2017 FSRA West District Championship 

Rules & Eligibility

Racing will be conducted under the USRowing “Rules of Racing” and FSRA Rules.

• The FSRA West District Championship regatta is an association regatta open to current Scholastic and Youth team members in the Western District of the Florida Scholastic Rowing Association.

• FSRA teams must be in good standing with the association and all delinquent fees and dues must be paid prior to any entry being accepted from that team.

• An Eligible Athlete is a competitor who in the current calendar year does not attain the age of 19 and has been enrolled in secondary school as a full-time student seeking a diploma from the State of Florida, or who in the current calendar year did attain the age of 19 and is and has been continuously enrolled in secondary school as a full-time student seeking a diploma from the State of Florida.  A competitor thus ceases to be an Eligible Athlete after December 31 of the year of his or her 18th birthday, or of the year in which he or she completes the 12th grade of secondary school, having been a continuous full-time student, whichever is later.

• New rowing programs will not be allowed special entry exceptions.

Seeding for FSRA Florida State Championship

• According to

Events

** The lightweight single, junior single, and freshman double are NOT SRAA events.

How to enter

• All teams must complete the entry process online at Regatta Central.

• Boatings must include the legal names of competitors (as it appears on photo ID and NOARA waiver for verification purposes)

• Boatings must include potential substitutes for those substitutes to be eligible to compete.

• The NOARA waiver must be completed for each competitor:

  • Online NOARA waivers

• Late entries will be accepted as long as open lanes are available using a 7-lane format. Additional outside lanes and additional races will not be added to accommodate late entries.  Late entries will be charged an additional late entry fee and will not be seeded for heats.

• Scratch Policy:

  • Scratches made after the standard entry deadline and before the late entry deadline forfeit their entry fee.

  • Scratches after the late entry deadline and race no shows will incur an additional $50.00 Scratch Fee which is due before following crews are allowed to launch or future entries accepted.  Verified medical exceptions will be accepted.

Entry Fees

 8+             $120

Regatta Meeting

Regatta meeting will begin at 7:00AM on Saturday in front of the boathouse (near the launch/recovery docks).

• Meeting will cover scratches (at $50 each) and any adjustments made to the schedule.

• Meeting will cover the officiating aspects relevant to this event.

• Meeting will cover traffic pattern and safety.

Rules

• All races are 1500 meters or as close to this distance as the race venue safely allows.

• There is no breakage zone. 

• Missed race: No special allowances will be made for crews late to the start line. Teams hot seating equipment do so at their own risk.

• Doubling limits: Rower – 1 event only per category (sweep & sculling), no doubling within category (sweep & sculling); coxswains - maximum 2 events of which 1 can be as a rower. 

• Males may not row in female events.  Females may not row in male events. With the exception of coxswains. 

• Composite crews (rowers from two or more FSRA Member teams in the same boat) are not permitted.

• Teams cannot enter and race a 2nd Varsity 8+ without entering and racing a 1st Varsity 8+.

• Teams cannot enter and race a 2nd Varsity 4+ without entering and racing a 1st Varsity 4+.

• Teams cannot enter and race a 3rd Varsity 8+ without entering and racing a 2nd Varsity 8+.

• Teams cannot enter and race a 4th Varsity 8+ without entering and racing a 3rd Varsity 8+.

• Teams cannot enter and race a 2nd Freshman 8+ without entering and racing a 1st Freshman 8+.

• Junior events may be entered independently of all other categories.

• Lightweight events may be entered independently of all other categories.

• Freshman events may be entered independently of all other categories.

• Junior events are restricted to competitors in the 11th grade (junior year) or lower AND who have not attained the age of 18 years prior to September 1st of the current academic year (born after August 31, 1998).

• Freshman events are restricted to competitors in the 9th grade (freshman year) or lower.

• “B” entries will only be accepted in the 4th Varsity 8+, 2nd Freshman 8+, and Varsity 1x events and are allowed full progression including winning awards and earning points. If the number of 4th Varsity 8+ event entries fail the minimum entry rule and the event is eliminated, the 3rd Varsity 8+ event will allow “B” entries with full progression.  If the number of 2nd Freshman 8+ event entries fail the minimum entry rule and the event is eliminated, the 1st Freshman 8+ event will allow “B” entries with full progression.

• All boats will be equipped with a protective bow ball and quick release shoes. Boats not so equipped will be barred from launching.

• All boats will carry a bow number of their assigned race lane for identification.  Bow numbers should be large enough to be easily visible with the naked eye from shore with good contrast between the number and the background.  The team will be responsible to provide its bow number.

• Lightweight male rower maximum weight: 150 lbs. (no averaging)

• Lightweight female rower maximum weight: 130 lbs. (no averaging)

Varsity Eligibility Check-in Procedures

• Varsity events are open to all eligible athletes as defined above.

• For the 2017 regattas, the honor system will be used for athlete eligibility for varsity events.  The regatta committee reserves the right to conduct spot checks until all race results on Saturday are made official.  Athletes not able to comply with spot checks by providing documentation to regatta HQ by 9 AM Sunday morning will not be eligible to compete.  Boats without eligible substitutes will be removed from the races.

Lightweight Eligibility Check-in Procedures

• Lightweight events are open to all eligible athletes as defined above who meet the weight requirements.

• For the 2017 regattas, the honor system will be used for athlete eligibility for lightweight events.  The regatta committee reserves the right to conduct spot checks until all race results on Saturday are made official.  Athletes not able to comply with spot checks by providing documentation to regatta HQ by 6PM Saturday evening will not be eligible to compete.  Boats without eligible substitutes will be removed from the races.

Junior Eligibility Check-in Procedures

• Junior events are restricted to competitors in the 11th grade (junior year) or lower AND who have not attained the age of 18 years prior to September 1st of the current academic year.

• While birth date and grade validation is based on the honor system, the regatta committee reserves the right to conduct spot checks until all race results are made official. Athletes not able to comply with spot checks by providing documentation to regatta HQ by 6PM saturday evening will not be eligible to compete. Boats without eligible substitutes will be removed from races.

• Methods of validation for athletes in Junior events:

  • Either each student brings a photo ID and school transcript or class schedule showing they are currently not a senior (11th grade or lower) and shows their birth date (either on the ID or school document).

  • Or the coach provides a signed statement from their school on school letterhead that the named athletes are not a senior (11th grade or lower) and was born after August 31, 1998 (08-31-1998). Students must provide a photo ID to match the name on the school list.

Freshman Eligibility Check-in Procedures

• Freshman events are restricted to competitors in the 9th grade (freshman year) or lower.

• While grade validation is based on the honor system, the regatta committee reserves the right to conduct spot checks until all race results are made official. Athletes not able to comply with spot checks by providing documentation to regatta HQ by 6PM saturday evening will not be eligible to compete. Boats without eligible substitutes will be removed from races.

• Methods of validation for athletes in Freshman events:

  • Either each student brings a photo ID (and school transcript or class schedule if their photo ID does not show their current grade level/graduating class).

  • Or the coach provides a signed statement from their school on school letterhead that the named athlete is a freshman (9th grade or lower). Students must provide a photo ID to match the name on the school list.

Minimum Entries

Since the results from the 2017 District Championships are used for the seeding of the 2017 FSRA Florida State Championship, any event with an entry will race.

For events with only one (1) team entered at the registration deadline, the race will be scheduled, however, one of two race scheduling situations may happen:

1. The boat may run solo to complete the race for seeding

2. Or should there be multiple events with 1 entry, those events falling within this situation may be run together. Should boats from separate categories be run in the same race, results will still be counted towards whichever event each specific boat was originally entered.

Teams will be notified after the registration deadline about any schedule changes.

Progressions

“B” Finals will be added for all events with 8 or more entrants.

The formula for progression to the final will be as follows:

Link to 2015 FSRA Progression and Points Table.

Any event with seven (8) or more entries will be run as 2 separate heats which will progress to finals. Finals will be run at the end of each session (sculling and sweep). Priority will be given to Varsity, Lightweight and Junior events.

The FSRA Regatta Committee will seed entries with the objective to allow for the fastest crews to have a fair opportunity to progress to the finals.

Lane assignments for final races will use a predetermined formula with the heat winners receiving the center lanes under normal weather conditions.  In the situation of prevailing strong cross winds, the FSRA Regatta Committee may implement an alternate lane assignment system so the fastest progression times will receive the windward lanes.

Order of Events

The following order of events will be used for regatta planning purposes which is based on entry levels from 2016. If the order must be alternated due to weather concerns, priority will be given to SRAA events based on SRAA number of bids (primary priority) and FSRA point schedule (secondary priority).

Awards

• First, second, and third place medals will be awarded for grand “A” finals only.  A crew must not necessarily beat another crew to be awarded medals.

Protests

• Protests shall be registered on the water in accordance with USRowing rules.

• The protest must be accompanied by a $50.00 fee, returned if the protest is upheld.

• Disposition of the protest will follow the USRowing rules.

Inclement Weather Procedure

The FSRA Regatta Committee, the Regatta Director, the Chief Referee, and the LOC will work together to monitor the weather continuously during the event.  Should it be determined that schedule changes are necessary due to weather concerns, the FSRA Regatta Committee will prioritize events and determine which races will occur during the time window racing can be safely conducted.

Weather-related schedule changes will be announced utilizing the following mediums.

• Email sent out to all coaches

• Announced via Twitter (@FSRAwest)