General Regatta Info for Parent Spectators

What to bring:

• Chair
• Sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• Hat, sunglasses
• Windbreaker, rain gear
• Comfortable shoes
• Extra socks for your rower (long warm ones!)
• An extra blanket and a dry set of clothes for your rower (just in case)
• A jacket or sweater for yourself
• Water bottle
• Snacks
• Camera, if you have a good zoom
• Binoculars

 What to expect:

• Usually, we will set up a couple of family tents near the water. There, we prep meals and parents congregate to cheer on the crew.
• The athletes’ section is usually blocked off for rowers, coaches, boat trailers, and volunteers with special duties only, but your rower can meet you at the family tent in the spectator section if they have a long break between races.
• Expect a long day; the rowers will need to arrive at sunrise and the last race is usually late in the afternoon. Sometimes it’s freezing when we arrive and hot by the afternoon. Some parents bring a book or an ipad. Some prefer to walk along the greenways and get some exercise while waiting for our next boat to pass. Some like to watch every single one of the races (they’re super fun to watch).
• Remember that rowers will be expected to report early regardless of their race time to help out, warm up, and be ready to race. They will also stay till after our last race to pack up and get boats de-rigged and back on the trailer.
• Expect your rower to ask to purchase a rowing or event shirt or hat from the many vendors at regattas, so you can manage expectations ahead of time.
• Some races (most of the fall regattas) are timed events (“head”races): boats leave the starting point at different times, row like crazy, and their time is marked at the finish line. In the spring, most of the races are head-to-head (“sprint” races), so you can go to the finish line to watch who finishes “by a nose”.  Sprint races are shorter in distance than head races.
• Regardless of what kind of regattas we compete in and where they are located, we can find info about the clubs, boats, their schedules, venue information, and more at Regatta Central, and we can watch times/results as they come in on herenow.com.
• If you don’t have a camera with an awesome zoom, or you don’t want to bother, you can purchase professional but pricey action photos the next week on Row2K.
• Parking varies by venue. Usually, it’s free. Often you will not be able to park very close to the tent, so plan to be able to carry whatever you bring for a bit of a hike.