Music City Head Race
- Oct 12, 2019
- head
- Cumberland River
- Nashville, TN (USA)
- Hosted By: Vanderbilt Rowing Club
- 2019 Registered Regatta
Over 100 volunteers are needed to run this regatta as described below. If you would like to help us demonstrate Nashville hospitality, please sign up here:
www.volunteersignup.org/7QP9M
Music City Head Race 2018
Volunteer Job Descriptions
Boat Safety Inspectors
- check all boats before going down hill to launch
- check that bow balls are firmly in place
- check for bow number
- check that all shoes in boat are tied down at the heels
- there will be 3 stations at the top of the hill for inspections
Buoy drop off/pick up
- arrives early with coaches
- assembles buoys with ropes and anchors
- load buoys into launches
- drop buoys along course per GPS unit
- adjusts buoys along course once all are in
- pick up buoys after race - goes faster than setting up
- work gloves and old clothes are recommended when pulling up buoys
Dock Master
- control the launching and recovering of all crews/boats
- crews should launch and recover in under 3 minutes.
- priority should be given to crews who need to launch for races and those just finished for hotseating
- make sure oars are present for launching crews and oarlocks are open (2 people are allowed to carry oars for an 8, 1 person for smaller boats)
- refer to map on how to launch 3/8s at once
- refer to map on how to land launching and recovering crews at the same time
- one volunteer will be at top of hill (remove bow numbers on boats recovering)
- one volunteer will be at bottom by river (make sure oarlocks are open)
- two volunteers will manage traffic on the dock
- be mindful of safety first and adopt a pleasant and helpful attitude toward all coaches and crews
Dock Set Up
- need 6 people to load 200 lb. sections of the dock onto a flatbed trailer under supervision of Don Sullivan
- drive with trailer to riverfront and unload the sections, then return to load up more dock sections
- need 6 additional people to haul the dock sections down the hill, install on river and attach them together under supervision of Vanderbilt engineering students
- when last load is brought to river, both crews help secure spud poles and ramps
Dock Tear Down
- disassemble the dock, load sections on truck, return and store at lake
Finish Line Timer
- requires use of stopwatch (all regatta stopwatches are started in unison on land before regatta)
- sits on shore aligned with the finish line noting what time each crew crosses the finish
- note each race, what teams and their bow numbers are coming down the course, and communicate the finish times for each to the results tent using cell phone
Gravel Spreading
-spread gravel along the river by the dock to fill in between the cement blocks to levelize area underfoot
- please bring a shovel
Launch Drivers
- requires knowledge of how to operate an outboard motor and drive a launch
- each driver is assigned a location along the 5k course, usually 500-1000 meters apart
- insure the safety of all crews within your location on the course
- watch for crews passing each other, passing bridge abutments or other hazards along the course
- direct boat traffic heading to the start of the race if necessary
- watch that no boats are interfering with the races coming down the course
- note any crews that missed buoys and phone/text/email info indicating the bow number and the number of missed buoys
Medals volunteer
- distributes the medals for each race to athlete or coach
- collect signature from person picking up medals to acknowledge receipt
- print race results and post them on the results board
Parking Attendant
- look at map on MCHR website for designated parking lots
- Spectator parking is in the southern part of Lot R and Lot T
- Athlete parking will be in the northwest quadrant of Lot R
- two will direct cars to park, two will sit at closed off roads to prevent traffic from coming through
- you may be the first face of Nashville Rowing - be a problem-solver, helpful and courteous, not an enforcer
- there will be someone from Nashville Sports Authority/Titans collecting $5 from each spectator car to park. This is their policy and the money does not go to the regatta.
- control the flow of vehicles into and out of reserved parking areas
- keep athlete drop-off area moving smoothly
- prevent illegal parking
- be mindful of all pedestrian safety around vehicles
Registration
- Friday is Registration Day - hand out packets to arriving teams, athletes
- have arriving coaches check packet for correct race entries
- inform arriving coaches of coxswains and volunteer meetings, when racing starts on Saturday and any other pertinent information
- make sure all crews and single scullers who register fill out the economic impact survey
- handle weigh-ins for all lightweight crews by noting weight on clipboard, scale provided by coach
- weigh-ins are Friday 1-6p, Saturday 8-10a
- by Saturday noon most crews have registered
Results
- requires computer skills to record data
- record start times sent by start-line timer via text or photo by cell phone
- record finish times sent by finish-line timer via text of photo by cell phone
- for Masters races record all handicaps for each race from a spreadsheet provided by coach
- make sure you know the password for the computer!
- one person follows up with all timers to get the results and one person records those figures in the computer
Start Chute Director
- requires knowledge on how the start of a Head Race is done
- requires knowledge of how to operate an outboard motor and drive a launch
- directs boats to line up in order of bow number going into the chute
- keep boats constantly moving through the chute
- note any crews arriving late or no-shows and communicate to Registration Volunteer with cell phone
- has use of megaphone to be heard
Start Line Holding Area Director
- requires knowledge on how the start of a Head Race is done
- requires knowledge of how to operate an outboard motor and drive a launch
- manages the boats/crews coming into the start area
- keeps boats in the same event together until they are called to move up to the chute
- keeps boats lined up by bow numbers within their event
- keeps boat traffic moving toward the start chute in an orderly fashion
- has use of a megaphone to be heard
- handles any safety issues with boats/crews in this area
Start Line Timer
- requires use of stopwatch (all regatta stopwatches are started in unison on land before regatta)
- requires cell phone with battery back up (binoculars also helpful if you have them)
- requires the agility to climb onto a rock outcropping/cliff from a launch to get into position
- bring a clipboard and pencil/pen to write down times
- if it rains, bring protection for yourself and protection for clipboard (plastic covering, pen that won't run, etc.)
- two volunteers work with referee to call out the bow number and record start times for each boat in the event
- communicate the start times to the results tent via text or a photo of the start time
- you will be standing on a rock cliff overlooking the water for this job with no access to a bathroom
- wear old clothes you don't mind getting dirty and sneakers to scramble up the rocks
Trailer Parking Attendant
- trailers will begin arriving Friday afternoon through early Saturday morning to park in Lot R in northeast quadrant
- you may be the first face of Nashville Rowing - be a problem-solver, helpful and courteous, not an enforcer
- courteously re-direct vehicles that are not trailers to the appropriate lots
- guide trailers into designated parking spaces parking diagonally across the spaces to increase capacity
- make sure other vehicles don't park in trailer spots
- consider the safety all equipment when guiding trailers into spaces, watch bows or sterns extending past the trailer as they maneuver into place
Trash pick up volunteer
- as teams begin leaving, consolidate trash
- Metro provides 15-20 metal trash cans which must all be emptied
- trash will be taken to dumpster and all metal cans stacked together