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Copyright © 2007 PBC

The 27^th Charlie Butt Scullers' Head of the Potomac

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Directions to Potomac Boat Club and Thompson's Boat Center

Important Information for those bringing Trailers

Awards ¦  Contact Information ¦  Course ¦  Definitions & Eligibility Rules ¦  Dock Assignments ¦  Entries ¦  Entry Fees ¦  Entry Form ¦  Equipment ¦  Finish ¦  General Information ¦  Parking ¦  Racing ¦  Registration ¦  River Map ¦  Schedule of Events ¦  Sportsmanship ¦  Start ¦  Trailers ¦  Single Sculler Waiver ¦  Team Waiver 

General Information

The 27^th Scullers' Head of the Potomac will be held September 30, 2007 over a 2.8-mile course that extends down the Potomac River along the Virginia shore across from the Georgetown/Foggy Bottom waterfront in Washington, D.C. The sculling events that give the regatta its name will be complemented by sweep events. Results will be available at Regatta Headquarters (Potomac Boat Club) and at Thompson Boat Center no sooner than one hour after each race. Spectators will find excellent viewing from the foot of Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown; the banks of Roosevelt Island (entrance on the Virginia side of the river); the Washington Harbour complex; the Thompson Boat Center near the intersection of Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Avenue N.W.; and the footpath and park in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Entries - Please register online at Ronin Racing

To guarantee a place in the regatta, and to avoid a late entry charge, online entries must be submitted by 5:00pm on September 15, 2007.

Online registration ends September 23.

Each entry that is incomplete (without full payment) as of the deadline, or received after the above deadline, will be assessed an additional $10.00, will not be placed in the program and will not be seeded. Registration packets will be released only upon submission of all waiver forms. Charge cards are not accepted, except for online registration.

Under no circumstances will a competitor be allowed to register and race without payment of the entry fee or submission of a complete waiver form. Please note the use of a new waiver form this year: SHOP Waiver.

Scullers' Head of the Potomac
Potomac Boat Club
3530 Water Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
202-347-6084

Entry Fees

For complete entries submitted by September 15:
Singles - $30.00
Doubles and Pairs - $40.00
Quads - $55.00
Fours - $65.00
Octuples and Eights - $70.00
After September 15, add $10.00 per entry.

Awards

For an event to be a medal event, a minimum of three entries from at least two organizations must start the race. Sweep events will be awarded medals for first place only. Sculling events will receive medals according to the following formula: 3 to 10 entries - 1^st place only; 11 to 15 entries - 1^st and 2^nd place; and 16 or more entries - 1^st through 3^rd places. In events 1 and 23 a separate medal will be awarded for each division, all other requirements having been met.

Sportsmanship

The regatta committee reserves the right to rule on any situation not specifically covered by these guidelines and to penalize or disqualify any competitor or crew that appears to violate the spirit or letter of the rules of competition or sportsmanship, on the water or off.

Schedule of Events

Definitions and Eligibility Rules

Novice: Any sculler who has not competed in a sculling race prior to January 1, 2007 and who has not been a member of any senior national team nor has been a finalist in any sculling event at any national championships, the Independence Day Regatta or Canadian Henley.

Youth: Any rower 18 years of age or younger as of September 30, 2007.

Intermediate: USRA rules apply

Master: Any rower at least 30 years of age as of September 30, 2007.

Senior Master: Any sculler at least 40 years of age as of September 30, 2007.

Grand Master: Any sculler at least 50 years of age as of September 30, 2007.

Veteran: Any sculler at least 60 years of age as of September 30, 2007.
Handicaps will be based on the USRA 1000m handicaps adjusted for the 2.8 mile head race distance. A listing of time handicaps used for different boat classes is available online.

Lightweight: Men: 160 pounds or less; Women: 130 pounds or less.

Club Eights: Raced by individuals who, in the current year, did not finish in the top six places of any race at the EARC, EAWRC, Western Sprints, IRAs, PAC-10s or at NCAAs, or the top six places in any elite or open event at any national championships or national team trials.

Parent-Child: This division of event 23 will be raced after the Club Double. This race is for fun: no age requirements or handicaps, no gender requirements, no DNA, no arguments. Separate medal awarded, all requirements (three boats to start, representing at least two organizations) having been met.

Mixed Eights: Half the crew shall be female, half male, excluding the coxswain.

Grand Challenge Octuples: Entries must be submitted under only one club/school name. Four of the eight scullers must be from the same club/school. Mixed sex crews are acceptable.

In Master Events 12, 13, 15 and 21: The average age of masters crews must be 35, with no rowers under the age of 30. Handicaps are based on the USRA handicaps adjusted for the 2.8 mile race distance.

In Events 18, 24, and 25: Masters crews (minimum average age 35, no rowers under age 30) will receive a handicap but will not race in a separate division. Masters handicaps are based on the USRA standard.

Registration

Registration will be conducted at Potomac Boat Club, 3530 Water Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 29, 2007 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on race day, Sunday, September 30, 2007 from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Competitors may not register until all completed waiver forms have been received and entry fees have been paid. Lightweights will not be allowed to register until Sunday (see below).

Weigh-Ins

Lightweights must report to weigh-in between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 30 at Potomac Boat Club. Lightweight rowers will not be allowed to register until after weigh-in.

Course Description

As shown on the accompanying course map, the 2.8 mile course starts almost 2 miles above Key Bridge, just downstream of Fletcher's Cove, and follows the Virginia shore for 1/3 mile to a point just below the Hens and Chickens Islands where it makes a slight turn to port. The course continues along the Virginia shore for 0.6 miles to a point about 400 yards above the Three Sisters Islands where it makes another turn to port. From here the course goes straight for 0.9 miles passing through the second arch (from the Virginia shore) of Key Bridge making a turn to starboard. The course then continues downstream past the upper end of Roosevelt Island where it makes a wide turn to starboard around the island and then goes straight to the finish just above Roosevelt Bridge.

The course will be marked with a pair of buoys at the starting line, a single large buoy at each of the turns to port (Hens and Chickens and above the Three Sisters), and a pair of buoys each at Key Bridge and at the finish line. There will be a line of small buoys marking the shallow water and debris on the inside of the turn around Roosevelt Island. Additional buoys will be in place between the small buoys and Roosevelt Island for safety purposes.

Boats must pass on the Virginia side of the buoy at the Hens and Chickens turn and the buoy above the Three Sisters Islands or be assessed a thirty second penalty per turn (keep the buoy off your port side). No penalty will be assessed for failing to pass between the buoys at Key Bridge or at the finish line; however, your finish time may not be recorded if you cross the finish line too far from the timing boat for the officials to read your number.

Equipment

Shells without a bow ball will not be allowed to start. Rowers in shells with flexible shoe soles attached to foot stretchers must assure that the heels are attached in such a way as to allow quick exit in case of emergency. All competitors must row a fixed-rigger, sliding-seat racing shell.

Start

Each boat must display its number and be equipped with a bow clip. No boat will be allowed to leave the dock without a number. Back patch and bow numbers will be in registration packets. Each competitor is responsible for arriving at the starting line at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time for the event. Course marshals will direct competitors in the marshaling area above the starting line. At the start, shells will be started at 10-second intervals. Any boat arriving late and starting three or more minutes after the last boat in the event will be assessed a 30-second penalty.

Racing

When passing, the overtaking boat has the right of way. The boat being overtaken must give way on the side chosen by the overtaking boat. No boat should press its right of way to the point of collision. Good sportsmanship must prevail at all times, and any boat showing disregard for safety may be penalized or disqualified.

Finish

See Course Description. All boats must row clear of the finish area and return to launching sites via the DC side of the river.

Dock Assignments for Out-of-Town Entrants

All out-of town entrants (except singles and doubles) must boat from the Thompson Boat Center at the intersection of Virginia Avenue, N.W. and Rock Creek Parkway. Single and double scullers may use the float at PBC. It will not be possible for out-of-town crews to walk shells larger than a double through Potomac Boat Club. No equipment may be stored at PBC. Those launching from Thompson Boat Center should allow 45 minutes to reach the starting line; from PBC, 30 minutes.

Parking

Regatta participants and spectators are advised to heed all posted parking restrictions. Access to the Washington Canoe Club immediately upstream of Potomac Boat Club must be kept open at all times. Do not park under the Aqueduct (the old stone arch) or between PBC and WCC so as to interfere with passage of traffic into the Washington Canoe Club.

Boat Trailers

There is a limited amount of space for boat trailers at Thompson Boat Center. If you plan to bring a trailer to the regatta you MUST inform the regatta committee in advance, no later than September 15, so that parking spaces can be allocated in accordance with U.S. Park Service requirements. Without advance notification we will not be able to assure you trailer parking at the Thompson Boat Center parking lot. If you are bringing a trailer, please inform the Regatta Committee by September 15 by e-mail at regatta@potomacboatclub.org, and include the following details:

• Organization Name
• Contact (driver or designated representative)
• Telephone numbers, both daytime and evening
• E-mail address

Further Information

Additional information including directions to PBC and the Thompson Boat Center is available on the Club's website, www.potomacboatclub.org or may be obtained by calling (202) 347-6084.