(II ) Rules      ( revised 2011. 2. 17 )

1.    GENERAL

1.1 Any crew that fails to observe the Rules and Regulations herein may be disqualified, or receive an official warning . Any team that has already received one warning and commits another offence again ( disregard of the same item of not) on the same round of race will be disqualified. Serious disciplinary offences will be dealt with differently at the Chief Official’s discretion. ( Amended 2010)

1.2 A crew should compete only by racing in accordance with the recognized principles of fair play, good manners and sportsmanship. In particular any act of this nature against any of race officials, Judges or another competitor or other serious breaches of these principles will result in disqualification. Any offending team may be denied entry in the following years event.

1.3 A crew must follow the directions of the Race Officials within 15 minutes of their starting time.

1.4 Each crew must have a Team Manager, who must be present in the Crew Assembly Area (on the beach) &/or in the boat during the time that the crew is under the control of the Race Officials. ( Amended 2011)

1.5 The entry fee paid is non-refundable should the crew decide to withdraw from the races or should some or all of the races be cancelled for reasons beyond the Organizer's control (e.g. bad weather).

1.6 The Organizer reserves the right to refuse entry of any crew in the races at its sole discretion.

1.7 Each crew is entirely responsible for its own conduct and for complying with the race rules.

1.8 All races will also be governed by all Notice of Race and Team Memos, as well as any amendment issued by the Race Organizing Committee on the race day, including the "Race Manual". Anyone in charge of a team should familiarize with all these documents.

2.    SAFETY

2.1 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 Race Organizers (Stanley Residents Association) cannot be held liable for any injury (or worse) of any competitor as a result of his or her lack of fitness or inability to swim. Each participant's capacity and skill should not be overstated. Each competitor must be able to swim at least 100 meters wearing light clothing.

2.2 Each competitor is solely responsible for his or her own safety during official practice sessions and during races and responsibility will be accepted by the organizer or any other individual or organization connected directly or indirectly with the races for any death, injury, damage or loss incurred or borne by competitors or members of a team.

2.3 It is the responsibility of the team manager and of individuals to decide for themselves whether or not they wear life jackets or personal floatation equipment which are to be prepared by the participants themselves. Such move does not mean participants do not have to abide by item 2.1 above.  ( Amended 2010)

2.4 For safety reasons, all members of the team must be familiar with the essence of the "Capsize Drill". After sinking, all crew members must return to the shore and line up right in front of the Official Stand for Team Captain/ Manager to take roll call and report to the organizer's officer-in-charge before dismiss or carry on with the remaining race or practice.

3.    THE CREW AND CREW COMPOSITION

3.1 Each boat must carry up to 18 paddlers (and not fewer than 12) , and must carry 1 steersman and 1 drummer.

3.2 No men may participate in the Ladies crew except as steersman or drummer. For expatriate teams, over half of the crew must be Non-Chinese. For the Chinese teams, over half of the crew must be Chinese. Ladies may enter Men's races, but must not exceed half of the crew.

3.3 There is no gender restriction for drummers and steersmen.

3.4 Each paddler may only compete in ONE team. (If an organization register 2 entries, each entry is considered a separate team !) Each steersman or drummer may race for more than one team but only "of the same organization". However, prior approval by the organizer is necessary.

3.5 There is no limit (ceiling) for reserves, but "full list" of team members should be submitted after entry, in case it is instructed so. The team manager must also prepare a full team list (including all spare athletes and team officials) in hand on race day to be submitted to the Race Control Panel in occasions he/she is asked to do so.

3.6 The Judge Panel may, in case of unfavourable weather and sea conditions, announce it mandatory to lower the         number of rowers on each boat.

3.7 In mixed events, 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. 

4.     MARSHALLING, EMBARKING & PROCEEDING TO THE START

4.1 A crew must be assembled in the Crew Assembly Area and be ready to board their allocated boat 15 minutes before the race time.

4.2 A crew is not permitted to choose which boat to use and must use the boat allocated to it by the Organizer.

4.3 Each boat will carry a number indicating the lane in which it is to race. A crew must race in the lane allocated to its boat.

4.4 After a crew has embarked, it must immediately leave the beach and proceed to the starting area without delay.

5.    STARTING PROCEDURE & RESTART

5.1 A crew in the starting area must obey the instructions of the starter, umpires and other race officials under the control of the starter.

5.2 A crew must immediately take up its correct position in the starting area in the lane allocated to it. Any crew that deliberately paddles or edges forward on the start line to gain an advantage will be disqualified.

5.3 When instructed by the Marshal, a member of the crew must pick up the bow-line in order to hold the boat straight to its course. Lines attached to the starting line (stern-rope) must be picked up and held by each steersman. The steersman may release the line ONLY when the starting signal is given.

5.4 When the starter is satisfied that the crews are correctly aligned, he will alert all crews with the verbal warning “READY” ( or “ARE YOU READY” ) and a green or white flag will be raised. Either a horn will be sounded or a gun will be fired or verbally the English word “GO” is shouted ( and / or with the flag lowered) to signify the start of the race. ( Amended 2010)

5.5 Once the boat is at the starting line waiting for the starting signal, and the starter shouted “READY” ( or “ARE YOU READY” ) all paddles must be static ( without any movement ) as the "ready" position. (see also rule 6.10) ( Amended 2010)

5.6 In the event that the starter considers that any crew has started before the starting signal is sounded, a second horn or gun will be sounded to signify a false start and all crews must stop and immediately return to the start. The race will be restarted. The starter will issue a warning to any crew that actively took part or caused in a false start. (Refer to 1.1)

5.7. Any crew that fails to return after a false start or that causes a false start while the race restart will be disqualified. Races will carry on if false start occur during the "Re-start". That means in each race there will  only be 2 starts at maximum. ( Amended 2011)

5.8 If a steersman pushes the handle of the starting pontoon to help his team during the start, it will be regarded as causing forward propelling force and will lead to disqualification of that team. (Added 2010, 2011)

5.9 If collision occurs after the 50-meter mark, the race will carry on and the Chief Official shall NOT call for any re-race. (Added 2010, 2011)

6.    RACE CONDUCT

6.1 Each team must have an experienced steersman who is registered with the Stanley Residents Association and must wear their Steersman Identity card at all the times while steering the dragon boat. The association can provide a registered steersman if notified in advance. A fee is to be paid in advance for this service through proper procedure.

6.2 The proper course for each boat is a straight line from its starting position to a corresponding point on the finish line. Each boat must remain in its allocated lane and must not interfere with other boats.

6.3 Any boat failing to keep to its proper course may be warned by a Race Official and may be required to replace the steersman with one provided by the Stanley Residents Association for any future races at the prescribed fee. Boats should not pass outside buoys marking the edge of the course.

6.4 In the event of a boat failing to keep to its proper course and thereby interfering with the course of another boat which is on its proper course or in the event of a collision between two or more boats, the Chief Official may disqualify the offending boat(s). ( Amended 2010,2011)

6.5 If, in the opinion of a Race Director, a boat has been swamped or capsized deliberately by the crew, the Organizer reserves the right to disqualify the competitor and to refuse such crew's entry in future races. The crew of a swamped boat must assist the Organizers in getting the boat back to the beach and bailing out all the water and ensure no paddles or equipment are lost.

6.6 If, in the opinion of the Race Director, or a Race Official, a boat or its equipment is damaged deliberately by the crew, the team will be disqualified and the Organizer reserves the right to impose a penalty of HK$50,000 on “the organization to which the crew belongs”. The Organizer also reserves the right to require such organisation to pay for the costs of repairs .

6.7 All teams must race to the best of their ability. Any team deliberately slowing down or wasting time will be disqualified. This applies to teams deliberately slowing down to obtain a poor result in order to enter the plate competition.

6.8 NO TEAM SHOULD MAKE PERSONAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE OFFICIAL STEERMAN &/OR PAY THEM   DIRECTLY and bypass the proper booking procedure.

6.9 Each steersman can only race for the team he/she is registered for in that year as shown in the card.     (see also rule 3.4)

6.10        From the moment the crew line up and get ready for a start, till cross the finish line, the steersman must not cause any forward propelling force for the boat.

6.11        All paddlers and the drummer shall sit and remain in the designated seats throughout the race and the drummer should hold drum-stick(s) in hand during the race.

6.12        Each competitors must wear the team uniform during the race.

7.    THE FINISH

7.1 The finish line will be show approximately by buoys. The exact finish line will be defined by a line between a fixed point at the Finish Tower and a fixed location on the far side of the Beach.

 7.2        The finishing order of a race and the time taken by each boat will be determined by the Finishing Judges whose decision shall be final. The time is determined by the moment when the dragon boat nose crosses the finishes line.

7.3 Each crew must return immediately to the Beach Assembly Area and disembark after the race.

7.4 Each boat must immediately stop paddling and slow down after the bow of their dragon boat crosses the finishing line. Any boat that continues to paddle or approaches the beach at speed risking injury to spectators and damage to boats will be disqualified.

8.    PROTESTS

8.1  Teams should respect decision of the Judges and the Organizer. Should there be dissatisfaction of towards the organizer's decision and there is a need for protest and appeal, all protests and appeals must be lodged in writing and submitted with the appropriate fee designed by the organizer ( respectively HK$ 500 and HK$1000), and must be signed by Team Manager.  IDBF Protest Forms & IDBF Appeal Forms will be available at the information booth. All team affairs dealing with the organizer should only be handled by the Team Manager, and with the team card shown.  (Amended 2010, 2011)

9.    EQUIPMENT

9.1 Except drum sticks and bailers, all equipment used by competitors shall be provided by the Organizer. All official equipment must be returned in good order after use. The allocation of boats and paddles to individual crews shall be at the sole discretion of the Organizer. Any participant not leaving the official equipment behind after crossing the finishing line shall be treated as a defiance of rules and/ or a case of theft.

9.2   The Organizer will not be responsible for any failure of equipment during the race and each crew is advised to         carefully check the boat and paddles allocated to it before the racing.

9.3 No modifications or additions to the boat or the equipment within the boat may be made or carried by any         competitor or crew. In particular:

(a)   Any pad or device for the rower to sit on should be of flexible material to the extent that it should be able to be folded over double and should not be thicker than 2 inches uncompressed.

(b)   No equipment for removing water from the boat is permitted except plastic hand-held bailers with which the water is picked up and scooped out of the boat by a crew member. No pumps of any kind are permitted.

10. ALLOCATION OF BOATS

10.1        Boat allocation of the "first round" will be done by random draws. But allocation in subsequent rounds will all be determined by finishing places in previous rounds.

(Read also 4.2)

(THE END)