The Directors of the Head Of The Charles Regatta are pleased to present the Directors' Challenge Parent/Child and Mixed Doubles to benefit the Endowment of the Head Of The Charles Regatta. We thank you for your participation in the Directors' Challenge events, and for your continued support of the Regatta. Please note that the limitation that no one, including coxswains, may compete in the Regatta more than once will NOT apply to the Directors' Challenge Quadruple Sculls, Mixed Doubles or to the Parent/Child Doubles.

Deadline: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Parent/Child Double: REGISTRATION CLOSED
Mixed Double: REGISTRATION CLOSED

Please understand that the Directors' Challenge Doubles often fill prior to the October 12th deadline. We have extended the event capacity by 10 hulls and the site will remain open until the new event capacity has been reached.

Entry Fee & Donation: $500 ($280 tax-deductible donation, $220 entry fee)

Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first served basis (receipt of completed application form and full payment of entry fees by the Regatta office) at any time prior to 11:59 PM on October 12, 2011. However, the deadline for being listed in the Regatta program is October 1, 2011.

Size of Event-Divisions:

The maximum number of accepted entries will be 50 (sum of both divisions). The mixed double will operate with an age-handicapping system. The parent/child event will not be handicapped.

Specifications of Double Scull Special Events:

Mixed Double: One male sculler and one female sculler only
Parent/Child: No handicapping, any gender, any age. Participants must be related.

Entry Rules:

The limitation that no one, including coxswains, may compete in the Regatta more than once will NOT apply to the Mixed Double or to the Parent/Child Double Sculling Events.

The events are open to all experienced scullers. The races will be held on Saturday following the close of racing. Athletes participating in the Directors' Challenge Doubles must, at a minimum, be enrolled in high school. College athletes should be aware that their participation in this event may affect their NCAA eligibility.

Mixed Double Handicap: The Directors' Challenge Mixed Double will be age-handicapped. Average age of crew (whole years rounded down, individual ares rounded down, as of race day) will be used to calculate handicap. Crews whose average age is 30 years or less will have no handicap. Crews whose average age is 31 or higher will have their time adjusted according to a smooth curve of time-adjustment based on the age handicaps for Long Distance races developed by the ARA as published in the British Rowing Almanac (2009). Standard time for the Directors' Challenge Mixed Double will be taken at 17 minutes. There will be an adjustment made to the handicap calculation if racing conditions are deemed to significantly change the standard times.

Download all handicaps calculated to the nearest 0.5 seconds: HERE

Competitors must race in traditional (sliding seat, fixed rigger) racing shells.

For these events, there are no guaranteed entries and no guaranteed entry privileges at any future Head Of The Charles Regatta. Winning either event or coming within 5% of the winning time, will not earn the institution or the individual competitors a guaranteed entry into any event at the succeeding year's Head Of The Charles Regatta, nor will it have any bearing on the Club specification at any future Regatta.

Each entry must comply with all the general rules governing all other events of the Regatta, except where otherwise stated herein. Entry applications will be accepted only from doubles comprised of U.S.A residents who are members of a USRowing-member institution and/or an organization having "institutional membership" in the Regatta, or, if competing "unaffiliated", are individual members of USRowing, and from foreign nationals who are in good standing with their nation's FISA-recognized governing body. The names of the individual scullers, and their affiliation must be stated on the application form.

Competitors may solicit corporate sponsorship for their boats (display of sponsor's name on the boat) only with prior approval from the Head Of The Charles Regatta.

Substitution of any member is permitted, provided all other entry rules and specifications are met. No substitutions are permitted once a crew's boating form has been submitted at on-site registration.

Starting Order:

Returning entries naming the same two athletes who competed in the previous year's Regatta will compete before all newcomers and will be seeded according to 2009 finish time. All new entries will be seeded based upon experience listed on the application form (prior results) and bow numbers will be posted online.

Parent/Child Awards: Each participant in the Parent/Child event-division will recieve two commemorative Sportgraphics photographs

Mixed Double Awards:

Awards (winners only) will be presented at the first awards ceremony on Sunday.

FIRST PLACE MEDALS: 2 1/2-inch individually struck bronze medallions will be awarded to the members of the winning crew in the Mixed Double.

SUBSIDIARY MEDALS: 1 3/4-inch individually struck bronze medallions will be awarded to the members of the runner-ups in the Mixed Double. A subsidiary medal is awarded per every 10 entrants (up to a maximum of of 5th place for at least 40 entrants), as for other events in the Regatta.