About Us
Who We Are
Umpires
Umpires observe racing to confirm adherence to the rules and identify any safety issues. Umpires report safety issues following the established protocol and penalize poor behavior. Our team deploys approximately 85 people across 17 stations to observe racing and report on penalties. Of this group, approximately 60% are licensed USRowing referees. The remainder are volunteers, many of whom have been umpires at the HOCR for many years. All umpires complete mandatory training on the HOCR Rules of Racing.
Personnel Transport
This group provides necessary logistical support to enable the umpires to focus on the competitors and racing.
With 85 people to deploy across the course in a highly congested and parking-constrained city, the "Transportation of People" group enables efficient movement to and from the stations. Over the course of the weekend, a team of approximately 10 drivers helps ensure umpires are at their stations on time in the morning and have a direct ride back in the afternoon.
This group is primarily staffed by volunteers arranged through the regatta's event management team.
Equipment Transport
This group provides necessary logistical support to enable the umpires to focus on the competitors and racing.
Each station has equipment such as chairs, stanchions, foot stools, etc. that must be delivered to the station in the morning before racing and picked up after racing each evening.
This group is primarily staffed by volunteers arranged through the regatta's event management team.
The roles outlined below are assigned by members of the Umpires Committee.
Station Lead Umpires
Each umpire station has a Station Lead Umpire who is ultimately responsible for the decisions from that station. All Station Lead Umpires are licensed referees, receive additional training for this role, and demonstrate an advanced understanding of the nuances of head racing.
Umpire Central
This team compiles all incoming information from the umpire stations; audits the submissions for accuracy, duplication, or other issues; confirms information with umpires on the course when necessary; inputs penalties for public view; and provides information to the appeals team on penalties reported.
Appeals
Unlike most regattas, there is no ability to protest (as defined in the USRowing Rules of Racing) any incident during the race or the outcome of the race. Rather, those crews who received a penalty may appeal that penalty in Appeals. The Appeals team consists of the Jury Clerk, Appeals Lead, an Ombudsman, and 3-4 jury members. The Appeals Lead and jury members are licensed referees drawn from the pool of Lead Umpires. As with other stations, umpires are assigned to Appeals for one shift. This is the one area where Umpires have interactions with the athletes. The Ombudsman and jury members field questions and adjudicate disagreements about penalties that have been assigned. Decisions of this team are final and there is no further recourse for an athlete beyond Appeals.
Questions? Contact us via email: umpires@hocr.org