FSRA West District Championship 

Rules & Eligibility

Racing location Tampa Bypass, Tampa, FL

• Race course Tampa Bypass
• Team Tents and Spectators should set up in designated area assigned to teams.
• Spectators can park in designated lot to be communicated.

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

• New last season in 2023: teams may double athletes in a sweep event if it is the 1v8+ and another event. This is an effort that FSRA is allowing at the State championship to increase subscription in the Varsity 8+ event and we will allow it at West Districts as well.

• 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 has announced that any FSRA team may travel to another district to race in a different district championship and be eligible for the same competition. Any boat or team that is not a member of FSRA must receive approval to race at the West District Championship. Any composite boat must be approved and will not be eligible for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place medals or points. Medals will be awarded to the top 3 West District teams. Guests will not race for medals but will be included in the race, progression, etc.

• 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.

• All rules from the FSRA state championships will also be followed for the West District Championship. Rowers are allowed to enter one sweep and one sculling event. B entries are allowed in any event that is the lowest boat event in that boat category.

• The West District will follow the same Eligible Athlete rules as the FSRA state championships

• Any competing team must fill two volunteer positions as well as provide a coach who is able to drive a launch if asked by the regatta coordinator.

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

Results will be used to help for Seeding for FSRA Florida State Championship

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 FSRA waiver for verification purposes)

• The FSRA waiver must be completed for each competitor thru their Regatta Central compliance.

• Late entries will be accepted as long as open lanes are available. 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 tba

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. The only high school exception to this rule is that FSRA is now allowing teams to enter athletes in the 1V8+ and one other sweep event. The only exception for middle school events is that they do not count towards the doubling rule because they are not FSRA state championship events.

• Heats to finals will be run in all events except for the middle school events (not FSRA seeded events) and these will be run as flights if more than the maximum number of lanes is entered for any middle school event. Heats will only be run if more than the maximum number of lanes available (six in Tampa) is entered. If "B" entries take the maximum number of entries over six, they will be run in a separate final and "A" boats will have their own final.

• Males may not row in female events.  Females may not row in male events. With the exception of coxswains and middle school specific events. Middle school events may have females rowing to complete a boat in a male event.

• If a composite crews (rowers from two or more FSRA Member teams in the same boat) is approved, it will not be racing for medals or points.

• 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. Any competing lightweight MUST have cleared the ability to do so through the FSRA process. These forms are available on the FSRA website and must be complete for the athlete to be entered in these events. These forms are due March 1st for FSRA states and therefore we use the same deadline.

• 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.

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

• “B” entries will only be accepted in the lowest boat event of each category. For example, if there is no 3rd boat event in a category, B boats would therefore be allowed in the 2nd boat event. No "C" boats are allowed except in middle school events.

• If only one boat is entered in an event that has a higher boat event that boat will be moved to race as a B boat. For example if there is only one 4th Varsity 8+ entered, it will be moved to the 3rd Varsity 8+ event as a B boat.

• All boats will be equipped with a protective bow ball and quick release shoes. Boats not so equipped will be barred from launching. Teams are responsible for checking all equipment to make sure boats are properly equipped to be safe.

• 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.

Lightweight Eligibility Check-in Procedures

• Lightweight events are open to all eligible athletes as defined above who meet the weight requirements. They MUST have cleared the current year FSRA lightweight protocol.

• Weigh in will be allowed between 6:00-8:00 am on Saturday. These are the only times available. The entire boat needs to be present to weigh in. Re-weighs will only be allowed if the rowers is within one (1) pound of the event maximum and must be done within the weigh-in time windows.

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. We follow the same classifications as the FSRA state championships and expect you are working through this eligiblity with those races upcoming.

• 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).

  • They could also be included on the FSRA list as all athletes should be listed by our race!

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.

Middle School Eligibility

• All racers in Middle School events must be in 6-8 grades

• Because these events are not a FSRA state championship event, we will not require that athletes count this race towards their total number of sweep or sculling events for the day. For example, an 8th grader could race in both the middle school 8+ and another event such as the Freshmen 8+ but could not race in both the Freshmen 8+ and Varsity 4+.

Minimum Entries

Since the results from the District Championships are used for the seeding of the 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 we might combine the event with another that has open lanes.

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

Protests

• Protests should be avoided at all costs and be used as a last resort.

• 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