Fuller's Head Of The River Fours

The race is held under: the ARA Rules of Racing; the Water Safety Code; these Rules; the Marshalling Instructions; and any other instructions published by the Committee.
Non Tideway clubs MUST have obtained written/email permission to boat from their host tideway club before completing an entry form. Captains will ascertain time and order of boating of crews from those in authority at the club from whose Boathouse their crews intend to boat. The Committee reserves the right to direct where crews will boat and issue traffic directions.
Results will be on this web site www.hor4s.org.uk.
A full list of provisional times will be available as soon as possible after the race finishes. Prizes will be presented at a reception to which winning crews will be invited at a later date. Winning competitors will receive an individual medal and winning Crews will receive a sign written Blade Spoon.
Entries close Friday 19 October 2007 or after 550 complete paid entries have been accepted, which ever is the earlier.
Overseas Crews (i.e. those not affiliated to the ARA, SARA or WARA) can only enter the Elite events.
With the exception of coxswains, no rower who has competed at a senior level for their Country (World cup, Senior World Championships or Olympics) in either sweep or sculling during the four years prior to the race (i.e. since November 2003), will be allowed to enter any status other than Elite, regardless of whether they are entered in the same discipline or not.
With the exception of SARA clubs, all sweep crews (club and academic) entered in the HOR4s must have at least two points both at the time of entry and on race day (i.e. subs must have sufficient points to maintain the two point minimum for the crew). SARA Clubs must provide evidence to support that their crews are at an equivalent level of competence.
In the Quad events, no minimum point criteria will apply for ARA, WARA and SARA crews.
The committee reserves the right to reject crews entered at a status deemed to be above their ability, if they cannot provide sufficient evidence as to why they should be allowed to race at that status.
All coxn’s must have reached the age of 16 in the calendar year of the race (i.e. born in 1991 or earlier), unless express permission is given by the race committee. A further review of the age of all competitors will take place after the 2007 race.
No crew may win more than one set of prizes. NO CREW OR COMPETITOR WILL BE PERMITTED TO ROW TWICE, OR ENTER FOR TWO EVENTS. Crews are eligible only for the prize of the event they have entered.
Composite entries will not be accepted for any of the S3 events (applies to both Club and Academic).
Captains must ensure that they only enter competent crews and that their crews are properly prepared for the race. Crews should be capable of completing a ten mile outing and may be on the water for three hours. The weather in November can be wet and cold. Hypothermia is a real danger. Crews should take sufficient warm clothing on the water with them. A plastic bag is useful for placing clothing in during the course of the race. All Coxswains and Steers should be familiar with the navigation of Tideway both in terms of the race and for the row back to their host club once the race has finished.
The Committee will determine the order of start. It will generally be in event order. Within events the first few crews will be in the previous years finishing order for that event followed by everyone else in alphabetical order. (1st crews, followed by 2nd crews, followed by 3rd crews etc).
Late crews that are not started with the rest of the crews in their event , may be liable to a penalty of up to ten seconds.
Returning crews are to be presumed responsible for accidents with racing crews, unless it is impossible for them to avoid the racing crew, without causing a greater danger.
Notice of scratching, in writing, or e-mail, must be received by the entries Secretary before the race. On race day notice may be handed in, by a representative of the crew, at Chiswick Pier House, (if you turn down Edensor Road off the A316 and go straight on until you reach the river, you will find the Pier House - see map on right). Notice of scratching must include a full explanation of the reasons for the scratching. Failure to provide an adequate explanation could affect the acceptance of a Club's entries in future years
IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO SUBMIT SCRATCHINGS AT THAMES RC.
Crew changes before the entries close.

a) The composition of the crew can be changed using OARA, provided that the event entered does not change, and any change of composition leaves the crew still fully eligible for that event. These changes will not count as substitutions under ARA rule 2-3-4.
or...
b) A substitution form can be submitted. This will keep the original time of entry but will mean no more than half the crew can be substituted subsequent to the entry being made and it will not be possible to change status.
or...
c) If the crew wishes to enter for a different event [eg change of status, coxed vs coxless, or sweeps/sculls] then the original entry must be scratched, and an entirely new entry made. The Entries Secretary should be approached, to credit the original payment aganist the new entry.
Crew changes after entries close.
a) The crew can be amended through OARA up until 10pm on Friday 2nd November. No more than half the crew (benchmarked at the time entries close) can be substituted subsequent to the entry being made and it is not possible to change status or boat type.
or
b) A substitution form must be submitted. No more than half the crew can be substituted subsequent to the entry being made and it is not possible to change status or boat type.
Changes after 10pm on 2nd November / On race day
During this period all substitutions, must be declared IN PERSON at Chiswick Pier in advance of the race (7am to 9:30am). The HOR4s committee must have an accurate list of all crew members competing, in the race. This applies equally, if not more so, to coxn’s as, in the case of an accident or emergency, we MUST be able to inform the PLA and emergency services, exactly who the masters of the vessels concerned were.
We have had several instances in recent years of coaches omitting to declare cox substations to the committee as they did not deem them to be important. ANY crews known to have undeclared subs WILL be disqualified and may forfeit their club’s ability to enter in the following year.
Notifications made by email must be received by 10pm the evening before the race.
a) A substitution form (word document) must be submitted. No more than half the crew can be substituted subsequent to the entry being made and it is not possible to change status or boat type.
b) Crew change forms will be provided on the web site and will be available from the official at Chiswick Pier House on the day of the race. The entries Secretary must receive this on race day, at least one hour before the start of the race.
c)On race day the entries secretary will be at Chiswick Pier House from 7am. Failure to comply with this rule will render a crew ineligible for any prize and will result in disqualification.
substitution form in PDF format.
THERE IS NO LONGER ANY FACILITY FOR CREWS BOATING FROM PUTNEY TO SUBMIT SUBSTITUTIONS AT THAMES RC.
In the event of two or more crews returning the same time the crew with the lowest starting number will be judged the winner.
In certain circumstances the committee will allow crews with more than 50% subs or who need to make a sub who has too many points for the entered event, to race for TIME ONLY - see the Crew Change page for more details.
In the event of a serious transgression of the rules (e.g. Rowing below status, endangering other crews) the Committee may disqualify not just the crew involved but all crews from the Club it represents and refuse entries in future years.
Owing to the particular safety considerations of this race, the use of Megaphones and radio equipment is prohibited for all except race officials.
Coxswains and Steers should maintain that which they consider to be their best course but MUST NOT obstruct or impede a faster crew that is overtaking. Failure to observe this rule will lead to disqualification or a time penalty. ALL crews have a responsibility to avoid collision and may be penailsed if judged to have contributed to the causes of a collision.
PARKING AT PUTNEY
The Committee is reliant on the goodwill and assistance of the Authorities at Putney if the Race is to continue with the same number of crews. The Committee will disqualify all the crews from any club whose representatives do not conform to the rules issued to those clubs boating from Putney and may refuse entries in future years. Please try and make arrangements to boat from Mortlake, Chiswick or Hammersmith.
The Police, Traffic Wardens and Council Officials must not only be obeyed at all times but treated with courtesy and respect. Traffic flows and regulations will be obeyed. Equipment must not block the road at any time. This is an important safety requirement.
The Committee does not accept any liability for crews or their equipment.
Refund Policy

If an entry is withdrawn before entries close a full refund will be made. If an entry is withdrawn after entries close no refund will be made.
In the event of cancellation crews will not be entitled to any refund. The committee will review the situation and decide if a full or partial refund can be made without endangering the financial viability and development of the race. A cancellation reserve has been established and when it has accumulated sufficient funds it will be the policy of the committee to issue a full refund in the event of cancellation. Head of the River Fours is a non profit making organisation and funds are only used in the interests of the race.