Information and Rules of the Regatta

Event eligibility determined by age on race day.

Athletes and their coaches are expected to complete the process of registration in a timely way to allow the athlete to get through registration, become oriented, and to warm up before the event. Last minute on-site registration and the pick-up of material by those who pre-registered will not be possible.

Registration for an event will close 30 minutes prior to the scheduled time of an event, except that the registration desk will close at 2:00 pm. Weigh-in for lightweights closes at 11:30 am.

Event times are approximate and the schedule is subject to change. The schedule as printed on Race Day is the best estimate of when an event will begin. Athletes and coaches are expected to allow sufficient time in advance of the scheduled event to accommodate any adjustments in timing that may required by the Regatta Organizer. As event registrations (numbers of rowers) dictate, it is also possible that more than one event will be conducted at the same time. The athlete's cooperation is always appreciated.

If the demand for an event is greater than expected efforts will be made to accommodate those rowers. In the instance of the 20 or 30-min Row, an earlier section will be considered.

Teenage rowers can choose to enter events designated for older high school ages but cannot enter younger age events. Any adult from college age and above can enter the "open" events.

The Concept II™ Model D ergometer will be used.

There will be no heats; finals only.

Prizes are awarded in each event as noted in greater detail below. Medal winners will be announced and awarded as soon as possible after an event's results are tallied and confirmed.

Erg Sprints shirts are distributed to persons who pay the entry fee. Persons are not entitled to extra shirts because they participate in Special Events e.g., the mixed quad and double slide event. More information on shirts is below.

Athletes are expected to follow directions and guidance issued by the regatta referees during race event orientation and on entering and competing on the race floor. Questions about the regatta and its rules can be directed to the Regatta Organizer. More on protests and personal conduct is below.

Weight limits for the Lightweight Events are: for junior women (130 lbs), junior men 150 lbs); masters and open women (135 lbs), and masters and open men (165 lbs). There are no separate masters lightweight events but a person can qualify for a medal if he or she has weighed-in and there were two or more lightweights in that masters (2000m) age category. Weigh-in for lightweights closes at 11:30 am.

Coxswain Event: A participant must have been exclusively a coxswain in competition (not an oarsman or oarswoman) during the previous year. Weigh-in is not required.

Double Slides: In order to count toward the team awards partners paired will have to declare on registering a single team affiliation.

Up to four competitors who qualify for free transportation to the CRASH-B championship, according to published Concept2 criteria (finishing times), will be selected on the basis of an athlete's performance and at the discretion of the Regatta Organizer.

Race Procedure

THE WARM UP AREA is available 15 to 20 minutes before your event. Please cooperate with Regatta officials who may indicate if you should remain outside the warm-up room to allow competitors in earlier races to warm-up before you. About 5 minutes before the scheduled race, a Judge Referee will invite rowers to…

THE PRE-RACE BRIEFING AREA

•  Officials will check your attendance and assign ergs to seeded persons.

•  Competitors with bib numbers appropriate for that event will be checked off the race list.

•  The official will go over basic procedures and rules of the race floor.

•  IMPORTANT Before leaving the ERG after the race, the rower is responsible for making certain that the time recorded by the timer and correct! The rower will be required to sign the time sheet to indicate that the recorded time is correct.

MOVE TO ERGS

•  If you are seeded, go to your assigned erg. If unseeded pick an unassigned erg.

•  Set the appropriate distance (250m, 500m, 1000m 1500m, 2000m) or time. If you are uncertain as to how to go about setting the erg, the timer will assist.

•  Get settled quickly. Only adjustments allowed are seat, foot stretcher, vents, and drag. Vents may not be changed once the Referee has started an event.

BEFORE THE START

•  Erg fans should not be moving at the start of the race!

•  Note where your timer is located.

•  Inform the timer when you are ready.

•  You are permitted a single coach or coxswain who is to stay to your left.

START

•  For the rowers whose ergs are not connected to the computers the Referee will start the race with the red flag and the command "Attention" and "Go."

•  Rowers in the front flight of ergs that are connected to computers will take the start command from the PM3 monitor on the ergometer. The visual commands will be "sit ready", "attention," "ROW." The clock starts with the "ROW" command and not only after the handle is pulled.

•  NO FALSE STARTS are permitted FOR INDIVIDUAL EVENTS.

DURING THE RACE

•  If a mechanical problem develops early during an event, you will be moved to a nearby unoccupied ERG if available.

•  If a problem develops late in the event, you will be rescheduled following an appropriate rest period.

END OF RACE

•  REMEMBER TO BE SURE YOUR TIME IS CORRECTLY RECORDED AND THAT YOU SIGN THE TIME SHEET.

•  Leave the race area via the same route Coaches and coxswains may also leave by the same route as the rower.

MIXED RELAYS

•  Rowers are permitted a coach or erg holder.

•  Rower changes every 500m

•  There is no provision for penalties. BUT there is disqualification if the handle is allowed to slam the erg!

•  Standard starting commands: Attention! (pause) Go!

PARENT-CHILD DASH

•  Rowers change after the first 250m

•  Rowers are permitted a coach or erg holder.

•  There is no provision for penalties. BUT there is disqualification if the handle is allowed to slam the erg!

•  Standard starting commands: Attention! (pause) Go!

PROTESTS

•  If you have a protest take it to the Starter immediately after your race.

•  The Starter will adjudicate the complaint following consultation with Chief Referee and/or the Regatta Organizer.

Protests & Conduct

Protests specific to the races are adjudicated by the Starter in consultation with the Chief Referee and Regatta Organizer. Other complaints regarding the regatta are to be submitted to the Regatta Organizer.

Coaches and coxswains will not be permitted to move from one athlete to another on the race floor during the same event but must remain in a single location with one rower or adjacent rowers.

Proper decorum and fairness will be observed by regatta officials. Proper sportsmanship and decorum will be observed by athletes, their coaches, and the audience. Athletes are expected to be properly attired for competition, including shirts on men. Regatta officials reserve the right to ask persons who are not behaving in a sportsman like way to leave the facility.

Awards

Medals are awarded the top three individuals (or team members in the case of double or quad events) in each event except for the parent/child events in which only the winners of each of the four categories (MM, FF, MF, FM) will get medals. Lightweight medals will be awarded in the Masters events if the individuals register and weigh in as lightweights.

In the Double Slide event, only MM and FF combinations are eligible for medals.

Concept2 will pay airfare to the CRASH-B Sprints in Boston for up to four persons whose times meet or beat the CRASH-B qualifying times. The MidAtlantic Erg Sprints Regatta Organizer will select those four persons if more than four persons meet or beat the qualifying times.

Team Awards

The Erg Sprints use the following formula for calculating team awards.

Health & Safety

The MidAtlantic Erg Sprints has volunteer Alexandria Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on the race floor to provide immediate care when the situation arises. Our thanks to Mike Chandler and his colleagues for their many years of assistance!

Play it safe: If you have a health inform the EMTs who are stationed on the Race Floor in advance of your race. That way they can know in advance in case an emergency situation arises.

Play it smart: Be smart about what you eat in the hours before a race. Do not eat dairy and heavy foods that are hard to digest. If you have any questions about it, ask your coach!

Race Officials

The MidAtlantic Erg Sprints is fortunate that Washington area USRowing Referees have donated their time to officiating the races much as they do on the water. This may be the only indoor regatta that relies on the Referees. They marshall rowers to prepare for entry to the race floor, provide instructions on how the races will be conducted and the equipment is used, start races, watch over the athletes to assure their safe and fair completion of the races, and assist the Regatta Organizer in maintaining the schedule. They show great pride in their work and we are proud, and genuinely appreciative, that they have stayed with us for so many years. It is a better event for their service.

T-Shirts

When you are asked about t-shirt sizes when you register, that is for purposes of a survey and does not represent a guarantee that you will get that size, although we will do our best to have sufficient numbers in all sizes. Shirts may be available for sale toward the end of the day.