106th IRA Regatta Notice
To: Selected ECAC/NCAA Collegiate Rowing Programs
From: Clayton W. Chapman, IRA Regatta Director
Gary R. Caldwell, ECAC Director of Rowing
Michael Letzeisen, ECAC Assistant Director of Rowing
Re: 106th
Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Regatta
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, - June 5, 6, and 7, 2008
Cooper River, Camden County, New Jersey
This notice serves as the formal announcement of site and date of the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Regatta, as noted above. We also wish to invite your institution to participate in any or all of the men's events and/or the lightweight women's event included in the format of this year's Regatta. Regatta will include trial heats, repechages, and semifinals on Thursday, June 5 and Friday, June 6, and Championship finals on Saturday, June 7, 2008. Please note the following important items relating to regatta entries, eligibility, and other issues.
I. Structure, Format, and Organization of the IRA Championships in 2008 and beyond.
The IRA Stewards, in consultation with the ECAC management committee, administrators from non steward participating schools, and representatives of the various coaching constituencies are in the midst of full scale examination of the structure, format, and organization of the IRA Championships. Cognizant of the history and heritage of the championships, but also mindful of the financial, competitive, and practical considerations it must take into account moving forward, the Stewards have sought input from the aforementioned groups while seeking to prepare the regatta for a healthy transition to the 106th championship and beyond.
Progress has been significant, and the Stewards appreciate the input received from all corners of the college rowing constituency, but the job is not complete yet. Their intention is to have the template in place for the 2009 championships and announced at the 2008 regatta in Camden. It's an ambitious goal, but one which the ECAC is confident the Stewards will be able to deliver.
II. IRA Registration and Event Entry
The ECAC will be utilizing services provided by RegattaCentral this year to ease the registration and event selection process for the IRA Championships. Please take the following steps to ensure that your entry is being processed properly:
1) The registration window will be open from April
22, 2008 until May 20, 2008. All boat event entries must be
made through the RegattaCentral Site. The ECAC will not be
accepting paper boat entries or paper boating forms.
Boat Entries must be accompanied by
payment via credit card using the RegattaCentral
interface.
2) The ECAC will post the 2008 IRA Final Entry Forms
Package at http://www.ecac.org/, http://www.regattacentral.com/
and http://www.row2k.com/, and will
send copies of the package VIA EMAIL to all Head
Coaches of Pre-Registered institutions no LATER
than April 15, 2008. Please follow the instructions in
the package and return the Regatta Information Form, Small Boat
Information form (if applicable), and Rowing Equipment
Compliance Form to the ECAC Office by mail or fax by the May 20,
2008 deadline. In addition, your Athletic Director or
designee must sign the Institutional Entry and Certification form.
If your institution is not an ECAC member and/or yours is a club
program, the senior athletics or club sports administrator(s)
responsible for your institution's rowing program(s) must sign the
form and certify that your student/athletes are eligible to compete
as per the regulations published in the package.
This original set of forms with signatures must be sent to
the ECAC office at the address published with this
information. If you represent an ECAC
varsity program faxed forms may serve as your certification that
your institution abides by ECAC rules. If you have any
questions regarding the 2008 Regatta, please don't hesitate to call
Michael Letzeisen at the ECAC office (508/771-5060, x 236).
3) Student-Athlete waivers for the IRA and all ECAC Championships can be obtained through the RegattaCentral system and will be accessible as of February 15, 2008. Instructions for use of the system will be sent out under separate cover. If you need any assistance, please email support@regattacentral.com
III. 2008 IRA REGATTA INVITATION
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association invites your institution to compete in the following events in the 106th Annual National Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta on the Cooper River Course, Cherry Hill, New Jersey on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 5, 6, and 7, 2008.
*Men's Freshman/Novice 4-oared w/cox
Men's Varsity 4-oared w/cox
**Men's "OPEN" 4-oared w/cox
***Steward's Cup - Men's Freshman/Novice 8-oared
****Kennedy Challenge Bowl - Men's Second Varsity 8-oared
Women's Lightweight Varsity 8-oared, National Collegiate
Championship
Men's Lightweight Varsity 8-oared, National Collegiate
Championship
Varsity Challenge Cup - Men's Varsity 8-oared, National Collegiate
Championship
Francis Shields Bowl - Men's Alumni Masters 8-oared
*!*Women's Lightweight 4-oared w/cox*!*
*!*Men's Varsity Pair-oared w/o cox *!*
*!*Men's Varsity 4-oared w/o cox*!*
*!* Subject to approval of the IRA Board of Stewards. Final decision regarding inclusion or elimination of these events is expected no later than February 25, 2008
Men's Freshman/Novice 4-oared With Coxswain Event* One novice upperclass rower (oarsman or coxswain) is permitted to compete as a member of the men's freshman/novice 4-oared with coxswain crew.
The Men's "OPEN" 4-Oared With Coxswain** event is limited to a crew whose lineup includes at least one freshman/upperclass novice oarsman and at least one upper class oarsman and is limited to schools that enter both a Heavyweight Varsity Eight, and a Heavyweight Freshman Eight.
Steward's Cup: Men's Freshmen/Novice 8-oared Event***: A maximum of two novice upper-class rowers (oarsman and/or coxswain) are permitted to compete as members of the first freshmen/novice eight. (Note: A "novice" is a competitor who has never had any rowing experience in a prior year.)
The Kennedy Challenge Bowl**** event is
open to Men's Second Varsity Eights only.
(Note: The Kennedy Challenge Bowl is no longer open to
varsity crews, as in previous years.)
IV. Important IRA Procedures and Policies excerpted from the Entry Package. (Modifications to previous policies are in bold italicized type and underlined).
IN REGARD TO YOUR ENTRY, THE FOLLOWING POLICY SHALL PREVAIL:
(1) Acceptance of Entry: The IRA Regatta is an invitational Regatta by tradition, and as such, the IRA Board of Stewards reserves the right to accept or reject an entry, in accordance with these Regatta policies. No entry will be rejected, however, unless such action has been reviewed and approved by the IRA Regatta Selection Committee, which consists of the head coaches of the six schools (California-Berkley, Columbia, Cornell, Navy, Pennsylvania, Syracuse) of the IRA Board of Stewards, the head coach at Oregon State University, the head coach at the University of Michigan, and the Regatta Director. Specific entry qualifications and standards will be released by April 1, 2008 at the latest.
(2) Entry Limitation: The men's heavyweight varsity eight, men's heavyweight second varsity eight, men's heavyweight freshman/novice eight and the men's open four with coxswain events shall be limited to a maximum of 24 entries, each. The men's lightweight varsity eight shall be limited to 12 entries. The women's lightweight varsity eight shall be limited to 18 entries. The men's varsity four-with-coxswain and the freshman four-with-coxswain events will each be open to a maximum of one entry per school and each will be contested using the time trial qualification system utilized at the 2007 championships if entries exceed 24. The IRA Regatta Selection Committee shall determine which crews will be accepted into any event that is over-subscribed.
(3) Double-Entry: No double entries by any one school in any one event shall be permitted where the number of entries would exceed 18 without prior approval from the Regatta Director.
(4) For the men's events, ECAC Rules of Eligibility shall be enforced, with the following exceptions:
A. Freshman rowers shall be eligible to compete only in men's freshmen or freshmen/novice events or in the men's Open-4 event. Freshman shall NOT be eligible to compete in the men's Varsity or Second Varsity eights, or the men's Varsity Pairs or 4-oared events.
B. Participation by a student in rowing competition at the collegiate club level during the freshman year or subsequently during any upperclass year, at any collegiate institution, shall be counted the same as a season of competition at the intercollegiate freshman/varsity level.
C. Standard waivers that are permitted under existing NCAA Regulations are applicable, and may be processed through the ECAC or any other NCAA affiliated conference office. Notice of any such waiver that is granted to a rower in the 2008 IRA Regatta, however, must be reported to the Regatta Director in writing no later than the deadline date for 2008 Regatta entries, May 20, 2008.
D. A "novice" is a competitor who has never had any rowing experience in a prior year.
E. Upper-class transfer students are permitted to compete in sub-varsity competition. (The IRA Stewards, therefore, have ruled that upper-class transfer students may compete in the men's Second Varsity Eight, and they may compete in the men's Open and Varsity Fours, or men's Varsity Pair events.)
(5) For the Lightweight Women's Championship Event, NCAA Rules of Eligibility shall be enforced.
(6) Individual rowers and coxswains are restricted to participation in only one event.
(7) An institution may enter its Second Varsity-8 without also entering the Varsity-8 event provided the Second Varsity crew lines up with the same oarsmen/oarswomen who rowed in the 2008 EARC Sprints, ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships, PAC-10 Championships, WIRA Regatta, Dad Vail Regatta, Mid-West Rowing Championships, or the SIRA Regatta. However, such second varsity crew may be allowed a maximum of two (2) substitutes, provided the substitutes are selected from the competing institution's third varsity crew, and not from the first Varsity crew. The eligibility of the Second-Varsity crew, pursuant to these special conditions, must be certified in writing to the Regatta Director by the coach of the crew, and by the institution's athletic director or his representative, no later than the 2008 Deadline Date for entries, May 20, 2008.
(8) For Men's Lightweight National Championship Varsity 8 Event: Varsity oarsmen competing in the IRA Championship Regatta are restricted to an individual weight limit of 160 pounds. The average crew weight is set at 155 pounds.
(9) For Women's Lightweight National Championship Varsity 8 Event: Varsity oarswomen competing in the IRA Championship Regatta are restricted to an individual weight limit of 130 pounds.
(10) Coxswains Weights: Coxswains of all men's heavyweight and lightweight crews participating in the 2008 IRA Regatta are required to weigh a minimum of 125 pounds. Coxswains of all women's lightweight crews participating in the Regatta are required to weigh a minimum of 110 pounds. Those coxswains, whose body weight, while wearing racing shirt, shorts and socks is less than 125/110 pounds, will be required to carry external weight in order to achieve the minimum standard during the course of their race.
(11) Shell Weight - Men's Heavyweight Varsity 8 Event: The weight of the shells utilized in the men's heavyweight varsity 8 event in the Regatta shall be at least 205 pounds. This weight shall include only those items permanently affixed to the shell, including seats, rudders, skegs, fins, loudspeakers and riggers. These shells will be weighed-in by Wednesday, June 4, prior to being placed on the water to ensure adherence to the minimum weight standard.
(12) Substitutions are permitted only by approval of the Regatta Director. Substitutions for illness or injury shall be judged in accordance with USRowing Rules of Racing. Substitutions for academically related or other reasons shall be judged in accordance with the same principles as for injury/illness. .
The IRA is conducted under modified USRowing Regulations. It is anticipated that all events will involve heats, repechages, third level finals (when appropriate), petite finals, and championship final races.
