Regatta Packet
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Welcome to the 8th Annual Music City Head Race. The event will take place on Saturday, October 26th on the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee. We look forward to having you in Nashville for this great event.
Trailer Parking
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Trailer parking will be in LOT R of Nissan Stadium (see map under venue section, lot R is labeled NWR and NER). We will have overnight security on the evening of Friday, October 25th. The trailer lot will open at 8AM on Friday, October 25th. All trailers must depart the lot no later than 8pm on Saturday, October 26th.
Practice on the course on Friday, October 6th
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The course will be open for practice from 1pm-6pm on Friday, October 25th. No boats will be permitted to launch after 5:15pm. No coaches' launches will be permitted on the river during the practice. We will have safety launches on the water during the practice session.
Coaches & Coxswains
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A coaches and coxswains meeting is planned to occur at 7:30pm Central Time on Wednesday, October 23rd. The zoom link will be shared the week prior.
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Rules of Racing
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1. Each missed buoy will be a penalty of 10 seconds.
2. All crews must yield to faster crews, shifting over to provide the shortest path to the overtaking crew once the crew who is overtaking is within 1 boat length of open water. Failure to yield in a timing manner will result in a 30 second penalty.
Novice Events (Youth Novice definition changed for 2024)
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A youth novice competitor is defined as a rower or coxswain who has not rowed or coxed prior to November 20, 2023 (in a defined regatta as scrimmages do not count). Rowers who began their freshman year of high school in the summer/fall of 2024 are permitted to compete as novice rowers. A collegiate novice competitor is defined as a rower or coxswain who has not rowed or coxed prior to July 31, 2024 (in a defined regatta as scrimmages do not count). Collegiate 1st year rowers who competed in high school are eligible as novice in their first year of collegiate competition.
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Lightweight Events:
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The following weight limits apply per USRowing rules:
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Female Youth and Collegiate Rowers will have a maximum weight of 130 lbs.
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Male Youth Rowers will have a maximum weight of 150 lbs.
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Male Collegiate Rowers will have a maximum weight of 160 lbs.
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There will be no boat averaging for any lightweight categories, as with USRowing Rules.
Bow Draw
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The bow draw will be shared by Thursday, October 24th, or earlier. The order will be determined based on the 2023 Music City Head Race Results. We will guarantee that any A and B eights entries will be placed in the order of which they finished the prior year. For the fours, we guarantee that any A, B, and C fours will be placed in the order of which they finished the prior year. After those guarantees, any remaining entries are subject to the potential to be placed after any new A and B entries in the 8 and any new A, B, and C entries in the fours.
Launching & Recovering
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Due to the volume the docks will be experiencing, we ask that you please approach the water with your oarlock gates already open in order to speed up the process. All boats will need to launch with rowers or team members carrying their oars and will not be permitted to launch unless the oar holders are present and have the oars in their possession.
Race Course
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The map of the racecourse is available on the website, under the venue tab. Please have your coxswains and bowmen familiarize themselves with the launching/recovering pattern and the traffic pattern on the water. We will have several volunteers on land and several launches on the water to assist with this effort.
Results
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Results will be posted following the completion of the race.
Medals
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We will be awarding medals for all races. Medals will be available as results become official. You can pick up your medals from the control commission tent.
Team Points Trophy
A team points trophy will be awarded for each of the following categories: Junior Program, Collegiate Program and Masters Program. Only a program's top performing entry can earn points in that given event (however, additional entries do count for placement and can impact points that other programs earn). In the scenario that an event has less than 10 entries, the first place crew will be adjusted. A winner of a five boat event will earn the points allocated to the sixth place crew, second place earns the points of 7th place and so on. You must beat a minimum of one crew to earn points.
Junior Program: All Junior, Para and Youth Events
Collegiate Program: All Collegiate, Para and Open Events
Masters Program: All Masters, Para and Open Events
*Note that points earned by composite crews will be split evenly between those two programs.
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River Closure and Current
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The river will be closed for the practice session on Friday and for all racing on Saturday. We will have volunteer launches on the water for the practice session on Friday. We plan to have the Coast Guard Auxiliary and volunteer launches on the water on Saturday. The Army Corp of Engineers has agreed to reduce the current as much as possible. The weather the few days leading up to the regatta and a few other factors will impact how much control we have over the current. Expect the current slow-down will be prioritized for race day first and the practice session second. The course does run in the direction of the current, so the boats will be warming up against the current and racing with the current. Please keep this in mind when launching your crews and planning your row up to the start line.
Fees
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The entry fees are $160 for an eight, $110 for a four/quad, $70 for a pair/double, and $55 for a single. Credit card payment over RegattaCentral is the only option for payment for the regatta. Note: you will not be able to pick up your bow numbers until you have submitted payment.
Check In
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Check in will be available from 12pm-6pm on Friday and 6am-9am on Saturday. Bow numbers will be provided in your team’s packet when you check in. The packets will include a bow number for the bow deck, one for the back of the bow seat and one for the back of the coxswain.
Weigh Ins
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Weigh Ins for lightweight rowers will be available at control commission on Friday afternoon (3pm-6pm) and on Saturday morning (6am to 10am). Coxswains will not be weighing in.
Directions
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The parking lot for the trailers is shared with the parking lot with the Nashville Bridge Building. The best way to navigate is to use the address: 2 Victory Ave #100 Nashville, TN 37213. The trailers will park in the northwest and northeast quadrant of parking lot R. Athlete and Spectator parking will be in the southern quadrant of lot R. Overflow parking will be available in lot N. Buses will park in Lot T. We will have volunteers assisting you with parking. Note that there is a $10 fee to park. Everyone needs to pay this fee. Please prepare for it now. Exact change is appreciated.
http://www.titansonline.com/stadium/directions-parking.html
Emergency procedures (should there be inclement weather)
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This will be covered during the coaches and coxswains meeting on Wednesday evening.