Some Intial Questions With Answers

[glrfcentral]

If you have had a look at the competition specifics for the 2014 Gaygames Regatta, there are some details that we thought needed some clarification. Here is the reply from the regatta director:

 

#1 - Does the sports fee cover boat rentals, or will those fees be separate? And will the boat rental fees cover both the practice and competition for a given entry? If the boat rental fees will be separate, do you have any idea how much they might be?

 

Boat rental fees will be separate. We will rent 4+ and 8+ shells for about $25/seat. At this time we cannot guarantee sculling shell rental, but we are working on it.

 

#2 - When will the rowers be able to practice on the course? Friday or Saturday? For how long?

 

We plan to host guided tours by launch boat the Saturday before the regatta. Ideally, teams should be able to practice on the course either Friday or Saturday. Since the Cuyahoga River is a commercial river, crews will need to be supervised with a launch boat, so we will need to coordinate practice times with participants.

 

#3 - We assume coxies will have to pay a participant fee but usually they are exempt from a sports fee, if they are not rowing in any event. What will be the policy for the 2014 Gay Games regatta?

 

There shouldn’t be a coxswain sports fee, but we will double check with GG9.

 

#4 - Do you have any idea if there will be a cap on the number of entries, similar to the Head of the Cuyahoga?

 

Gay Games 9 set the target number of participants at 100. We'd like to see many more than that. We can comfortably handle about 300 entries in a one-day head race as we hosted last year for the HOTC. Therefore, we would the cap the number of entries at 300 if necessary.

 

#5 - Information surrounding the Head of the Cuyahoga indicates the Coast Guard is extremely strict with regard to when the race course will be available. Is it rigidly set to open at 8:00 am and close at 4:00 pm on Sunday? Will rowers be able to practice prior to 8:00 am?

 

We plan to close the river to commercial traffic on the day of the event from 7 am (for course set-up) to 4pm. Crews will not be able to practice on the course on Sunday before the race due to course set up, but they can schedule a practice time on Friday or Saturday. The river will be open to commercial traffic during practice times, hence the supervision.

 

#6 - Given that rowing is only scheduled for one day, and if there is bad weather, as can happen once in a while in the midwest in the summer, what plans are in place to allow the rowers to compete on another day? If the entire event is not cancelled, but only certain hours of the day, what will happen to those scheduled events?

 

We row in the rain in Cleveland – just not in thunder and lightning. Ideally, we would have a rain delay and not a cancellation in inclement weather. We would not be able to get river closure for a rain date and therefore have not scheduled an alternative regatta date.