Regatta Sanctioning

Sanctioning for Ontario Rowing Events

The Event Sanction document represents an event Local Organizing Committee’s plan to implement a safe and fair rowing event. If an event involves competition between two or more rowing clubs, the event requires Event Sanction, as per the Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) Event Sanction Policy. This includes:

• Rowing Events;
• Indoor Rowing Events;
• Skills Events;
• Coastal Rowing Events;
• Touring Events;
• Come and Try It Events;
• Ice-rowing Events; or
• Any other events as deemed by the Board of Directors of RCA.

RCA delegates the sanctioning of all rowing events to the Provincial Rowing Associations (PRA). Events designated as National Regattas are sanctioned by both the PRA and RCA in a two-step process. Row Ontario is responsible for sanctioning all rowing events in Ontario.

As of 2019, events can be posted on RegattaCentral prior to sanction being approved to assist in promoting the event. However, all rowing events must be sanctioned before opening registration for entries. It is recommended that Event Sanction Applications be submitted at least six weeks prior to the event to fulfill the guidelines in the RCA Rules of Racing, allow time for the Sanctions Officer and Sanctions Committee to review the application and for the Chief Umpire to recruit umpires for the event.

Procedures for Submitting an Event Sanction Application

1.  Contact umpires@rowontario.ca for a Chief Umpires list, then contact a Chief Umpire to confirm involvement in your regatta. In Ontario, the Local Organizing Committee is responsible for confirming a Chief Umpire prior to submitting the Event Sanction Application. Event Sanction Applications will not be approved without a confirmed Chief Umpire.
2. Log in to Rowing Canada Aviron’s Web Registration System (WRS) and click “+Propose an Event” in your Account Dashboard to launch the Event Sanction Application. After completing the online form, click “Submit” to automatically notify the Sanctions Officer.
3. The Row Ontario Sanctions Officer will review your application. You will receive a notification to the email address associated with your WRS account when the Sanctions Officer either approves your Event Sanction Application or requests further information.
4. Once your Event Sanction Application has been approved by the Sanctions Officer, an email will be automatically sent to RegattaCentral confirming that the event may be posted and registration opened.

Sanctioning Documents

RCA Rules of Racing

As of January 2022, please refer to the 2022 RCA Rules of Racing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for you to review a sanction application?

Between 2-5 business days.

Why does it take so long to review a sanction application? Don’t you just have to click “approve” and be done with it? 

Because sanctioning is so important, sanction applications go through a few steps on the way to approval and up to 5 people may be involved on any given sanction application review. Before a sanction application is even sent to committee, it is screened to ensure all fields have been answered and the Chief Umpire is contacted to confirm they are comfortable with the application as submitted. Then the application is put to the Sanctions Committee, which is actually a large group of individuals but we ask that 2-3 are involved in each review, to share the workload and responsibility. Once a review committee is formed, they are asked to review the sanction application by the end of the next business day. All comments are submitted to the Row Ontario Sanctions Officer to compile and make a decision in WRS, which could take up to another business day depending on the regatta and the committee’s feedback.

Is there any way to speed up the sanction process?

When the stars align, a sanction application should take no more than 2 business days. You can speed up the process in the following ways:

• Ensure your Chief Umpire is involved in preparing the application. One of the first steps in screening an application is to reach out the Chief Umpire.
• Ensure your application is thorough. Every field on the application has a little ‘i’ beside it to clarify what is required in the question.
• Don’t forget to submit an Emergency Plan, First Aid Plan, Regatta Package, and relevant traffic pattern maps.
• Review the 2022 Rules of Racing, especially for the section regarding exceptions to the Rules of Racing.

Most importantly, give yourself time. Every member on the Sanctions Committee is involved in a number of other rowing commitments (not to mention their personal and professional commitments). Applications are reviewed in the order in which they arrive and are attended to promptly, but thoroughly. Also note the above-mentioned timeline is in business days, which does not include weekends or holidays.

How can I share my sanction application with my Chief Umpire?

We recommend completing your application and printing to .pdf to share with your Chief Umpire, then saving your application until you have a chance to collaborate. You can then edit if required and submit. Within the sanction application, you will be asked to identify your Chief Umpire. This will grant the Chief Umpire access to the online application.

Is the Emergency Plan the same as my club’s EAP?

No. The emergency plan should be regatta specific. Consider that you will have participants who don’t normally row at your club, and you will have specific people in charge of particular duties at a regatta. Consider the unique challenges of regatta day. For example, if there is an extreme weather event, how will crews be evacuated from the race course and properly accounted for? Are there safe landing sites on the course for crews who can’t get to the dock? Will particular safety boats have particular responsibilities in particular areas? All of these answers vary depending on the regatta.

Where can I see sample EAPs, First Aid Plans or Regatta Packages?

Templates are available in the COAST Resource Library. You can also contact lisa@rowontario.ca or sanctions@rowontario.ca for assistance.

Why does sanctions@rowontario.ca have administrative access to my regatta on Regatta Central?

As the system is still relatively new, the idea was to grant someone at the Row Ontario office administrative access to be able to provide frontline assistance to regatta organizers if they were having difficulty setting up their regatta. It is meant to provide you with additional support as we all adapt to the changes in RegattaCentral’s platform; please don’t hesitate to reach out if you require that assistance. Row Ontario also uses the entry data file to audit the list of participating athletes and coaches to verify registration.