Rules of Rowing

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Rules of Rowing

• An Introduction
• 2007

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Rules of Rowing

• Published annually in March by the United States
  Rowing Association (USRowing)
  
• Available for download on the web at
  http//www.usrowing.org click Referees, then
  Rules of Rowing
  

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Rowing Defined (1-201)

• Rowing is the propulsion of a displacement
  boat through water by the muscular force of one
  or more rowers, with or without a coxswain, in
  which oars are levers of the second order, and in
  which the rowers are sitting with their backs to
  the direction of forward movement of the boat

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Underlying Principles and Priorities (1-102)

• Safety
• Fairness
• Consistent Application
• The first is infinitely more important than the
  rest

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Major Sections

• General Provisions
• Conduct of the Race
• Equipment
• Competitors
• Regattas
• Trials Rules
• The Course
• Head Races
• Supplemental Rules
• Addenda

Todays Topic
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Conduct of the Race

• Officials
• Safety and Fair Conditions
• The Start
• The Body of the Race
• The Finish
• Penalties and Protests

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Officials (2-101 to 2-105)

• Six functions/positions described in the Rules,
  to be filled by licensed officials
  
• Chief Referee
• Starter
• Referee
• Judge at Start
• Chief Judge
• Members of the Jury
• Referees routinely fill other functions/positions
  
• Marshal
• Control Commission

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Minimum number of Officials

• More than one of the required functions can be
  performed by a single individual, e.g.,
  
• Starter can follow a race
• Judge at start can follow a race
• A registered regatta is required to have a
  minimum of 3 licensed officials, one of whom must
  have a Referee license (to act as Chief)

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Safety and Fair Conditions (2-201 to 2-207)

• Chief Referee is responsible for insuring the
  safety of the course and regatta procedures
  
• Checking course - layout, obstacles, hazards
• Posting of safety information
• Launch protocols
• Traffic patterns
• Pre-race meeting (Coaches Coxswains)
• Assignment of referees and safety personnel and
  equipment
  
• Chief is also responsible for making the call to
  cancel or suspend racing if conditions turn
  hazardous
  

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The Start (2-301 to 2-311)

• Starting area is controlled by the Starter
• An effective Start Marshal is the key to a
  smoothly-run starting area
  
• Typically, Starter announces race, lane
  assignments, crews and time remaining at 10
  minutes prior to announced race time
  
• Repeats race call and time remaining at 5, 4, 3
  and 2 minutes
  
• Crews report and lock on NLT 2 minutes before
  the announced race time
  
• Crews need to be uniformly attired

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Getting Ready

• Judge at Start issues alignment commands to
  crews/stakeboat holders
  
• White flag signals proper alignment
• While waiting to start, crews maintain alignment,
  and their point, or proper direction straight
  down the course
  
• Crews indicate not being ready to start by raised
  hands (bowperson, but cox typical)
  
• Starter typically begins start sequence by
  announcing event and progressions

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Types of Starts

• Polling Start
• Crews polled by name only, starting with Lane 1
• Hands are recognized, i.e,, Starter delays
  Start until all crews are ready
  
• Starter issues Starting Commands
• Quick Start
• No polling starter announces Quick Start
• Hands are recognized
• Starter issues Starting Commands
• Countdown Start
• Starter announces Countdown Start
• Hands may be recognized (but typically are not)
• Starter counts down 5-4-3-2-1
• Starter issues Starting Commands

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Types of Starts (contd)

• Polling Start is normal and preferred, when
  conditions and time permit
  
• Quick Start used in various scenarios floating
  starts, to make up time, crews inability to
  lock on, etc.
  
• Countdown Start used when conditions prevent use
  of other types without inordinate delay
  
• Typical to bypass use of Quick Start and go right
  to Countdown Start

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Starting Commands

• Same for all types of starts
• Starter uses 3-beat sequence
• Attention!
• Red Flag raised overhead
• Go! simultaneously accompanied by quick
  downward motion of the Red Flag to one side
  
• First motion of the Red Flag OK to start
• Rules call for a distinct and variable pause
  between raising the flag and Go! Command
  
• Good Starter practice is to vary the length of
  the pause dont be predictable

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False Starts and Failure to Start

• A crew false starts if their bow crosses the
  plane of the starting line before movement of the
  Red Flag
  
• Only the Judge at Start can call a false
  start
  
• A warning is the penalty for a false start (terms
  are often used interchangeably, e.g., give them
  a false start)
  
• A crew may choose not to start, and may stop
  within the limits of the starting area
  
• May receive a warning, unless there was broken
  equipment or their failure to start was otherwise
  justified

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Starting Commands with Lights

• Rules modified in 2007 to provide for aligning,
  starting commands, and judgment of false starts
  using light systems, rather than flags
  
• One US course with lights now (Mercer County, NJ,
  more expected in the future

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Starting Area and Broken Equipment

• Starting area extends down the course 100 meters
  from the start
  
• Also called the breakage zone
• Can also be measured by approximately 20 seconds
  of elapsed time on an unbuoyed course
  
• Broken equipment may be claimed for boat, oar,
  or mechanism used in normal propulsion, flotation
  or steering
  
• Cannot be claimed for conditions resulting from
  neglect or carelessness, crabs or jumped
  slides
  
• Races stopped in Starting area are re-started,
  after any penalties are assessed

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The Body of the Race (2-401 to 2-411)

• Competent performance by the Referee encompasses
  a combination of attributes and skills
  
• awareness, anticipation, decisiveness, knowledge
  and understanding
  
• the ability to communicate effectively with crews
  during the race
  
• proper launch positioning

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Interference (2-404)

• Physical contact with or washing another crew, or
  forcing another crew to alter its course to avoid
  imminent collision
  
• Crews are entitled to protection from
  interference when in their own water
  
• Crews outside their water may be instructed to
  return, if they are in danger of causing
  interference
  
• Interference is the principal cause of
  unfairness judging interference is thus an
  essential Referee skill

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Correct Launch Positioning

• Two criteria
• provides the Referee with a proper perspective to
  visually judge the lane positions (relative and
  absolute) on a continuous basis
  
• enables the Referee to appropriately warn a crew
  before a significant breach of safety or fairness
  occurs, without unnecessary disruption to the
  progress and concentration of the other crews

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Effective Communications

• Rules 2-407 to 409 delineate various instructions
  which the Referee may be required to give to
  crews during a race
  
• Each is initiated with an alert to get the
  attention of the specific crew(s) being signaled
  
• Raise the white flag vertically
• Call out the name(s) of the crew(s) Whitman!
  Gonzaga!
  
• getting the crews attention is getting eye
  contact/other recognition from the stroke
  
• The specific instructions may be
• visual, entailing use of the white or red flag to
  signal to the crew(s) or
  
• combine the flag signal with an auditory command

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Referees Instructions to Crews (2-407)

• Keep Apart! - raised white flag and command
• Move to port/starboard - white flag moved
  laterally to desired direction, from vertical
  
• Stop! - raised white flag and command (for
  stopping the crew, not the race)
  
• Continue to Row! - white flag moved forward
  from vertical
  
• Race Cadence! - raised white flag and command

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Instructions to Avoid Unsafe or Unfair Conditions
(2-408)

• Obstacle! - raised white flag and command
• Stop! - if collision is imminent
• Crew ordered to stop may have opportunity to win
  or advance restored, if obstacle was previously
  unknown or unidentified
  
• Unfair advantage Referee may instruct a crew
  outside its water and obtaining an unfair
  advantage to return to its water using
  instructions in 2-407(a)

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Stopping a Race in Progress (2-405)

• Must be justifiable on 2 basic principles
• the likelihood that a crew in contention has been
  deprived of a fair competitive opportunity, and
  
• no further competitive value remains in the race
• May result from serious collision, freak weather,
  wildlife interruptions, etc.
  
• Interference per se not sufficient has to
  justify invoking one of the basic principles
  
• Much easier to do in the first 500 meters rare
  in final 500 meters
  
• Stop! - Wave red flag, whistle, air horn, etc.
  (2-407(d)

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The Finish (2-501 to 2-504)

• A crew finishes when its bow crosses the plane of
  the finish line
  
• Chief Judge
• Presides over the finish area
• Establishes order of finish, assisted by other
  judges
  
• Chief Judges opinion is final
• Directs other personnel
• Flagperson
• Timers
• Scribe
• Informs Chief Referee of protests
• Releases results after the race is declared
  Official
  

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Declaring the Race to be Official (2-503)

• No protest
• Referee on the water raises white flag
• Visible to competitors and Chief Judge
• Penalty imposed/actions taken, without further
  protest or appeal
  
• Referee raises red flag, followed by white flag
• Announces penalty
• Protest being addressed to Jury
• Referee raises red flag
• Announces protest
• Referee reports race time to Chief Judge
• Chief Judge acknowledges receipt of time by
  raising white flag
  
• Only races ended by white flag are considered
  official
  

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Penalties and Protests (2-601 to 2-608)

• Four types of penalties
• Reprimand informal caution/verbal admonishment,
  with no immediate effect
  
• Warning a formal caution, applying to a crew for
  the duration of a particular race
  
• Two warnings exclusion
• Exclusion Removal of a crew from a particular
  event
  
• Crew may row in other events
• Disqualification Removal of a crew from all
  subsequent races and events in the same regatta
  
• Applied for flagrant or intentional violations
  affecting safety or fairness
  
• Reported to USRowing
• May be applied to individuals in lieu of ta crew

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Restoring Opportunity of Winning

• Exclusion is normal penalty for interference
• Referee may choose not to exclude
• Can place offending crew behind offended crew in
  order of finish
  
• Cant move offended crew ahead, but
• Can consider the offended crew to have rowed a
  dead heat with the crew immediately preceding it
  
• Other remedies
• Order re-row
• Advance offended crew to semis/finals,if feasible

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Protests

• Some matters not subject to protest
• Non-substantial rights of the crew
• Findings of fact by race officials
• All valid protests (with limited exceptions) must
  be heard and ruled upon on the water by the
  Referee, at the end of a race
  
• Referees decision can be appealed to the Jury
• Offended crew disagrees with facts or remedy
• Offending crew disagrees with facts, penalty, or
  remedy
  
• Crew completes and files written protest
  statement, accompanied by 25 fee, within 1 hour
  of reaching the dock
  

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The Jury

• Convened by Chief Referee, who presides as
  President
  
• Jury Hearing
• Introductions and reading of protest statement
  Testimony obtained from protesting crew, any
  affected crews, race officials, other parties
  
• Formal rules of evidence do not apply
• Non-participating observers permitted
• Jury deliberations in private
• Results announced, penalties imposed, race
  declared official
  
• Jury decisions may be appealed to USRowing

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Rules Are Just the Start

• Rules are not rigid, but some are more important
  than others
  
• Chief can relax enforcement of the uniform rule
• Exceptions/modifications to Rules can be granted
  to a local organizing committee (LOC) by USRowing
  as part of the registration process
  
• Rules marked by an asterisk () cannot be waived
  or modified by a local organizing committee,
  except by the Board of Directors
  
• Human beings are always in charge (1-105)
• In situations not covered under these Rules, race
  officials are empowered to make such decisions
  and give such instructions as are necessary to
  carry out their responsibilities, and to effect
  the purposes described safety, fairness,
  consistent application

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• Questions?