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Parking along Kelly Drive is restricted during the regatta. Most parking will be on the plateau above, $15 per vehicle. ($5 per vehicle goes to the regatta. The remainder goes to the city and the vendor.) The Regatta provides free shuttle bus service from the parking areas to the venue and back again. There is also a well-maintained, family-friendly walking path thru the woods down to Kelly Drive and the regatta venue.

During the regatta, Kelly Drive will be closed to the general public from the start line to just below the Athlete's Village. Access to this area (which has a one-way traffic pattern, southbound from the Canoe Club) is limited to those with a Regatta Parking Pass.

Parking passes will be distributed to coaches in limited numbers at registration on Thursday afternoon at Lloyd Hall (1 for the smallest programs, 3 or 4 for the very large programs). Those with a Regatta Parking Pass will be allowed to parking diagonally on Kelly Drive. Those without a Regatta Parking Pass will be directed to Regatta Parking on the plateau above Kelly Drive. Each school should plan to distribute their allocated parking passes to vehicles bringing food into the venue. "Chuck wagons" will require separate parking passes, $50 each. If you are bringing a chuck wagon, you'll need two parking passes, one for the tow vehicle and one for the chuck wagon.

Entry to the venue thru the police barricades on Kelly Drive at Strawberry Mansion bridge will be restricted to vehicles with a valid Stotesbury parking pass and school buses. PSRA parking passes will not be honored.

All other parking will be on the grassy plateau above Kelly Drive. Cost will be $15 per vehicle. The regatta will provide complimentary shuttle bus service. Six school buses will be in constant rotation.

For those who would rather walk than wait for a shuttle bus, Ormiston Trail takes you from the parking on the plateau thru the woods down to the regatta venue. The 1/4 mile trail is in very good condition and suitable for young children and adults. Look for the balloons that mark the head of the trail at Reservoir Drive and Randolph Drive.

Parking on the grass on either side of Kelly Drive is absolutely forbidden. Violators will be ticketed by the Philadelphia Police. Parking is only permitted on the river side of Kelly Drive, with the exception of school buses, which must park on the opposite curbside as directed by Philadelphia police. Violators will be ticketed by the Philadelphia police.

Cars and vans should park diagonally at the river side curb.

Parking is permitted in the lot near the grandstands. The lot at the Canoe Club is reserved for volunteers and officials.

Starting Commands with Lights

(a) After the crews have been announced, the Starter shall start the race by:

1. Calling out “Attention!”
2. The Starter shall press a button to change the traffic lights from the neutral (unlit/black) position to red
3. After a distinct and variable pause, the Starter shall give the starting command by pressing a button that shall at the same moment:

• Change the red light to green
• Make an audible signal through the loudspeakers

(b) If, after the red light has been illuminated, the Starter believes for any reason that the start should not occur, he or she shall call out, “As you were!” and change the lights from red to neutral. The Starter shall repeat the starting commands in their entirety, but may dispense with announcing the crews.

(c) Crews may leave the starting line when the light turns from red to green.

Here's a pdf version to give your crews: Traffic Light Start System

New Quick Start Rules

USRowing adopted new rules regarding the start of races over the winter. Most of you have raced under these new rules already this spring, but we encourage all athletes to review this summary and accompanying video

A summary:

Under the prior regulations governing starts, if a coxswain raised a hand to indicate that the crew was not ready, the start was delayed. Under the new rules, a raised hand will not be recognized and the official will begin the start process when he believes that boats are aligned, pointed and it is safe to begin.

During events that are difficult due to wind or current conditions, the officials will use a “quick start procedure,” that, in effect, replaces the old countdown start. With the new start sequence, the officials will announce the name of the crew, sequentially by lane, using a “deliberate cadence.” When the crews are named, the official will call “attention,” raise the red start flag, pause and then say “go” as the flag is dropped.

In a quick start situation, when the official sees that the crews are aligned, the command will be “quick start,” followed by, “attention,” raising the flag, then “go” as the flag is dropped.

In each start situation, crews signaling they are not ready will not be acknowledged. It will be up to the discretion of the official at the start to determine if a crew is not ready, in which case the official will slowly lower the flag and announce, “as you were.”

For more info and a video, go to http://www.usrowing.org/News/12-04-25/Attention_Go_But_Not_Before_Understanding_the_New_Rules.aspx

• GPS Decimal Degrees: 39.969255N -75.185399W
• GPS Address: 1 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia 19130

From South Jersey via the Walt Whitman bridge:

• Take I-76, the Schuylkill Expressway, west.
• Follow I-76 West to exit 340 on the right.
• Take this exit, turn right at foot of exit and get in the left lane as you go over City Avenue Bridge across the Schuylkill River.
• Stay left and follow signs for Kelly Drive.
• The ramp will spiral downwards in a counter-clockwise direction and will merge you onto Kelly Drive, southbound. Be very careful, especially if you are pulling a boat trailer on this tight, descending curve!
• Move to right lane of Kelly Drive after merging at the bottom of the spiral.
• Take Kelly Drive past four traffic lights.
• The first building on the right, between the river and Kelly Drive, is the Canoe Club, where all out-of-town crews launch, except for Dad Vails or Stotesbury.
• Take a right into the parking lot, except for Dad Vails or Stotesbury.
• For Dad Vails or Stotesbury, continue another 3/4 mile to the Athlete's Village near the Three Angels.
• OR, continue two miles on Kelly Drive to Boathouse Row and Regatta Headquarters at #4 Boathouse Row.

Head-style time trials for all events will be held on Friday. Semi-finals will run on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Finals will run on Saturday afternoon.

Time trials start at 8 am Friday and go to approximately 3:00 pm. After an hour break to set stakeboats, semi-finals run until around 6:00 pm Friday. Semi-finals continue Saturday morning, starting at 8 am. Finals begin at 1 pm and the last race of the day is at 5:20 on Saturday.

Final races will be held in the order listed below. There will be no exceptions.

Races will not be delayed for crews that are late to the start for any reason. Crews must start in the order assigned for time trials and in their assigned lane. For semi-finals and finals, crews must be in their lanes and locked onto the stake boat two minutes before the start of their race.

The complete schedule will be posted after the entry deadline on May 3. We expect to have it by May 7.

All boats go thru time trials. Top finishers in time trials advance to conventional semi-finals. Please review the time trials guidelines carefully.

Progressing from time trials:

• In the boys and girls senior eights and fours, the top eighteen boats from the time trials will advance to three semi-finals, with the top two boats from each semi advancing to the finals.

All other events:

• For events with fewer than 30 entries, the top twelve boats from each will advance to two semi-finals.
• For events with 30 entries or more, the top eighteen boats from each will advance to three semi-finals.

Order of Events

1. Boys Freshman Eight
2. Girls Junior Double
3. Girls Freshman Eight
4. Boys Junior Double
5. Boys Junior Four
6. Girls Junior Four
7. Boys Freshman Quad
8. Girls Freshman Quad
9. Girls Lightweight Double
10. Boys Lightweight Double
11. Girls Junior Eight
12. Boys Junior Eight
13. Boys Junior Quad
14. Girls Junior Quad
15. Girls Lightweight Eight
16. Boys Lightweight Eight
17. Boys Lightweight Four
18. Girls Lightweight Four
19. Girls Senior Double
20. Boys Senior Double
21. Boys Second Eight
22. Girls Second Eight
23. Girls Senior Quad
24. Boys Senior Quad
25. Boys Senior Single
26. Girls Senior Single
27. Boys Senior Four
28. Girls Senior Four
29. Boys Senior Eight
30. Girls Senior Eight
31. Adaptive Doubles

Hello Rowers and Parents - Lots of information to review, please read to the end:

This week's race is Atlantic County Championships at Lake Lenape on Sunday, May 13th. It is also Mother's Day and is usually crowded with families and spectators. Our Doodle link is:http://www.doodle.com/av5adbw53rv3wacc. The ACRA is also hold a cookoff for Main Dish and Desserts. Entry fee is $20 per entry and winner takes all. If you would like to submit an entry, please email me by Friday afternoon and bring the $20 entry fee on Sunday for collection.

VOLUNTEERS: Our assignments are listed below. Every school is assigned volunteer positions and participation is vital to get the races to run smoothly and on time. Please Please Please sign up to volunteer. The more volunteers, the easier to assign shifts. Since it is Mother's Day, what a nice present it would be for the gentlemen parents/brothers/cousins to volunteer for the assignments. (Hint - Hint)

Please sign up on Doodle.

 PARKING: A PREPAID parking pass is required for ALL vehicles parking in the parking lot at the spectator side. The cost is $5.00 and will be sold at the Boathouse on Thursday, May 10th ONLY. Send money in an envelope with your rower so I can place the pass in it for you or be at Boathouse between 5-5:45pm. There will be additional parking sites with shuttles running to lake. See attachment for maps and below for more parking information.

 EXTRA NOTE: Rowers are provided with water and gatorade at the tent site and a bottle of water for the bus after races. Rowers requiring additional beverages, should plan to pack their own in their bags. Also, rowers need to bring their own chair, towel or blanket to rest on. Rowers are also asked to clean up their eating area before leaving as well.