Virtual Hooch

****The Rules & Procedures page for the “Virtual” Hooch will be continually updated as more information becomes available, so please check back frequently to review any updates.

Details on how to access the “Virtual” Hooch Coaches & Coxswain Meeting will be posted on the Coaches & Coxswains page.

Note: While all USRowing rules, found in the 2024 Rules of Rowing, apply, we realize that “virtual” rowing is a relatively new experience and we have tried to capture some of the nuances that may impact the rules below. As we all go through this new endeavor together, we will probably not be able to anticipate all situations but will always act in the safety and fairness of the competitor.

+ 0. General

Information Required Before You Race

When placing entries for the Virtual Head of the Hooch on RegattaCentral, all competitors will be asked to provide the following information to support the virtual regatta:

• Location information – Competitors are required to provide the location (address) of where they will race. It is the sole responsibility of the competitor to ensure that their race day location (address) is correct and accurate. This is mandatory for all rowers.
• Contact information – Competitors are required to provide a race day phone number for themselves. This is mandatory for all rowers. Competitors should monitor their phone and email on race-day in the event of contact from the organizers.

+ 1. Registration

The complete registration process and dates can be found on the registration page.

• 1.1-All boats must registered no later than December 31, 2024.
• 1.2-Guaranteed entries for the 2025 Head of the Hooch ® Regatta in Chattanooga, TN will be awarded to top finishers of the January 2025 virtual regatta. Up to three guaranteed entry codes (GECs) will be issued per event, with 1 being awarded for events with 10 entries, 2 awarded for events with 11-19 entries, and 3 awarded for events with 20+ entries. Scratches or DNS boats will not be considered an entry. GECs for 1x events will be awarded to the rower and can be used for any 1x event the rower qualifies for in the 2025 regatta. GECs for 2x, events will be awarded to the club and can be used for any 2x event in the 2025 regatta.
• 1.3-There must be at least 2 entries in an event to constitute a race. Competitors must finish ahead of at least one other entry in their category to receive an award. All entries will be allowed to race and medals will be awarded to all events regardless of entry level.

+ 2. Event Definitions

Complete event definitions can be found on our event definitions page.

• **2.1 - Composite Boats: **A boat will be considered a composite boat if all members of the crew are not from the same organization.
  2.2 - Mixed Crews: Each mixed crew shall include men and women rowers. Doubles require a crew of one man and one woman. Any entry violating this rule will be excluded.
• ** 2.3 - Men’s or Women’s Events:** Men’s events are for male rowers only. Women’s events are for female rowers only.
• **2.4 - Minimum Age: **There is no minimum age for the virtual regatta.
• **2.5- **For Youth events, all rowers in each of the categories must be under the prescribed age for the event, i.e. U19, U17, U15. The average age of the crew is NOT used for Junior events.
  • **Under 15:**​ A competitor may compete in the U15 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 14th​ birthday.
  • **Under 17: **​A competitor may compete in the U17 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 16th​ birthday.
  • ** Under 19:** ​A competitor may compete in the U19 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 18th​ birthday, i.e. entrants born after January 1, 2006.
• **2.6-U23: **​A competitor may compete in the U23 category until December 31 of the year of his or her 22nd​ birthday. Restricted to entrants born on or after January 1, 2002.
• 2.7-Open: ​Open events are open to competitors of any age.
• 2.8-Masters Events: ​A masters athlete is a competitor who has attained, or will attain, the age of 27 during the current calendar year. A competitor’s age is determined as of December 31 of the current calendar year, rounded down to the nearest whole number. A competitor thus becomes a master on January 1 of the year of his or her 27th​ birthday.
  • Masters competitors are required to race within the event designated for their age category. Competitors are not eligible to race in events designated for older or younger categories.
  • Handicaps will not be applied to these events. Master’s 2x events will be split by average boat age into “Under 50” and “50 & Over” age categories. The USRowing handicap modified for a 4500m course will be applied to these races.
• 2.9 - Para
• Para races will be offered for PR1, PR2, PR3, PR3-II, and Freedom Rows men’s and women's singles.
• All Rowers racing in para races should be classified before the race
• Self-classification is permitted.
• All para events are 2000 meters to match on the water standards – For classifications and more information, click here. *** Classification Sport Classes**
• PR1: ​Rowers who have minimal or no trunk function (i.e. primarily shoulder function) will be assigned to the PR1 class after being evaluated by a FISA or U.S. Classification Panel. A PR1 class rower is able to apply force predominantly using the arms and/ or shoulders. These athletes will likely also have decreased sitting balance.
• **PR2: **​Rowers who have functional use of the trunk and who are not able to use the sliding seat to propel the boat because of significantly weakened function or mobility of the lower limbs will be assigned to the PR2 class after being evaluated by a FISA or U.S. Classification Panel.
• **PR3: **​Rowers with an eligible impairment who have functional use of their legs, trunk and arms for rowing, and who can utilize the sliding seat to propel the will be assigned to the PR3 class after being evaluated by a FISA or U.S. Classification Panel.
• **PR3 (VI): **​Allocated to Rowers with a classifiable visual impairment. Three subclasses are used in classification.
• PR3-B1, PR3-B2, PR3-B3 (formerly LTA-B1, LTA-B2, LTA-B3): allocated to Rowers based on their visual acuity to the standards set by the IBSA.
• **ALL OTHER EVENTS ARE SELF CLASSIFIED **

+ 3. Master Handicap

• **3.1 - **For Masters 1x events, the rower must be registered for the correct age category and cannot row up or down an age classification. Handicaps will not be applied within each age category however, handicaps will be applied in the 2x events.
• **3.2 - **The correct age must be provided for each crew member. If any age is missing, no handicap will be assigned to the boat.
• **3.3 - **US Rowing Handicap calculations for a 4+ will be used for ALL events times 4.5 (for this event). Please note that the USRowing handicap system was designed for “on the water” events. According to Concept2 the ergometer was designed to behave like a 4+ on the water and thus the Hooch Committee has decided that the fairest handicap system to use would be USRowing’s Handicap formula for a 4+ times 5. The formula is as follows: HC= (age – 27)2 * Z. Where Z=0.0972 for a 4+ on a 4500m course.

+ 4. Live Racing Software

• The race will take place in real time using Time-Team’s Homerace software https://homerace.nl For instructions on how to set up the Homerace software, please refer to the Homerace Manual.
• Your personalized link to connect to the Homerace system will be emailed to you prior to race day. Note: If you have qualified for multiple events, you will receive a different link for EACH event.

Terminology used in the system:

• A Regatta has one or more Events
• An Event has one or more Rounds
• A Round can be divided over several Races
• A Race is filled with several Crews, these Crews can be from different Rounds or Events.
• A Crew is an Entry, which is linked to a specific Race.
• The length or duration of a Race is described with Distance.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Hardware & Materials

• Concept2 static ergometer with PM3, PM4 or PM5 monitor
• Please ensure your Concept2 Performance Monitor has the most up to date firmware. You can check this by downloading the Concept2 Utility software and following the instructions.

• Laptop, PC, or Mac USB A-B cable (i.e. Printer Cable) Internet connection wired (preferable) or WiFi. It is recommended to keep a back-up internet option ready like a mobile phone hotspot in case you lose your internet connection

Laptop Operating System (any of the following)

• Mac OS X
• Windows 8.1 or higher
• Chrome OS

Software (any of the following)

• Google Chrome version 78 or higher
• Microsoft Edge version 79 or higher

Internet Connection

Competitors must compete on an internet network with a maximum latency of 500ms. Competitors who have not met this internet speed requirement by 5 minutes before their race start will be removed from the live race. You can check your setup connection by following the steps below:

1. Connect your ergometer to a laptop
2. Go to https://homerace.nl
3. Click on “connect your ergometer” button and connect to the system
4. Do a connection test – this will check if your internet latency is good enough to join a race.

This requirement is to make a best effort so that all competitors can reasonably see one another throughout the race. However, internet speeds can vary throughout a race, and competitors can drop out and back into a race. With this in mind, competitors are advised to race to their maximum effort and not rely on the visual images which might be misleading.

Race Mode

Prior to and during the race, your performance monitor will be in race mode. This means that you do not need to ‘set’ your monitor for your race – it will be set for you once you have successfully connected to the Homerace system. On the top of your screen, your regular data will be shown. On the bottom part of your screen, you will see your information on the race itself, the starting procedure, or your competition depending at what stage you are of a race. The order in which you see it is: Warm-up, Start, Race.

Your computer screen will show your race lobby and all participants, as well as the live tracker for you to see the whole race and all its competitors. Competitor Timeline 40 minutes prior to race start Enter the Homerace race lobby via your ‘participant secret’.

10 minutes prior to race start Deadline to connect to video for the livestream. 5 minutes prior to race start Race lobby locked for entry, no further admittance allowed. Competitors who do not meet the internet latency requirements by this time would not be permitted to compete in their Final. 2 minutes prior to race start Competitors must be in position and ready to race. 1 minute prior to race start Stop rowing, put your handle down and watch your monitor for race start instructions

Testing

The best way to test your equipment is to do a latency test which can be done by visiting https://master.regatta-systems.com/homerace

Every athlete can do the test on their own time. On race day, your "score" will be a little lower than during the test due to the server being in Europe. You can subtract approximately 100 ms in order to get the realistic latency. On the raceday itself the server will be set in the USA to be sure we don't lose any valuable milliseconds.

Machine sharing

It is possible for competitors racing in different events to share rowing machines, if they live together or are competing from the same venue. If this is the case, the competitor racing first will need to wait for their race to fully finish before selecting the yellow ‘disconnect’ button i.e. all ‘boats’ in their race have finished and the connected monitor has been reset by the race system back to the main menu. Only at this point may the new lobby code be entered and the second competitor can prepare to race.

Rules Reminder

Finalists are reminded that they must adhere to all relevant US Rowing Rules of Rowing while participating in this event.

Finalists are reminded that if they are the cause of two false starts, they will be excluded from the event.

As the event is virtual, protests should be emailed to registrar@headofthehooch.org within the same timeframe as stated in the Rules (not later than 30 minutes after the conclusion of the race).

As internet connections may impede a competitor’s ability to see their rank accurately throughout a race, finalists are reminded to perform to their maximum ability in each race.

Medical

1. All competitors accept on entry that they will be competing in a very strenuous activity, and therefore are in good health and have been cleared by a medical doctor to participate in physical activity. As the competition is a virtual event it is required that competitors do not compete alone and that they have another person available to render assistance if necessary.
2. If a competitor has tested positive for COVID-19, had symptoms of COVID-19, or had suspected COVID-19 without a test, or if a competitor feels unwell, has recently been suffering from a virus, or is on medication for acute illness, The Head of the Hooch recommends that they do not take part in the Virtual Head of the Hooch.
3. The participation in the Virtual Head of the Hooch is entirely at the competitor’s own risk.
4. COVID-19 restrictions and regulations vary across the global, and are being updated regularly by local governments. Competitors are asked to follow their local COVID-19 regulations closely as it relates to competing in this event.

Anti-Doping

Doping is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of sport, the principle of fair play, medical ethics and can be harmful for the health of the rowers. Doping is strictly prohibited in the Virtual Head of the Hooch. For information about prohibited substances and methods, please consult WADA’s Prohibited List which will come into effect on 1 January 2021: https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2021list_en.pdf For additional information, please refer to World Rowing’s anti-doping information page on the website Anti-Doping information page which includes information about Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE).

Competitor Integrity
All information provided to the Virtual Head of the Hooch for the purposes of this competition, either in registration submissions, scores, timestamps, or any other information provided must be the complete truth. A lack of integrity, or any actions that indicate an intent to cheat or circumvent the rules or intent of the rules of US Rowing may result in disqualification and possible bans on future competition opportunities.

Questions? For any questions about the Virtual Head of the Hooch, please email generalinfo@headofthehooch.org

+ 5. The Finish

Results will be calculated by Time-Team and will be posted immediately and remain unofficial and posted. Once all approved protests are reviewed/cleared, the race will move to Official status and results posted. Results will be official and posted on the Time-Team website at https://Time-Team.com/results/#/races/20818/results