RegattaCentral

Thank you for visiting the 16th Head of the James

Information for parents and visitors:

The following guidelines are to help you have a fun and enjoyable day, while helping us maintain order and ensure a great event for everyone. Our regatta is intended to be fun, and we hate red tape, but please help us by following these guidelines:

Note: All of this information is the current situation, but we have no idea what Coronavirus policies may be implemented before race day. 

1. Parking - ALL PARKING must be at the James River High School lots. It is about a 3/10 mile walk to the park from the school, so wagons are encouraged for carrying your supplies. A walkway follows the road, and no walking is permitted along the street. Bicycles may be used on the road. There is no parking along the roadways between the school and the park.  Buses with rowers may drop off kids, but must return to James River HS for parking. The only parking inside the park will be for boat trailer tow vehicles, referees, emergency personnel, event staff, and very limited spaces for handicapped vehicles as possible. Unfortunately, vehicles parked along the roadway may be towed by park personnel. Please, please comply with our parking staff, so that we can have a safe and efficient regatta. The park does not open for business until 6:30am, so please refrain from arriving before that time. 

2. Team tents - There are plenty of suitable spots available for team tents and camps, and no fees or reservations are required. A few areas are reserved for the larger teams, but otherwise spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be considerate of other teams and keep your camp as compact as possible. See an event organizer at the entrance to the park for more guidance. The park opens at 6:30am, and we reserve the right to regulate team tent spaces as needed. Tents are required to be tethered with stakes and/or weights, in case strong gusts find our venue.

3. Food vehicles - One vehicle from each team that is carrying food tent supplies may unload at the waterside team camp area as quickly as possible and return to the James River High School parking lots during the event. Food trailers or chuck wagons may be dropped off at your camp, but the tow vehicle must be removed as quickly as possible until the event has concluded. No potable drinking water is available on the park grounds, so please bring water. (Alcohol is not permitted in the park)

4. Grills - Gas grills *are* permitted in the park. Please be extra careful to keep grills clear of trees and branches, as well as your food tent. A fire extinguisher in your camp is requested by the County Parks staff. Electric generators are also permitted, but must be the 'quiet' type.

5. Pets - Dogs *are* permitted, but must remain on a short leash at all times (6ft or less, please), and must not interfere with the flow of walking traffic. Please be sure that all pet waste is collected and disposed of in trash bins.

6. Trash - Trash should be put in closed bags and placed beside the park trash receptacles. No loose trash is permitted, so please put EVERYTHING in a bag and seal it up. County staff will remove the trash from there.

7. Official Merchandise - The official event merchandise tent will be open, and the very popular annual 'Head of the James' t-shirt typically sells out by mid-morning. Encourage anyone interested in the event t-shirts to visit the tent early. We can now accept credit/debit cards. 

8. Concessions - A concession tent with Starbucks coffee, doughnuts, fruit, Chic-fil-A sandwiches, water and Gatorade, plus other chips and snacks will be open from 7:30am until the end of the regatta. Cash only is preferred, but we can make plastic work with the help of the Merchandise tent. 

9. Text Tree - We are again using a text messaging system to communicate with teams and officials! To sign up, simply follow this link:  TBD, or you can also just text the message @TBD to phone number 81010.  When signed up, you will receive a text message to announce each event call, unofficial results, important messages, and Q&A with the organizers. It makes for dramatically improved communications, so please encourage all coaches, rowers, parents and guest to follow the very easy instructions to sign up. It's only good for this event, so no need to worry about a group chat that never dies! (powered by Remind.com - try it sometime!)

10. Restrooms - The park has a permanent restroom facility for your convenience. We will also have 10+ portable potties on site. No matter how hard we try, running out of TP is always a possibility, so prepare just in case.

We look forward to having you join us, and welcome to the James River!

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Information for Coaches:

We hate red tape, but here is the important information for coaches in advance of our regatta:

Note: All of this information is the current situation, but we have no idea what Coronavirus policies may be implemented before race day. 

1. Schedules - Tentative event schedules will be posted on Regatta Central. We reserve to make additional changes or modifications as needed. A final version will be posted on Friday. Please attend the coaches/coxswains meeting on Saturday at 7:15am for the latest updates if any.

2. Event Registration - Payment is due before the Tuesday prior to the event, and there are no refunds after this date. Regretfully, we cannot provide refunds for cancellations due to weather or river conditions. All teams must check in at the event registration desk upon arrival, and before the coach/cox meeting.

3. Parking - The park is closed from 9pm to 6:00am. If you cannot arrive within these hours, please contact 804-677-8099 to coordinate your trailer parking. We will not have significant staff on site before 6:00am. Parking at the venue is strictly limited only to tow vehicles with boat trailers and food trailers. Please let parents, bus drivers, and other guests know that they must park at James River High School and walk down the paved path to the park.  (Buses may drop off the team, but must return to the school to park)  ALL PARKING must be at the James River High School lots. It is about a 3/10 mile walk to the park from the school. There is no parking along the roadways between the school and the park. Boat trailers may park in designated spaces waterside only with the direction of our volunteer parking staff. Vehicles carrying food tent supplies may drop off as quickly as possible and return to the James River High School parking lots during the event. Food trailers may be dropped at your camp, but the tow vehicle will need to return to James River HS to park. Buses with rowers may drop off kids, but must return to James River HS for parking. The only parking inside the park will be for referees, emergency personnel, event staff, and very limited spaces for handicapped vehicles. Please, please comply with our parking staff, so that we can have a safe and efficient regatta.

4. Dock Safety and efficiency - It is VITAL that you discuss with your team several matters: A) due to overcrowding concerns, coaches are asked not to go on the dock with rowers. B) boats need to launch as quickly as possible, and overly slow boats may be penalized or disqualified if the Dock Master's instructions are not followed. Please allow a maximum 90 seconds to launch or recover your boat. C) Launch and recovery helpers assisting with baskets and oars are required and should get in and out immediately to avoid crowding issues and a time penalty. D) Please have all of the heel ties checked before coming down to launch and check all the equipment so as to facilitate a smooth launch process. E) Remember Bow numbers - they will be provided for you at the Event Registration Desk. F) When wet, the dock ramps can be VERY slippery. Especially when carrying a boat overhead. Coxswains should approach very gently and remind your boat mates about this in advance. G) Please wear shoes to avoid injury on the ramp or docks.  H) Instruct coxswains to listen carefully to the dock masters, and await to be called in to the dock for recovery. Please exercise good judgement, and appreciate we are working our hardest to run an efficient schedule.

5. Communications/Text Tree - The loudspeaker system at the park does not provide enough coverage for all teams to hear announcements. We are again using a text messaging system to communicate with teams and officials! To sign up, simply follow this link:  TBD, or you can also just text the message @TBD to phone number 81010. When signed up, you will receive a text message to announce each event call, unofficial results, important messages, and Q&A with the organizers. It makes for dramatically improved communications, so please encourage all coaches, rowers, parents and guest to follow the very easy instructions attached to sign up. It's only good for this event, so no need to worry about a group chat that never dies!

6. Medical Form - The head ref has requested that each team provide the name (optional but helpful), event number, bow number, and seat number for any rower that has the following medical conditions, including if they have an inhaler or epi-pen: Asthma, Diabetes, Allergies. This information should be emailed to [email protected] no later than Friday at 1pm.

7. Emergency contact info - Please feel free to call or text if you have any serious issues arriving at the venue or during the event. 804-677-8099.

8. Have Fun - We strive for a fun, relaxed, and friendly regatta. Let us know if we can do anything to improve your experience, and the fan experience as well. While our entire team strives to orchestrate a great regatta, we are all parent volunteers and appreciate your patience sometimes. We will be sending out a survey after the event, and encourage you to provide us with feedback on every aspect of our regattas, both good and bad.

Thanks for racing with us!