Steering - coxes and sculls

This covers use of non-captains permission small boats

 

In order to book a non-captains permission boat with a bank party the rower/sculler needs to have rowed or sculled for at least 6 months prior or as part of a timetabled coaching session

 

The bank party must be competent

 

This permission can be revoked immediately if the rower/sculler is later deemed unsafe or unsuited

 

In the event of an incident, consideration will be made to the suitability of the bank party and the athlete

In addition to the requirements for using the basic boats:

• For a single scull, the athlete must be able to get the boat out unaided or solely go out when there’s another sculler or member known to be around at the same time

• The rower/sculler should be experienced on the Cam (minimum six outings on the Cam, minimum three in a small boat with a bank party)

• For one outing they should do a full lock run with one of the captain, Director of Rowing, Head Coach or someone that the captain has deemed equivalent. The bank party should refrain from providing the rower/sculler with comments on line/state of the river (unless comments are required for safety reasons) to make it a good simulation of not having a bank party. 

• The athlete being assessed must show that they are safe to go out unaided by: 

  • Proving to be a competent rower/sculler

  • Being aware of hazards ahead of them

  • Remaining on the correct side of the river at all times

  • The bank party will then give their recommendation to the Captain for the final decision

 

Even if an athlete fulfils these requirements and is allowed to go out without a bank party they should consider their own suitability to going out unobserved during peak college boating hours (pre 9am on weekdays) as the river becomes far more busy and the boats far less predictable.Athletes should assess the risks before boating.

 

No athlete should go out unobserved in club boats after the hours of darkness (see CUCBC definitions of nighttime)

 

In the event of an incident, an enquiry will take place and the athlete may lose the right to go out unaided.

The athlete can also lose the right to go out unaided for close passes or dangerous incidents observed/reported to the captain

In order to ensure that the better boats are kept in a high quality condition use of captain’s permission boats will be considered for athletes deemed competent enough to go out unobserved. 

 

For use in a squad setting, captain’s permission boats can be used by people not signed off to use them with the express permission of the captain, in these instances athletes without normal permission to use captain’s permission boats must have a coach. In these instances the captain should be informed ahead of time.

 

In order to be allowed to use a captain’s permission boat the athlete should:

• Be allowed to go out unobserved

• And fulfil at least three of (the Captain must sign-off the 3)

  • Have finished in the top 50% of at least three races over a 12 month period. This requires agreement from the captain. For headraces it must be top 50% when considering all open-age athletes of their gender, similarly for regattas with banding the time trial results should be considered. Events with small entry lists (smaller than 6) will be dealt with on a case by case basis to ensure that the performance isn’t solely top 50% due to a weak field or that a good performance in a strong field isn’t punished

  • Have evidence of committing to doing 2-3 sessions a week

  • Be observed by the Captain/Director of Rowing/Head Coach/someone deemed equivalent by the captain, for an outing and deemed by them to be a good quality sculler (drills including, front stops build and square blades rowing and a rollup for example should be performed)

  • Performed at the top level of recognised national races

  • Be able to reliably piece at 1.55/500m (men)/2.10/500m (women) on an upstream strava segment of at least 600m

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In the event of an incident, a enquiry will take place and the athlete may lose the right to go out in captain’s permission boats.

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The athlete can also lose the right for close passes or dangerous incidents observed/reported to the captain

In cases where reasonable adjustment is asked it will be considered by the captain. Examples of reasonable adjustment are:

• An athlete’s physiology/disability precludes them from taking the boat out unaided. In an instance like this it could be deemed that the athlete can take boats out without a bank party but would require them to get someone to help them get the boat out

• A high calibre athlete joins. In the event that an athlete able to scull at a high level but with no on-Cam experience joins the club, they could potentially be able to row captain’s permission boats with a bank party until they meet the requirements for unobserved rowing.

 

Reasonable adjustment requests must be made to the captain with strong evidence to support the request for the captain to determine the outcome.