The Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) sets the rules for Junior and Senior events. Basically the system ensures that the more successful you are, the tougher the competitions are in which you are allowed to compete.

Rowing and Sculling are treated as different disciplines; points earned in one are not transferable to the other.

JUNIOR

Junior oarsmen are boys who are under 18 on 1st September preceding the date of the event. This is further sub divided into J16, J15 and J14; boys must be under the relevant age on 1st September preceding the date of the event.

In addition each age band is divided into A and B groups. Any individual who wins a B event must thereafter compete in A events for that age band.

Winners of J18A and J16A events are deemed to have won one Senior point and loose their Novice status (see below)

There is also a hybrid class School/Junior that allows boys still in full-time secondary education to represent their school up to the date of their 19th birthday. Winners are treated the same as J18A ie they will have earned one Senior point.

SENIOR

A Novice is an individual or a crew that has not won an event. An individual earns one Senior point if he wins a Novice race. A competitor who has won a Novice event or Junior equivalent (eg J16/B or J18B) may not race again in Novice.

Thereafter every time a boy wins a qualifying event - any Senior, School/Junior, J18A or J16A event - he earns an additional point.

Crews are then classified into Status Levels by the maximum aggregate number of points held by a crew. See table below:

Example

If J16A won a Novice event they would then have to enter a Senior 4 event. If they won this then they would have 8 points. They would have to enter Senior 3. If they then won that event they would have to compete in Senior 2 at the next regatta. If, however, there was a crew change and the replacement had only one Senior point then the crew would still be eligible to enter a Senior 3 - as the aggregate for the crew would be 15 points.

LIGHTWEIGHT

A lightweight male competitor is defined as not exceeding 72.5 kgs. Meanwhile the average weight of a lightweight crew (excluding coxs) may not exceed 70 kgs per man.

Definition of a qualifying event

• A qualifying event is one whose result may affect the status of a winning competitor by gaining points.
  
• An event is deemed to be qualifying when four or more crews race and the event is none of the following:
  
  • a ‘head’ or ‘bumping’ race
    
  • a private match arranged solely between the clubs or competitors concerned
    
  • open only to members of one club, or solely to the clubs of one university or other self-contained body
    
  • races limited to disabled competitors
    
  • a fun event generated on the day among existing competitors