Walter Mess Regatta

  • Hosted By: Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association

General Eligibility Rules for VASRA Regattas

    1. All competitors in a boat must attend the same high school. Composite crews are not allowed.

    2. Rowers may enter in only one championship event or championship. Rowers competing in a championship event may not row in a non-championship event (3rd boat or below).

    3. Rowers may be permitted to double row in two non-championship events.

    4. Coxswains may cox in two events or cox in one event and row in one event.

    5. Athletic eligibility begins with a student’s initial enrollment in the 9th grade. After eight consecutive semesters, a student will have completed his/her athletic eligibility and may no longer participate in VASRA regattas.

    6. Competitors who have reached the age of 19 on or before August 1 of that school year are no longer eligible to participate in VASRA regattas.

    7. Junior events are restricted to competitors in the 11th grade (junior year) or lower. Juniors, including coxswains, must not have attained the age of 18 years prior to September 1 of that academic year.

    8. A team must enter a first eight in order to enter a second eight. Boats must be the same type and gender. A team may not skip events, i.e., teams not entering a 1st boat may not enter a 2nd or 3rd boat.

    9. No “B” boats are permitted in all sweep, eight and four oared, events. Single scull events do permit multiple entries per team. Additional entries should designate themselves as  junior if applicable.

    10. All Rowers must have passed a swim test of at least 100 meters (any stroke, no time limit) or treading water for 2 minutes

  1. Waivers and Membership

    1. All Rowers must have at least a Basic Membership in USRowing.

    2. A USRowing waiver completed and submitted online to the USRowing Website (Paper waivers are not acceptable).  

    3. Teams must be an organizational Member of U.S. Rowing.

    4. Coaches and Support Staff must have completed the SafeSport compliance on Regatta Central for the regatta they are attending. This is a mandatory requirement for all USRowing owned and Registered Regattas. Failure to comply will exclude persons from the restricted area of trailers, boathouses and docks. Look for:

      1. SafeSport

      2. Coaches and Support Staff

      3. Club. There is a roll down for you to select your team. Once you have selected this you may begin entering your coaches and staff. They must be at least Basic Members of USRowing to appear on your roster.  

    5. Pre Regatta Meetings - attendance is mandatory. (Virtual information on log ins is contained in the Key Dates 

      https://www.vasra.org/
      1. Coxswains Meeting - Virtual Meeting at 8:30 pm the Thursday before the regatta.

      2. Coaches Meeting - Virtual Meeting at 8:30 pm the Friday before the regatta.

  2. Visiting Crews

    1. A crew by registering for this regatta agrees to abide by the Rules of the Regatta as stated on the Regatta Central web site for that regatta.

    2. A crew by registering for this regatta agrees to abide by the VASRA Supplement to the USRowing  Rules of Rowing and any other documents pertaining to the conduct of the regattas posted on the VASRA Web site, Representative’s Handbook

    3. A Visiting Crew must be a scholastic team with all of its members from one school, register via Regatta Central and pay applicable fees.

    4. Visiting Schools must provide a Master Eligibility List (MEL) signed by the School’s Principal, Athletic Director or equivalent listing all rowers and certifying that the rowers are in good standing with the school.  More information on the Master Eligibility List can be found in the Executive Summary on the Representative’s Handbook.  A sample MEL, used by the Virginia High School League, is also included in the Representative’s Handbook. The MEL or equivalent document must be submitted to [email protected] no later than Thursday prior to the regatta.