[CUCBC Captains] June Eights Regatta - Captains' Meeting this Sunday

[Matthew Temple]

Dear Captains,


Many thanks for being patient with us. Below is our detailed proposal for
the June Eight’s Regatta. We have three options available for race dates,
which we would like the Captains to decide between (via a vote) at a
meeting *this* *Sunday 16th May at 7pm*.


We are proposing the rules of racing in their entirety: if you wish to
propose an amendment to any part of this proposal, please do this by email
with names of seconder (e.g. Proposed by Gorton, seconded by Porterhouse,
Sodney and Kongs) to committee at cucbc.org by* 7*pm, Saturday 15th May to be
added onto the agenda and voted upon.


Given the short turnaround time, there will be an informal forum held for
captains on Friday evening where clarification can be sought on the
proposal, and to facilitate amendment-making and efficient voting at the
Captains' meeting on Sunday. Details will be circulated ASAP.


With kind regards,

The CUCBC Committees.



Question to Captains regarding dates of the Regatta:

After discussion between the Committees, and with input from Senior Tutors
and the Cam Conservancy, the following dates seem viable and should be
considered as dates for the Eight’s Regatta. Following advice from the
Senior Tutors, we have decided the normal university May Bumps days (w/c
14th June) are not an option due to the number of examinations held on
these dates. Note that none of these dates are a perfect fit, as such we
also list the advantages and limitations of each date:


Option 1: To run the races w/c 21st June

Advantages: Closest to normal bumps, likely within most students'
accommodation period

Disadvantages: Still some exams running.

This would be the preferred option from the CUCBC Committees, when
considering logistics, timing and gaining river closures.


Option 2: Run the races from 19th-23rd June.

Advantages: Still close to normal bumps, reduces number of exams running as
some racing on weekends.

Disadvantages: Weekend closures may not be acceptable to CRA, still some
exams running.


Option 3: An option for captains to vote on FIVE racing days (1 for GoR, 4
for the Regatta) from the following: 12th, 13th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd,
23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th.

Advantages: Possibly more likely to find dates acceptable for more people.

Disadvantages: Issues of organising isolated days racing in terms of race
equipment hire (possibly higher entry fees), difficult to find days which
work best for all people, less time to prepare for racing on the 12th/13th.


Format of the Eights’ Regatta and Rules of Racing:


A side-by-side Regatta held on the Long reach. The Regatta will be run
subject to Bumps rules and Bumps fines where applicable, with significant
changes to accommodate for substitutions and the Regatta format (many
thanks to Pembroke for their information regarding Pem Regatta).


For this event only, the rules below will be in force. If there is
contradiction between the below rules and Bumps rules, the below rules
should be read as true.


1. The Regatta will be raced from a standing start between the Stump at the
bottom of the Long Reach and Peter's Posts. These will be indicated by
flags on the bank.

1.1 The length of the course is approximately 1100m. The course may be
shortened at the chief umpire's discretion should a houseboat or other such
obstacle present itself on the course.

1.2 The race fee will be £50, reduced to £25 if, for any reason, a crew
only races the GoR.

1.3 Full refunds will be provided for crews who scratch before the GoR due
to COVID-19 isolation.


2. A Getting-On race will be run before the regatta to seed crews into
appropriate divisions.

2.1 The length of the GoR will be the length of the Regatta course.
2.2 The GoR will be run on ***Date TBC***

2.3 Crews who opt only to race in GoR, or in the situation the regatta is
oversubscribed, will be refunded half the entrance fee.

2.4 There is no 12-outing requirement however crews must be able to
competently race and steer, under penalty of disqualification at GoR
without half-refund.

3. A Swiss-system tournament is to be used within each division.  Each crew
will race once a day, unless their opponent scratches.
3.1. Races on the first day will be seeded
3.1a. The subsequent days' race pairings will be based upon the previous
day's race results whereby winners will race winners and losers race losers.
3.1b. Further particulars regarding race pairing will be released after
entries close, in order to accommodate as many racing crews as we can.
3.2. The division winner is determined by the crew winning all their races.

3.3. Prizes will be awarded to winning crews in each Division. The winner
of the top senior and top novice division will be the overall winner for
senior/novices.

4. There will be 10 divisions, subdivided by gender and novice/senior
crews, and we will aim to accommodate as many crews as we can.
4.1 Any extra slots in mixed categories will be fairly allocated to
Men/Women according to the number of entries.
4.1.1 A Mixed crew is defined as one with a maximum of 4 male rowers.
4.2 Should it be the case that crew entrants exceed the maximum number of
races able to be run, qualifications will be based upon GoR time.
4.3 Each college will have automatic entitlement to a senior and novice
crew of each gender entered. All crews must however race the GoR.

5. Racing

5.1 Crews will be started by the call "Attention" and then "Go".

5.2 If the Start umpire judges both crews to be straight and ready then, at
their discretion, they may choose to call "Attention, Go" without waiting
for both coxes to indicate that they are ready, in the interests of not
delaying race proceedings.

5.2.1 Crews which are late to the start, or who take an unnecessary amount
of time to get ready at the start, will be awarded a false start.

5.3 Umpires will be present at the start and at the finish, and a Race
Umpire will cycle alongside each pair of racing crews. Crews must obey the
instructions of the Umpires.

5.4 The race umpire will cycle alongside the bow ball of the winning crew.
Bank parties must not obstruct the race umpire.

5.5.  In the interests of safety, bank parties are restricted to *two*
persons on bicycles. The use of loud hailers is prohibited.

5.6. A crew will be disqualified from that race after its second false
start in the same race.

5.7 Boats will race side-by-side and must keep to their station throughout
the race, irrespective of the position of the opposition. If a boat moves
to take the opposition's water it will be warned to move back on station by
the Race Umpire who will blow their whistle for a short burst (1 time for a
first offence, 2 times for a second offence, etc.) and shout the name of
the offending crew, or both crews. The crew(s) in question must act on this
warning or they will be considered for disqualification at the end of the
race, either following the third offence or following a more significant
single offence.

5.8 Unless unsafe to do so, boats must continue rowing until well past the
finish line. The emergency stop signal from the Race Umpire will be
continuous whistling, usually followed by sirens from static umpires.

5.9 Subject to disqualification, the boat whose bow ball passes the finish
line first will be declared the winner. A dead heat may be awarded at the
Finish umpire's discretion. This will result in a re-row, which will be
incorporated into the next division of races.
5.10 The decision by the Finish Umpire is final and appeals to the decision
by the Finish Umpire will not be entertained.

5.11 Should a race require to be stopped, the race will be re-run with both
crews starting from the same position.


6 Substitutions
6.1 In the spirit of sportsmanship in consecutive-day racing, all entrants
agree to keeping crew compositions the same wherever possible

6.2 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and examination periods, the requirements
for subs will be massively relaxed

6.3 Standard Bumps restrictions apply (e.g. rowers may only row once daily)
with the addition of:

6.3a Members of one club may sub into another, providing that the receiving
club crew is the lowest crew fielded and no individual from the receiving
club is available.

6.3b In the event of self-isolation and exams, subs will be granted however
an email acknowledgement of substitution must be received from CUCBC

6.4 All substitutions must be approved by CUCBC, with an email to
committee at cucbc.org stating division, crew, individuals subbed in,
individuals subbed out. The threshold for CUCBC to approve a sub will be
extremely low; captains should expect the vast majority of these to be
approved.


7. All crews must adhere to the marshalling plan and the instructions of
marshals and umpires.


8. All clubs must provide marshals, the number of whom will be determined
by the number of entrants.


9. All novice coxes must attend a novice cox briefing. A novice cox is
defined as one who has not coxed a regatta previously. Senior coxes may
also attend if they wish.


10. We request that all members who have sufficient racing experience
volunteer to umpire this event, otherwise races and/or divisions might have
to be reduced due to lack of umpires.

--ENDS--
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