Gator Head Regatta

  • Oct 26, 2024
  • head
  • Gainesville, FL (USA)
  • Hosted By: Gainesville Area Rowing, Inc.

2024 Gator Head Regatta Rules

PENALTIES

Penalties will be assessed for the following-

10 sec Missing a buoy on the course by any part of the shell or hull, but not the oar/s.

30 sec Failure to yield right of way on the course.

30 sec Leaving the dock without a bow number or entering the chute with an incorrect bow number.

60 sec Late to the starting line IF the officials permit the boat to race.

*Unsportsmanlike behavior will result in exclusion from the event

REGATTA OPERATIONS

Call of Events: All times are subject to change prior to race day as late entries are received. Final times will be distributed to registered teams and posted at the Regatta Headquarters on Saturday morning. Events will be called 50 minutes prior to the start of the race. A second call will be made 40 minutes prior to the start of an event. Third and final call will be made 35 minutes prior to the start of the race. It is the responsibility of the crew to be at the marshaling area prior to the published start time independent of a call being made. A crew that arrives at the start after their event scheduled time may row exhibition, be excluded from the event, or be penalized at the starter's discretion.

Hot Seating: Allow a minimum of 1 hour for hot seating rowers or equipment. If you have a concern with a crew that is hot seating, please contact Regatta Headquarters on Saturday morning to discuss this issue with the officials. If you are hot seating equipment or rowers, display a pink "Hot Seating" card when coming into the dock and the dock master will give priority docking to that boat. Ask the dock master for a pink "Hot Seating" card at the coaches and coxswains meeting. Hot seating is not justification for wrong bow numbers, late to the start, etc

Dock Area: The dock master has absolute authority in the dock area. Boats will be launching and recovering from separate 60 ft long floating docks. All crews have a 3 minute time limit on the dock to launch/recover. As crews come in for lunch and at the end of the day, the launch dock may be used to recover crews if all crews have launched.

Safety: All boats will be inspected prior to launching. Inspection will include bow balls, bow cards, and shoe tie downs. We will be following USRowing rules for the presence of tie downs. A boat that is entered in multiple events will be inspected each time it is launched. If a crew needs to make changes to their equipment they will be directed to slings out of the way of boat traffic to make changes. We will have a first aid tent staffed with medically trained individuals. If you have a rower with a medical condition that the referees need to be aware of, please email regatta LOC.

Coaches & Coxswains Meeting: We will have a coaches and coxswains meeting prior to any boats launching. We will go over the racecourse and specific information on the buoys and passing. We strongly encourage coaches, coxswains, and bow coxswains to attend this meeting. Crews are responsible for following late information provided at this meeting regardless of their attendance at the meeting.

Team Launch/Land Support: We will not have an oar staging area. To minimize congestion only two support people plus coach may accompany each boat down to the docks.

Starting: The Starter / Marshall will arrange the crews so that crews cross the starting line at approximately 10 second intervals. Crews should remain near the Start Marshall to hear commands to the start line. A crew must yield to another crew being summoned to the starting area. A crew that arrives at the start after their event has run will participate (as listed above) at the starter's discretion. The starting area is a no passing zone from the buoy nearest the start chute to one boat open water after the chute. (E.g. the following boat may not approach the preceding boat until the following boat is a boat length open water out of the chute.)

Passing: Passing is allowed along the entire course except for in the starting chute and near Palm Point. The no passing zones are marked with red buoys. When being passed, if necessary, a crew will yield away from the buoy line of the shortest course and the passing crew will move towards the buoy line to pass. Yielding will occur no later than when the overtaking crew is one boat of open water of the crew being passed. The boat overtaking (Passer) has the right of way to pass as above if a safe pass can be accomplished. Passing may occur towards the buoy line or away from the buoy line at the option of the passer. If a passer calls for a crew to yield, he must be truly passing and not be using the call to slow the other boat.

Crews and scullers must take note of the following: If a pass is attempted and there is not adequate room and time to perform the pass, the Passer is at risk of incurring interference penalties. It is the passer’s responsibility to avoid interference with the yielding boat.Contact with the boat or oars of the boat being overtaken or aggressive maneuvers will be considered an unsafe pass. The boat being overtaken must yield and give suitable room to the Passer if this can be safely accomplished. Generally this will be the shortest line that gives an advantage. Failure to yield to the Passer is one of the most serious infractions of competitive conduct. Crews and scullers must be alert to possible upcoming passing attempts and promptly yield when there is adequate room and time. All shells with bow-loaded coxswains are strongly advised to have their bow seat rower notify the coxswain if a following crew is about to make a pass. Timely instruction from the bow seat rower may assist the coxswain in avoiding an interference penalty.

CLASSIFICATION & ELIGIBILITY

(a) Junior/Youth: A Junior/Youth is a competitor who in the current calendar year does not attain the age of 19, or who is and has been continuously enrolled in secondary school as a full-time student seeking a diploma. A competitor thus ceases to be a Junior 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 full-time student, whichever is later. 

(b) Novice: A Novice is a competitor who in the current calendar year does not attain the age of 19, or who is and has been continuously enrolled in secondary school as a full-time student seeking a diploma. Additionally, a competitor must be in their first year of competition at the High School level, regardless of age. 

(c) Master: A Master is a competitor who has attained or will attain the age of 21 during the current calendar year. A competitor’s age is determined as of December 31 of the current calendar year, rounded down to the highest contained integer. A competitor thus becomes a Master on January 1 of the year of his or her 21st birthday. A Masters crew shall be comprised exclusively of Masters rowers, but the coxswain need not be a Master. Masters crews shall be classified by age according to the following categories:

  • (AA) 21 to 26 years
  • (A) 27 to 35 years
  • (B) 36 to 42 years
  • (C) 43 to 49 years
  • (D) 50 to 54 years
  • (E) 55 to 59 years
  • (F) 60 to 64 years
  • (G) 65 to 69 years
  • (H) 70 to 74 years
  • (I) 75 to 79 years
  • (J) 80 and over

The age category of a Masters crew shall be determined by the average age of the rowers in the crew, rounded to the nearest integer. The age of a coxswain shall not be counted. The ages of individual rowers need not fall within the age category, so long as each rower is a Master and so long as the average age of the crew falls within the applicable category.

(d) Mixed crews:

Youth - are expected to have 50% of each gender in 4s and 8s not including the cox. For those competing in mixed 2-/xs, crew members must be of the opposite gender.

Masters - are expected to have at least 25% of each gender in 4s and 8s (i.e. 2 minimum in an 8+ and 1 minimum in a 4x/+/-) not including the cox. For those competing in mixed 2-/xs, crew members must be of the opposite gender.

Athletes must have a waiver on file. We are using the FSRA waiver. A link will be provided once the 2024/2025 waiver is available.

WEIGH-INS:

Coxwains: There is no required minimum weight for coxes. However, coaches are expected to only boat coxswains of an appropriate age, weight and experience level so that they are capable of handling their boat efficiently.

Protests: Protests for a race must be filed on water at the finish line with an official, no exceptions. You will have one hour from the end of your race to file the written protest with regatta headquarters (near registration) and pay the required $50 fee (cash only)