Rules & Deadlines

2025 Rules

Registration and Payment:

• Entries and payments must be completed on this website. 

• Team registration requires a deposit of $150. This deposit will be credited toward your boat entry fees.

• Standard team registration closes Saturday, November 30, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST.

• Late team registration closes Wednesday Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST

• Standard boat registration closes Sunday, April 20 at 11:59 pm EST.  

• Late boat registration is open through Wednesday, April 23 at 10:30 p.m EST.

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Entry Fees:

                                         Standard Team             Late Team/ Standard Boat            Late Team

                                         Standard Boat              Standard Team/ Late Boat            Late Boat     

Eights…………………….........$90.00                                  $95.00                              $100.00          

Fours/Quads..………….........$65.00                                   $70.00                              $75.00                 

Doubles/Pairs.…………........$50.00                                   $55.00                              $60.00   

Singles……………………......$40.00                                   $45.00                              $50.00   

 

Refund Policy:

• No refunds will be given after the scratch deadline closes (4/23/25 at 10:30 p.m. EST) except where a race is not scheduled because at least 3 different schools did not enter the race on this website.

 

Waiver Form Required:

• Grand Rapids Invitational waiver form for each athlete. (available on the Regatta Central site, under the Compliance tab) must be completed online for each rower by 8:00 p.m. on April 23, 2025.

• Failure to provide a rower waiver form will preclude the rower from competing at GRI.

 

Rules:

• A rower may enter a maximum of 3 events

• There is no limit on the number of races a coxswain may cox.  Coxswains may cox in any boat regardless of gender, novice, or varsity status.  There is no weight minimum or maximum for coxswains.  

• No team may have more than 3 boats per event.

• A minimum of 2 entries from different teams must be received on this website in order for a race to be held.  If at least 2 entries are not submitted on this website, that race will be canceled.  

• If a race containing the minimum of two entries has a boat scratch after registration on this website, the race will be cancelled.

• Lightweight classification:

  •  Women: 130 lb cutoff.

  •  Men: 150 lb cutoff.

  •  No boat averaging.

• Weigh-in: 

  • Weigh-in will occur Saturday, April 26, 2025 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

  • Lightweight rowers must weigh in with the crew they will be racing with and be accompanied by a coach or other team official.  All members of the crew, not including coxswains, must be present at weigh in.

  • Crew members must step on the scale in the order in which they row in the boat, bow to stern.

  • Lightweight rowers will receive a wristband after weigh-in that they must wear for the duration of the regatta.

 

Event Definitions and Eligibility:

• Novice: first year high school rowers, regardless of grade who began rowing after the Midwest Scholastic Championships of the prior year (5/13/2024)

• Freshman: rowers currently enrolled in Grade 9.

• Junior: any rower that has completed five semesters or less of high school at the time of GRI.

• Varsity: any rower

• To register a boat for the 3rd Varsity/Novice 8+ event, the boat should have a minimum of four novice rowers, excluding the coxswain.  This event is in lieu of a straight Novice 8+ event to maximize racing opportunities for teams that have smaller novice squads.  This is on the honor system.

• 2V/Jr. 8+: You may enter your second varsity 8+ in this event or a pure junior 8+.  This is on the honor system.

• Coxswain:  May be of either gender and of any skill or age classification.  There is no weight minimum for coxswains

• Lightweight:  Individual rowers must be at or below the weight limit.  (150 lbs. for Men, 130 lbs. for women).  There will be no averaging for a boat. 

Qualifying Heats: 

• All races are 1,500 meters. You will be notified prior to the regatta if you have a qualifying heat. Heats will run before finals. For events where heats are necessary, every effort will be made to allow for athlete recuperation.

• Hot Seating: Hot seating will be restricted to rowers or equipment with a minimum of 2 races between the events. The coxswain or coach must check into the Launch Dock prior to the event launching to be eligible. 

• Medals: Medals will be awarded for first through third place in the finals of each event consisting of four or more crews.  If a final event contains only three crews, medals will be awarded for first and second place.  If a final event contains only two crews, a medal will be awarded for first place only.

 

Barnes Scoring System:

GRI will use the Barnes Scoring System. The team of the first place crew in the finals will receive the following points for the corresponding boat classification:

• 1x 10 points

• 2x, 2- 15 points

• 4x, 4+ 20 points

• 8x 30 points

 

Points will be awarded for second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth place in the finals, as follows:

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Number of                                       Percentage of First Place

Boats in Final                                    Points Based on Place

                                       2nd            3rd           4th           5th           6th  

2                                    20%           N/A          N/A          N/A          N/A

3                                    40%          20%          N/A          N/A          N/A

4                                    60%          30%           5%           N/A          N/A

5                                    80%          40%          10%           5%           N/A

6                                    80%          40%          20%          10%          5%

 

Note on scoring when a school has more than one crew in a final event: a second crew placing 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th in the final from the same school as a faster crew will not earn points toward their overall team’s total but will count as their place order, thus prohibiting the awarding of those points to any other crew.  Example: School A has two eights entered in a final along with a crew each from School B, School C, School D, and School E for a total of six schools in the final.  School A’s two crews finished first and second.  School B’s crew finished third, School C’s crew fourth, School D’s crew fifth, and School E’s crew sixth.  In this scenario, School A will receive 30 points for its first place crew but no additional points for its second place crew.  School B will receive 12 points (40% of 30), School C will receive 6 points (20% of 30), School D will receive 3 points (10% of 30) and School E will receive 1.5 points (5% of 30).  

 

Trophies:

The Director's Trophy will be awarded to the school with the most combined team points.  The Don and Claudia LeBlanc trophies will be awarded, respectively, to the men’s team and the women’s team with the most points.  Teams winning these trophies will have their school's name engraved on the trophies on a 2025 plate.  The trophies will remain with the GRI Race Committee at the conclusion of the race.