a minimum of 120lbs.  Coxswains whose body weight, while wearing unisuit/ racing shirt, shorts and socks, is less than the required standard, will be required to carry deadweight such as sand or other ballast, in order to achieve the minimum weight. Any such deadweight shall be placed in the boat as close to the torso of the coxswain as possible, and it is specifically forbidden to distribute deadweight throughout the boat. Excess clothing, equipment, electronic systems, tools, or other utilitarian devices germane to competition, shall not be considered part of the coxswain’s weight and shall not be included as part of any required deadweight. The LOC will supply sand weights of small weight increments to the correct any difference in weight up to 5 pounds. Crews are to bring deadweight to weigh-in if coxswains are more than 5 pounds beneath minimum weight standards. DEADWEIGHT, whether provided by LOC or not, must be weighed and marked by the Clerk of Scales for specific individuals at the time of the coxswains weigh-in. Coxswains are required that they must display their weight to the Referee, if so requested.

 

RULES

PRACTICE: Coaches should be aware of the ORRA practice policies. The course will be open for teams prior to the start of racing for practice as follows - Friday starting at 12:00 PM, Saturday at 15 minutes after the final race of the day until sundown.  No crews are permited to row in the dark.  All crews must be off the water 30min prior to posted sunset time.  Crews arriving earlier than 24 hours to the event are subject to a guest-training fee of $4.00 per athlete per day. Coach launches will not be permitted on the water 24 hours prior to the start of the event. All practices are at “own risk”. The traffic pattern during practice times is right hand rule and use of lanes 0,1 toward the start. Lanes 2,3 are closed to traffic . Lanes 4, 5, 6 toward the finish. Any questions about practice times and rules will be directed to the LOC.

PROTEST: “US Rowing Rule 2-605 Lodging a Protest (*)

(a) A protest involving the conduct of a Race shall be lodged by the Crew at the finish while it is still

on the water and before the Referee declares the Race to be official, unless circumstances beyond

its control prevent it from doing so. A coach or other Team member may not lodge such a protest

on behalf of a Crew. A protest concerning exclusion of a Crew at the start may be lodged with the

Starter at the time the penalty is imposed.

(1) A protest concerning any action on land shall be lodged by an affected Team member

with the Chief Judge, or with another Race Official designated by the Chief Referee,

within one hour after being informed of such action. The protest statement required under

Rule 2-606 (“Filing the Protest Statement”) shall be filed within the same time.

(b) A Crew wishing to lodge a protest shall signal to the Referee immediately after finishing the Race

by having a member of the Crew raise his or her hand until the attention of the Referee has been

gained. The Crew shall then explain its objection and state its requested resolution or outcome.

(c) The Referee shall make his or her decision, inform the Crew of his or her decision, and then

display a white or red flag as described in Rule 2-501 (“Finish of the Race”).

US Rowing Rule 2-606 Filing the Protest Statement (*)

Once a protest is lodged, a Crew wishing to be heard before the Jury shall submit a concise written

statement, describing the facts that underlie the protest and the relief that the Crew seeks, to the Chief Judge, or another Race Official designated by the Chief Referee whose identity is conspicuously posted, within one hour after it reaches land. The statement shall be accompanied by cash or check payable to the LOC in the amount of $50. A protest in which such a statement is not filed shall not be heard.”

 

The written protest must be filed with the Regatta Director, The Chief Referee or his/her designee and the fee paid within 60 minutes from reaching land.

THE COURSE Rowing will be northwest to southeast downstream from the start near the Riverside Restaurant to the UT-Battelle Finish Tower.  The distance markers are placed on the eastern shore and will count toward the finish (0000 | 0500 | 1000 | 1500 | 2000). The course will include six (6) buoyed lanes with lane markers hung from the starting bridge. The lanes will be numbered from left to right (0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6). Lane six will be closest to the finish tower on the west side of course. Lane “0” is the travel lane toward the start that is on the east side of the course. This lane may be used if a 7th lane is needed, if so caution should be used when approaching the choke point located at 500m. A “Starter’s Tower” will also be utilized to aid in the teams viewing of the starter’s flag. Each lane is equipped with an individual loud speaker.

LAUNCHING: There will be three calls to launch prior to each event as scheduled. Launch officials at the launch docks will make every effort to launch boats on time. It is your responsibility to report to the starting line on time, regardless if you hear the race calls or not. A representative must check-in with the dock master before launching for every race. Coaches and coxswains should be ready to launch 45 minutes prior to the scheduled time of their event. Traffic rules will be posted at the launch docks (launch docks 1 and 2 will be used for launching of crews, recovery docks 3 and 4 will be used for recovery of crews, the two docks located closest to the boathouse are for emergency use and referees only). Approaches to and from the launching docks must be kept clear. Crews should spend no more than 2 minutes on the docks. Traveling to the start Exit the embayment yielding to regatta traffic approaching on course. Cross the racecourse at directly as possible to far shore. Turn to port after clearing all course lanes.

DO NOT YIELD OR STOP INSIDE OF COURSE LANES. There should be large pink buoys to mark outer limits of racecourse. Crews can warm up with caution as they travel up the eastern shore toward the start.  Maintain single file past the racecourse. Avoid doing practice starts until you pass the starting line. Boats must stop rowing when events on the course approach (150m).

Warm-up area Crews may proceed up stream past the railroad bridge and enter the warm up area (500m north of the bridge). Travel in a counter clockwise direction. Twin RED buoys will mark the warm-up limit. Stay with in site and audible distance of the start marshals. Check in with the start Marshal north of the bridge upon your arrival to the warm-up area.

Staging Area Staging crews will happen south of the bridge along the west shore. The “Staging Marshal” will call the race to line up in reverse lane order to enter the course. Check in with marshal upon arrival to the staging area.

Finish Area Crews should exit the finish area as soon as possible after the “Regatta Official” has raised the white flag signaling that the race is “official”. A warm down area will be provided beyond the course for 250m. Crews should not travel around the next river bend while warming down. Crews will exit the finish area between the course and the finish line tower, stay off the course while exiting the course. Do not stop on the finish line while leaving the course.

 

AWARDS

Medals will be awarded as results are finalized. Medals awarded to first, second, and third place for all races. A crew must beat another crew to be awarded medals (ie. only Gold and Silver will be award in a three boat race). Medals may be picked up at the boathouse and results will be posted on the bulletin board outside the boathouse.  Note that medals will not be mailed to winners.  ALL medals must be obtained at the Medal Tent prior to the end of the regatta.

 

 

RULES OF THE VENUE

The Oak Ridge Dogwood Regatta will be conducted in accordance with the 2015 USRowing “Rules of Rowing”.

The regatta is not an NCAA regatta and NCAA rules will not apply. Please familiarize yourself with these rules before attending the coaches and coxswains meeting.

SPECTATORS: There is no charge to enter Melton Lake Park. The park is tentatively scheduled to open at 6:00 AM each morning until dark each night.

GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY: ORRA shares the venue with the Oak Ridge Community and two local restaurants. ORRA has established the following NO PARKING ZONES, to continue to have a good relationship in the future.

·       No parking is permitted in the neighborhoods that border the course.

·       The Palisades, located near the starting line, has a no parking zone at the entrance of the neighborhood. Signs have been posted and citations will be given for parking here.

·       The Riverside Grill, at the start area, has asked that spectators stay off grass and from under structures, unless you are eating a meal there. Please respect the patrons and do not interfere with customers.

 

GREENWAYS: local citizens and event participants alike share the greenway that runs along the entire venue. Please keep equipment a minimum of 3 feet from the trail. Groups walking along or stretching on the green way need to allow easy passage by walkers and bikers.

TENT: Staking is absolutely forbidden anywhere on the venue. High power lines are buried all along the venue.  Tents must be placed in accordance with venue regulations.

PAVILION: the pavilion located in the park near the playground is intended as an open access structure for non-scheduled activities. Programs that require use of the pavilion for large groups are required to contact the City of Oak Ridge to reserve the structure for a fee.

CONCESSIONS & MERCHANDISE: Food and beverages will be available for purchase at the regatta site from the Atomic Rowing Booster Club, in addition to other independent food vendors.

Grilling is permitted on the peninsula area. Teams are required to have a fire extinguisher in their cooking area.

Merchandise The official Dogwood Regatta t-shirt will be available on the day of the regatta. Unauthorized sale of merchandise, food or drink is not permitted.

Handicapped Needs Please advise the regatta director, of any special needs regarding services for handicap assistance at least 7 days prior to the regatta.

SECURITY: Regatta trailer parking security will be provided from 7:00 P.M. Friday to 7:00 A.M. Saturday, as well as 7:00 P.M. Saturday to 7:00 A.M Sunday.

 

ACCOMMODATIONS:  Hotels in Oak Ridge are 4 miles from the venue and within walking distance to most restaurants and stores. Please feel free to contact ORRA to help locate the hotel that's right for your team.

 

TRAILERS: Coaches, athletes, and drivers should be made aware of the ORRA trailer policies prior to arriving at the venue.  The primary trailer parking area is the grass area directly adjacent to the launch and recovery docks. Over flow parking is located on the north side of the venue adjacent to the playground. Trailers will have marked spots measuring 20 feet in width (room for one shell on each side of trailer), Equipment should stay on trailer or on tees when not be used. Crews may need to bring shell storage equipment if needed. The venue must be open for boat trailers to park. The venue will be open from noon until 7 pm the Thursday before the event and 7:00 am to 9 pm the day before the event. Trailers arriving outside these hours will be required to find an alternate parking area somewhere in town.  Trailers parked illegally may be towed. Prior to parking and unloading of trailers, crews are required to check-in with ORRA. Trailers may not park in “No Parking” area.  This is to allow boat trailers area to swing and team buses room to maneuver safely through the venue parking area. The parking lot may not be used for rigging or boat storage unless directed by LOC. Trailer that are lightly loaded or car toppers may be assigned alternate locations. Towing Vehicles will have priority parking along the road behind the trailers. This area will require permit to park.

TEAM BUSES: Team Buses may not pass through residential areas as a “short cut”. Failure to follow the above bus policies can result in ticketing and or fines from the City of Oak Ridge. Team Bus Traffic is restricted within the City of Oak Ridge limits to the following streets:

Illinois Ave. | Edgemoor Rd. | Tennessee Ave. | Emory Valley Rd. |Georgia Ave. | Lafayette Dr. | Oak Ridge Turnpike | Rutgers Ave.

Buses may load and unload at the designated areas.  Busses are limited to 2 minutes in the loading area while loading. Team Buses may not idle longer than required to load and unload. Buses may park near the venue and be on call as long as all 4 wheels are off the roadway and the bus is shut off, return to the hotels or use the Oak Ridge Mall parking area, Meco Lane (toward the starting line), Melton Lake Dr. north of Amanda Lane to south to the Finish Tower.

BUS INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY: Buses leaving the venue need to give contact number to parking volunteer. In the event of inclement weather the regatta's evacuation procedures will be enacted to evacuate participants in an orderly manner. Busses should enter the Melton Lake Venue from the Oak Ridge Turnpike. Buses will be staged on the southbound shoulder starting on at the 1000m line. ORRA Traffic Volunteers will call the busses forward in an orderly manner from staging area entering the parking area using the NORTH entrance to the park. Circling the outer lane of the parking lot and loading in front of the Boathouse. Participants will be staged inside of boathouse for shelter. Teams willing to allow the regatta to use team bus for emergency evacuation plan need to alert the LOC to receive parking permit and instructions.                 

Weather: Delays should there be delays because of inclement weather the following sequence of schedule adjustments would be followed:

·       Reduce course length to 1,000 meters, a floating start and 5 minute centers

·       Cancel novice events

·       Cancel small boat events

·       Eliminate finals

·       Regatta canceled