To ensure a safe, well run and happy event, please pay close attention to instructions in the Guidelines in this Manual, which should be read in conjunction with the Rules. Rules are included in this Manual.
                                                 (revised 2008/4/27)

(I) Guidelines

A. General

1. Race Day Dragonboat Festival Day Proper (2008/6/8, 2009/6/28) 2. Venue Stanley Main Beach, Hong Kong (see Site Plan fig. 1) 3. Time 07:45 - 18:30 (please refer to Race Schedule for details), provisionally: All heats will be staged in the morning, all finals and 2nd round races in the afternoon. 4. Ceremonies Tentatively, Eye-dotting and Ribbon-cutting Ceremony will be held at 13:30 , Prize presentation at 18:15. Some trophies for Men's Class B will be presented before that. (see #12) Special Prizes like the Most-outstanding-outfit teams will be presented at around 3:30. 5. Land Transport There will be a huge crowd on race day and normal to see a serious shortage of parking space. It is advisable to set off early in the morning. Bus companies will provide extra service. Originally except Race Officials, no parking space will be allocated. But there may be special arrangements. Please read team memos for latest news. Please use public transport & prepare for outbound traffic congestion afterwards. Alternative transport options include buses or minibuses to / from Stanley Plaza. Usually it is much easier to find seats on buses there after races finish. On race day from 0700 up to 2000hr Link Road and Hoi Fung Lane will be closed, and reserved for warm-up and logistics. Loading /unloading of team buses should be done at Tung Tau Wan Road ( in front of Sea School) or Stanley Beach Road ( in front of the mini car park near the waterfront cafe/ beach complex). However, Unloading at Tung Tau Wan Road is more advisable as it is nearer to the main entrants (1 and 2 in the map, at Hoi Fung Lane) for athletes and the public, also more convenient to get to the pier. Every year tourist buses waiting at Stanley Beach Rd cause heavy traffic jam, so the police has decided to suspend most parking meters along Stanley Beach Rd and Mound Rd and allows all vehicles to load and unload nearly all the way there. Please try to load and unload early at Mound Rd if there is congestion. 6. Sea Transport 6.1 Team member(s) and their companion(s) traveling to and returning from pleasure boats moored outside the buffer zone should always keep away from the race course. No unauthorized entry into the race course and buffer zone. Otherwise the wave and the blocking caused by these shuttle boats not only lead to delay, or become a nuisance, but also endanger both the rowers and their own passengers. Any one intentionally deny the rules &/or disobey proper instructions of designated official(s) will, perhaps accompanied by the whole team, be disqualified at once or, be classified as stand-by entry, or even suspended in future events. Every year such motor boats cause a great trouble for race management and lead to delay, so please be cooperative. 6.2 Anyone opting for such "unofficial" boat ride are at their own risk and should avoid overloading. 6.3 All pleasure boats to be moored at the designated race area (including race course buffer zone) must first be registered with the organizer and observe and follow instructions delivered by race officials or the police. Defiance of such instructions may lead to disqualification of the respective team (s). 7. Security and Safety 7.1 Temporary Police Command Post & First Aid post will be set up at the Grand Stand. The organizer take no responsibility for safety of any personal belongings 7.2 It is the responsibility of the person or organization making the entry to satisfy himself or itself that all crew members are physically fit and are able to swim. The organizer recommends wearing buoyancy aid (conforming to British Standard BSI 3595) at all time. 7.3 Practice should be restricted to the official racing area (i.e. 500m radius from the Stanley Main Beach). Race course is about 300m long. 7.4 For safety reasons, all members of the team must be familiar with the essence of the "Capsize Drill" (may opt for different formats, e.g. call out numbers or memorize the one sitting next to each one before setting off, and in case of incidence each member should be accounted for as such ). After sinking, all crew members must return to the shore and all crew members line up right in front of the Judge Table / Official Stand for Team Captain/ Manager to take roll call to make sure everyone is accounted for. Then the team may dismiss or carry on with the remaining race or practice only when the team leader has reported to the "Beach Marshal Table" that the whole team is save. (Please read IDBF Water Safety guidelines http://www.idbf.org/documents_safety.php ) 8. Cleanness Please exercise self-restraint to keep the beach clean. Each team manager should claim a garbage bag from the Enquiry Booth and take care of cleanness of the team. 9 Resting Booths For hiring resting Booths (tents), please contact the secretariat in advance  ( $2000 for a W10' x L10 aluminum-alloy frame Booth ). The team banner, flag, etc. should be put inside the booth/ tent only for identification purpose and should not exceed 8' x 2' in size. Otherwise a fee of HK$3000 will be charged as for advertisements. (read also details below for promotional give-aways) 10. Weather 10.1 As it is in early Summer and wind and rain condition is unpredictable, for safety reasons in undesirable conditions, or under instruction of the police to finish it before dusk, the race may, partially or otherwise, be terminated, canceled, combined or shortened. No appeal or request for refund will be entertained if such decision is made due to such weather. (For practice sessions read also 4.4 of part B) 10.2 At 7:00 am, if the typhoon signal number 3, or other signal even higher, is hoisted, or the red or black rainstorm warning is announced by the observatory, events will be postponed to 12:00noon with race schedule streamlined. If the weather do not improve at 10am, the whole event will be cancelled. 11. Enquiry 11.1 Team Managers and Team Captains should familiarize themselves with this Information Pack, Race Rules and details of the draw sheets as printed in the programme. Important information should be shared with and conveyed to members of the team. This information booklet should be circulated in the team. 11.2 Most important messages will be post up in the Race web page. The Secretariat is extremely busy. Once information is dispatched by post, we will not entertain any request of sending it again by e-mail, fax or otherwise. 11.3. On the event day, do NOT swamp the Umpires' Desk with questions or irrelevant requests and hamper their work. All enquiries should be directed to the Information Desk [which is to be set up in front of the Official Stand]. 12. Trophies The fastest 6 finalists in Plate and Cup Finals will each receive a trophy (unless otherwise announced, such as the Grand Final in which only the fastest 3 will obtain trophies). Special arrangements for Class B Men's and Mixed races: the fastest 3 of each heat in the first round will receive small trophies right after the heat. Starting from 2005, a new trophy for "the best teamwork of the year award" will be presented. To further enhance the lively atmosphere and your enjoyment, we will again set trophies for the "Most-Outstanding-Outfit Teams". Contestants for such must parade at the beach in front of the Judge Table at lest once, before 2:30pm. 13. Souvenirs & Promotional give-aways 13.1 T-shirts and other souvenirs can be found in our special booth. Team Managers should also come forth to the Information Desk to claim a souvenir for the team before their own first race with your Membership Card shown. 13.2 Without prior permission from the organizer, no teams or individuals are allow to sell or give out any souvenirs, posters, leaflets or any form of giveaways in the official area ( including the beach, warm-up area, car park, booths, etc). No commercial or promotion activities are allowed. Please liaise and seek prior approval from the Organizer and all material must be sent to the Secretariat for scrutiny at least 2 weeks in advance. 14. Payment & Entry 14.1 NO TEAM SHOULD MAKE PERSONAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE OFFICIAL STEERSMAN &/or TRAINER OR PAY THEM DIRECTLY and bypass the proper booking procedure. It may cause difficulties in accounting and other serious problems. 14.2 All pre-race payment must be settled at least one day before the race. 14.3 Cheques for booking steersmen for the Race Day, as well as the booking form, should arrive at the organizer at least 2 weeks in advance. Please try your best to meet such deadline so as to reduce workload of the Secretariat and allow time to produce the scoreboard to show such status (with asterisks) . Otherwise if such deadline cannot be met, please spare the check but pay by CASH at the designated steersman booking booth on the race day. 14.4 Each team must provide the team name in both Chinese and English language, otherwise if it is decided by the Organiser, no protest will be accepted. It is the responsibility of the team to submit the team name correctly together with the application form. The organizer bear no responsibility and do not guarantee to translate and/ or announce the team name correctly or elegantly to suit the taste of the parties concerned. If the team concerned request a change or rectification of team name after entry, the administration cost of HK$500 must be officially paid to the Secretariat first. If any member of the team found harassing the commentator or other race officials regarding such dispute, a warming (yellow card) will be issued to the team (each time). 14.5 The "Team Confirmation Form" must be submitted to the Secretariat at least 2 weeks prior to the Race 15. Class/Crew 1. This year (2008)  only in Men's Class A Events we will see categorisation of Chinese and Expat ( combined in Class B ). However both Classes A & B still has their own Cup & Plate events. Only those in Men's class A will be able to advance to the prestige Overall Grand Finals ( i.e. the last 3 events of the day). 2. (a) Class A is the Elite grade. All Class A Cup finalists and the fastest 3 in the Plate Final in previous year in both Chinese & Expat Men's Category should enter Class A. [ see attached chart ] However, the organiser allow negotiation. First entry will be decided by actual team profile. (b) Names of the first 3 finalists in the class B cup final will only be included in coming years' Seeding Chart if these teams at once showed intention to be promoted to class A for the coming year. 3. For expatriate teams, over half of the crew must be non-chinese. For Chinese teams, over half of the crew must be ethnic Chinese. For Ladies's teams, all crew members except the helmsman & drummer must be female, but for men's races , there is no restriction for gender. There is no limit (ceiling) for reserves, but "full list" of team members should be submitted later as instructed. 4. To reduce to chance of sinking, the crew on each boat is limited to 20, including 18 rowers, one steersman and a drummer. And the average weight of the crew must not exceed 200 pounds. 5. The Judge Panel may, in case of unfavourable weather and sea conditions, announce it mandatory to lower the number of rowers on each boat. 6.  In mixed races there should be a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 12 female paddlers on board during a race. Since a mixed team is considered a team, crew members of the team are not allowed to take part in another team. 7. To facilitate commentating, teams can send a description of team profile of not more than 300 words to the secretariat or commentator "by hand".

B. Practice & Race

1. Steersmen 1.1 Due to risk of injury to competitors, damage to boats and disruption to the racing progamme caused by inexperienced steersman not holding a proper course, the Organiser has introduced a system of testing and registering steersman. Only a Registered one can steer the boat on the race day. 1.2 Each steersman can only steer for the team he/she is registered for in that year as shown in the card. Starting from 2004, this rule also apply to practice sessions, otherwise the steersman qualification and card will be forfeited. 1.3 Any request of booking an official steersman on the race day should be made direct at the special booth half an hour before the race with a charge of HK$150 per race. Please keep the receipt for verification. 1.4 To hire a steersman for practice sessions should pay by cheque and send it to the Stanley Residents Association Ltd. 1.5 A steersman not steering the boat properly or competently and cause collision regardless of his /her own mistake or caused by effects of alcohol or drugs, will have his/her registration and Steersman Identity Card suspended at once. 1.6 It is the responsibility of the steersman to tie up the boa at the beach after practice. New candidates need to demonstrate this skill in the assessment. 1.7 Starting from year 2001, a registered steersman need to be on duty on each boat even during practice sessions 2. Braking / Stop To avoid accident or unnecessary damages to dragon-boats, we request your co-operation and self-restraint, during practice and the race, to stop the boats immediately after crossing the finishing line. Please DO NOT run them ashore. Both rower and drummer should also always stay alert in water and be prepared to "Hold the boat" any time necessary. 3. Bailers & Drum Sticks 3.1 Please bring your own spare plastic bailer(s) as well as spare drum-sticks. Both ends of the sticks must be made blunt and round (in the shape of small hemisphere). 3.2 All equipment must be returned in good order promptly after use 4. Practice 4.1 Any team canceling the booked practice should inform the organiser in advance and early, so as to allow for arrangement of substitution and save resources. 4.2 Even in calm sea condition, practice should be restricted to the official racing area (i.e. 500m radius from the Main Beach)., so as to avoid accident and difficulties in rescue and monitoring. (N.B. the shortest distance from the Main Beach to the opposite beach in Shek O is 2000m, the Shake Prevention Net is about 180 meters .) 4.3 Please be punctual. Any teams returning the boats late, intentionally or otherwise, will need to pay a fine of HK$500 on each occasion. 4.4 In unfavorable weather condition (especially strong easterly wind and thunder storm warning), please phone the Association to confirm whether practice still goes on. When the red flag is hoisted at the official booth, all boats are required to return to shore (All practices are cancelled) 4.5 Practice will stop one week before the race day so as to allow for repair and maintenance. 4.6 All teams should practice the "side-strokes" (refer to text below) 4.7 Some unauthorized individuals have been found openly and unscrupulously solicit for service at the beach during our official practice hours. This causes annoyance to our training teams. If such circumstances is encountered, please inform the organizer or field-officers-in-charge for immediate actions to be taken. 5. Marshalling, embarking and Starting Procedure 5.1 Team Manager / Captain of each team should report to the "Beach Marshal Table" 15 minutes before his team's race. Teams must load the dragon boats according to Race Schedule as announced on the scoreboard and get to the Start Line on time. 5.2 To minimize the chance of sinking in area of choppy water, all boats must always stay in the official racing area. Please use the 2 spare lanes to go out to starting zone, and avoid going beyond the Starting Boat to turn ahead (instead, all dragon boats should turn just before crossing the Starting Boat and use back strokes to get in lane.) 5.3 To get into ready position, "side stokes" by athletes on one side to move the boat sideways are sometimes much more effective than relying only on the steersman. Besides, such team action can also avoid turning the boats at the rough sea of outer area and thus minimize the risk of capsizing. Hence each crew should practice such maneuver. 5.4 To align the boat for ready position, ALL teams at the starting line should have one (at least) paddler pick up and hold the "Bow-rope" AND the steersman pick up and hold the "Stern-rope". If your team is instructed to do so by the Starter or other water umpires but fail to do so, it is ground for disqualification. The bow-rope action has becomes compulsory since l998. It actually [a] stabilize the boat at the starting line where the sea is very rough; and [b] more importantly, it greatly speed up the maneuver of aligning the boats straight to its course. (See diagram) 6. Race Conduct 6.1 All participants should demonstrate high level of sportsmanship and should race in the best ability with high respect to race officials 6.2 In consideration of the tight schedule, no team should capsize a boat deliberately. 6.3 Any team which has accumulated 2 warnings (yellow cards) from the Judge Panel will be disqualified from that race. This will be rendered in cases like conduct against sportsmanship or fouling of rules, e.g. snapping the blade of the paddle on water, intentional false start, impoliteness to race officials, etc. 7. System of Play 7.1 The "Draw Sheets" indicating the system of play are shown in The Programme. Basically the first 3 teams (or up to 5, as specified) in the First Round will advance to the 2nd Round of the Cup Competition and the rest will be invited to the Plate Competition or other Consolation Races. The organizer will refine the schedule according to the final entry profile. If race result(s) of a certain category is decided by accumulative points, ( as in an example of 6 lanes ) one extra point will be awarded to the first finish, while absentees (DNS- Do not start ) or  those who do not finish (DNF) the race or disqualified will gain zero. E.g. Place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Score ( points ) 6+1 5 4 3 2 1 If two teams get the same accumulative points (dead heat ), their position in the chart will be decided by the result of their "last encounter". If this method cannot solve the dispute, then accumulated time of the heats may be a factor for the decision of the Judge Panel whose decision will be final. 7.2 Boat allocation of the first round will be done by random draws. But allocations in subsequent rounds are all determined by finishing places in previous rounds. Please pay attention to the Score Board and "Draw Sheets" in the Programme for details of the next round. 8. Marshalling Team Manager / Captain of each team should report to the "Beach Marshal Table" 15 minutes before his team's race. Teams must load the dragon boats according to Race Schedule as announced on the score board and get to the Start Line on time.

(II ) Rules
click to show all updated rules of the event

Appendix:

Site Plan, Steersman Registration, 2008 Special Sea Traffic Arrangements
and Registration Form, IDBF Water Safety Guidelines, Entry form, Protest Form

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