Rowing

Rowing

History of rowing

Rowing has been around for centuries, and will stay among the best of competitive sports around the world.

The technique of affixing the oar to the side of the boat was discovered by the Greeks approximately two thousand years ago. They discovered that working a single oar against a fulcrum was much more useful and effective than a paddle. Rowing was primarily used to transport goods, but when there was more than one boat in the water, human nature took over and racing started.

Professional racers made a decent living in the late 1800's, but gambling on races led to the popular sport's demise. But in America and England, amateur rowers developed popularity in inter-collegiate competitions. The first Oxford/Cambridge race was held in 1829. The first Harvard/Yale race was held in 1852, and is the oldest inter-collegiate event in America.

Many scientific advancements were then made in the sport; a better boat was a faster boat. For example, the ancient Greeks, when rowing, sat on seats that slid to allow them to use their legs to drive the boat. Harvard rowers found a way to grease their pants so that they slid on their immobile seats. This allowed them to dominate Yale because they were still using only the fixed seats. This led to the popular use of sliding seats in today's shells.

Boat clubs started in America in the 1800's. Philadelphia's Schuylkill Navy, begun in 1858, was the first rowing association and the first amateur sports organization. Collegiate and amateur oarsmen started the National Association for Amateur Oarsmen (NAAO) in 1872. Women were left out in these clubs, even though they rowed in amateur and collegiate races also. In the early 1960's the National Women's Rowing Association was formed. Finally, in 1982, the NAAO and the National Women's Rowing Association joined together to become the co-ed United States Rowing Association.



RULES AND REGULATIONS


1.Administration

See General Regulation

The OUA operating season for rowing:
a. The formal start of the season shall be September 1st
b. Training camps may commence nine days prior to Labour Day
c. University coaches are not prohibited from coaching university athletes at a club
    between May 30th and September 1st,


2.Awards

The P.C. Fitz-James Trophy - Presented to the overall Men's team champion.
The Mrs. W. Lathrop Challenge Trophy - Presented to the overall Women's team champion.

OUA Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals shall be awarded to the winning crew members and
coxswains in all events in the Championship Regatta.

OUA Banners shall be awarded to the institution winning the Men’s and Women’s team
championships.

3.ENTRIE

The Convenor shall receive no later than five (5) days prior to the Championship:
i) A listing of events to be entered
ii) The names of individual crew members in each event, with their appropriate student
      numbers
iii) The names of the spares designated for each crew entry and
iv) All eligibility sheets must be in the hands of the Regatta Chair/Convenor five

(5) days prior to the championship.

For the OUA Championship Regatta, the minimum complement of officials shall be: two
certified Canadian Rowing Referees in separate boats, two Starters and two Finish Judges.

A member institution may field crews in events of its choice. It shall not be necessary to be
represented in all events.
 
Spare Designation
Institutions are allowed to substitute up to 50% of the designated crew from the spare list
provided for that event. A single spare may be listed for singles events.

4.Rules

The rules shall be the regatta rules of Rowing Canada Aviron.

The following events shall be held at the Championship Regatta:

Men's and Women's Lightweight & Heavyweight 8+ coxed
Men's and Women's Lightweight & Heavyweight 4+ coxed
Men's and Women's Lightweight & Heavyweight double
Men's and Women's Lightweight & Heavyweight single

LIGHTWEIGHT - The maximum weight of any member of a Men's Crew shall not exceed 159.5 lbs
(72.5 kg) and the Women's, not to exceed 129.8 lbs (59 kg).

Each coxswain must weigh in and meet the standards as established by Rowing Canada
Aviron Rules and Regulations.
The term crew refers to all members, including cox. In order to compete in a race, the crew
must have a full complement.

Each competitor shall be permitted to compete in a MAXIMUM of two (2) events at the
Championship Regatta

Universities shall enter one crew only in each event at the Championship Regatta.

The team quota shall be 34 for both Men and Women.

The distance of each race in the Championship Regatta shall be 2,000 metres.

Championship Scoring - for the declaration of Men's and Women's champions, team

points will be calculated as follows:

In the event of a tie, the team with the most first place finishes shall be the winner. If a tie still
exists, it will then be determined by second place finishes, then third, then fourth, etc., until a tie
is broken.

In the event there are only three or less entries in any event, the number of points awarded will
be reduced by using the bottom half of the points system.
Eg. Men’s Lightweight Eight – 3 entrie

All races shall be run at fifteen (15) minute intervals from the start of each race unless otherwise
determined by the OUA Rowing Convenor.The official weigh-in shall be held the morning of the Championship Regatta. 

Weigh-ins will be held using a digital scale.  The official scales for the Saturday weigh-in shall be available for one hour, at a convenient time on Friday evening to allow athletes to check their weigh.

In the event an entry in a Heat scratches at the last minute creating a row over, the number of
boats to qualify for the Final shall be reduced such that one crew shall be eliminated in order to
ensure that all crews in heats have to race to qualify for the Final. For example, in a four boat
heat with three to qualify, the number to qualify for the Final shall be reduced to two boats if
only three boats race the heat.

In the event of seven entries a seven boat final can be operated, if the Championship venue
has seven lanes. Otherwise, one heat of 3 and one heat of 4 will be drawn and the slowest time
(boat) from all 7 entries will be eliminated and 6 boats progress to the final.