RULES APPLICABLE TO THE SA SCHOOLS BOAT RACE

RULES OF ENTRY

1. No composite crews will be allowed.
2. All rowers must have been enrolled as full time learners at the school for which they have been entered.
3. All schools are welcome to compete providing they are members of SASRU and have accepted the SASRU constitution by letter to SASRU.
4. International Schools who are invited to attend will compete equally with South African Schools for places but duplicate medals will be awarded to SA Schools crews. International crews will be seeded behind all seedings, in accordance with the Boat Race Rules
5. Spare/reserve boats will race in the heads race only and not in any final race. Only one spare boy’s boat and one spare girl’s boat will be offered. The spare boats will start in last place in the heads race. The spare boats should consist of no more than one rower per school for girls and no more than one rower per school per boy, except in the event that there was insufficient spares. Rowers are placed in the spare boats seats in the order of entries received and paid for. Schools may not submit entries with more than one spareman/reserve. 
6. In the “Developing Schools Category” schools may, with the written permission of the SASRU President, enter crews consisting of more than one school. These crews will be allowed to compete in the heads race only and then may be allowed to compete against the spareman’s boat in the last final in the discretion of the SASRU President.
7. All crews must nominate a crew representative who shall be a teacher or coach in the employ of the school and provide an email address and cell number.
8. The following SASRU Rules of Racing shall apply:
   1. In accordance with the normal practice of South African Schools, the terminology “boys and girls” shall be used at Schools’ Boat Race.
   2. Grade 12 and post matric learners may not compete.
   3. All competitors must compete in their school’s recognised colours and attire. No competitor may compete for different schools.
   4. No boy may enter or participate in a girls event and no girl in a boys event.
   5. The minimum weight for a coxswain wearing racing shirt and shorts or equivalent is 55kg for boys and 50kg for girls. An underweight coxswain must carry additional dead weight to make up his or her minimum total weight which shall be placed in the boat as close as possible to his or her person. No article of racing equipment shall be considered as part of this dead weight.
   6. The minimum boat weight for a 4x+ is 52kg and for an 8+ is 96kg.
   7. Rowers enrolled at a rowing school may not compete for any other school or club. Rowers enrolled at a non rowing school may not compete for a rowing school, but only enter the developing schools category ( i.e. a club).
   8. All boats must be fitted as per FISA Rules.

HEAD RACING RULES

1. On-the-water authority: The conduct of the race shall be the sole responsibility of the Umpire.
2. Distance raced: The eights shall row over 6.3 km and the quadruple sculls over 4 km.
3. Starting times: The time gap between the girl’s race and the boy’s race shall not be less than 2 hours.
4. Seeding for the head race:
   1. The starting order of the race will be based on the previous year’s results in the finals.
   2. Crews deemed to be too slow for their allotted position may be moved down the order by the regatta organisers if their club so requests.
   3. New entrants to the event will not be seeded and will be started behind the last boat in the head racing in alphabetical order. This applies even to a crew which has had a “name change”.
5. Coxswain response: Coxes shall acknowledge all the Umpire’s commands by raising one of their hands.
6. The starting line-up: Crews shall align themselves behind the starting line, one boat length behind one another, or as the Umpire may direct. Coxes have 15 seconds to respond to the Umpire’s commands, failing which the Umpire may start the race by moving them to the last starting position and applying a penalty of one false start to be carried over to the final.
7. Starting frequency: Crews shall be subjected to a running start approximately 30 seconds apart.
8. Equipment failure: Crews suffering equipment damage or breakage shall have no grounds for appeal, and must proceed to the finish.
9. Overtaking rules: These shall be as follows:
   1. The three defining corners on the Kowie River are Centenary Park, Bay of Biscay, and the Wreck corner.
   2. On the straight of the river, before a corner or bend, and before the bowball of the slower crew passes the corner marker, the slower crew shall move over and let the faster crew overtake on the inside lane relative to the upcoming bend.
   3. On the corner, if the slower crew’s bowball reaches the corner marker and there is no contact between the crews (i.e. clear water), the faster crew will not have the right to take the inside lane; should they wish to overtake, they shall do so in the outside lane, and at their own risk. If the crews clash, the race times will stand regardless.
   4. If there is contact between the crews before the corner marker, the faster crew will have the right to the inside lane on the corner.
   5. The Marshalls stationed on the course shall adjudge the course steered and behaviour of the crews, and may instruct crews to give way to faster crews. Coxes shall acknowledge instructions given by the Marshalls by raising their hand, and shall immediately respond.
   6. The crew with its bowball in front by at least one boat length at the Wharf Street jetty (marshall on duty) will have their right to the inside lane under the Old Bridge (provided the tide is high enough to use this route). The other crew must then row between the two bridge pillars in the centre of the river.
10. Fouls: In the event of the crews fouling one another, and/or creating an obstruction for other crews in the race, the Umpire may elect to exclude one or both of the crews, order a re-row for affected crews or order a re-row of the entire field of crews.
11. Note: Disregard of rules 1-9 above can result in exclusion. The Umpire may also penalise an offending crew by awarding them a false start, at any time during or after the race, before the crew leaves the water (or within 20 minutes of the end of the head race). The penalty will be carried through to the Final.
12. Objections: Any objections with regard to the head race must be raised immediately after the race, whilst the crew is still on the water or, if it is regarding times, within 10 minutes of the results being announced. A protest by a crew shall be made by the cox raising his/her hand, which he shall keep raised until he has been clearly acknowledged by the Umpire or Finish Judge. Should the crew fail to receive adequate redress, an appeal to the Jury may be made in writing, within 15 minutes after the end of the head race.
13. Racing jury: A Jury, comprising the Chief Umpire, the Finish Judge or the Marshall witnessing the incident, the Regatta Chairman and a SASRU representative, shall hear any dispute arising from the race, and shall make a decision which shall be binding on all parties to the dispute. The fairness committee in terms of RowSA rules will consist of the Chief Umpire, the Regatta Chairman and a SASRU representative.

RULES FOR THE FINALS

1. The conduct of the race shall be the sole responsibility of the Umpire.
2. Competing crews shall draw for stations in the presence of the Regatta Controller on the bank, before boating for their race. Stations shall be the east and west banks at the respective starts.
3. If the Umpire considers a start to be false, he/she shall immediately recall the crews to the starting line. Failure to comply, or persistently starting before the signal, shall render a crew liable for a penalty or disqualification.
4. A boat’s proper course shall be such that will enable it to reach the finishing line in the shortest possible time, provided that it allows ample water for the other crew to steer its proper course on the side on which it started, as long as that crew is in a position to enforce its right to that water. A boat is not entitled to enforce this right if it is on the “wrong side” of the other crew. A boat failing to keep to its proper course does so at its peril in the event of a foul occurring.
5. The Umpire shall be the sole judge of a boat’s course. He may warn either or both crews when he considers that there is a danger of a foul occurring, or if there is any obstruction on the course, but he shall not otherwise direct the steering of either crew.
6. It shall be considered a foul, at the discretion of the Umpire, when, after the race has started, there is any physical contact between the boats, oars or crews.
7. In the event of a foul occurring, either crew may appeal to the Umpire at the time the foul occurs. If the crew making the appeal was in its proper course and the crew against whom the appeal is made was out of its proper course, the latter may be penalised by a maximum of two boat lengths or excluded. A crew shall only be penalised if, in the opinion of the Umpire, it seriously encroached on the course of the crew making the claim.
8. In the event of a serious or deliberate foul, the Umpire may exclude or penalise an offending crew without waiting for an appeal from the other crew. He may also do this at once or at any later time up to or immediately after the end of the race. (Note: This means that the Umpire may delay his decision, either in the interest of safety, or to see whether in fact a foul has influenced the outcome of the race.)
9. The crew racing in the East Bank lane has right of way at the Old Bridge to row between the East Bank and the first bridge pillar. However, if the crew racing in the West Bank lane has a lead at the Solly Kramer jetty of at least one boat length of clear water, they may row between the East Bank and the first bridge pillar.
10. The Umpire may, at his sole discretion, declare “No Race” and order a re-start or a re-row, if either crew is interfered with by an outside agent, to such an extent that the race result is affected.
11. Equipment failure: If, before reaching the 600 m mark for the boys’ event and 400 m mark for the girls’ from the start, either crew should suffer genuine equipment failure, which is not due to the fault of any member of the crew concerned, the crew shall be given time to effect repairs and the Umpire shall order a re-row the race from the start. Should the Umpire discover, upon inspection, that no genuine breakage has occurred, or if a real breakage is found to be a result of poor maintenance or a deliberate action by one of the crew to gain an unfair advantage, the Umpire shall re-start the race where the race was stopped, and shall impose a penalty of a maximum of 2 boat lengths against the offending crew.
12. Crews suffering equipment damage or breakage beyond the 600 m or 400 m mark respectively, shall have no grounds for appeal, and must proceed to the finish.
13. Failure to abide by any decision of the Umpire, or to follow his instruction, shall render a crew liable for exclusion
14. A crew may appeal at the end of a race by the cox raising his hand in terms of the normal rules of racing. This must be done while the crew is still on the water.
15. Any penalised individual/crew/club has the right to appeal, in writing, to the Regatta Jury. The Jury, comprising the Chief Umpire, the Finish Judge or the Marshall witnessing the incident, the Regatta Chairman and a SASRU representative, shall hear any dispute arising from the Race, and shall make a decision which shall be binding on all parties to the dispute.
16. In the event of a “three boat final”, that final shall take place in the last final i.e. amongst the slowest three boats of the heads race.

GENERAL RULES (FOR ALL SCHOOLS, COMPETITORS AND SPECTATORS)

1. The one-way streets of Port Alfred are still, and are always, one-way streets. This particularly applies to the one-way street running along the course (in the opposite direction of racing), which runs in front of Solly Kramers Bottle Store. These regulations must be adhered to, as the Traffic Police will not hesitate to fine any offenders.
2. The bridge crossing the Kowie River closest to the Port Alfred River and Ski Boat Club is not a parking area. Do not park on this bridge as it will hamper crossing traffic, and the Traffic Police will not hesitate to remove any offending car.
3. The Port Alfred River and Ski Boat Club is open to senior spectators only. In order to adhere to club rules, please do not enter the bar area with a cap/headgear on, or without some form of footwear.
4. All club trailers are to be parked in the land allocated beside the main road, next to the driving test area. No trailers are to be left in the car park of the clubhouse, at any time prior to Boat Race. It will, however, be acceptable to bring the trailer in temporarily in order to load/unload boats prior to or after the regatta.
5. All clubs are asked to please adhere strictly to the rules of the river, and show courtesy to other water users. This will prevent any unnecessary tension between rowers and boaters, etc.
6. All boats on the water before sunrise or after sunset, regardless of how dark it is, require at least one 360 degree white light, elevated above crew height and attached to the bow, and additional green and red bow and stroke side lights.
7. No crew may store or leave their boats in the parking area. Once boats have been washed in the wash bay, they must immediately be moved to the racks provided.
8. All boats are required to travel to the start and while practising with their bow side closest to the bank, and all quicker boats have right of way on all corners.
9. Any spectators venturing out and watching the racing along the river, particularly at Centenary Park bend, must be aware that often vehicles are broken into and items stolen. DO NOT leave your vehicle unattended and do not attempt to arrest any vandals (other than at your risk).
10. No crew may row after dark or before first light.

TROPHIES AND MEDALS

1. Medals are awarded to the winners and the runners-up in the A final and the winners of the B final.
2. Floating Trophies: Boys 1st Place, 2nd Place; Girls 1st Place, 2nd Place.
3. Most improved crew: The winners of these medals (i.e. Boys’ and Girls’) will be adjudged on the comparative positions form the previous year. In the event of a tie, it will be awarded to the crew that best reflects the “spirit of boat race”.