RegattaCentral

Athlete Classification

Junior participants may compete in the U19 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 18th birthday or if they were enrolled in a secondary school during the current calendar year.

u15 participants may compete in the U15 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 14th birthday.

u17 participants may compete in the U17 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 16th birthday.

Novice participants may not have competed in a race on or before November 7, 2014. A novice coxswain does not also need to be a novice rower and vis versa if they have recenlty switched disciplines.

Freshman participants must be enrolled in 9th grade (or lower) in a secondary school. Participants that are repeating 9th grade are not eligible unless they are also novice.

Participation in Open events is unrestricted.

Masters participants should enter the appropriate event based on age as of race day.  The AA category will not be recognized at this regatta.

Recreational singles include hulls without a fin such as the Peinert Zephyr.  Intermediate hulls that fall between these and an elite racing single must be rowed in the non-recreational category unless a specific event is available to them.

Teams are responsible for determining their own athletes' eligibility. If a team is found to be racing ineligible athletes, the entry in question will be disqualified and and all other entries from that team in the same event will be excluded. If steps were taken, either intentional or through negligence, to obscure an athlete's eligibility, then harsh sanctions will be placed on that team. These include possible removal from the regatta without any consideration of a refund, and exclusion from subsequent years' events.

Scratches and Late Entry Fees

There is no fee to scratch before the standard registration deadline.  Entries scratched following the deadline are responsible for their registration fee and refunds will not be issued for entries scratched after this time.  An additional $25 scratch fee will be assessed for any entry scratched on the day of the race, and a $50 scratch fee will be assessed for and boat that does not show up for a race in which they are scheduled without notifying the regatta.

Late entries will be accepted on a space available basis and will be charged $15 per boat in addition to the standard fee.

Individuals and teams will be responsible for settling all fees within 10 days following the conclusion of the event.  Individuals and teams with an outstanding balance from a previous event will not be allowed to participate in future regattas.

Handicapping

Results for masters races will be grouped into similar age categories (A, B, C, D, etc.) if sufficient entries exist to justify doing so. No time handicaps will be applied within or across flights. The Head of the Merrimack regatta committee does not beleive an algorithm can be used to accurately account for the effects of time and age on an athlete's ability to move a boat. Rather, we will leave that determination to the individual athletes when evaluating the quality of their performance relative to their competitiors on race day.

Entry Confirmation and Race Schedule

Entry confirmation will be posted on RegattaCentral in real-time. A preliminary heat sheet will be provided to coaches by November 4, 2015 at midnight PST.

Results

Unofficial results with finish times will be posted online as quickly as they are available and at the hospitality tent. Complete Official Results will be up on the Essex Rowing, RegattaCentral, and Row2k websites within 24 hours after the conclusion of racing.

Interpretation of Rules

The meaning and application of these rules will be determined solely by the Regatta Director. All decisions and deliberations will be secret, arbitrary, and final.