SECTION 4 – Safety and Fairness

Regulation, Rule 53 – Safety – General Principles

• Competitors’ Meeting
• Before the start of the competition, and in addition to the Team Managers Meeting, a meeting must be convened by the Organising Committee in which all coxswains and crew captains of coxed boats, and all rowers of coxless boats, must participate.  At this meeting, the Organising Committee will explain and provide to all participants all information reasonably required for the safe running of the event (including local maritime rules, tidal movements, currents, specific topography, known dangers and safety rules).  If deemed necessary, the coxswains and rowers of coxless boats may be invited to view the course from a motor launch of the Organising Committee.
  
   
• Rowers’ Obligations 
   
• General obligations
  
• All rowers and coxswains must:
   
• be familiar with and respect local maritime rules in addition to the FISA Rules of Racing; 
   
• wear appropriate life jackets or have an individual life jacket on board within easy and convenient reach  for their personal use at all times when on the water. Coxswains shall wear a life jacket at all times when on the water;
  
       
• Crew Captain’s obligations
• According to international maritime law, all sea-going vessels must have one person responsible for safety and navigation. In coastal rowing, this will be the coxswain or one member of the crew who will be designated the “Captain”. The Organising Committee shall be notified of the Captain’s name in writing before the start of racing.
   
• The Captain shall be responsible to:
   
• Before every outing:
• familiarize himself with the current and expected weather conditions; -register the outing with the Control Commission, showing the date and time of the outing, the estimated length of the outing and the route to be taken;  -check the condition of the boat and the safety equipment on board;
  
   
• During the outing:
  
• ensure that the crew respects all navigational and safety rules; -require that all members of the crew wear their life jackets as necessary; -make necessary decisions for the safety of the crew if the weather deteriorates.
  
   
• After the outing:
• inform the Control Commission of the return of the crew; -complete the register to indicate the crew’s return.
  
   
• Special Coastal Rowing Safety Considerations
  
  
• General Rules of Circulation
• Rowing at sea outside of channels and ports requires special attention to weather conditions, tides, water currents and general maritime traffic. Rowers must familiarize themselves with general international maritime navigation rules as well as the specific conditions of the area. Safety measures and local rules must be vigorously applied by the Organising Committee and the Jury and must be strictly observed by the crews.
  
   
• Important rules for rowing at sea
• Rowing boats must not hinder the passage of: -boats that can only navigate safely in a narrow channel or access lane; -boats with mechanical propulsion in a traffic lane; -Ships with heavy cargo;
  
   
• Avoiding collisions
• When two rowing boats are on a potential collision course, both boats should move to starboard to give way to the other boat. For clarification, “starboard” means the left hand side of the rowers as they are seated in the boat (bowside).

• Shelters
• Shelters are ports and bays where boats can easily find refuge in adverse weather conditions and where the crew members can be safely disembarked. Such shelters must be made known by the Organising Committee to all crews as part of the information to crews.  Shelters may be very dependent on the tidal, wind and current conditions. Depending on the conditions, an area may be considered a shelter at a certain time of day only, and may be dangerous and inaccessible at other times.  Whatever the route followed by the rowers, they must be aware of all the possibilities of access to the shelters in accordance with the navigational limits imposed on their vessel.
  
   
• Capsizing
• In the event of capsizing, the crew:

• must immediately put on life jackets if they are not already worn;
   
• must not abandon the boat, except in a situation where there is imminent danger, such as collision with an obstacle. Where it is essential to leave the boat, the oars should be used as floatation devices without attempting to retrieve the boat;
   
• should if possible, turn the boat upright, and if this is not possible, the crew should pull themselves onto the upturned hull of the boat or hold on to it in order to keep the upper body out of the water until help arrives;
   
• try every method on hand to attract attention of rescuers (whistle, mirror, arm movements, radio);

• SECTION 5 - The Draw and Progressing to the Finals

• Regulation, Rule 60 – FISA Progression System
• The Organising Committee shall stipulate the maximum number of crews which can be accommodated on the Start line at one time in accordance with Regulation, Rule 35 in this document.  Should the number of crews taking part in an event exceed the number of positions available on the Start line, a system of heats shall be adopted.  In such case, the number of crews progressing to the next round from each heat shall be the number of available places on the Start line divided by the number of heats which are required. The number of crews in each heat shall be as equal as possible and the same number of crews from each heat shall progress to the next round.
   
• If an event has fewer entries than there are places on the Start line, there shall be a direct final with no preliminary races for that event.
  
  
   
• Regulation, Rule 61 – The Draw
  
• Where a system of preliminary heats is required, a draw for the first round shall take place at the Team Managers meeting on the day before the first heat takes place, or earlier if appropriate.  The draw shall be to decide which crews take part in which heats.  There shall be no lanes allocated. 

• SECTION 6 – The Start

• Regulation, Rule 66 – The Starting Procedure
  
  
• The Start
• Each boat shall be at liberty to find its own position on the Start line but it is the responsibility of each crew to ensure that it does not interfere with other boats.  Where such interference occurs or is going to occur, crews must take appropriate avoiding action, but shall follow the instruction of the Starter or Umpire whenever such instructions are given.

• For coastal rowing regattas the Starter may be assisted by other umpires under the authority of the Starter. The position of the Starter shall in principle be approximately 150 meters behind the line of the Start and shall be such that the Starter has a clear view of all boats and the starting signals are clearly visible to all crews on the Start line.  
   
• There shall be a Judge at the Start who shall be positioned exactly on the line of the Start. The Judge at the Start shall be responsible to identify any boats which have caused a false start. He shall immediately notify the Starter and Umpires of his decision in this regard so that the crews which have caused the false start may be notified in accordance with Regulation, Rule 67. 
  
   
• The starting procedure shall be as follows:
• Crews must be in the vicinity of the start line five minutes before the starting time of their race, and must be in their correct position and under the control of the Starter at least two minutes before the starting time.
   
• It shall be the responsibility of each crew to ensure it is aligned and that it is not over the Start line at the time the race is started.  Crews at the Start shall at all times closely follow the instructions of the Starter or Umpire.  Any crew not following such instructions may be penalized. After giving the 5-minute and 1-minute signals respectively as provided in paragraphs  and
  of this Regulation, the Starter may start the race at the given time without reference to the position of any crew.

• Five minutes before the start, the Starter shall simultaneously

• hoist a red Flag and a double black ball (each black ball shall be of such size as to be clearly visible from the Start line but in any case shall be not smaller than 50cm in diameter)
   
• sound a hooter in 5 short blasts.

• All boats shall remain close to the start. At the expiry of the 5 minutes  the start can be given even if some boats have not reached the start position.
   
• Each crew shall be responsible to be aware of the time remaining before the start. It is the responsibility of crews to be as close to the start line as possible at the start time of the race and not to cause a false start. There will be no instructions given to crews concerning alignment unless the Judge at the Start considers that too many boats are over the start line and that the race cannot be started in a safe or fair manner.
   
• One minute before the start, the Starter shall simultaneously

• hoist the  Preparatory signal, Flag P of the International Code and drop one of the two black balls; and
   
• sound a hooter in two short blasts

• At the Start time, the Starter shall give the signal to start the race by quickly and simultaneously

• dropping the Race Flag and Flag P  and the black ball; and
   
• sounding a hooter in one long blast

• Should the Judge at the Start consider that many crews are over the start line at the designated start time, or should the Starter find that many crews are late to the start, the Starter may delay the Start at his sole discretion.  Alternatively he may start the race on time and if appropriate may award penalties as provided in these Regulations and Rules.

• It is the responsibility of each crew to ensure that its boat is not over the Start line when the start signal is given.

• Delays of Start
• Where the start of any specific boat category is delayed for any reason, the Starter shall inform that boat category or categories of the delay. Where the whole race is to be delayed the Starter shall lower all flags and signals and begin the 5 minute countdown process again when appropriate.
  
   

• Regulation, Rule 67 – False Start

• Consequences of a False Start
• A crew committing a false start shall be allowed to continue with the race but shall be awarded a time penalty of one minute and shall be immediately informed of the penalty by the Umpire in the manner set out in Regulation Rule 90.
   
• If in one race a number of boats commit a false start, the Starter may decide to stop the race and give the start again. The Starter shall stop the race by making repeated short blasts on the hooter and by hoisting a red flag on the start mast. The crews committing a false start and thereby causing the race to be stopped shall each be awarded a one-minute time penalty and shall be informed accordingly by the Umpire or the Starter.

• SECTION 7 - During the Race
  

• Regulation, Rule 69 – Damage while in the Start Zone

• There shall be no start zone designated in coastal rowing events.  Crews shall abide by their own damage at all times after the start of the race.
  
   

• Regulation, Rule 71 – Interference
• A crew causes interference to its opponents if its oars, sculls or boat encroach into the opponent’s water and cause a disadvantage to its opponents by contact, its wash or other distraction, or in any other way. A crew’s water is defined as that area taken up by the boat and the oars during the rowing stroke.

• Rules of Giving Way
• When three or more boats are on the same line and a coxswain reasonably considers that there is not enough room between his boat and the others the coxswain may call by its boat number one of the crews and say “(Boat Number --!)” –“Attention!” – “Give Way!!”, and the boat called must change its course sufficiently to leave the crowded boat enough room or it may be penalised by the Umpire.  No boat or boats may deliberately or otherwise cause interference to another boat which is on a course towards a turning marker or other course mark.
   
• If two or more crews co-operate to prevent another crew or crews from winning or to assist another crew or crews, all crews of the club(s) or national federation(s) involved in such co-operative action may be disqualified.

• Collisions

• In case of collisions (of boats or oars), and if one of the coxswains or captains protests, the Umpire shall decide who is at fault and may impose a penalty on the boat responsible for the collision.
   

• Overtaking
• It is the responsibility of a crew overtaking another crew to avoid interfering with the crew being overtaken; 
   
• A crew which is being overtaken must maintain its course towards the next turning marker or course mark;
   
• If a crew being overtaken obstructs or interferes with the overtaking crew by changing its course or in any other manner, the Umpire may penalise the crew causing obstruction or interference or hindrance by awarding a time penalty of 15, 30 or 60 seconds, depending on the severity of the interference, or may exclude the crew or take other appropriate measures under the Rules and Bye-Laws. 

• Rounding of a Turning Mark
• A zone measured as 3 boat lengths (of the boat involved) before a course turning marker and 2 boat lengths after the turning marker shall be the “Turning Zone”. (Where boats of different lengths are approaching or are in the Turning Zone “boat length” shall mean the length of the longer boat involved).  When two boats are within the Turning Zone, and the bow of one boat is ahead of the coxswain of the other boat (or of the rower seated nearest the stern in the case of coxless boats), the outside boat must give way during the turn. The outside boat is the one that is on the outside of the turn. A boat which does not give way or which interferes in any other way with another boat when passing a buoy or marker may be penalised by the Umpire.
  
   
• SECTION 8 – The Finish
• Regulation, Rule 75 – Dead Heats
• When the order of finish between two or more crews cannot be determined, then the result is declared a dead heat between the crews involved. If there is a dead-heat, the following procedure shall operate:
   
• In any preliminary round, if a dead-heat occurs between crews and if only one of the crews would progress into the next round, then all crews involved in the dead-heat shall progress anyway into the next round.
   
• In a final, if a dead-heat occurs between crews, then they shall be given equal placing in the final order and the next placing(s) shall be left vacant. If the tied placing is for a medal position then the Organising Committee shall provide additional medals.

• SECTION 9 – Protest, Outcome of Protests, Appeals

• Regulation, Rule 77 – The Outcome of the Protest
• The Board of the Jury shall decide on the protest and on the measures resulting from its decision including:
   
• reprimand
• time penalty
• Yellow Card (applying until the start of the next race).
• relegation (in minimum boat weight violations)
• exclusion (from all the rounds of the event in question)
• disqualification (from all events in the regatta)
  
   
• After application of the appropriate penalty, if any, the Board of the Jury shall take any other appropriate measure to restore the chances of a crew that has suffered disadvantage, including, where appropriate, and where there are preliminary rounds, to allow the crew concerned to proceed to the next round if the Board of the Jury considers that but for the interference the crew would have so progressed of its own accord.

• SECTION 10 – The Jury

• Regulation, Rule 80 – Composition of the Jury
• FISA Coastal Rowing Championship regattas –In principle, the Jury shall comprise the President of the Jury and 13 International Umpires and will be appointed by the FISA Umpiring Commission.
   

• Regulation, Rule 87 – Penalties
• The Jury shall impose appropriate penalties in any case of breach of the rules.  The penalties available to the Jury are:
   
• reprimand
• time penalty
• Yellow Card (applying until the start of the next race).
• relegation (in minimum boat weight violations)
• exclusion (from all the rounds of the event in question)
• disqualification (from all events in the regatta)
   
• The Umpire may also order that a crew which has been interfered with be allowed to proceed to the next round of an event (where such rounds are held) if he considers that but for the interference the crew would have so progressed of its own accord

• Regulation, Rule 90 – The Umpire
• The President of the Jury, in consultation with the Organising Committee, shall decide the number of Umpires to supervise each race.  Where there is more than one Umpire, the Umpires shall have equal status in their areas of responsibility.
   
• The Umpire shall ensure the proper conduct of the race and the safety of the rowers. In particular, he shall endeavour to ensure that no crew gains any advantage or suffers any disadvantage from its opponents or from outside interference. Where the Umpire is satisfied that a crew has been significantly impeded, the Umpire shall endeavour to ensure that its chance of winning is fully restored to it. He shall impose appropriate penalties on crews at fault. The Umpire shall not give any steering indications to crews. Nevertheless, he shall endeavour to ensure that accidents are avoided and to prevent crews from being impeded by their opponents.

• If necessary, the Umpire may impose penalties during the race.  He may also stop the race, impose any necessary penalties and order the race to be re-started, either from the start or from some other point (in which case he may order the crews to re-start in the positions they held at the time the race was stopped) either immediately or later. In the latter case, he shall decide on the new starting time in consultation with the President of the Jury and he shall inform the crews concerned. Where the Umpire has serious doubt whether the impediment affected the result of the race, or considers the effect of the impediment was not significant, he may decline to take any action or to take such action as he sees fit in the circumstances.

• The Umpire may also allow the race to continue and impose penalties after the race has finished. However, in principle, if a crew is to awarded a time penalty the Umpire should make every attempt to advise the crew at the time the penalty is awarded by saying to the crew: “(Boat Number!)” – “(reason for penalty)!” - “(15 seconds / 30 seconds / One minute) Time Penalty!”

• The Umpire shall at the same time show to the crew a white board displaying the text “15s” or “30s” or “60s” as appropriate.

• Regulation, Rule 92 – Control Commission
• In addition to its other duties, the Control Commission at coastal rowing events shall check the correct display of the boat registration numbers and shall record the details as required by Regulation, Rule 31.