available later

The Challenge

Racing will commence at 10am and continue throughout the day to finish between 4pm and 5pm. As before, there will be a total of 36 teams participating, with four boats racing at a time. There will be 3 complete sets of heats and each time a team races, it will be in a different boat and against different opponents. All times will be recorded and each team’s fastest single time will be used to rank the teams. Racing will conclude with the Grand Final, for at least the four fastest teams from the heats, with the fastest in the Grand Final winning the Challenge Trophy. If time and conditions permit, there may be a Minor Final for at least the next four fastest teams to those in the Grand Final.
Approximate start times for each of the races will be given in advance of the day, but depending on conditions etc these times may vary. Teams will therefore need to listen to announcements, to see how the timetable is progressing.
Six boats will be in use throughout the day, so that whilst one set of four boats is racing, the other boats will be preparing for the next race.

The Course

The 250 metre course starts just downstream of Scarborough Bridge and finishes close to the YCRC Clubhouse, just upstream of Lendal Bridge. Crews will board their boats from the steps in front of the Clubhouse. They will then paddle upstream to the start, keeping to the Minster (north) side of the river. Following their race, crews will disembark at the same Clubhouse steps.
There will be other traffic on the river and care will need to be taken to ensure that racing takes place safely and without inconvenience to other river users.

Control of Racing

A professional company, Dragon Boat Events Ltd, (Dragon Boat Events) - a division of The Organisation Group Ltd, (The Organisation) will conduct the racing in accordance with the rules of the International Dragon Boat Federation. Dragon Boat Events’ Event Director will be in overall control of the racing, and his directions relayed over the tannoy and via radio to river marshals, are to be observed by crews on the river. His decision is final on all aspects of racing. Dragon Boat Events will also provide a qualified helmsman for each boat. Their duties are to navigate and to oversee the safety of the crew, and their directions to their crew are to be observed. If in the opinion of the helmsman, the weight of the crew or the conditions on the day makes safe boat handling a problem, the boat’s helmsman has the absolute authority to require the crew to reduce the number of paddlers. Dragon Boat Events is licensed under the HSE’s Adventure Activities Licensing Scheme to provide dragon boat racing activities to under 18s.

Racing Equipment

All the boats, paddles, buoyancy aids etc will be provided by Dragon Boat Events.

Declaration

A copy of Dragon Boat Events’ Team Information & Waiver, which has printed on the back of it the Crew Declaration, is available here. To register on the day, each Team Captain will be required to produce a copy of the Crew Declaration completed and signed by every member of the team, accepting all the risks involved in participating and that all the members are fit and able to swim wearing a buoyancy aid, as per the medical restrictions below, and will not hold The Organisation, Dragon Boat Events, the Rotary Club of York, British Waterways, York City Rowing Club, Brunswick Organic Nursery and Craft Workshop, or York Blind & Partially Sighted Society liable for any claims arising from any accident resulting in any loss or damage including bodily injury or death and agree to be bound by the Rules.
It is strongly recommended that Team Captains have the Crew Declaration completed by the members of their crew in advance of the day that racing takes place. The declaration may be spread over several forms providing each form is signed by the Team Captain. Further copies can be downloaded here
Anyone considered by Dragon Boat Events’ Event Director to be unfit, or unsuitable to participate for reasons of alcohol or any other reason, will not be permitted to race and the Event Director’s decision in that respect will be final.

Medical Restrictions

Members of the team must be reasonably fit, able to swim at least 50 metres wearing a buoyancy aid and not vastly overweight in relation to their height. If you are unsure whether you are fit to take part, please seek advice from your doctor. If any member of a team has disabilities, they will be asked to sign a Disabled Waiver – copy available here.
The Event Director reserves the right to refuse any team member from participating in the event, if he has grounds for believing the person is physically or medically unfit to race.

Insurance

Dragon Boat Events complies with industry standards and has Public Liability insurance of £5 million and Employer’s Liability insurance of £10 million. For insurance purposes, it is essential that every member of the crew completes and signs the Crew Declaration prior to registration.

Health and Safety

For reasons of health and safety, each competitor will be required to have available:
  * a complete change of clothes,
  * a windproof jacket, or similar garment with hood, and
  * footwear, such as trainers, to wear whilst in a boat, to protect their feet from any sharp objects on the river bed, should they capsize.
Crew members are also advised to bring a towel and, if the day is sunny, a supply of suntan cream. Buoyancy aids, supplied by Dragon Boat Events, must be worn by all crew members at all times whilst on the river. A safety boat will be on the water during racing. First Aid facilities will be available.
Each team will receive their safety briefing from Dragon Boat Events immediately before their first race. It is essential that all the members of the team are there for that briefing, not just those paddling in the first heat. They will be tagged as having been briefed, and any team member who misses their team’s safety briefing, will not be able to take part in their first race and will only be able to take part in their subsequent races if the opportunity for a further briefing session arises – that cannot be guaranteed.

Shower Facilities

Shower facilities will be available in the YCRC’s clubhouse for members of any team that capsizes, together with limited changing and toilet facilities.

Toilet Facilities

Toilet accommodation will be provided on the south side of the river in the YCRC’s clubhouse and in the car park area. The nearest public conveniences on the north side of the river are close to Lendal Tower and at Bootham Bar.

Food

Arrangements are being made for there to be a food stall on the south bank, where food and drink may be purchased.

Challenge Trophy and Cups 

The Challenge Trophy, which is being competed for, for the tenth time, will be presented to the winner of the Grand Final immediately after that race. The winning Team will also receive a prize of £100 donated to their nominated charity, two bottles of ‘Bubbly’ and each member will receive a Dragon Boat Winner’s Medal.

The remaining teams will qualify for one of the following three Cups, each of the three winning Teams receiving £50 for their nominated charity:

  * The Merlin Cup for the fastest "Armed Services" team

  * The Ouse Cup for the fastest "Civilian" team

  * The Charity Cup for the fastest "Charity" team

The Challenge Trophy and Cups will be held for one year and competed for again at next year’s York Rotary Dragon Boat Challenge.

If time and conditions permit a Minor Final to take place, there will be a further Award for the fastest boat. All of the cheques will be presented to the Team Captains later in the year.

Individual's Sponsorship 

Teams are reminded that all members, including reserves, are required to raise not less than £50 each in individual sponsorship as a condition of taking part. In fact on average, teams raise in excess of £1500. One third will go to the Help for Heroes, Rotary's nominated charity, and the remaining two thirds will go to the team’s own nominated charity.
If paddlers wish to use an internet site for collecting sponsorship, please ONLY use uk.virginmoneygiving.com – we have already made arrangements with them, as they are cheaper than other sites, non-profit making and easy to use as follows:

* PLEASE ENSURE YOU FOLLOW OUR INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE uk.virginmoneygiving.com  SITE. You can read or download these instructions here

* It is ESSENTIAL that we know which Team is being supported by each person sponsoring.

The value of the sponsorship is increased significantly if sponsors donate their money under the Gift Aid arrangements – so please encourage them to do so – see the details on the Sponsorship Form.
Participants are encouraged to seek their individual sponsorship early, rather than leave it to the last moment. A Sponsorship Form is available here.
Please photocopy freely for extra copies.
As the sponsorship is for entering the Challenge, rather than so much per length – why not ask sponsors for the money at the outset, to save having to go back to them after the event?
 
Sponsorship Money

Team Captains will be asked to confirm the value of each member’s sponsorship during registration, and to arrange for all sponsorship monies to be collected and sent with the
Sponsorship Forms, to Steve Burton, 98 The Village, Stockton-on-the-Forest, York YO32 9UW by (date tbc) , or as soon after as possible. Cheques to be made payable to The Rotary Club of York. The Rotary Club will use the Sponsorship Forms to recover the tax under the Gift Aid arrangements. One third of the money raised by each Team including reclaimed tax, will go to Help for Heroes and the remaining two thirds returned to the Team for their own nominated charity.

Based on the sponsorship paid to Steve Burton by 5.00pm on (date tbc), there will be a prize of £100 donated to the team’s nominated charity for both:
  * the team raising the most sponsorship, and
  * the individual raising the most sponsorship.

Best Dressed Team Strip

Teams are encouraged to wear matching team outfits and fancy dress is encouraged. As the City is celebrating the 800th Anniversary of the granting of its Royal Charter, teams are asked to adopt a theme for their outfit to reflect a significant event in the City’s history. The team judged to represent this theme most aptly, will be identified and the winner announced during the afternoon. They will receive the Ged Bell Trophy and a prize of £50 donated to their team’s nominated charity. The Ged Bell Trophy will be held for one year and competed for again at next year’s York Rotary Dragon Boat Challenge. However, in designing outfits, please bear in mind that everyone will have to wear a buoyancy aid whilst on the water. A local firm Sign-A-Rama again offer to design and print team tee-shirts – contact tel 01904 692588.

Team Identification

As each team will race in different boats during the course of the day and because of the short turn-round time in disembarking/boarding boats, it will not be possible to decorate a boat with a team’s colours etc. However, so that a team may be identified whilst on the water, teams are asked to provide a distinctive flag 1 metre high by 600mm wide carrying the team’s name or logo. The flag needs to have a sleeve along the long side to take a 35mm diameter pole, sleeve sewn closed at the top, which can be slipped onto the boat’s flagpole as the team boards its boat.

Commentary

Elly Fiorentini, one of BBC Radio York’s well known presenters will be providing a commentary about the event and on the races during the day. Each Team is asked to provide, in advance to Elly at elly.fiorentini@bbc.co.uk and copy to their Rotarian Team Contact, background details of their organisation, their team and the members and characters in their team, humorous or otherwise, so that the commentary can be made lively and interesting for team supporters and the public. A Team Information pro-forma for Team Captains to provide the details for this purpose is available here.

Flooding

In the unlikely event that the river is in flood, it would be too dangerous to race and the event would have to be cancelled. By monitoring river conditions with the Environment Agency and British Waterways, every effort would be made to notify cancellation to the Team Contacts by Thursday September 20th. In the event of a sudden deterioration of river conditions, however, the organisers reserve the right, on advice from those concerned, to cancel the event at any time.

Lastly

Have a great day! - Bring your family, friends and colleagues to cheer you on and to enjoy the other activities taking place on the riverside.