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PENSACOLA INTERNATIONAL COASTAL ROWING REGATTA - NOV.07, 2015

PENSACOLA BEACH, FLORIDA

 

Rules of Racing

All races will be with a Beach start and Beach finish.

 

Entry Application:

Entry Applications shall be accepted only from USA residents that are either individual members of USRowing or members of a USRowing-member institution, and from foreign nationals that are in good standing with their nation’s FISA-recognized governing body.

 

Safety: 

Health of Rower. Each competitor shall be responsible for his own health and fitness. For Coastal rowers, it is a personal responsibility of the rower to undergo a pre-competition health screening which includes a questionnaire, an annual physical examination and ECG following the IOC’s recommended procedure. Coastal rowers must be prepared to present a written confirmation that the screening has been carried out, signed by a doctor.

Any boat showing a disregard for safety, at any time during the weekend (including practice times) will be given a 60-second penalty or may be disqualified. Safety violations may include but are not limited to:

- Not following the published traffic patterns;

- Not following the instructions from the Marshals, the Officials; etc.

 

Start and Finish Lines:

 All races will be with a Beach start and Beach finish.

The beach start line will be wide enough to allow all competitors in the race to align and start at the same time.

The finish line will be on the beach. Crews/solos will have finished the race when one member of the crew has crossed the finish line as required.

 

Length of the Course:

Please note that the shape of the course may change according to the weather and water condition.

ELITE Senior: 4000m – “ L “, "diamond", or “ M “ – shaped course.

All Open class boats: 2000m - “ L “, "diamond", or “ M “ – shaped course.

Senior, Juniors and Masters events: 500m – 250m out slalom, 250m strait return course.

 

Courses – Characteristics:

The race course for The Pensacola international Coastal Rowing regattas will provide, as far as possible, fair and equal racing conditions for all crews. The beach start will provide sufficient width of the beach start line to allow all the crews in each event to start at the same time. Wherever possible, the organizing committee working with USRowing will design the course so that the action of the race and competing boats can be seen by spectators on shore. In designing the course the organizing committee will take advantage of wind and wave direction, coastal features and beaches. This will include beach starts or finishes. The length of course will be as provided by the ROC. The course may be straight, rectangular, triangular or point to point or of such other shape as may be suited to the location. For safety purposes the layout of the course will not allow boats to be travelling in opposite directions in the same water. The course may be covered more than once.

Buoys:

Boats must row following the racing course pattern. Rowing on the racecourse from START on the beach to FINISH on the beach must be done in the racecourse buoyed section. Crews/singles must follow the “Race Traffic Pattern Map” diagrams.

 

Sportsmanship:

Good sportsmanship must prevail at all times. Instances of unsportsmanlike conduct by scullers, crews, and/or coaches will be reported to the Jury, and penalties may be assigned.

 

Right of Way:

Boats racing have the right of way over all other boats. Boats not racing must not enter the race course in anyway. Practicing on the race course between races is not permitted.

 

Uniforms:

We recommend rowers to wear their club uniform but it is not mandatory. For the Elite Senior events we recommend, rowers to wear their National Team uniforms but it is not mandatory.

 

Boat and Crew registration numbers:

For identification of the crews, identification numbers will be assigned to every boat. In addition, each crew will be assigned a crew number and each member of that crew shall wear their crew number. The crew number must be worn on the competitors’ outer clothing and visible throughout the start, the duration of the race and the finish.

 

Race Director:

The organizing committee will appoint a Race Director. The Race Director will work and cooperate closely with the President of the Jury and USRowing.  He/she will participate in any decisions in case of adverse weather conditions. In any case where the Race Director and the President of the Jury are not in agreement on an issue regarding safety, the decision of the President of the Jury shall prevail.

 

Meeting before the regatta begins – Regatta meeting:

Crew Captains’ and Coaches Meeting on Friday at 6pm will be convened by USRowing and the organizing committee at which all team managers, coxswains, coaches and crew captains must participate. At this meeting, USRowing and the Race Director will explain and provide to all participants all information reasonably required for the safe running of the event (including local maritime rules, tidal movements, currents, specific topography, known dangers and safety rules). If deemed necessary, the coxswains, and the crew captains, may be invited to view the course from a motor launch of the organizing committee. The President of the Jury will cover the regatta rules, start and finish procedures, penalties etc.

 

Classes of Boat:

The following classes of boat are recognized by FISA for this Coastal Rowing regatta:

Solo (C1x)

Double (C2x)

Coxed Quadruple Sculls (C4x+)

“The Open Class 1X boats is open to all different type of 1X rowing shells.  These boats must be approved by USRowing and the Organizing committee, to be able to take part in the race”

 

General obligations:

All rowers and coxswains must:

1. Be familiar with and respect local maritime rules in addition to these Rules of Racing;
2. Wear appropriate life jackets or have an individual life jacket on board within easy and convenient reach for their personal use at all times when on the water. Coxswains shall wear a life jacket at all times when on the water;
3. Know what to do in the event of their boat swamping or capsizing and if their boat requires to be towed.

 

Crew Captain’s obligations:

According to international maritime law, all sea-going vessels must have one person responsible for safety and navigation. In Coastal Rowing, this will be one member of the crew who will be designated as the “Crew Captain” by the crew. The designated Crew Captain for every boat shall be notified to the organizing committee in writing at the time of the crew’s Registration. Such notification is the responsibility of the crew. Any crew for which a Crew Captain has not been notified/appointed, the regatta registration team will appoint one member of that crew as a Crew Captain.

 

The Crew Captain shall be responsible to:

Before every outing:

− take responsibility for assessing the risks and the ability of the crew to cope with the prevailing and forecast conditions;

− familiarize himself with the current and expected weather conditions;

− register the outing with the Control Commission, showing the date and time of the outing, the estimated length of the outing and the route to be taken;

− check the condition of the boat and the safety equipment on board.

During the outing:

− ensure that the crew respects all navigational and safety rules;

− require that all members of the crew wear their life jackets as necessary;

− make necessary decisions for the safety of the crew if the weather deteriorates;

− monitor any changes in the weather or water conditions which might affect the safety of the crew.

After the outing:

− inform the Control Commission of the return of the crew;

− complete the register indicating the crew’s return.

 

Avoiding collisions:

When two rowing boats are on a potential collision course, both boats should move to starboard to give way to the other boat. For clarification, “starboard” means the left hand side of the rowers as they are seated in the boat (bow side).

 

Adverse Weather Conditions:

The President of the Jury, in consultation with the Race Director and the organizing committee, shall take all decisions on any delay, postponement or cancellation of races, or of changes to the course, resulting from adverse weather conditions or other matters relating to the safety of competitors and officials on the water or the fairness of the course. This may include reducing the course distance.

 

At the Start zone:

There shall be no start zone in Coastal Rowing events when there is a Beach start. Crews are responsible for their own equipment if there is damage. Crews must be on the beach (shore line) at their start positions and under the control of the Starter two minutes before the starting time of their race.

The Starter may penalize a crew that is late to the start and may start the race without reference to absentees.

The Start shall be as follows:

It shall be the responsibility of each crew to ensure that their boat is on the Beach Start Line at the time the start signal is given and the Judge at the Start shall not be obliged to give any instructions to crews in this regard prior to the start signal being given.

During the start procedure, the boats shall be lined up in the water in the allotted start position and shall be held by members of the crew and up to two additional volunteer boat handlers.

 

Boat Handlers:

 

There shall be up to two volunteer boat handlers per boat. The boat handlers shall be provided by the teams and/or the organizing committee.  They are recognized as support. The role of the boat handler is to support the departure and arrival of the crew from and to the beach. In rougher conditions and at the discretion of the President of the Jury the number of boat handlers may be increased.

Boat handlers may not board the boat at any time but may assist the crew in any other way, including rudder fixing, etc. When the boat returns to the beach the boat handlers may “catch” the boat to slow its progress when it reaches the beach and a crew member disembarks to run to the finish line.

The boat handlers shall at all times remain in shallow water not above their shoulder height. The boat handlers shall comply with any instructions of the officials and shall at all times be subject to the rules of racing.

Where a crew does not supply its own boat handlers, the Organizing Committee shall provide them.

 

The boats should be held reasonably in line and shall be positioned so that the centers of boats are not less than 15 meters apart. All rowers must be standing in the water next to their boat and shall not start boarding their boat until after the start signal is given.

There shall be a Judge at the Start who shall be positioned in such location as to be able to properly carry out his responsibilities. The Judge at the Start shall determine whether the boats are reasonably in line and shall take such action as necessary to ensure this.  

Crews in the Start area shall at all times closely follow the instructions of the Starter. Any crew not following such instructions may be penalized. After giving the 30 second "Get Ready" signal, the Starter may start the race at the given time without reference to the position of any crew.

Each crew shall be responsible to be aware of the time remaining before the start. It is the responsibility of crews to be ready for the start at the start time of the race and not to cause a false start. There will be no instructions given to crews concerning alignment unless the Judge at the Start considers that too many boats are too close to each other and that the race cannot be started in a safe or fair manner.

It is the responsibility of each crew to ensure that it does not interfere with other boats. Where such interference occurs or is going to occur, each crew must take appropriate avoiding action, but shall follow the instruction of the Starter or other official whenever such instructions are given. A crew causing interference may be penalized by the Starter or other official.

The Starter may be assisted by other officials under the authority of the Starter. The position of the Starter shall be such that the Starter has a clear view of the Beach start line and all boats and the starting signals are clearly visible to all race competitors. A clearly distinguishing jacket should be worn by the Starter.

 

The Starting Procedure:

The Starter shall inform the crews when there is five minutes, four minutes, three minutes, and two minutes remaining before the start time.

When there is two minutes to the start, the Starter shall say “Two minutes!”

When there is one minute to the start, the Starter shall say “One minute!”

When there are 30 seconds to the start, the Starter shall alert the crews by saying “Get Ready!” after which the Starter may start the race at any time, having taken into account the wave conditions and any other factors.

To give the start signal, the Starter shall say “Attention!” and shall then raise a red flag to the vertical position above his head. After a clear pause, the Starter shall then give the signal to start by dropping the red flag in one fast downward motion, simultaneously sounding a hooter in one long blast.

The official start signal will be the moment the red flag starts to move downwards.

 

Delays of Start and False Start:

Where the start of any specific boat category is delayed for any reason, the Starter shall inform that boat category or categories of the delay.

Where the whole race is to be delayed the Starter shall begin the 3 minutes countdown process again after announcing this to the waiting crews.

 

False Start:

Beach Start – A crew commits a false start if any crew member starts to board their boat before the start signal is given.

The Judge at the Start shall be the sole judge of a false start. 

 

Consequences of a False Start:

Individual False Start:

Where a false start is committed, the Judge at the Start shall immediately raise a red flag and the Starter shall stop the race by waving a red flag and sounding repeated blasts on the hooter until all crews have stopped. The Judge at the Start shall inform the Starter which crew has caused a false start and the Starter shall award the crew a warning.

A crew causing two false starts in the same race shall be excluded from the event by the Starter.

 

Multiple False Starts:

If in a race the Judge at the Start indicates that a number of boats have committed a false start, the Starter may decide to stop the race and give the start again or he may allow the race to continue and award penalties to all boats concerned.

If he decides to stop the race, the Starter shall do so by hoisting a red flag and sounding repeated short blasts on the hooter. Where there is a mass false start caused by weather conditions or other external influences, but the Judge at the Start considers the start to have been fair, he may advise the Starter to allow the race to continue with or without penalties to individual crews.

Responsibility of Rowers:

All crews/solos shall compete in accordance with the rules. If a crew/solo does not comply with the rules, including if it impedes or interferes with another boat or gains any advantage thereby, it may be penalized. When turning around the buoys, crews are permitted to touch the turning buoys with their boat or oars, but the keel of the boat must pass around the designated side of the buoy.

In order to finish the race a crew must correctly round all designated turning markers and must complete the full course as designated by the organizing committee.

 

For coxed boats, the coxswain is required to be in the boat for the whole time the crew is rowing; otherwise the crew shall not be ranked in the race and shall be shown on the results as DNF.

Upon their boat reaching the beach, one crew member shall disembark and run to the designated finish point of the race.

A crew/solo, which for any reason does not complete the full course as designated by the organizing committee, including not rounding all or any of the turning markers, is responsible to declare this to the Finish Judge or other official or to the organizing committee at the end of the race. The result of such crew/solo shall show DNF.

 

Interference:

A crew/solo causes interference to another crew/solo if it changes course to prevent another crew/solo from passing, if it does not give way when required under this regulation, or causes a collision with another crew/solo through not giving way when required by these regulations.

 

Rules of Giving Way:

When three or more boats are on the same line and a coxswain reasonably considers that there is not enough room between his boat and the others the coxswain or crew member in an un-coxed boat, may call by its boat number one of the crews and say “(Boat Number --!)” –“Attention!” – “Give Way!!”, and the boat called must change its course sufficiently to leave the crowded boat enough room or it may be penalized by the Official.

No boat or boats may deliberately or otherwise cause interference to another boat which is on a course towards a turning marker or other course mark.

If two or more crews/solos co-operate to cause disadvantage to another crew or crews or to assist another crew/solo or crews, all crews/solos of the club(s) or national federation(s) involved in such cooperative action may be disqualified.

 

Collisions:

In case of collisions (of boats or oars), and if one of the crews/solos protest, the Official shall decide who is at fault and may impose a penalty on the boat responsible for the collision.

 

Overtaking:

 It is the responsibility of a crew/solo overtaking another crew/solo to avoid interfering with the crew/solo being overtaken; a crew/solo which is being overtaken must not obstruct the course of an overtaking crew/solo.

If a crew/solo being overtaken obstructs or interferes with the overtaking crew/solo by changing its course or in any other manner, the official may penalize the crew/solo causing obstruction or interference or hindrance by awarding a time penalty of 60 seconds, or may exclude the crew/solo or take other appropriate measures under the rules.

 

 

Rounding of a Turning Marker:  

At the turning markers crews/solos should avoid interference with other crews/solos and observe the rules of overtaking. Crews are responsible of their own steering and shall follow direction given by officials, including officials at the turning marker. In order to be placed in the final ranking for the event, all crew must round all turning markers and must complete the full course as designated by the organizing committee.

 

Finish of the Race:

All crew members must start and finish the race. Where, a beach finish is provided, a crew shall have finished the race when one members of the crew has crossed the finish line on the beach as required.

For beach finish races all crew members must start and arrive at the beach. A crew in contravention of these requirements shall not be ranked in the race and shall be shown on the results as DNF.

 

Dead Final:

When the order of finish between two or more crews is too close for any difference to be determined, then the result shall be declared a dead final between the crews involved. If there is a dead-final, the following procedure shall operate: If any dead-final occurs between crews all dead-final crews will be announced as winners and will be awarded gold medals.

 

President of the Jury:

The President of the Jury shall allot duties to each member of the Jury and shall supervise their activities. He/she shall take the Chair at meetings and ensure proper co-ordination with the organizing committee and especially Race Director.

Composition of the Jury:

In principle, the Jury shall consist of persons carrying out the following duties:

− the President of the Jury

− Starter

− Judge at the Start

− Race Official

− Turning Mark Official

− Judges at the Finish, one of whom shall be the Senior Judge

− Members of the Control Commission, one of whom shall be the senior member

The President of the Jury, the Starter, the Judge at the Start, the Race Official, senior Judge at the finish and the senior member of the Control Commission shall each hold an International Umpire’s license. International Coastal Rowing regattas – The Jury shall be appointed by the organizing committee.

 

Penalties:

The Jury shall impose appropriate penalties in any case of breach of the rules. The penalties available to the Jury are:

• Reprimand
• Time penalty
• Warning (applicable to the current race)
• Relegation where specifically provided in these Rules
• Exclusion (from all the rounds of the event in question)
• Disqualification (from all events in the regatta)
• DNF - Did not Finish

The Official may also order that a crew which has been interfered with be allowed to proceed to the next round of an event (where such rounds are held) if he/she considers that but for the interference the crew would have so progressed of its own accord.

 

Objections:

A crew claiming that its race was not in order may make an objection to the Judge at Finish immediately after the finish of the race and before leaving the area of the finish line by a member of the crew raising an arm.

 

Protests:

A crew or crews whose objection has been rejected or who are affected by the acceptance of the objection or a crew that has been disqualified or excluded or ruled DNS or DNF, as well as crews disputing the published results may lodge a protest in writing to the President of the Jury not later than one hour after the official has communicated his/her decision regarding the objection or, in the case of disputing the published results, no later than one hour after the results have been published. It shall be accompanied by a deposit of US$100, which amount shall be refunded if the protest or a subsequent appeal is allowed.

The Board of the Jury shall decide if the protest was justified. It will make its decision before the next round of races in the event concerned, and, in any case, no later than two hours after the last race of the day. In the case of a protest concerning the final of an event arising from an objection, the victory ceremony of that event will not be postponed. If the subsequent decision of the Board of the Jury changes the final result of the event then the official result shall be changed accordingly and, where the medal placings are affected, then the medals shall be re-awarded as necessary in accordance with the decision.

           

The Outcome of the Protest:

The Board of the Jury shall decide on the protest and on the measures resulting from its decision including:

• Reprimand
• Time penalty
• Warning (for the specific race)
• Relegation where specifically provided in these Rules
• Exclusion (from all the rounds of the event in question)
• Disqualification (from all events in the regatta)
• DNF - Did not Finish

After application of the appropriate penalty, if any, the Board of the Jury may also take any other available measures to restore the chances of a crew that has suffered disadvantage, including, where appropriate, and where there are preliminary rounds, to allow the crew concerned to proceed to the next round if the Board of the Jury considers that but for the interference the crew would have so progressed of its own accord.

 

Appeals:

There shall be no appeal from the findings of the Board of the Protest Jury.

 

Control Commission:

In addition to its other duties, the Control Commission at Coastal Rowing events shall check the correct display of the boat registration numbers and that the numbers required to be worn by crew members are correctly displayed and shall record the details as required.

 

The Starter and the Judge at the Start:

The Starter and the Judge at the Start shall ensure that the correct starting procedure is followed. There shall be no Aligner. The Judge at the Start will provide any required instructions to any crew on their alignment at the Start.

 

The Officials:

The President of the Jury, in consultation with the Race Director, shall decide the number of Officials to supervise each race. Where there is more than one Official, the Officials shall have equal status in their areas of responsibility. The Official shall ensure the proper conduct of the race and the safety of the rowers. In particular, he shall observe whether any crew gains any advantage or suffers any disadvantage from its opponents or from external factors and shall impose appropriate penalties on crews at fault. The Official shall not give any steering indications to crews. Nevertheless, he shall endeavor to ensure that accidents are avoided. All active Officials’ boats shall carry an identification flag or marker to distinguish them from other water craft. If necessary, the Official may impose penalties during the race. He may also stop the race, impose any necessary penalties and order the race to be re-started, either from the start or from some other point (in which case he may order the crews to re-start in the positions they held at the time the race was stopped) either immediately or later. In the latter case, he shall decide on the new starting time in consultation with the President of the Jury and he shall inform the crews concerned. Where the Official has serious doubt whether the impediment affected the result of the race, or considers the effect of the impediment was not significant, he may decline to take any action or he may take such action as he sees fit in the circumstances. The Official may also allow the race to continue and impose penalties after the race has finished. However, in principle, if a crew is to be awarded a time penalty the Official should make every attempt to advise the crew at the time the penalty is awarded by saying to the crew: “(Boat Number!)” – “(reason for penalty)!” - “Time Penalty! (60 seconds)!”.  

 

Judges at the Finish:

The Judges at the Finish shall determine the order in which the designated rower crosses the finish line as required. They shall ascertain that the race was in order. They shall be responsible for validating the results.

 

 

*The rules may change to meet the needs of the rowers and the Regatta Organizing Committee. *