Selected USRowing officials from the Northeast Region are offering to conduct winter and spring clinics for your programs. The first type of clinic provides coxes, scullers, and coaches with practical information on safety and the Rules of Rowing, or, “How Not to Upset the Officials on Regatta Day.” The second type of clinic is for prospective officials who want to pursue a USRA referee license. Parents, former rowers, coaches and friends of rowing are encouraged to start this process since there is a real shortage of qualified officials in this part of the country as every regatta organizer can attest.

Clinic # 1: Coxes & Coaches

These offer a multimedia presentation which includes two videos, one on safety and one on general regatta procedures. These are followed by a PowerPoint presentation on practical aspects of the Rules of Rowing as well as tips for getting onto stake boats, etc. Often the group can be split up into smaller groups with guided practical discussion questions about how to handle various situations at regattas. These clinics can provide a mid-winter break from conditioning as well as a review of materials that need to be second nature when racing actually begins.

The clinics provide several handouts (and sometimes light refreshments); they usually last under three hours with a 20 minute break. If there is a large enough group, an additional session can be scheduled with an experienced, national level coxswain brought in for strategic suggestions for varsity coxes.

These clinics are also useful for strokes, scullers, coaches, and regatta organizers. Experience has shown that coxes who attend these clinics can focus more on the race than on rules and procedures. And coaches will have one less thing to worry about on race day.

Clinic # 2: Prospective Officials Clinic

These multimedia clinics provide the first step in generating new rowing officials by providing an overview of what officiating entails both on and off the water. They also set candidates up on a path to be observers at various officiating stations at regattas in preparation for their sitting for a license examination to become a USRA Assistant Referee. Clinics run no longer than three hours. They can be combined on the same day with Clinic # 1, with one before and one after lunch.

Practical Details:

There are a number of qualified USRA Clinicians around New England and New York who would be happy to conduct a clinic for your programs or, better, for several programs around you. Ideally, we would like to see clinics in the following areas: Buffalo, Rochester, Geneva, Syracuse, Capital District, Hudson Valley, and NYC in addition to Worcester, Boston, southern New Hampshire, and mid-state Connecticut.

The host organization would provide the venue, AV equipment, light refreshments, and any travel costs for the clinician. The USRA licensed clinician would provide all other materials. The site would be advertised by email and teams in the region would be invited to attend. The local organization can recoup its expenses by a small charge for the cox clinics as it sees fit (some clubs split the cost with their coxes) , but the new referee clinics are usually free of charge when held in conjunction with a cox clinic.

If you are interested in hosting one of these clinics at a school or facilty near you, please contact Mike Siconolfi, the “dean” of the USRA clinicians in this region, as soon as possible so he can coordinate the clinics and clinicians.

He can be reached on email at USRAClinic@aol.com or at 315-445-4620.