2018 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.

• 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.

Seeding for FSRA State Championship

• Results from the West District Championship are used to seed the FSRA State Championship. In order for a crew to be seeded in a specific event at states, they must compete and finish the race in that event at the West District Championship.

How to enter

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

• Boatings must include the legal names of competitors.

• The NOARA & TBCRC waivers must be completed for each competitor (see "waiver" tab). 

• Late entries will be accepted as long as open lanes are available; otherwise late entries will be wait-listed. Late entries will not be prioritized over entries already accepted. 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.

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, as well as the officiating aspects relevant to this event, traffic pattern, and safety. 

Rules

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

• Breakage: allowed maximum of one hour after the breakage is reported from either the warm up area or the first 100m of the race. Boats failing to resolve breakage issues within the one hour limit will be scratched from the event without any advancement opportunities.

• 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, 1999). 

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

• “B” entries 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. Teams must provide their own bow numbers.

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

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

Lightweight Eligibility 

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

• The weigh-in period is from 7:00am to 9:00pm for all lightweight athletes. 

• Boats without eligible substitutes will be removed from the races.

Weigh-in Procedures

• There will not be coxswain weigh-ins.
• All lightweight athletes in a boat including alternates must weigh in at the same time.
• There will be only one official weigh-in period for the entire regatta on Saturday morning from 7:00AM to 9:00AM. All lightweight athletes must weigh in at this time.
• Team weigh-in forms will be auto-generated from Regatta Central registration.  No forms are needed from the teams.  Make sure all competitor names, including the names of substitutes, are properly registered.
• All rowers must be present by boat dressed in their team uniform and accompanied by adult team representative for weigh-ins.
• No weight allowance given for items the athlete is wearing during weigh-in.
• All substitutes will weigh in with their boat mates for those athletes to be eligible to substitute.
• Weigh-ins will be conducted as a yes/no system without actual weight being announced.
• Re-weighs will only be allowed if the rower is within one (1) pound of the event maximum and must be done within the weigh-in time window.
• Rowers making weight must attach the lightweight wristband around their wrist before leaving the weigh-in area.
• Wristbands are to remain in place until the conclusion of rowing in the regatta.

Junior Eligibility 

• 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.

Freshman Eligibility Check-in Procedures

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

Minimum entries in events 

Since the results from the District Championships are used for the seeding of the FSRA 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.

Any event with seven (7) 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. There will be no "B" finals. 

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.

Awards

• First, second, and third place medals will be awarded for grand “A” finals only. 

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. Should any races be cancelled due to weather or any unforeseen event, we cannot offer a refund for fees paid and/or owed. 

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

• Email sent out to all coaches

• Updated on the Regatta Central overview page for this event