ARA rule changes April 2007
Christopher Anton
now), so as promised here are the rules changes coming into effect on 1st
April.
The rationale for the changes is
3. Rules of Racing
A number of the Rules of Racing have been discussed by the Rules of Racing
Subcommittee and considered by the Committee. Those amendments agreed by the
Committee are presented for Council's approval. The reasons are set out
below, and the amendments are shown in the Appendix.
1.2.t Private Match -the reference to invitation of crews is deleted to make
it clear that the match is limited to four competing clubs.
2-1-6 Qualifications-the meaning of a multi-lane competition has been
clarified.
2-3 -3/2-3-9d/5-1-1/5-2-4 Licences and returns -a number of amendments have
been made as shown in the Appendix to implement Council's decision to
abolish day tickets. The Committee also considered the consequences on
certain groups of competitors and are developing proposals for consideration
by the Executive Committee.
2-3-6d/3-3- ld Lightweight Weighing -as previously reported, to clarify the
issue of weighing in on days on which the competitors do not race; a
sentence stating that it is not required is added to the notes to the rules.
2-4-5 Mechanical Starting Systems -since discs are no longer used, the
procedure for the use of the traffic light system is included.
3-3-3/4-1-6 Juniors -following the Technical Committee report from November
2005 and consideration by the Junior Rowing Commission, the emphasis of the
rule on sweep-oared rowing has been changed to disqualify competitors under
14 years old from sweep-oared events. This brings equality between boys and
girls and prevents very young competitors entering, for example, Senior
sweep-oared events. A limitation has been placed on entering Junior
competitors under 14 years old in certain higher age band events and senior
events. In addition, some clarifications have been made to assist
interpretation.
3-3-5/4-1-7 Veterans -Different age definitions were quoted in the two rules
with the same result. The opportunity has been taken to bring the two rules
into alignment and to clarify the method of calculation of the average age
of the crew. The reference to the insurance age limit has been amended in
line with the policy.
http://www.cabg05071.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ARADiv5/RuleChanges07.pdf
180kb
gareth price
events for years now will this rule stop this from happening?
"Christopher Anton" <c.a...@NOSPAM.blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:LNXmh.304199$Pk.4...@fe2.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
c.a...@blueyonder.co.uk
gareth price wrote:
> I know of at least one school that has been entering WJ14 in WJ16 sweep
> events for years now will this rule stop this from happening?
>
> >
> > November 2005 and consideration by the Junior Rowing Commission, the
> > emphasis of the rule on sweep-oared rowing has been changed to disqualify
> > competitors under 14 years old from sweep-oared events. This brings
> > equality between boys and girls and prevents very young competitors
> > entering, for example, Senior sweep-oared events. A limitation has been
> > placed on entering Junior competitors under 14 years old in certain higher
> > age band events and senior events. In addition, some clarifications have
> > been made to assist interpretation.
> >
Yes it will. They will also be debarred from WJ15 sweep events but will
still be able to enter WJ15 sculling events.
There's obviously lots of lopsided women about somewhere!
Peter Ford
...and the result of this is that sweep competition will now take place
for a lower age group for girls...?
Peter Ford
c.a...@blueyonder.co.uk
Peter Ford wrote:
>
> ...and the result of this is that sweep competition will now take place
> for a lower age group for girls...?
>
Correct. WJ15 sweep rowing will be allowed. And we hope to be among the
first to offer it at Birmingham regatta on Saturday, 28th April (just
to get the plug in!).
Teaplant
c.a...@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:
> Peter Ford wrote:
> >
> > ...and the result of this is that sweep competition will now take place
> > for a lower age group for girls...?
> >
>
> Correct. WJ15 sweep rowing will be allowed.
Sadly, being allowed and being supported is not the same thing. The ARA
has allowed J15 rowing (boys) for years but still refuses to offer
events for it at Junior inter-regionals and Nat Champs. This is part
of the reason why the ARA fails to get a great deal of support or
interest from the big rowing (sweep) schools in the country.
which is a shame considering the large part these kids subsequently
play on the international stage.
Peter Ford
True, but compacting the entrants into only 3 events at Nat champs and
the inter-regionals does make the competition rather more interesting,
with sensible numbers in an event for a championships; contrast the
events at J16 where there are often few particularly fast crews in the
6 events; in our J16 year, we were effectively dissuaded from entering
a 4 on the grounds that even if we did come away with a silver, it
would hardly seem special to have lost the final to the same crew who
had beaten us to 4th place at Nat Schools. When we were J15s, we had
sweeped all year, but took great pleasure from racing in a quad for
champs.
As for the big rowing schools, a large proportion of them are boarding
schools, and the timing of Nat Champs means that they will never really
be persuaded to go, well after they have broken up and dissipated to
the corners of the earth.
However, I've never really understood the unpopularity of the
inter-regionals; we found them a very enjoyable event, but the absence
of notable crews and the missing crews from some regions seemed
surprising/disappointing, and in a region with a variety of good clubs
and the current NSR champ 8s holders, it did seem odd 2 years ago that
our rather modest squad of 10 rowing members picked up with such ease 4
of the 6 J16 slots (4-,4+,2-,1x), in some events virtually unopposed.
Peter Ford
Teaplant
> True, but compacting the entrants into only 3 events at Nat champs and
> the inter-regionals does make the competition rather more interesting,
3 events, none of them sweep - seems a little biased in favour of
clubs. If there was even just one event then it would have a catchment
of the entire school J15 membership - which I suspect is rather
significant.
> As for the big rowing schools, a large proportion of them are boarding
> schools, and the timing of Nat Champs means that they will never really
> be persuaded to go, well after they have broken up and dissipated to
> the corners of the earth.
agreed.
> However, I've never really understood the unpopularity of the
> inter-regionals;
I had to look up to see which region you mean - West Midlands I
discover. Your team seems to have a fair representation from the
Worcester rowing schools, plus the likes of Evesham but the significant
absence of Shrewsbury. Where and when are the trials? Are Shrewsbury
invited?
Christopher Anton
"Teaplant" <teap...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1168025216....@s34g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> I had to look up to see which region you mean - West Midlands I
> discover. Your team seems to have a fair representation from the
> Worcester rowing schools, plus the likes of Evesham but the significant
> absence of Shrewsbury. Where and when are the trials? Are Shrewsbury
> invited?
>
Everyone is invited the trials are completley open. The timing varies. Last
year was Sunday 19th March. Maybe RSSBC aren't interested in the event.
Certainly we get some Pengwern entries.
jo...@adamantcoaching.co.uk
sweep is not offered for J15s - and is the single biggest barrier
towards extensive participation from the bigger schools. Whilst it is
important to have a regatta which is accessible and encourages
participation, even Championship schools do not have the quantity of
resources to be able to send just one squad off to a race, hence
despite the availability of sweep at J16 there is still
non-participation. This devalues the regatta heavily and is a shame,
for what would not take up much additional racing time. Adding purely a
4+ at J15 level would be a massive improvement.
Another idea would be of each region having a J16 8+ composed of 4+ and
4- (or 4x), which would add an excellent Blue Riband event to finish
the day off.
As a coach of one of those Worcester Schools, we do support the event
(both qualification race and the regatta itself) in every way we can,
but it would be nice to see it rise in prestige and standing, so that
actually earning the right to represent your region is deemed a more
significant achievement.
Carl
> I think the biggest problem with the Junior Inter Regionals is that
> sweep is not offered for J15s - and is the single biggest barrier
> towards extensive participation from the bigger schools. Whilst it is
> important to have a regatta which is accessible and encourages
> participation, even Championship schools do not have the quantity of
> resources to be able to send just one squad off to a race, hence
> despite the availability of sweep at J16 there is still
> non-participation. This devalues the regatta heavily and is a shame,
> for what would not take up much additional racing time. Adding purely a
> 4+ at J15 level would be a massive improvement.
>
> Another idea would be of each region having a J16 8+ composed of 4+ and
> 4- (or 4x), which would add an excellent Blue Riband event to finish
> the day off.
>
> As a coach of one of those Worcester Schools, we do support the event
> (both qualification race and the regatta itself) in every way we can,
> but it would be nice to see it rise in prestige and standing, so that
> actually earning the right to represent your region is deemed a more
> significant achievement.
>
I thought the reason for not having <16s do sweep rowing was to avoid
applying lop-sided loadings to growing kids, especially since so many
end up rowing only 1 side.
A problem in our sport is the amount of lower back injury. Coaches do
not always seem to appreciate this - IMHO it is inadequately researched
& reported on within rowing - but a lower back injury may haunt you for
the rest of your life.
A bonus of mandatory sculling for kids is that they become better
watermen & individual talent is more readily seen.
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: The Boathouse, Timsway, Chertsey Lane, Staines TW18 3JY, UK
Email: ca...@carldouglas.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1784-456344 Fax: -466550
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
c.a...@blueyonder.co.uk
jo...@adamantcoaching.co.uk wrote:
> I think the biggest problem with the Junior Inter Regionals is that
> sweep is not offered for J15s - and is the single biggest barrier
> towards extensive participation from the bigger schools.
Well the JIRC is under new management this year. The Chairman is Martin
Humphreys of Thames RRC and the Secretary is Liz Wray (aka the Slug).
Both their email addresses are available via the Thames region's
website and I'm sure that they would appreciate your comments when
planning this year's event.
c.a...@blueyonder.co.uk
jo...@adamantcoaching.co.uk wrote:
>
> As a coach of one of those Worcester Schools, we do support the event
> (both qualification race and the regatta itself) in every way we can,
> but it would be nice to see it rise in prestige and standing, so that
> actually earning the right to represent your region is deemed a more
> significant achievement.
>
month if you wish?
Teaplant
sculling events, there may be a significant dilution of what little
competition there is at that level (in some regions).
I agree that to include J15 4+ and J16 8+ would greatly enhance the
attractiveness of the JIRR to the big rowing schools, and hence raise
the profile of the event. However, I don't think the ARA (sorry for
swearing Carl) is interested in the big rowing schools whatsoever,
despite the quantity of members and competitors they contribute to the
sport. Its a shame.
Douglas MacFarlane
ca...@carldouglas.co.uk says...
Carl,
Does that also apply if they do crew sculling, or is it only true if they
undertake at least some single scull work?
Douglas
Carl
Well, I'd think it would. It takes a lot more skill to handle 2 blades
than 1, & I sense that each sculler in a quad has more ability to
control the boat & thus a greater sense of responsibility for it, than
the average sweep rower.
More to the point, I'd suppose that if you scull in a 4x you'll also
scull in either a 2x or a 1x from time to time?
Peter Ford
Not necessarily; in particular becuase of the lack of sweep at the
championships; in our first two years of rowing we raced often in
quads, but few of us had done any single sculling; in J15 we trained
almost all in 8s but raced at NSR and nat champs in J15 4x+, showing
little enough incompetence that we made the semis both times, but still
with the majority of the squad having not done much single sculling.
As for double sculling, for one reason or another I had not trained in
a 2x until this winter, when we bashed our way down the pairs head in a
small peoples double.
How the different varieties of sculling affected our all-round
development i'm not entirely sure; from J16 onwards, single sculling
was our staple diet for the winter, but after the basics were acquired,
it doesn't seem clear that similar watermanship and other skills would
not have been gained rowing in pairs.
Peter Ford
Terry
rowing on medical assymetric development grounds.
I also support it on competition grounds: 1x, 2x, 4x, 2-, 4-, 4+ and 8
at every regatta creates lots of meaninglessly small events with
endless opportunities to win. If you are coaching one of the top 7
groups of athletes likely to enter J14 at a regatta, the real skill
becomes in working out which event to enter to avoid coming up against
the other 6. (OK, a bit tongue in cheek there!)
More seriously, the preferred trialling vehicle for both junior and
senior selection is single sculling, as a measure of inidvidual
boat-moving ability. What worse service could we do to a kid than to
teach them to sweep at 14 and tell them it'll be time enough to learn
to scull at 16 if their sweep performance for the club suggests they
may be worth sending to trials?
Gett'em sculling from the start, and offer only sculling events for as
long as practicable. I would be quite happy not to see any sweep
competition below J16.
Ewoud Dronkert
> I whole heartedly support the exclusion of little people from
> sweep rowing on medical assymetric development grounds.
On the other hand, sweeping you're asymmetric only half of the time,
sculling all the time. I've known juniors who after a few years of
competative sculling walked around with left shoulder always higher.
--
E. Dronkert
Douglas MacFarlane
firs...@lastname.net.invalid says...
You could also make sure your little people row on both sides. Perhaps
the ideal would be a program where young rowers were introduced to the
full range of activities from single sculling up to crew sweep in
eights taking in all the various boats in between. Surely a gentle
introduction to sweep, making sure that folk row on both sides, along
with a sculling program, is better than a sculling only regime with a
sudden introduction of single sided sweep at age 16?
Douglas
Rob Collings
> You could also make sure your little people row on both sides.
Easily done. And if they learn well and have a balanced training
program then I don't see the problem.
> Perhaps
> the ideal would be a program where young rowers were introduced to the
> full range of activities from single sculling up to crew sweep in
> eights taking in all the various boats in between. Surely a gentle
> introduction to sweep, making sure that folk row on both sides, along
> with a sculling program, is better than a sculling only regime with a
> sudden introduction of single sided sweep at age 16?
And don't forget that to make a club sculling only requires a huge
number of boats. Even if you only do crew boats, you need coxed boats
for the young 'uns and coxless boats for the older ones. If you race
fours, everyone can share boats which is quite important to some clubs.
Youngs ones can also use the fours as coxed quads if necessary.
I really can't see that the original decision was based on medical
grounds. Girls are normally more developed at the age of 14 or 15 than
boys, yet it was the girls who were excluded from sweep rowing. Can
someone explain the rationale behind that?
Don't get me wrong - I'm a big supported of sculling for improving boat
skills and think that learning the full set of disciplines is most
beneficial. I just don't think sweep rowing is the great evil it is
made out to be.
Where do kids progress to in their sculling when they leave school?
They go off to a club or to uni and well, we're going to do Tideway so
you need to row in an eight and then we're going to do Henley so you
need to sweep and so on. Have you ever compared the entries in M4+ and
M4x at Nat Champs? Sweep is what this country does so it's no surprise
that sweep is what a lot of kids are taught to do.
As for the notion that crew boats should be selected based on single
sculling performance, that has always seemed a rather dodgy premise to
me.
Rob.
Terry
> As for the notion that crew boats should be selected based on single
> sculling performance, that has always seemed a rather dodgy premise to
> me.
>
just that the first athletes to get 'noticed' by squad development
coaches and selectors are those who show well in single sculling
trials, and that this has an ineviotably significant effect on what
follows. You CAN get selected without sculling well, but its a lot
harder!
Re boat fleet economics, I wasn't recopmmending that every 14 year old
should be in a 1x all the time (sorry about that slump in sales
opportunity, Carl!). Crew sculling is ideal for all sorts of reasons.
Carl
S'all right, Terry ;) We also make 2x & 2-. And some outstanding
riggers, slides & hydrodynamic steering foils
:)
Charles Carroll
> sculling all the time. I've known juniors who after a few years of
> competative sculling walked around with left shoulder always higher.
Ewoud,
What's wrong with setting the oarlocks level and using a one hand follows
the other technique?
Charles
Teaplant
Then, of course, you are rowing with an asymmetry by twisting your
spine/shoulders rather than having one shoulder higher! The norm is,
probably, a bit of both.
Small boats (ie 1x, 2x, 2-) are not practical for the big rowing
schools on safety (ie supervision and staff/pupil ratio) grounds. I am
far happier overseeing a couple of 8+ crews than half that number of
children in singles. Eights travel straighter, more predictably, have
a built-in collision avoidance system (the cox) and a capsize is almost
impossible - certainly far less likely even than in a 4+. (not sure of
the stats, but fatal accidents to juniors in recent times - are they
split between large and small boats?)
Ultimately, club junior rowing is better suited to sculling than sweep
(both in terms of numbers needed to fill the boat, and flexibility over
seating positions - each important with smaller numbers, wider range of
ages/experience, less predictable attendance). A large-ish rowing
school might have 10-30 or more J15s pitching up 3 or 4 times a week
and expecting to be gainfully occupied for a games session. Putting 9
kids in a boat together with a member of staff is the only viable way
to keep everyone involved safely. With ones priorities in the order:
Safety, enjoyment, skill, success... it seems to be the most sensible
way.
Octuples are great in this respect, but not supported by the ARA either
and so into the sweep boats you go as soon as the rules allow. Its at
this point that the ARA loses interest in, and the interest of, the
major rowing schools. I would be very interested to know if club
juniors outnumber school juniors among the ARA's mandatory membership
for racing. I suspect it would be an interesting answer.
teaplant.
Anne Rogers
> applying lop-sided loadings to growing kids, especially since so many end
> up rowing only 1 side.
>
> A problem in our sport is the amount of lower back injury. Coaches do not
> always seem to appreciate this - IMHO it is inadequately researched &
> reported on within rowing - but a lower back injury may haunt you for the
> rest of your life.
I understand this is indeed true, but when you see the way some juniors
scull, despite the best efforts of their coaches, they'll just end up with a
symmetrical back injury rather than a non symmetrical one. It's the ones who
have very mobile spines who seem particularly prone to excessive back
movement and they are also the ones who are most vunerable to injury.
Anne
kda...@kidare.com
Rob Collings wrote:
> Douglas MacFarlane wrote:
>
> > You could also make sure your little people row on both sides.
>
> Easily done.
But not so easily enforced.
If schools/clubs are left to make sure that all juniors get equal
amounts of training on each side, there will be plenty who say "sod
that" and continue as before, making the exercise pointless.
The alternative is a system to track how much rowing a junior does on
each side, and I can't even begin to imagine the problems associated
with that.
On the whole, I am in favour of sculling only up to J16.
- better watermanship (also produces better coxes)
- natural boat-movers more easily identified
- greater flexibility in organising crews (eg, side doesn't matter,
girls and boys (or different ages) can train together in the same crew)
Kit
Rob Collings
> On the whole, I am in favour of sculling only up to J16.
> - better watermanship (also produces better coxes)
> - natural boat-movers more easily identified
> - greater flexibility in organising crews (eg, side doesn't matter,
> girls and boys (or different ages) can train together in the same crew)
And I'm not in favour of anything that prescriptive. It is up to clubs
and schools to decide how to proceed.
All of the above points apply to adults too. Maybe we should abolish
novice sweep racing so that our novices learn better? Perhaps even low
level senior racing such as S4 and S3 in England.
It seems a logical extension of the argument.
Rob.
Andrew
> not always seem to appreciate this - IMHO it is inadequately researched
> & reported on within rowing - but a lower back injury may haunt you for
> the rest of your life.
Are the lower back injuries the result of the rowing though?
I ask because my lower back ached for several months last year. The
osteopath I saw sorted it out, but it would come back. He also had
several other rowers on his books with similar problems. His
observation was that the majority of them were lifting boats off the
lower racks. And also that lifting the boat from below ones feet
out of the water was also more likely to cause problems than the rowing
itself. That being so it would not make any difference which type of
boat you are in.
Since having my boat racked higher I have had no back trouble.
Andrew
Terry
Andrew wrote:
> > That being so it would not make any difference which type of
> boat you are in.
>
with lower back strains (which are a function of poor boat-moving or
boat-lifting technique), but asymetric muscular development producing
unbalanced strain on the body as a whole. Like the well known case of
rowers' knee-caps being pulled sideways by huge thigh development on
the outside without corresponding development on the inner thigh to
pull back the other way. Forgive me for not knowing all the muscle
names! If that happens in senior rowers with mature bodies, what would
'big-right-side-itis' do to a soft-shelled 12 year old bow-suide sweep
rower.
Clearly, its not practicable in a club environment to insist the kids
alternate sides every outing, so really the only sure way of preventing
kids from bow sided or stroke sided development is to keep them
sculling until their bodies are more mature.
Charles Carroll
follows
> > the other technique?
>
> spine/shoulders rather than having one shoulder higher! The norm is,
> probably, a bit of both.
>
Couldn't you just switch back and forth, that is, lead with the right for
half your work out, then switch to leading with the left? I have to confess
that some times I find myself doing this. And my rigging is set left over
right at the moment!
On a slightly more serious note, I stopped worrying about my hands some time
ago. I just let the water tell them what to do and concentrate instead on
grabbing hold of the water and holding on to it. What do I care if the right
hand is leading or following the left hand, or over or under the left, so
long as the boat is moving well and I am able to row through without feeling
any heaviness or effort?
> Small boats (ie 1x, 2x, 2-) are not practical for the big rowing
> schools on safety (ie supervision and staff/pupil ratio) grounds. I am
> far happier overseeing a couple of 8+ crews than half that number of
> children in singles. Eights travel straighter, more predictably, have
> a built-in collision avoidance system (the cox) and a capsize is almost
> impossible - certainly far less likely even than in a 4+. (not sure of
> the stats, but fatal accidents to juniors in recent times - are they
> split between large and small boats?)
I cannot tell you how naive this makes me feel. For some reason I had just
assumed that everyone in the UK and on the Continent had about two years of
sculling before they were permitted to row. You have made it painfully clear
to me that I have never given the topic so much as a seconds thought. If I
had, I am sure I would have guessed how impractical this would be,
especially for the "big rowing schools."
This is the problem with my having come to the sport so late. Your post was
both humbling and quite enlightening.
Cordially,
Charles
Charles Carroll
follows
> > the other technique?
>
> spine/shoulders rather than having one shoulder higher! The norm is,
> probably, a bit of both.
>
Couldn't you just switch back and forth, that is, lead with the right for
half your work out, then switch to leading with the left? I have to confess
that some times I find myself doing this. And my rigging is set left over
right at the moment!
On a slightly more serious note, I stopped worrying about my hands some time
ago. I just let the water tell them what to do and concentrate instead on
grabbing hold of the water and holding on to it. What do I care if the right
hand is leading or following the left hand, or over or under the left, so
long as the boat is moving well and I am able to row through without feeling
any heaviness or effort?
> Small boats (ie 1x, 2x, 2-) are not practical for the big rowing
> schools on safety (ie supervision and staff/pupil ratio) grounds. I am
> far happier overseeing a couple of 8+ crews than half that number of
> children in singles. Eights travel straighter, more predictably, have
> a built-in collision avoidance system (the cox) and a capsize is almost
> impossible - certainly far less likely even than in a 4+. (not sure of
> the stats, but fatal accidents to juniors in recent times - are they
> split between large and small boats?)
I cannot tell you how naive this makes me feel. For some reason I had just
Teaplant
I wish I could achieve either of those effects deliberately! Sorry
I think it is worth clarifying here (to all our non-UK friends) that we
are talking only of allowing sweep rowing from the J15 year, not
encouraging 12 year olds to row only on starboard etc... Before now,
J15 sweep events are allowed by the ARA although not supported by the
ARA at their national championships or at Junior Inter-regional level.
The girls' age limit was WJ16. The new rules allow WJ15 events to be
offered but also insist that you must be older than J14 in order to
compete in these events (this is a sensible fortification of the
rules).
Up until the J15 year, boys and girls may only race in sculling boats
(and so only train in them). The issue of assymetric development is
certainly an important one. Frequent swapping of sides when they start
sweep rowing is obviously desirable for plenty of reasons, although you
might be surprised how often a rower expresses an immediate preference
- perhaps even finding the 'wrong' side uncomfortable or even
physically painful. Perhaps it is better to work with, rather than
against the natural assymetry that we all have anyway? The importance
of preceding the change to sweep rowing with a year or more of
core-strength building sculling is certainly not to be overlooked.
My instinct is that the new rules may dilute girls rowing a little too
much - equality is nice but it would be a shame to overlook the
difference and weaken girls' rowing by trying to strengthen it. While
the ARA are in 'equality' mode, perhaps allowing the odd big-boat or
sweep event to creep into their Junior Inter-regional program would be
a good idea. It would be very good for club/school relations to put
out regional teams with both club and school representation at full
strength - same team but each doing what they do best. eg Eton's 8+
with Maidenhead's scullers (or whoever - sorry not sure who all the big
guns are!)
Either way, as things stand the schools will row sweep and the clubs
will scull - and ne'er the twain shall meet.
Teaplant.