Attached you will find 7 files that provide all the racing results from the Saturday and Sunday races. res_sat_part1.pdf res_sat_part2_and_total.pdf res_sun_heats.pdf res_sun_finals.pdf res_sun_heat_8+.pdf res_sun_finals_8+.pdf 8+ DASH.pdf

First, let's be clear. The races on Saturday are age-based, and the races on Sunday are skill based. These are different types of racing. Second, we are not following USRowing rules of racing. The intent of the race format for both days was to ensure everyone had their fill of rowing, without feeling like they had spent tons of money to come to Ghent and then be eliminated in a heat. Thus the two-race format for both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the two race times for every entry are averaged, and the highest winning averages for each event are awarded the medals. On Sunday, it follows a time trial format where everyone races once, gets sorted by skill (through their time), and then they are placed into Final A and Final B. However, we did realize the insanity of simply racing twice with the same set of competitors. Thus it was GLRF's request that if there were 5 or less entries, the race would be a direct final on Saturday or Sunday. However, the Regatta Secretary, in putting together the draw, saw the limited number of entries in many events, and in fact in some races, three different events are piled in together to give the race some breadth. There are only three events with enough entries to meet the original GLRF criteria of racing twice. All other races should be direct to final. So currently, we have 44 races, including the 8+ races, which are both direct to final. So if we went with the GLRF criteria, that would mean eliminating a total of 15 races, leaving a total of 29 races. So we are talking about dropping 34% of the races. The drawback in doing this is that for some rowers, who may have entered only one race, that means a small select group of people are deciding on the fate of how much rowing these people may enjoy on Saturday, in other words, ensuring they may only row once. Now, for those folks who are overwhelmed by all the races, another idea is to allow rowers to skip a race. Their race time would be recorded as being equal to the slowest time of that race. Then their other race time would be recorded as their actual race time, and then the two would be averaged. Here is what the the Regatta Secretary and one of the jury/race officials had to say. They do feel that although it can be done, as it is currently organized. But they do feel it is crazy to race more than 4 times in one day. But that doesn't mean they advocate eliminating all the double races. They just felt some of these people who signed up for more than 2 events in one day are not grasping the reality of their strength. They feel that perhaps these people who signed up for an aggressive list of events should rethink their entries. They also feel this should wait until the team captain meeting to see who has been eliminated or dropped out of a race.

Thanks for clearing this up. Just to add, USRowing has some nice guidelines with respect to heats and finals: Entries Heats (Boats advancing to final) 1-6 0 7-12 2 (3) 13-18 3 (2) Page 60 of the USRowing rules: http://www.usrowing.org/Libraries/Referees/2012RORwebfinal.sflb.ashx A huge thanks again to the organizing committee for all their hard work.

Yeah - I will try to see the Regatta Secretary today to go over the entries.

Looks like there's some confusion on the schedule as everyobe seems to be listed as havibg two races, regardless of number of boat entries per race. I imagine/hope it will be cleared up on Friday...!

There should only be (2) races if there are more than 6 entries. Every other race that is 5 entries or less should be a direct to final. As you saw on the final race schedule, the 500m. dash is on the schedule. With all the back and forth about the importance of the 8+ `1000m. races, we believe that our diplomatic compromise was accepted: GLRF would organize the 500m. dash using the format suggested by the DC Strokes of a hat race. So that means names would be drawn at the end of the day on Sunday and the racing teams formed at that time, out of the names interested in racing. We are welcome to hear alternate ideas but it is our gig at this point. Perhaps we should have a solution in mind for the coaches meeting?

Hi again, On a separate note - have I missed out or what is the registration procedure for the 500m mixed dash event?

Hi, I know this is a late in the process and we were consulted about this, but I am getting flak from the crews for Saturday's (Master) rowing format. Most people do not see the point in rowing the same race twice. I think that this has particularly become an issue when some people have less than 25 minutes between races. Also, in order to be sure of winning each crew has to row all out and cannot row tactically in any of races - this is actually tougher than having heats and finals. Four 1000m's all out in one day is tough. It seems that the organisers have done their best to accommodate all requests, but if there is a general consensus that in races with less than 6 entries, crews only need to row once, I strongly suggest that we scrap the two races per boat and age category. This will make the day much easier for organisers and participants. It will allow everybody to get used to the procedures of picking up their boats, rowing to the start, racing and handing back their boat without being too stressed. In this way it will be a practice run for Sunday. I fear that the intensity of both days, will be very stressful for organisers and participants alike. That said looking forward to seeing you all in Blaarmeersen!