General

The dragon boat races shall be under the supervision and control of the Chief Race Official who shall retain authority over all matters related to racing.

Race Divisions

There are three racing divisions.
1. Mixed division. All crews in the mixed division must have a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 male paddlers.
2. Women’s division. This division is reserved for teams comprised of all female paddlers.
3. BCS/ACS division. Reserved for BCS/ACS survivors. (Please register in the women's division)

The drummer and steersperson for any crew may be male or female.
The maximum number of paddlers for any crew is 10.
The minimum for any crew is 6 paddlers, a drummer, and a steersperson.
The minimum age for a participant is 13 years old.

Eligibility & Cross Rostering

• To be eligible to compete or participate in any way in the Festival a team and all its members must conform to the Rule and Regulations of the races.
• The Race Committee of the Festival has the right to accept or reject any entry submitted for any reason the Race Committee considers appropriate.
• In order to be eligible to be a team member, a person must be at least 13 years of age as of January 31 of the given year.

Cross rostering:
Cross rostering is allowed under the following conditions:
1. Paddlers may cross roster from one racing division to another. For example, a
female paddler on a mixed team may also compete on a woman’s and/or a
BCS/ACS team.
2. Paddlers may not cross roster between teams within the same division. For
example, a paddler in the mixed division may not race with another team in the
mixed division.
3. There are no limitations to cross rostering of drummers and steerspeople. For
example, a drummer or steersperson may drum or steer for multiple teams within the
same division. However, drummers and steers who are cross rostering will not be
allowed to hold up the races by attempting to race in back-to-back races.

Team Racing Rules

All teams will race three times on a 200-meter racecourse. This includes two heats and one
final. The fastest of the two heat times will be used to place teams into the finals. All teams will race their first two heats before the course break. During the course break the race officials will create the race program for the finals. The top three times per division will race in the 'A' final, the next three times in the 'B' final and so forth.

The starting procedure shall be "all Paddlers Ready", followed by “Attention Please”, followed by a shot or air horn. Any team caught false starting will receive a time penalty. The starter may at any time change the start procedure if they deem it necessary. For example, the starter may skip the "all paddlers ready" and jump straight to "attention please".

All crews must remain in their lane for the duration of the race. Leaving your assigned lane may result in a time penalty at the discretion of the chief race official.

Etiquette

All participants are expected to treat the officials, organizers, volunteers, their fellow competitors, and spectators with respect. Any abuse of this fact witnessed during the festival is to be reported to the organizing committee which will review the situation and take appropriate action that may include the expulsion of a participant or crew from the festival.

All crews are expected to respect the rules and regulations of racing and the judgment of the officials. Un-sportsmanlike towards the officials in this regard may bring about further penalties and risk disqualification of the infracting crew.

Safety

Unless necessary and under the control of the coach, it is strictly forbidden for a paddler to stand up in the boat during the race.

Any participant not deemed fit to race by any staff, festival committee member, or volunteer will be asked to sit out. Not deemed fit to race may include excessive alcohol consumption, dehydration, hypothermia, bodily injuries, disrespecting officials, other participants, or staff.

Any participants injured or who become ill during the festival are to report to medical staff immediately. If the condition is serious, medical staff may restrict a participant from continuing in the festival. Their decision is final.

Awards

Gold, silver, and Bronze medals will be awarded to the top three teams in all three race divisions (Mixed, Women, and BCS/ACS).

Racecourse & Schedule

• All races will be held on Sylvan Lake at Lakeshore Drive and 50th Street.
• The racecourse is 200 metres in length and includes two start/finish lines located at the East and West ends of Sylvan Lake, with an additional 75m at each end.  All races will be 200m unless adjusted to a shorter distance by unforeseen circumstances.
• The course will consist of seven lanes and will be marked with flags at the start and finish lines.  Lane number 1 will be the lane closest to the Officials/Announcers Tent.
• Each boat will race in its appropriately numbered lane.
• Teams will be divided into two groups. The first group’s qualifying races will take place in Bracket 1 (morning races) and the second group’s qualifying races will take place in Bracket 2 (afternoon races).
  1. Teams will be divided between the brackets based on team type and skill level.
  2. Each race will be composed of a combination of mixed teams of all skill levels (first year, recreational, competitive) and women’s teams of all skill levels (first year, recreational, competitive).
  3. Each team will race twice, once from Start A, once from Start B.
• Teams will know their schedule for Bracket 1 (both qualifying races) and Bracket 2 (both qualifying races) in advance. The progression to the Semi-Finals and Finals will be outlined in the race schedule.
• Team advancements to the Semi-Finals from Brackets 1 and 2 will be based on their best time from their two qualifying races in their respective Brackets.
  1. 28 mixed teams and 28 women’s teams will advance to the semi-finals with an equal number of teams from each bracket. (14 mixed teams and 14 women’s from Bracket 1 and 14 mixed teams 14 women’s teams from Bracket 2)
  2. All team types (women or mixed) will race from the same starting position in the semi finals; all women’s teams will start from Start A and all mixed teams will start from Start B.
• Advancement to the Finals will be based on the team’s best time from the Semi-Finals.
  1. After the Semi-Finals, all Mixed teams (from both Brackets) will be ranked by their semi-final time, and all Women’s teams (from both Brackets) will be ranked by their semi-final time, to determine who progresses to the Finals.
  2. The top  Mixed teams and top Women’s teams will progress to the Finals.
     Teams ranked 1-7 by time will race from Start B in the Championship Final.
     Teams ranked 8-14 by time will race Start B in the Grand Final.