Racing has Ended!

Check this space on Sunday October 11th for links to race results and race reveal. Thanks to all who participated!

Competitor Affiliation

The person who fills out page one of the registration form will be primary contact for race day. All entries will be listed under the affiliation name with multiple boats in the same event designated by a letter. Your team’s first (fastest) entry will be designated by affiliation name only; your second entry will be designated as Affiliation B (and so on). If no affiliation name is listed, the competitor name will default to the registrant’s name. Single scullers are advised to register themselves (not to register with a large group of registrations) and leave the affiliation box blank.

1. In other words, if you register a boat - you are the "owner" of that boat. You pay the registration fee, and you receive the link to edit the boat's scores. You can then share that link with your crew so they can upload their scores, or you can do it for them if they send you their scores.

2. Heed the warning that 1x rowers should register for themselves. If you are the coach entering an 8+ entry and also wish for the people in that boat to enter as 1x, have them enter for themselves so that you don't have to burden yourself with all of those extra entries. It also solves the problem of seeding them.

3. Also note that on the first page of the registration form, by "Participant" we mean YOU. You may not even be rowing in any of the entries, but you are the "owner" of all subsequent entries you will make on the subsequent parts of the form.

4. If you want to order swag for yourself, this is also the page where you do that. We'll have links for general public purchase of swag, so don't feel like you have to shell out for your entire team here.

5. We haven't tested this, but we suppose it's possible that if two coaches are registering boats under the same affiliation, the second coach might get a designation letter (seed) that doesn't start with "A". So it might be worth coordinating your entries with other coaches who are also entering boats under your affiliation just to be sure you aren't double-entering the same boats.

Adding Events

Simply choose the event you wish to enter and then click “add event.” A new box will appear and you can choose your next event or enter another boat in the same event. Fees will accrue with each entry. If you wish to delete an entry you will be able to do so prior to checking out.

1. The first question in the registration process is whether you want to row at Textile, Genesee or Both. If you will be entering multiple boats in each of the regattas, the best way to do that is to organize your entries according to the regatta(s) you will be entering. So for example, if you're entering three 8+ events in both regattas, but then wish to row your own 1x in just the Textile, choose "Both" and register the 8+ entries, then come back later and register again for just your 1x race.

2. Also, plan ahead for your composite boats. Let's say you and a partner are each entering a 1x event. Will you also be rowing together in the 2x event? There's no extra rowing involved because ReSport will be adding your scores for your 2x entry, but there is an extra cost and you should discuss with your partner in advance if you do want to enter that race. Similarly, if you are entering an 8+ entry, consider that four superstars in that boat might be competitive in one or more 4+ events, 2- events or as 1x entries. A person's single erg score can be used over and over in any combination of races where the rower is eligible.

3. And be sure your team decides in advance if you're rowing the 5K or 1K distance. Because we all hate that practice where you think you're rowing 1K pieces and then coach says, "Okay, let's do a 5K for fun".

Definitions

Age Classifications

• Youth is defined as no older than 17 on day of racing.
• Master’s is defined as no younger than 27 on day of racing. The AA Master’s designation will not be recognized in this event.
• A person of any age may race in Open events.

Weight Classifications

• A men’s lightweight entry must have no rower over 160 pounds.
• A youth men’s lightweight entry must have no rowers over 150 pounds.
• A women’s lightweight entry (including youth) must have no rowers over 130 pounds.

Mixed Gender

• A mixed gender boat must be split 50/50 men and women.
• PR2 Mixed 2x comprises all PR2 athletes, one male/ one female required.
• PR3 Mixed 4 comprises 50% men and women, all of whom are PR3 athletes.
• Inclusion Mixed Adaptive 2x comprises 50% men and women, and must contain 50% rowers who meet the PR1, PR2 or PR3 category.
• Inclusion Mixed Adaptive 4+ comprises 50% men and 50% women, and must contain 50% PR3 rowers.
• PR3 sub-categories are populated through the score submission process--not on the registration page.

For team boats, all scores must be collected from the same modality: 100% erg scores or 100% on-the-water scores (conducted in a single).

Entering Times (scores)

During the submission window (00:00 AM October 2 through 11:59 PM October 9), use your event link to submit your scores. To submit your scores, you will need:

• Names of all participants in each boat by seat
• Age on day of racing (October 11) expressed as a single or two digit number only.
• PR3 sub-classification for the rowers in the PR3 events.
• All scores for each boat collected from the same modality (land or water--see above)
• Total times and 1000 meter splits for each participant for 5K racing in the format mm:ss.0
• Total times and 500 meter splits for each participant for 1K racing in the format mm:ss.0

Team boat total times will be calculated as an average of the people in the boat. Masters handicaps will be calculated using the ages provided in the score submission window and the handicap rules as provided by the US Rowing Rules of Racing 2020 (pp 33-34). Because all data is collected from a single-person effort, the handicap for singles will be used (z=0.125).

1. To emphasize what we said in the begining about "owning" your registration entry, when it's time to submit scores, the coach who registered the boat can make all of the entries by asking her crew for their times, or she can send them each the link to the race so they can enter their name, age and scores for themselves. One way or the other, it doesn't matter. But woe unto you if you or your crew are late getting those scores uploaded to ReSport - you will be nagged like there's no tomorrow or suffer the worst indignity of all which is to receive a DNF...

Disqualifications

An entry will be disqualified if a score is submitted without the appropriate splits; if a crew misrepresents its data, age or weight (in lightweight events); or if a crew fails to submit a score by the submission deadline: 11:59 PM on October 9, 2020.

Para events adapted from 2019 WIRC and USRA Championship Entry packet

USRowing Indoor Rowing Championship Para Classifications Definitions

PR1 (AS): Arms and Shoulders - Rowers who use their arms and shoulders only. Rowers use strapping around their midsection to provide support and stability.

PR2 (TA): Trunk and Arms - Rowers who have trunk and arm movement, who are unable to use their legs to propel the sliding seat.

PR3 (PD/LTA): Physical Disability/Legs, Trunk and Arms and/or VI - Rowers who have the use of their legs, trunk and arms, who can utilize the sliding seat. Rowers may have a physical or visual impairment.

PR3 (AK): Single Leg or Above Knee Amputee - Rowers who have the use of their single leg, trunk and arms, who can utilize the sliding seat. May wear prosthetic limb.

PR3 (SA): Single Arm - Rowers who have the use of their single arm/hand and trunk, who can utilize the sliding seat.

PR3 (ID): Intellectual Disability - Rowers who meet the eligibility/classification requirements set by INAS and managed domestically by Athletes Without Limits (http://www.athleteswithoutlimits.org).

Additional subcategories may be included as part of the classification of PR3-ID for Competitors not meeting the requirements from INAS, but exhibiting similar permanent impairments. Examples include:

PR3 (ID-M1): Legs, Trunk & Arms (Military - Post Traumatic Stress - PTSD)

PR3 (ID-M2): Legs, Trunk & Arms (Military - Traumatic Brain Injury - TBI)

Note: Military Rowers with a physical impairment and PTSD or TBI will row in the physical impairment class.

PR3 (ID-1): Legs, Trunk & Arms (Intellectual Disability)

1. IQ of 75 or below (Weschler/WISC/WAIS, Stanford-Binet or Raven)
2. Significant limitations in Adaptive Behavior (Vineland, ABAS or Other) 3. Onset before age 18

PR3 (ID-2): Legs, Trunk & Arms (Down Syndrome)

1. Diagnosis of Down Syndrome including type (Trisomy 21 or Mosaic)
2. Atlanto-Axial Instability status as either clear or asymptomatic
3. Athletes with Mosaic Down Syndrome must also provide evidence of intellectual disability

PR3 (ID-3): Legs, Trunk & Arms (Autism)

1. A formal diagnosis of Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Asperger’s syndrome carried out by a qualified practitioner using accepted diagnostic techniques.
2. Does not meet IQ or Adaptive criteria for Intellectual Disability Class above (for example IQ is over 75).

PR3 (VI): Allocated to Rowers with a verifiable and permanent visual impairment. Three subclasses are used in classification. Restrictions may be in place for events on the number of competitors in a crew with a specific subclass classification:

PR3-B1, PR3-B2, PR3-B3 (formerly LTA-B1, LTA-B2, LTA-B3): allocated to Rowers based on their visual acuity to the standards set by the IBSA.

PARA EVENT SUBCATEGORIES AND WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT AS A COMPETITOR:

1. They support fair racing within the para events
2. They develop valuable performance data once recorded on the Concept2 online world rankings
3. The more specific sport category performance data created by their use creates supportive information for governing bodies to best plan performance recognition moving forward

PARA EVENT SUB CATEGORY NOMENCLATURE AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE UNIVERSALLY AT ALL REGATTAS LARGE AND SMALL.

1. The nomenclature including the subcategory designation must always be included no matter how awards are distributed. As an example for the upcoming World Rowing Indoor Challenge at Long Beach for the FISA Para Men(PR3) 2000m event, the results could include the following:
   

   Gold Medal 1st Place	Silver Medal 2nd Place	Bronze Medal 3rd Place
   France	England	Ukraine
   Jean Menard PR3(ID-M1)	Robert Bagley PR3(VI)	Ivan Rudishe PR3(PD)
   6:02.5	6:03.4	6:04.6

   
   
2. As long as the subcategories are carried through to the race results, they can then be incorporated into the Concept2 World Rankings within their respective subcategories as well as their overall PR3 status, creating the very valuable performance comparison data sorted by the more specific subcategories. This can all be done independently no matter how the race organizers decide to award results (by compressing the categories to overall as in the above example or by awarding the specific subcategory as an independent event).

FAQ with Dr. Knowzitall:

Q: Dr. Knowzitall, are these instructions comprehensive enough for me to carefully read so that I will completely understand the registration process?

A: No! Please write to jeff@resport.io who will be happy to tell you why the answer is Yes!

Sponsorship Opportunities

Race Sponsorships

For a nominal donation of $25 per seat in the winning boat, we can brand specific races with your company name, in memoriam tributes, or however you like. The basic guideline here is that the donation value should be some kind of donation to the regattas' charitable organizations (TBD, but most likely pandemic-related in some way), or a coupon or discount code that can be passed along to the winning crew in the event. So for example, if your company makes ladies rowing apparel, you may wish to sponsor the Womens' Open 8+ event at a cost or in-kind value of $200. Your name will appear on the race title, and we'll also acknowledge your contribution on our websites.

For this type of sponsorship, use the PayPal form below to make your payment. On the Checkout page over in PayPal, enter the amount of your sponsorhip. In the case of in-kind coupons or discount codes, do not send any money but do tell us about your contribution via email to info@textileriverregatta.org and we will be in touch after the regatta to tell you how to get your contribution to the winners of the events you sponsored. Please check with us first to be sure the race(s) you wish to sponsor are available for sponsorship. We reserve the right to move your sponsorship to a more popular event in the case where the event you have sponsored doesn't attract a lot of attention, but the point of having you sponsor certain events is to make those events more attractive to the competitors and make certain races more competitive!

Name Race(s) to Sponsor, or enter "Donation"

Limit 200 characeters; use race name abbreviations if necessary. Enter the amount of your sponsorship in PayPal after you click Pay Now.

Website Ad

We'll place your logo on the home page of our website, and within a collage on the ReSport website for $50. Click the PayPal link below to pay $50 here with PayPal or credit card.

Note that online payments using PayPal are processed using our MRRA account and your credit card statement will read from "MRRA" or "Merrimac River Rowing Association". You will receive a receipt via email from PayPal. We do not store any personal or credit card information on our site.

About the Textile River Regatta

In an ordinary year, the Textile River Regatta is a popular 5,000 meter head race that takes place on the Merrimack River in Lowell, MA and features a wide range of sculling and sweep events for all boat classes and age groups from Juniors to Masters. The race typically attracts hundreds of crews from all over New York and New England. Our proximity to the Charles River in Boston and timing in early October makes this regatta the most significant warm-up race to the Head of the Charles Regatta for many of the schools, universities and clubs in the region.

Our goal in this pandemic-year of 2020 is quite simple. We've never run a virtual regatta before, and we have no expectations of what the result might be. But we do know that we all have a natural tendency to gravitate to things that are familiar. In that spirit, we figured that putting the Textile in its normal place on the fall racing calendar might help us all recognize a small part of a routine that diverts our attention for a few days and helps bridge the gap to a brighter 2021. That's pretty much it - if we can distract everyone for a few days from the sour drumbeat of the past six months, we'll consider this all a success.

History

The Merrimac River (historical spelling) has floated boats since the Pawtucket Indians paddled canoes and made their summer camps along these banks before the Pilgrims landed. The rocks just below the Textile River Regatta starting line are part of a dam used by the Pawtucket Indians for fishing. During the 1800 and 1900's the river was alive with dories and was an important route for moving goods to and from Newburyport and also directly to and from Boston via a canal network that made its way south through a course now overgrown with residential areas. The Merrimac and its system of locks and canals also fueled the industrial revolution in these parts, transforming the Merrimac River region into the country’s center of textile production in the early to mid 1800’s.

Scull and sweep oared rowers have raced on the Merrimac River since the 1960's. Following the revival of the University of Lowell rowing program in 1978, the first Textile River Regatta was held on the Merrimac River in 1980 with crews entered from Boston University, Assumption College, the Pawtucket Rowing Association (which became the MRRA) and others, headquartered at the boathouse which was then downstream of the finish line. Today, the Textile is a production of the Merrimack River Rowing Association with help from the crews of UMass/Lowell, Lowell High School, and Brandeis University.

The first race was seen as an opportunity for local rowers to race close to home and showcase the river as a great place to row in harmony with natural wonders so abundant along the river; it also included free hotdogs for the rowers. While the old boathouse is now a bathhouse and the launching area now a beach, and while the free hotdog policy may have given way to concessions which benefit nonprofit causes, the river remains one of the greatest places to row and watch a race.

Conservation efforts brought the river up to Class B swimming river status years ago and with this we have seen an increase in the numbers of egrets, great herons, and other birds and wildlife along the banks, with even an occasional early morning sculler accompanied by a deer, beavers or moose swimming off the port bow.