Des Moines Rowing Club Policies and Procedures Modified: January 2001
Equipment Maintenance
Take care when placing the boat in the water.
All rowers make sure their toes are on the edge of the dock. Coxes
must stand by the skeg (fin) to make sure it's over the water.
Do not row broken equipment.
When equipment is broken, not it in the log book,
put a sign on the boat, and notify the equipment manager by phone
or email.
Do not take parts from other boats to fix a boat.
Take shoes with you when you row or they may
not be there when you return.
When docks are busy, set stretchers and check
the boat on slings in the boathouse before launching.
Put things away where you found them and pick
up trash when you see it.
Never use a wrench to tighten the stretchers.
Only use your fingers to tighten.
Always towel-dry the boats after rowing.
Check the dock before leaving the boathouse to
be sure nothing is left behind.
Sign up for equipment for regular rowing with
the Crew Director or Sculling Director. Note which boat you would
like to use, the type of oars you prefer, day of the week, and
time of day. If you cease rowing at that time, notify the Crew
Director or Sculling Director.
There shall be a specific amount set aside in
the annual budget for boat buying and maintenance. Those funds
may not be used for any other purpose. The board shall determine
this amount.
Club Duties
Attend club meetings the third Thursday of every
month.
Pay club dues by May 1st or before the first row
of the year, whichever comes first.
When racing, all members shall wear the designated
club uniform. Note: ISU Crew Club members shall wear the designated
ISU club uniform.
Help on Novice Day and with novice training.
Volunteer for coxing for novice crews or for experienced
crews.
Do not go into the Drake office without permission.
Be on time for your row! Arrive at the boathouse
15 minutes ahead of your launch time and on the docks at the end
of your designated row time.
Volunteer to help on boathouse work days or dock
repair days.
If you have an address change, call or email the
Membership Chair.
Find a sub when you cannot row and call the name
into your crew captaion or cox.
Rowers with privately-owned boats must pay full
club dues and follow the Private Boat Owners policies.
Every crew should have a designated captain (and
a co-captain for an 8) to be the leader and point person for communications.
This person should not be the cox.
Safety
Follow the designated river course upstream on
the boathouse side, downstream on the far side (Prospect Park
side).
When docking, approach the dock very slowly, rowing
arms and back only or arms only.
When near or in the dark, have a flashlight on
the bow of the boat.
In fast current situations, always head upstream
first. Do not go downstream below Birdland Marina.
Do not leave key chains and other valuable where
they are visable through the glass door.
In bad weather or high water, never row if you
are uncomfortable or have safety concerns. Any member of the crew
has the authority to decide not to row.
Eights should always go out with eight rowers.
However, a cox may use discretion as to whether seven rowers have
the ability to carry the boat and move the boat safely on the
water. Under no circumstances should an eight-person shell go
out with fewer than seven rowers.
Under no circumstances should a four-person shell
go out with fewer than four rowers.
Under no circumstances should a sweep shell go
out without a coxswain.
All DMRC members must be able to swim at least
200 yards without stopping and must verify that by signing the
club membership waiver.
All rowers, coxes, and substitutes must be members
of the Des Moines Rowing Club and have signed the club waiver.
All scullers or would-be scullers want ot row
in club equipment must first be evaluated by an experience DMRC
sculler. Would-be scullers should have at least one year of sweep
rowing experience.
Coxes and scullers must sign out when launching
and sign in when returning.
Always lock the boathouse when on the water and
when leaving after the row.
Never row when there is ice on the river.
Regattas
Help with the Head of the Des Moines Regatta (including
bringing breakfast items).
When paying entry fees, the rowers contribute.
The cox does not usually pay unless there is a competitor fee
for the whole event.
The trailer will be loaded so the maximum number
of club members can row. Club boats will be given preference over
private boats unless arrangements are made with private boats
to be used in additional club races. Equipment choice determined
by the Equipment Selection policy.
When attending an out-of-town regatta, all participating
rowers must help load and unload boats, both at the regatta and
at the boathouse.
At least two cars shall accompany the trailer
on road trips with enough people to carry a boat.
When two crews are planning to row at the same
regatta in the same event with the same equipment, they shall
follow the Equipment Selection policy.
The cost of gas for the vehicle pulling the trailer
will be split among the members participating in the out-of-town
event.
All crews traveling to an out-of-town event must
sign up for space on the trailer and coordinate transportation
so the equipment is available for everyone.
Private boat owners and other clubs with boats
on the club trailer must sign a waiver of liability.
The trailer will be loaded with no more than two
Eights and any combination of lesser-sized boats in the lower
slots. The safety of the driver and the equipment always comes
first when loading the trailer.
When borrowing equipment from another rowing organization
or private boat owner, the crew must have board approval.
Any specific issues that aren't covered in the
Regatta orEquipment Selection
policies should be submitted in writing to the board of directors
for resolution.
Equipment Selection for Competition
Eligibility. To be eligible for equipment allocation, a
crew must fill out race entry forms and pay race fees two weeks prior to the
race day or four days prior to the sign up date, whichever is first, or as
otherwise designated by the board. This defines a valid crew or a valid sculler.
Equipment Preference. The fastest valid crew or valid
sculler as of two weeks (or as otherwise designated by the board) prior to the
race will get their pick of equipment and must make their equipment preference
known two weeks (or as otherwise designated by the board) before race day.
General Procedure. All crews are to follow the agreed upon race course as if
buoyed for race day. For headraces the HOTDM head course will be used.
For sprint races, a sprint course will be used (to be agreed upon by the
crews ahead of time if necessary). The coxswain or captain should note racecourse
completion time in the logbook. The log-noted times will be used to
determining the fastest time.
Head Races. The start line for the HOTDM racecourse
starts is the first set of steps (closest to the I235 bridge) by the Botanical
Center across to the iron pillar on the other side. The finish line is the big
fallen tree upstream from the white bridge at Prospect across to the double tree.
If times are within 15 seconds of each other, the times will be considered too close to
call and a coin toss shall determine the fastest boat.
Sprint Races. For sprint races, if any crew prefers
a race-off instead of logged times, it will be the crew's responsibility
to arrange a mutually agreeable time for all valid competing crews to row.
The crew must also find two independent observers for start and finish. The
race-off must occur at least two weeks in advance of race day. If a race-off
cannot be scheduled with valid crewmembers, the logbook times will determine who
gets equipment preference.
When two crews desire the same equipment, they will row back-to-back races
trading equipment for the second race. Both race times will be added together
and the fastest aggregate time will have equipment preference.
Masters. In Masters races, handicaps shall be used
to determine the fastest time. Actual times should be noted in the log;
handicaps will be added later to calculate the fastest time.
Substitutes. For all race-offs and logbook-recorded times,
the crew must have rowed with no more than one substitute per crew for 4s, quads and
8s (singles and doubles may not have substitutes). Substitutes must be of the same
category (e.g., master women, novice men) as the rest of the crew.
Different Races. If two different races cause a conflict over
equipment and hot seating is not possible, the fastest boat will be determined by comparing
the log-noted time to the prior year's winning time for each respective race. The time
closest to or better than the winning time in their respective race will get equipment
preference. Hence it is possible that a novice boat might get equipment preference over
an open or master’s boat.
