2017 Malta National/International Indoor Rowing Championships – Regulations

university_of_malta_rowing_club_event_image_by_paulskii-dapdlv3

Date and Venue:

Malta Rowing Association is pleased to announce the 2017 Malta National Indoor Rowing Championships and the Malta International Indoor Rowing Championships which will be held at Dar l-Istudent, University of Malta, Msida on Saturday 11th November 2017. The first race is scheduled to start at 9.45am. In exceptional circumstances, a participant may be allowed to ‘race’ on an alternative date, before the event, under supervised race conditions.

Participants entering as ‘Lightweight’ must weigh-in on the day of their race at the Venue between 1-2 hours before the scheduled time of their first race.

Holders of Maltese passports who are registered with the Association as a Rower or Athlete and win in the full 2000m length will be given the right to represent Malta in international events that the Association may be invited to participate in, provided that, in the case of on-water events, the rowers can provide evidence that they are competent to take part in that specific on-water event.

Schedule:

The schedule, as of Wednesday 8th November 2017 is provided HERE.

Registrations:

  • All participants should have registered Online (Closing date: Wednesday 08-11-2017, 1pm).
  • Note that  if you are registered as rower (qaddief) with one of the Malta Rowing/Regatta Clubs (i.e. Birgu, Birzebbugia, Bormla, Isla, Kalkara, Marsa, Marsamxett, Siggiewi, University of Malta Club) lower fees apply. Lower fees also apply for those who do not intend to row on water but wish to register as Athlete directly with the Association or through an entity.

Eligibility:

  1. The event is open to everybody. However, for each individual event, ranking will be made under two categories based on nationality as detailed below.
  2. Athletes who place 1st, 2nd and 3rd in any race category will be awarded a medal.
  3. Holders of Maltese passports who win the Open Categories in the full 2000m length will be declared as the Maltese National Champions and given the right to represent Malta in international events that the Association will be invited to participate in, provided that, in the case of on-water events, the rowers can provide evidence that they are competent to take part in that specific on-water event.
  4. As from 2017, an attempt is being made to include some events in the Para/Adaptive Categories. If you intend to participate in such a category, please email us on indoor.regatta@gmail.com urgently.
  5. For further information, please contact the organisers via email at: indoor.regatta@gmail.com

Entry Fees:

The following nominal fees are being requested per race:

  • Participants aged less than 19 Years of age on the 31st December of the year of the Championships: €5 (maximum fee to be paid is €10, if taking part in more than 2 races);
  • Rowers / Athletes Registered with Malta Rowing Association (Ghaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdif Iehor): €5 (maximum fee to be paid is €10 if taking part in more than 2 races);
  • Others: €15 (maximum fee to be paid is €30 if taking part in more than 2 races).

Championship Rules:

By entering the competition, a competitor agrees to be bound by the following rules:

  1. Concept 2 Indoor Rowers will be used.
  2. Competitors aged 12 and over may participate in as many races as they wish, but can only row any specific ‘individual’ distance once. There will be ‘individual’ races of the following lengths:
    1. 2000m (Open age Category only, with sub-divisions of Male/Female, LW/HW, National/International);
    2. 1000m (With age categories as specified below, with sub-divisions of Male/Female, LW/HW, National/International);
    3. 500m (With age categories as specified below, with sub-divisions of Male/Female, LW/HW, National/International);
  3. An attempt is being made to include some events in the Para/Adaptive Categories. If you intend to participate in such a category, please email us on indoor.regatta@gmail.com so that we can ascertain that you qualify to take part in that category.
  4. There will also be relay races for groups of 4 rowers racing a maximum of 2000m, where each rower must row 500m. Changes must be performed immediately on reaching the distances of 500m, 1000m and 1500m (±25m). There will be these special categories:
    1. All Male Teams with one or more para/adaptive rowers;
    2. All Female Teams with one or more para/adaptive rowers;
    3. Male/Female Teams  with one or more para/adaptive rowers;
    4. All Male Team with no para/adaptive rowers;
    5. All Female Teams with no para/adaptive rowers;
    6. Male/Female Teams  with no para/adaptive rowers;
    7. Teams were all members are less than 16 years of age.
  5. There is no need to be a registered rower with one of the Regatta/Rowing Clubs affiliated with Malta Rowing Association (Ghaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdif Iehor) to take part. Nevertheless, if you with to take up rowing on a more long term basis, you are encouraged to get in touch with one of our affiliated clubs.
  6. Rowers registered with Clubs affiliated with Malta Rowing Association (Ghaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdif Iehor) are required to participate in the name of their Regatta/Rowing Club they are registered with and may benefit from a reduced application fee.
  7. As from 2016, the statute of Malta Rowing Association permits athletes who take part in indoor rowing events only to register with the Association as ‘Athletes‘. This can be done either as ‘individuals‘ as part of a club/group. Please contact us on regatta.malta@gmail.com for further details. Such Athletes will also benefit from, amongst other things, the reduced registration fee.
  8. Competitors may use the “drag factor” setting of their choice, but this cannot be changed during the race.
  9. Details of individual race categories are listed below.
  10. All races are considered as “finals”. The times from the races will be ranked to give an overall listing for the eligible categories.
  11. Competitors in the 1000m and 500m will automatically be entered in the age categories they qualify for. Separate races will NOT be held and there is no additional cost to be paid.
  12. In the event of an equipment failure, competitors may, at the discretion of the organisers, be given the opportunity to compete in another race and still be eligible for a prize.
  13. A provisional schedule will be emailed to all competitors and placed on the event website by the Wednesday (8:00pm) before the competition. Any mistakes should be notified as soon as possible but not later than 48 hours BEFORE the scheduled start time of the race.
  14. Malta Rowing enforces a stringent Anti-Doping Policy that adheres to guidelines recommended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), FISA and the National Antidoping Organisation (NADO) who may perform tests on competitors. This is because we believe that our rowers have the right to compete with the peace of mind that they know that they, and their competitors, are clean. The use of performance-enhancing drugs and doping activity severely damages the legacy of sport and undermines the integrity of true athletes. Further details may be obtained from https://maltarowing.com/antidoping/ or from here. Note that those who are registered with the Association as a Rower or Athlete may be tested at any time during their registration period in accordance with LN 17(2015) of the Laws of Malta.

Further details on Individual Categories:

Nationality:

Ranking will be made under two categories, ‘National’ or ‘International’, based on nationality, where:

  1. The “Malta National Indoor Rowing Championship” will be a ranking for athletes holding a Maltese Passport only;
  2. The “Malta International Indoor Rowing Championship” will be a ranking for all athletes holding any Passport.

Note that for an event to qualify as an ‘International’ there must be at lest two participants having different nationalities. Holders of Maltese passports will be automatically entered into the ‘Malta National Indoor Rowing Championships’ and, if there are international participants, also in the ‘Malta International Indoor Rowing Championships’. International athletes will be entered in the ‘Malta International Indoor Rowing Championships’ only.

Sex: In each of the categories mentioned below, male and female rowers will be ranked separately.

Weight Categories: 
Lightweight Event Weight Limits (for ages 16+):
Men 75kg or less Women 61.5kg or less.
Lightweight competitors must weigh-in between on the day of the competition or the day before at the Venue. Competitors who do not make their weight by 1 hour prior to their scheduled start time will not be able to compete as ‘lightweight’. Note that competition in the LW category requires an individual to be aged 16+. Athletes under the age of 16 will be included with the rankings of the ‘open weight’.

Distances/Time: In each of the categories mentioned above, races will be held over the 2000m, 1000m and 500m distances for the Open Age Categories (intended mainly for Athletes of ages 16+).  Furthermore, for the 1000m and 500m events, Juniors and Maters will also qualify to be ranked separately and medals will be awarded as follows:

  • For Junior athletes aged 12-14 and 15-16 there will medals awarded, for these specific categories:
    • Female 1000m
    • Male 1000m
    • Female 500m
    • Male 500m
  • For Junior athletes aged 17-18 and Master Athletes aged 40-49, 50-59, 60-70, 70+ there will medals awarded for these specific categories:
    • Female LW 1000m
    • Male LW 1000m
    • Female LW 500m
    • Male LW 500m
    • Female HW 1000m
    • Male HW 1000m
    • Female HW 500m
    • Male HW 500m
  • For athletes ages under 12 (U12), athletes are required to row for as many meters as they can in 1 minute (60 seconds). Medals will be awarded to those who can complete a one-minute row.

Note that Junior Age Group Categories are based on the competitor’s age as follows:

U12 – born on or after between 1st January 2006
12-14 -born between 1st January 2003 and 31st December 2005
15-16 -born between 1st January 2001 and 31st December 2002
17-18 – born between 1st January 1999 and 31st December 2000
All junior competitors must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Master Age Group Categories

In Malta, the Master Categories are open to participants over 40 years of age. Further sub-categories for Masters will be as follows: 40-49, 50-59, 60-70, 70+ These are based on the competitor’s age on the day before the Championship.  For example, a competitor whose 40th birthday is on the day before the Championship would compete in 40-49 category. For international record purposes, the 40+ age group will be further split into sub-categories.

Para/Adaptive Categories:

For the 2017, an attempt is being made to include events in the Para/Adaptive Categories. If you intend to participate in such a category, please email us urgently.

Note: 

The 2017 Championships will be building on the success of the earlier National Indoor Rowing Championships organised in 2015 and 2016 by the Malta Rowing Association (Ghaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdif Iehor) with the help of the University of Malta Rowing Club. The Malta Indoor Rowing banner/logo is the work of art of Jean Paul Grech and cannot be used by third parties without consent. His other work can be found here.

RF