(a) The rules contained in this Article shall be known as the USRowing Trials Rules.
(b) The purpose of these Trials Rules, in addition to those described in Rule 1-102 ("Purposes"), is to facilitate the process of selecting the most competitive crew to represent the United States in international competition.
(c) These Trials Rules shall apply to all races, events, and regattas that are used to select the National Team that will represent the United States and bear the national colors in international competition, as defined in the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, 37 U.S.C. 371 et seq., including but not limited to the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games, and any FISA Championship Regatta.
(d) Except where specifically altered or superseded in these Trials Rules, all other applicable USRowing Rules of Rowing shall be in effect.
(a) USRowing shall determine and publish the venue and date of trials events, and the selection criteria to be used, under the procedures established under Section V.3 of the USRowing Constitution, and Section V.2.C of the USRowing Bylaws.
(b) Trials events may be held either as a separate regatta, or in conjunction with another regatta.
(c) The local organizing committee shall perform the functions normally assigned to it under USRowing Rules of Rowing. Any racing schedule involving trials events shall be approved by USRowing.
(a) The Chief Referee shall be designated directly by the USRowing Judge-Referee Committee.
(b) The assignment and function of race officials, including the Jury, shall be as provided in the applicable Rules of Rowing.
(a) The appropriate USRowing international committee having jurisdiction over a particular trials event shall designate a Selection Subcommittee composed of one or more selectors. The Chair of the Selection Subcommittee shall be, whenever practicable, a member of the USRowing international committee. Current National Team coaches, other National Team members, or coaches of crews competing in a trials event shall not be members of the Selection Subcommittee for that event.
(b) The Selection Subcommittee shall be present at the applicable trials and shall have the power to:
(1) Receive the results certified by the Chief Referee and Jury and determine whether those results shall be used to determine the composition of the United States National Team;
(2) Order the results of any race or races that are part of the trials event, including a finals race, to be nullified and a replacement race conducted with all or some of the original crews involved, if the Subcommittee judges that such replacement race is appropriate in order to select the most competitive crew. The factors that may enter into such a decision shall include, but not be limited to, weather conditions, ill health or injury to a competitor, or misadventure during a race even if that misadventure would not normally be cause for rerowing the race under USRowing Rules of Rowing.
(3) Grant exemptions or pardons from the adverse effects of a judgment of the Jury. Whenever the Selection Subcommittee takes such action, it shall note the reasons therefor in the official report of results (Rule 6-309), and shall certify that, in its opinion, such action will promote the process of selecting the most competitive crew to represent the United States in international competition, and that it has considered whether such action is consistent with principles of safety, fairness, and good sportsmanship. Any such exemption or pardon shall extend only to those aspects of the Jury's judgment that immediately affect the procedure to select the trial's winner, and shall not extend to the award of medals or other mementos of achievement, nor shall it limit the ability of USRowing to take further disciplinary action after the event, or the ability of the crew in question to appeal the judgment of the Jury under Rule 2-608.
(4) Make determinations at the site for such other subsequent proceedings as are necessary to select the United States National Team, and that are not inconsistent with the selection criteria established by USRowing under Section V.3 of the USRowing Constitution, and Section V.2.C of the USRowing Bylaws.
(c) The Selection Subcommittee may choose a subcommittee of no more than three of its members to confer with the local organizing committee and make such operational decisions on behalf of the Selection Subcommittee as are required as the regatta progresses.
If USRowing imposes time standards as a prerequisite to being named to the National Team, it shall appoint a Standards Coordinator, who shall be present at the site, shall perform or cause to be performed any measurements and calculations necessary to determine the applicable time standard, and shall generally administer the time standard requirements. Factual findings made by the Standards Coordinator in the course of his or her duties, such as measurement of wind velocity, temperature, or water flow, shall be final and not subject to review. The Standards Coordinator, after consultation with the Selection Subcommittee and the Chief Referee, may determine that the weather or course conditions are not suitable for time standards, in which case the Selection Subcommittee may postpone racing or allow racing to continue to determine an order of finish only.
Trials races shall be held on a Class "A" course.
(a) The Selection Subcommittee may adopt methods by which to assign crews to specific heats or lanes, including but not limited to seeding the crews.
(b) In trials events where the "Two Out of Three" progression system is used, the lanes in the second race shall be assigned in pairs according to the order of finish in the first race as follows: 1st and 2nd in Lanes 3 and 4; 3rd and 4th in Lanes 2 and 5; 5th and 6th in Lanes 1 and 6. The lanes for each pair shall be randomly drawn.
The Selection Subcommittee may relax the limitations on substitutions (Rule 5-207) if such relaxation is appropriate in order to select the most competitive crew.
All competitors in a trials event shall be citizens or nationals of the United States. All competitors shall produce a United States passport for inspection at the trials venue. All trials competitors shall also be individual members of USRowing.
For any trials event, USRowing may establish time standards, satisfaction of which is a prerequisite to being named to the National Team, regardless of whether a crew is the winner of the event. Such time standards may take into account variables such as wind velocity, temperature, water flow, or other environmental factor. The applicable time standards, and the method of calculation to incorporate variable factors, shall be available on request from USRowing headquarters and posted at the regatta site.
Competitors shall comply both with Article IV (Competitors), and with the classification and eligibility rules of FISA or the sponsoring authority of the international regatta for which trials are being held.
(a) Coxswains: In trials events, a coxswain for a men's crew shall weigh at least 55 kg. (121.25 lbs.). A coxswain for a women's crew shall weight at least 50 kg. (110.23 lbs.). The coxswain of a crew shall be of the same gender as the other competitors in the crew. A coxswain shall not carry more than 10 kilograms (22.05 lbs.) of deadweight in order to comply with minimum weight requirements described in Rule 4-109 ("Coxswain's Weight"). A male coxswain shall therefore have at least 50 kilograms (110.23 lbs) in natural body weight, and a female coxswain shall have at least 45 kilograms (99.20 lbs.) in natural body weight.
(b) Juniors: For purposes of trials events, a competitor ceases to be a Junior after December 31 of the calendar year in which he or she turns 18, Rule 4-104 (a) (Classification by Age; Junior) notwithstanding.
(c) Men's Lightweights: In trials events, a men's lightweight crew shall average no more than 70 kg. (154.32 lbs.) per rower, and no individual rower shall weigh more than 72.5 kgs. (159.84 lbs.). A male single sculler shall not weigh more than 72.5 kgs. (159.84 lbs.).
(d) Women's Lightweights: In trials events, a women's lightweight crew shall average no more than 57 kg. (125.67 lbs.) per rower, and no individual rower shall weigh more than 59 kgs. (130.07 lbs.). A female single sculler shall not weigh more than 59 kgs. (130.07 lbs.).
(a) All competitors in trials events are subject to testing for drugs prohibited under Rule 4-102 ("Use of Drugs"), and participation in trials events shall constitute consent to such testing. Testing shall take place under the procedures approved by FISA, and for Olympic and Pan American trials shall be administered under the auspices of the United States Olympic Committee. Apart from a positive result for prohibited drugs, all information collected under drug testing procedures shall be kept confidential.
(b) If a competitor is found to have used a prohibited drug, he or she shall be removed from the National Team, and further penalties may be imposed pursuant to Rule 102(d).
(a) All competitors shall be individual members of USRowing. Composite crews and unaffiliated competitors shall be permitted in all events.
(b) There shall be no entry fee charged for trials to select the United States National Team for the Olympic Games or the Pan American Games. For all other trials, the entry fee shall be $10.00 per person per event.
(c) Entries shall be received in writing at USRowing headquarters accompanied by the correct entry fee payable to USRowing no later than the Monday preceding the first race in the event, except that in trials events held in conjunction with another regatta, entries shall conform to that regatta's published procedures and deadlines, and the entry fees shall be paid to the local organizing committee.
(a) The Chief Referee or the Selection Subcommittee shall cause the equipment of the crew winning a trials event to be checked as a matter of course for compliance with Part A (Construction and Design) of Article III (Equipment) of these Rules. If the equipment is found not to be in compliance, the offending crew shall, pursuant to Rule 2-504(d) ("Placement of Crews"), not be placed. The Selection Subcommittee shall then determine whether to order a replacement race, or to accept the existing results without the offending crew.
(b) The equipment of any crew may be checked at any time during the regatta, and the local organizing committee shall provide the facility for a crew to check the weight of its boat prior to racing.
(a) In trials events with 7 or more entries, the FISA Progression System for six lane racing shall be used.
(b) In trials events with 6 or less entries, the "Two Out of Three" progression system shall be used. Under the "Two Out of Three" progression system, all crews shall compete in the first two races. If the same crew wins both of those races, it shall be considered the winner of the event. Otherwise, a third race shall be held between the winners of the first two races only, and the winner of the third race shall be considered the winner of the event.
At any pre-regatta meeting held under Rule 2-202 ("Pre-Regatta Meeting"), a representative of the Selection Subcommittee shall be present and shall explain the specific selection criteria and procedures applicable to the trials event. The identity of the Selection Subcommittee, the Jury, and the Standards Coordinator shall be announced. Competitors are nevertheless responsible for knowledge of published selection criteria and procedures, and of these Trials Rules.
(a) In principle, the following schedule of racing sessions shall be used for trials events, conditions permitting. Nevertheless, the actual racing schedule shall be established by USRowing and posted at the trials site.
Number of Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Entries 1 to 6 Race 1 Race 2 [Open] Race 3 [Open] 7 to 12 Heats Repechages [Open] Finals [Open] 12 + Heats Repechages Semifinals Finals [Open]
(b) The start of each racing session shall be separated by at least six hours. The Times Standards Coordinator, after having consulted with the Selection Subcommittee, may suspend the provisions of this subsection if he or she finds it necessary in order to race under conditions suitable for time standards.
(c) If a trials event is held in conjunction with another regatta, the schedule of racing shall be approved by USRowing.
(d) The exact schedule of racing shall be posted at the regatta site no later than 6:00 PM on the day preceding the first race in the event. Racing is nevertheless subject to change depending upon weather or other condition.
(a) The polling of the crews and the subsequent starting commands shall be given as specified in the FISA Statutes and Racing Bylaws in effect at the time. All other preliminary commands, instructions or information provided by the Starter shall be given, whenever practicable, both in French according to the form prescribed by FISA, and in English.
(b) [Editor's Note: This subsection, which allowed a crew in trials events three false starts or warnings before being excluded, has been deleted. Crews in trials events are now subject to the normal Rules of Rowing, which provide that a crew is excluded upon receiving its second false start or warning.]
(a) Either the Referee or the representative of the Selection Subcommittee following a race in a launch may order that a race in progress be stopped, whenever he or she judges that some misadventure draws into question the validity of the race in determining the most competitive crew. Such misadventure need not be otherwise cognizable under USRowing Rules of Rowing. In particular, a race in progress may be stopped when a crew that is in contention to win or advance capsizes, suffers broken equipment, or suffers injury or illness, at any time during the race, regardless of whether such incident took place in the starting area.
(b) A race stopped before completion under subsection (a) above shall be rerowed from the start with all the original crews participating, after a suitable interval has elapsed.
If interference occurs in a race, the Referee may order a race rerowed without penalty, or with a lesser penalty than exclusion, regardless of where in the race the interference took place. The presumption in favor of exclusion contained in Rule 2-406(b) ("Penalizing Interference") shall not apply to trials events.
(a) Protests will be heard by the Jury in accordance with the applicable Rules of Rowing, except that there shall be no fee for lodging a protest.
(b) A crew adversely affected by a decision of the Jury may petition the Selection Subcommittee for an exemption or pardon from those aspects of the judgment that affect its ability to compete for a position on the National Team. There shall be no fee for submitting such a petition, which may be written or oral.
(c) A crew that wishes to appeal from a decision of the Jury or the Selection Subcommittee may, in cases in which the composition of the United States National Team is at stake, resort immediately to the USRowing Grievance Procedure without first appealing to the Judge-Referee Committee. Upon receiving such a complaint under the Grievance Procedures, the USRowing Executive Director shall forward a copy to the Judge-Referee Committee for an advisory opinion on those aspects of the dispute that call for an interpretation of USRowing Rules of Rowing, but the grievance procedure shall not be delayed as a result.
The Chief Referee and Jury of a trials event shall certify in writing the results prepared by the Chief Judge as being in accordance with the Rules of Rowing. The Standards Coordinator shall certify satisfaction of any applicable time standards. The Chair of the Selection Subcommittee shall certify the results to indicate that the Subcommittee has accepted the results as determining the composition of the United States National Team. The results so certified shall be transmitted by the Chief Referee to USRowing headquarters.
(a) The winning crew of the trials event shall declare to the Chief Referee or the Chair of the Selection Subcommittee its unanimous intention to represent the United States at the international competition and in the event at issue, no later than two hours after the finals race has been declared official, the Standards Coordinator has certified compliance with applicable time standards, and the Selection Subcommittee has accepted the results.
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