Rules of the 2024 Head of the Passaic Regatta

1. REGISTRATION & ENTRIES

1. The HOPR is registered with USRowing and accepts the once-a-year USRowing waiver. Each athlete must have executed an official USRowing Release of Liability waiver and completed any USRowing-required SafeSport training in order to compete in the regatta. To submit the online waiver, both US and International athletes will need to Join or Renew as a Basic Member at https://membership.usrowing.org/. For more information on submitting your waiver, visit USRowing or contact USRowing at 800-314-4ROW or members@usrowing.org.

   1. All clubs and/or schools registered for the HOPR must be in good organizational USRowing standing in order to compete in the regatta

2. All entries must be registered via Regatta Central and paid in full by the deadline posted on Regatta Central.  Late entries may be accepted at the discretion of the Race Directors.  Late entries that are accepted will be assessed an additional late entry fee equal to 50% of the entry fee. Unpaid entries will not be permitted to race.

3. Complete registration information must be submitted by the registration deadline.  Missing or fictitious ages, names, abbreviations, initials, etc. must be corrected by the registration deadline.  Entries with incomplete information will be deemed scratched.

4. Scratched entries will be refunded their entry fees up until the registration deadline.  Entries scratched after that deadline will not be refunded.

5. Events at the HOPR must have a minimum of two entries.  Races with only one entry may be combined with another event or canceled.  In the event of race cancellation due to insufficient entries, the entry fee will be refunded.

6. Should the Regatta be canceled by the Race Directors prior to race day, entry fees shall be refunded.  Races canceled on the day of the Regatta due to river conditions or inclement weather will not be refunded.

2. STARTING

1. The first half of entries in every event will be seeded based on last year’s results.  Remaining entries will be randomized. 

2. Bow numbers will be assigned to each boat according to this order and distributed along with a schedule in race-day Registration Packets.  Boats will be called to the PRRA launch dock by race number and bow numbers.  Boats launching from other locations will be called at the discretion of their dockmasters.  Boats on the river must position themselves in the marshaling area (marked on the course map) so they can start in bow number sequence.  Bow numbers will be collected at the return docks and must be returned.

3. The Starter will space boats so that each shell crosses the starting line at regular intervals.

4. Yellow buoys will approximate both the start and finish lines.

5. The race will be officiated by USRowing Referees.  Boats must be alert to the possibility that they may receive directions from officials at Control Commission, Dock, Warm-up Area, Start, Course Marshals, and Finish.  They must follow any such directions in an expeditious manner.

3. RIGHT OF WAY

1. A boat is deemed to be overtaking another when it has moved to within one length of open water of the boat ahead. It is the responsibility of the slower crew to yield the line chosen by the passing crew in a timely manner.

2. Where the course turns, a boat being overtaken shall move to the shore and allow the overtaking boat to pass along the shorter path.

3. In the instance where safe passing is not possible or there is insufficient room to yield, especially in and around bridges, passing is not permissible; the faster boat must delay passing until both themselves and the yielding crew reaches a safe passing point.

4. Care should be taken when turning around at the marshaling area or past the finish line. Boats racing have the right of way over all other boats.

4. TRAVEL PATTERN

1. Two-way traffic is maintained on the river.  Boats must not cross the race course at any time.  Whether approaching the starting line or racing down the course, at all times, boats must keep the buoys near the center of the river on their respective port side depending on which direction they are heading in.

2. Boats that are racing will be on the west side of the river, heading downstream. 

3. Boats that are launching, landing, or proceeding to/from their docks must row in the buoy-designated lane on the east (upstream) side of the river.

4. Navigable arches of the 2 bridges on the course are indicated on the course map.  These are the arches closest to the middle of the river. 

5. PENALTIES

1. Where buoys mark the boundaries of the course, and in particular mark turns on the course, a boat shall be penalized 10 seconds for each buoy passed incorrectly. A boat passes a buoy incorrectly when any part of its hull passes on the wrong side of the buoy.

2. Boats willfully missing their correct order at the start may be penalized 10 seconds.

3. Boats failing to yield to a boat being summoned to the starting area, or otherwise interfering with the staging of the start, may be penalized 10 seconds by the Marshall or Starter.

4. Boats failing to yield to those having proper right of way shall be penalized 30 seconds.

5. Boats crossing the starting line without their required bow numbers shall be penalized 30 seconds.

6. Boats passing others in areas marked "no passing" shall be penalized 60 seconds for each violation.

7. Boats passing a bridge under an arch marked "non-navigable" shall be penalized 60 seconds for each violation.

8. In accordance with USRowing Rules of Rowing-2-602 Types of Penalties:

   1. Reprimand: A reprimand shall consist of an informal caution and shall have no immediate effect upon a Crew. Subsequent behavior by the Crew inconsistent with the terms of the reprimand, however, may be evidence that the Crew acted flagrantly or intentionally.

   2. Warning: A Crew that receives two warnings applying to the same Race shall be excluded pursuant to subsection (c) below. A false start shall have the same effect as a warning.

   3. (c) Exclusion: A Crew that is excluded shall be removed from the Event. The excluded Crew may still compete in other Events.

   4. Disqualification: A Crew that is disqualified shall be removed from all subsequent Races and Events in the same Regatta. Disqualification shall be presumed to be appropriate where a Crew has acted in flagrant or intentional violation of rules concerning safety or fairness.

6. EQUIPMENT

1. All boats must be equipped with a protective "bow-ball" on the bow or its anti-puncture equivalent as specified by the current version of the Rules of Rowing, rule 3-105, available from USRowing.  Boats that fail to meet this rule will not be permitted to launch.

2. For boats with flexible-soled shoes attached to the foot stretchers, heels must be attached to the stretchers by a method allowing quick exit in case of emergency (“heel ties”). Boats will be inspected at the dock and must comply with this rule to be permitted to launch. This is in accordance with USRowing Rule 3-108, Footgear Release.

3. Each boat must display its assigned bow number and be equipped with a bow clip for this purpose.  No boat will be allowed to leave the dock without a bow number. Bow numbers will be provided by the HOPR LOC and must be returned on the recovery dock.

4. A single shell in the recreational single category can be no more than 24 feet long, with a deck beam of not less than 17 inches.

7. RACE CATEGORIES & ELIGIBILITY 

1. In accordance with USRowing Rule 4-103 Eligibility to Compete in Events: Rowers may compete in a higher skill class, but not a lower skill class.  For example, a HS Second athlete may compete in a Varsity event, but not in a Novice event.

2. All athletes in each boat must be from the same club or school

3. Participants in Middle School events must be currently enrolled in grades 6-8.

4. Participants in High School events must be enrolled in High School, grades 9-12.

5. Participants in Collegiate events must be bona fide students enrolled at and representing accredited/chartered colleges or universities and eligible to compete in intercollegiate athletics.

6. Novice events are for participants in their first year of racing in that category, regardless of experience in younger categories.  For example, a rower in their 1st year as a Collegiate rower would be a novice, even if they previously rowed in High School.  All rowers in Varsity events cannot compete in Novice or HS Second events.  Club and composite crews meeting these criteria are permitted.

7. Adaptive athletes must be officially pre-classified according to current USRowing standards as either AS (arms and shoulders only), TA (trunk and arms) or LTA (legs, trunk and arms).  All adaptive athletes (along with their able-bodied partners if applicable) must individually have the skill, experience, and physical fitness to scull and navigate the race course in no more than 30 minutes.

8. MASTERS ATHLETES

1. 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 nearest whole number. A competitor thus becomes a Master on January 1 of the year of their 21st birthday.  

2. A Masters Crew shall be comprised exclusively of Masters Rowers, but the Coxswain need not be a Master.

3. Masters Crews shall be classified by age according to the following categories: 

   1. (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 to 84 years, and
      (K) 85 and over. 

   2. The age category of a Masters Crew shall be determined by the average of the rowers in the crew, rounded down to the nearest whole number.  The age of a Coxswain shall not be counted. 

4. A male Coxswain may compete in Events for women, and a female Coxswain may compete in Events for men. 

5. Composite Crews are those that include competitors from more than one club and/or unaffiliated competitors.  Such crews shall be ineligible to receive points or other scores used to determine Team trophies or awards.  Once a crew has been entered as a composite crew, it shall remain so, regardless of subsequent substitutions.

6. Boats in mixed events must have an equal number of male and female rowers.

7. Handicaps will be utilized for all Masters races and will be determined using USRowing guidelines, as published in the current Rules of Rowing.  Masters races may be split according to age categories, depending on the number of entries, at the discretion of the Race Directors.  Participants are responsible for providing correct age information for Masters crews.  The Parent/Child event will not be handicapped and may be a mixed event, depending on the number of entries.

9.  AWARDS                             

1. For gold, silver and bronze medals to be awarded, a minimum of three entries is required for each event or subcategory.  Rowers (and coxes) finishing first in their race will receive first-place medals, provided that the event has a minimum of two entries.  Second place medals will be awarded in events with a minimum of three entries.

2. The HOPR Points Trophy shall be awarded to the club amassing the greatest number of points at each year’s regatta.  One point is awarded for each rower of the winning boat in each race.  For example, the winning crew of an 8+ race will be awarded eight points, the winning crew of a 4x will be awarded four points, and the winner of a 1x event will be awarded one point.  Points will not be awarded to second or third place finishes.

3. The Robert J. DeVita Cup shall be awarded to the winning Men’s High School Varsity Coxed Four (4+).

4. The Ken Snapp Memorial Trophy shall be awarded to the winner of the Mens Masters 1x event.

5. The Beth Shergalis Memorial Trophy shall be awarded to the winner of the Womens Master 1x event.

6. Other awards or cups may be offered at the discretion of the Regatta Committee.

10. SPORTSMANSHIP, OBJECTIONS & PROTESTS

1. Good sportsmanship must prevail at all times.

   1. As written in the USRowing Rules of Rowing-2-410 Unsportsmanlike Conduct:

      1. A Crew or Team that engages in Unsportsmanlike conduct, as witnessed by a Race Official, may be assessed by a Race Official with one of the penalties described in Rule 2-602 (“Types of Penalties”), regardless of whether such conduct otherwise constitutes a violation of these rules. If another Crew’s opportunity to win, place, or advance is affected by such conduct, the Race Official shall take appropriate action to restore that opportunity, pursuant to Rule 2-603 (“Restoring Opportunity of Winning; Altering Results”).

      2. Any Team member, including a Competitor, who engages in Unsportsmanlike conduct at any time during the Regatta, may have his or her further participation at the Regatta curtailed or prohibited by a Race Official.

   2. If any Team member engages in personally abusive language or conduct, the incident shall be reported by a witnessing Race Official to USRowing.

2. The HOPR Code of Conduct must be adhered to at all times and applies from when registered through day of racing on regatta day.

3. Boats wishing to protest must first lodge the protest at the finish line to the finish line official(s), while still on the water. 

   1. The protesting rower(s) must then submit the protest in writing, along with a $50 fee (cash or check, payable to PRRA), to the Chief Referee or his/her designee within one hour of reaching land. 

   2. The protest must be signed by a member of the protesting crew and represent that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the facts contained are true and accurate. 

   3. The decision of the Head Referee/protest jury shall be final and may not be appealed.  If the decision is found to be in favor of the protesting crew or substantially justified, the protest fee will be returned to the protesting crew. 

   4. If the decision is against the protesting crew or the protest found unjustified, the fee will be retained.