2011 Regatta
	The 2011 regatta will be held at the National Water Sports centre, near Nottingham, on  15, 16 and 17 July.

Principles

The draw system aims to produce the fastest three crews in each event, on the principle that no crew should be eliminated unless it has been beaten by at least three others in fair and equal racing.

Why the Draw changes

The number of races and progression format are based on the number of crews that actually race in each event.  But this often changes between the time entries close and the start of the Championships, mainly as a result of withdrawals.  In some cases a withdrawal leads to a complete change in the draw and progression format for an event.

During the Championships, registration for each event closes 90 minutes before the first timetabled race in that event.  Only then is the draw for that event finalised and published.

So it is very important that, even after they have registered, crews check on the final draw for their event  (on the notice board, on big screens, or on http://res.britchamps.org).

Major changes to the draw will occur when the number of crews racing drops from, for example, 13 to 12, or from 7 to 6.  The only exception is that if we receive 25 or more entries for an event we will run a Time Trial, even if the entries later drop below 25.

Such changes are as frustrating for competitors as they are for us, especially when they only happen on race day.  But we are only able to update the draw when crews confirm to us that they have withdrawn, or when registration closes, and some are better than others at keeping us informed.

So if you enter the Championships and then decide to withdraw, please respect your fellow competitors and let the Entries Secretary know as soon as possible about the change (email to britchamps.org using the prefix entries@).
  

Lane draws and the weather

Lanes are allocated randomly for Eliminators, Time Trials and straight Finals.  If an event involves progression to a next round (or Final), then lanes are allocated based on the finish position of each crew in the previous round.  Normally this is done in a chevron (V-shaped) pattern so that the faster crews are in the centre lanes.

If the weather conditions are likely to affect the perceived fairness of the racing lanes, we constantly monitor the course conditions, race results and weather forecasts, and if necessary will amend the lane draw for all events other than Eliminators. Typically this involves changing from a chevron to an echelon (slope) pattern, with the winning crews from the previous rounds being given the more sheltered lanes.

We aim to avoid changing the lane draw more than once in a day, and less than 60 minutes before the scheduled time of a race.

If weather conditions mean that we have to cancel or postpone racing, we may have to use an emergency draw or run extra Time Trials.  This means that it always best to race as fast as you can in each race, rather than playing tactical games to try and get a preferred lane in a later round of your event.

Real-Time Updates and Results 

Throughout the Championships, from midnight on the Thursday night, the regatta system automatically feeds the latest draw, race results and subsequent lane draws to our online results service.  This website is compatible with mobile phones.  It can be found at... 

res.britchamps.org