To: RCA Committees, Provincial Rowing Associations, RCA Member Clubs and Associations (the “stakeholders”)

Under the direction of the RCA Board of Directors, a Rules of Racing Working Group has been formed to review the current RCA Rules of Racing (the “Rules”), gather submissions and proposals from all stakeholders and then propose amendments to the Rules to the RCA Board of Directors for presentation to the Members at the 2022 Semi-Annual Meeting.

The Purpose and Mandate of the Working Group is as follows:

1. Purpose
   The Rules of Racing Review Working Group (the Working Group) shall be a duly constituted working group of the Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) Board of Directors operating under the CARA By-Laws Section 20.2. The Working Group will provide the RCA Board with recommendations to be presented to the membership for approval at the Semi-Annual Meeting the year after the FISA Extraordinary Congress where changes to the FISA Rules of Racing are adopted.
2. Mandate
   The Working Group is responsible for assisting the RCA Board in fulfilling its responsibilities to RCA members to conduct a review and recommend any changes proposed to the RCA Rules of Racing.

Note:  FISA recently updated its rules at the ‘virtual’ 2020 FISA Extraordinary Congress.

Any proposed rule changes to the RCA Rules of Racing will be voted on at the January 2022 RCA Semi-Annual Meeting.

Timelines for the Review Process

Date	Action
November 2020	Rules of Racing Working Group sends out consultation paper to solicit input from all stakeholders
December 2020	Consultation starts. Request for written comments sent out; Working Group initiates consultative process with various stakeholders.
January 30, 2021	Virtual consultation discussion with stakeholders at RCA Semi-Annual Meeting.
February 5, 2021	Deadline for written stakeholder submissions.
February 2021	The Working Group will circulate a memo to all stakeholders which summarizes the submissions received from stakeholders.
February – May 2021	Working Group reviews consultation submissions and conducts detailed review of Rules of Racing.
June 2021	Draft proposals released for comment from stakeholders.
August 2021	Comments on draft proposals received and the Working Group reviews the comments and develops final recommendations.
October/November 2021	Recommendations delivered to RCA Board of Directors.
January 2022	Recommendations put to Membership at RCA’s Semi-Annual Meeting.

 

Review Process

The Working Group requests that Proposals to amend the Rules be submitted as follows:

1. Any proposal is to be made through a stakeholder organization – a member rowing club / member rowing organization, or RCA committee – through the chair of the committee. Umpires and other members of the rowing community who wish to make comments or proposals, may do so through any one of the stakeholders.
2. Proposals for any rule changes must be submitted by email on the ‘Proposed Rule Changes – Submission Template’ provided with this document in original Word.doc format.

Email your proposals: to the RCA Rules Working Group at: rules@rowingcanada.org

Close of Submissions: must be received by 17:00hrs PDT on Friday February 5, 2021

Notes: There will be a virtual consultation discussion with Stakeholders during the RCA National Conference on January 30, 2021.

The Working Group will draft amendments and circulate them to the Stakeholders in June 2021 for review and comment.

Following the comment period, the Working Group will draft its recommendations for presentation to the RCA Board of Directors. The final recommendations will be voted on in January 2022 at the RCA Semi-Annual Meeting.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the above process, please contact us at rules@rowingcanada.org 

Thank you in advance for taking the time to provide feedback on the RCA Rules of Racing. You can view the current RCA Rules of Racing here.

Yours sincerely,
RCA Rules of Racing Working Group
November 2020

Working Group Members
Bill Donegan, ON – Chair
Judy Sutcliffe, ON – Umpire Committee Nomination 
Julie-Ann Vincent, NS – Umpire Committee Nomination
Matt Waddell, ON – Coach Ed and Dev. Committee Nomination
Mike Bagshawe, BC – Safety and Events Committee Nomination
Andrew Smith, ON – Safety and Events Committee Nomination
Dave Derry, ON
Brooklea Graham, AB
Mike Walker, ON
Brent Duncan, BC
Julie Thibault, QC
Iain Brambell – RCA HP
Carol Purcer – RCA President (ex-officio)

RCA Staff Support
Jennifer Fitzpatrick – RCA Director of Partnerships and Sport Development
Matt Draper – RCA National Events Manager