Regatta 101

packing list

Team uniform – can’t race without it
Water proof duffle bag
Refillable water bottle
Hat and/or visor
Clothing for the weather—it will be colder/wetter than you expect – extra jackets, socks, layers
Change of clothes
Shoes to wear to the dock – easy slip off
Shoes for pre-race warm up runs
Sunscreen – overcast skies often turn to bright sun in the hour+ you are on the water
Rain gear
Hair ties, headbands, etc
Tp or tissues for the port-o-pots
Hand sanitizer
Blankets, gloves, hand warmers
$$ to buy event food or tshirts – sometime these sell out
Eno or other hammock, folding chairs
Healthy snacks as permitted pre-race --for breakfast, car ride, late night if staying over
Book – card games – something to relax and pass time with your teammates, socially distant
Cell phone and chargers
Team gear – show your Patriot spirit!
Especially for spectators - binoculars
In case of wet weather – old towels, giant trash bag for muddy stuff going home
Shoes for walking distances, sometimes in muddy conditions
Directions – expect traffic and some difficulty with parking. Since there are no entrance tickets, the host organizations make their money by charging parking fees. Cash.

High school regattas are 1,500 meters (or .93 mile)
Olympic & collegiate regattas are 2,000m
Head races (or 'chases') are 5,000m (3.1 miles); local fall rowing programs compete in chases.

Crew boats are technically called shells, and motor boats for coaches are called launches.
Rowers use oars to propel the boat. You can interchange the words 'boat' and 'shell' but you'd never call an oar a paddle (paddles are in kayaking).
Regatta entries can be either sweep (each rower has 1 long oar, ~12 feet long) or scull (each rower has 2 slightly shorter oars, ~9 feet long).
For sweep entries, rowers are in a pair, a four, or an eight.
Scull entries end in -le, such as a single, a double, or a quadruple (called a quad).
Two rowers with 1 long oar each row in a Pair, while 2 rowers with 2 oars each (4 oars total) row in a Double.
Four rowers with 1 long oar each row in a Four, while 4 rowers with 2 oars each (8 oars total) row in a Quad.
Entries are in Lightweight or Open categories, Women (W) and Men (M). There are no mixed categories (4 women, 4 men) for VASRA regattas.

Regatta Boat Designations on VASRA Heat Sheets:
(These can differ across platforms - Stotesbury uses slightly different designations)

x = sculling entry
Example: 4x means a Quad (4 rowers, 8 oars)
No 'x' means a coxed Four or a straight Four
(4 rowers, 4 oars)
Memory hint: think of 'x' as 'times 2' or crossed oars
+ = coxed entry (the '+' is not always included on sheets, especially for 8s since they all have a coxswain)
All 8's are sweep and have a coxswain in stern
JR- = no seniors on the boat, even at coxswain
LT- = Lightweight entry
FR- = all high school freshmen on the boat
N- = Novice - all first-year rowers on the boat (may have an experienced coxswain but all rowers are in their first year with VASRA)