RegattaCentral

2008 Head ofthe South Regatta Rules

Coach and CoxswainMeeting

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT ITEM:

ALL COXSWAINS, SINGLE SCULLERS, ANDBOW SCULLERS MUST ATTEND ONE OF THE TWO COACHES AND COXSWAINS MEETINGS ANDSHOW WRIST BAND PROOF THAT THEYATTENDED A MEETING BEFORE THEY WILL BE ALLOWED TO LAUNCH BY THE CONTROLCOMMISSION.

The main Coaches/CoxswainsMeeting is on Friday, November 7th upstairs inside the Boathouse at 7:00 pm.SCRATCHESOR ADDITIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED AT THIS MEETING AND MUST BE MADE PRIOR TO THIS MEETING AT CHECK IN FROM 3 pm TO 7 pm.  A lack of attendance at this meeting will beviewed as an acceptance of the rules of the course.

A second Coaches/Coxswains Meeting will be held at the following two locations onSaturday November 8^th at 7:15 am:1)Outside the Registration Office and 2)At the Sculling Dock Control Commission Tent (by the large warehouse)

Wrist bands willbe given out by the Chief Referee or Assistant Chief Referee to all coxswainsand scullers who attend a meeting. Wrist bands must be shown to the ControlCommission prior to launching.

Officials Meeting:Friday, November 7th at the Boathouse, 6:15 pm.

Practice Schedule

The race coursewill be available for practice on Friday, November 7, from 12:00 pmto 5:30 pm. No shells will be allowed to launch after 5:00 pmand all shells must be off the water by 5:30 pm, or an unsportsmanlikeconduct penalty may be assessed. Practice is not allowed in the area above the startline.  Marshals will be overseeing practice to observe traffic pattern andsafety. Please follow their directions and be alert to course workers. Coachesand/or launches will not be allowed on the River during practice.

Weigh-In

Weigh-In forlightweights will be held Friday, November 7th, from 4 pm to 7 pmand Saturday, November 8th , from 6:30 am to 10 am.Singles will be given preference during Saturday morning weigh-in. Shirts andshorts must be worn.

Only those notmaking weight Friday night may change events; those not making weight onSaturday morning will be scratched.

Crews must arriveat weigh-in at least one hour before launch time. All lightweights must weighin by 10 am on Saturday; Friday weigh-ins are stronglyencouraged. There will be no boat weight averaging for lightweights.Maximum weight for male rowers is 165.0 pounds. Maximum weight for femalerowers is 135.0 pounds.

There will be noweigh-in for coxswains.

Eligibility

NOTE: for exactdefinitions of “Youth”, “Collegiate”, “Club”, “Masters”, “Novice”,, “Mixed”, ,and “Lightweight” see Event Definitions.

a. There is no limit on the number of entriesa given organization may make.

b. Whereverrelevant, the age of a contestant as of December 31, 2008, governs eligibility.

c. Line-ups forall events must be submitted during online registration. No substitutions maybe made in Singles events at any time.No substitutions may be made in anyMasters events after November 1, 2008.

d. This is aUSRowing Registered Regatta. All participating organizations must be USRowingmembers. Individuals do not need to be USRowing members.

Event Seeding

At the entryclosing date, events will be seeded with complete and correct entries based on the2007 HOTS results.

Bow Balls, Bow MarkerClips, and Heel Safety Ties

Control commissionofficials will monitor all launching boats.All boats must be equipped with bow marker clips and bow balls. Anyboats without a securely attached bow ball will be declared unsafe and will notbe permitted to race. Each footstretcher must have an appropriate footgearquick release system with the heels tied no more than 3 inches from the board.

Bow Markers

Registrants willbe furnished number plates and bow and stern rower pin-on numbers.  Pleasereturn all number plates to the return dock officials. Crews not returning anumber will be assessed a $10 fee.

Penalties

15 second penalty –Incorrectly passing or "cutting" a buoy

20 second penalty– Starting out of order or interfering with the staging of the start

20 second penalty –Unsportsmanlike conduct (this includes use of foul language)

30 second penalty –Interference, which includes failing to yield the right-of-way

Passing / Right of Way

In accordance with USRA Rules: A crew isdeemed to be overtaking another crew when it has moved to within one length ofopen water of the crew ahead. A crew being overtaken must safely yield theright of way. On straight sections of the course, a crew being overtaken shallyield to the right. In turns, the crew being overtaken shall yield to theoutside of the turn and allow the overtaking crew to pass along the shorterpath.Nevertheless, passing is notallowed, nor is the crew being overtaken required to yield, in cases where theovertaking crew’s position clearly prevents safe passage or where there is insufficientroom to yield. Failure to yield will result in a 30 second penalty.

Passing between designated bridge spans isat your own risk.

Protests

All protests mustbe indicated on the water immediately following the finish of a race to anOfficial before the crew leaves the finish area. When a crew leaves the finisharea, they forfeit the right to file a protest.  Each protest must befiled in writing within 30 minutes of the last boat crossing the finish linefor the race in question.  A fee of $25.00 in cash must accompany eachprotest.  Protests are to be taken to Regatta Headquarters or the ChiefReferee.  Each protest will be considered by a Jury of LicensedOfficials. 

The Course

The race is rowed downstreamover a 5,000 meter course on the Savannah River. Please view the 2008Map. Crews must launch from the launching dock and proceed upstream alongthe Georgia shore approximately 3 milesto a warm up area above the starting line. You will be directed by coursemarshals into the starting chute along the South Carolina half of the river. Theboundaries of the course will be between the course buoys and the South Carolina shore. The 2500 metermidpoint of the course and last 1000 meters will be marked with specific buoys.Racing will continue past the boathouse and launch area and finish slightlydownstream of the venue. Please row 100 meters past the finish line and turnyour crew toward the Georgia shore and return to theassigned take-out dock. Marshals will be stationed at key points to ensure safetyand to control traffic.

Boats proceedingto the start must not impede racing, nor cross the course at any point.Violators face disqualification or exclusion. Each entrant will be responsiblefor arriving at the starting line at least five minutes prior to the scheduledstarting time. Entrants will start at 12-15 second intervals. The start will bein sequence of bow markers. Boats arriving more than 30 seconds after the lastentrant has started will not be allowed to race. No racing starts or full pressurestrokes are permitted, in any direction, in the marshaling area.

Launch andReturn Docks

Thedock master shall control all launching of shells. 4+, 4X, and 8+ shells willlaunch from the dock nearest the Augusta Rowing Club boathouse. 4+, 4X, and 8+shells will return to the dock nearest the Regatta Headquarters building. 1X,2-, and 2X shells will launch and return from a third dock near the large warehousebuilding downstream (refer to map).

First Call

First call for each event is 45 minutes before the official start time ofthe event. The second and final call will be 30 minutes before start.

Hot Seating

Crewswishing to “hot-seat” shall notify the Dock Master on the Return Dock prior tolaunching. Hot-seating will normally be accomplished on the return dock only. AHot Seat card will be issued to each crew wishing to hot seat.  You maypick these cards up at Regatta Headquarters.The coxswain must alert officials on the water and the dock by holdingthe card over their heads.

Results and Awards

Resultsfor each event will be posted at the Results tent after the last boat finishesin each event. Individual results placards used at the results tent can bepurchased for $5.00, but will not be available until the end of all events. Papercopies of the official individual race results will be available in theupstairs Results room of the Boathouse for $1.00 each.

Medals will be awardedthroughout the day. Medals will be awarded to all first-, second-, andthird-place finishers, in all divisions, provided there are at least fourentries.Awards will be given toorganizations achieving the greatest total points in the regatta for Youth andCollegiate events.Points will beaccumulated by event using the Modified Barnes Point System.Composite crews do not earn any points.

Concessions and Vendor Sales

Food will be available atthe concession stand all day Saturday. Rowing companies and crews will beallowed to sell in the vendor area on Friday, November 7th, and Saturday,November 8th.The fee is $175.00 (paidin advance) for a 10 by 20 foot space.

For vendor information, pleasecontact Gene Gilbert at (706) 821-2875.