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Rules of Racing

  1. General
    1. Any crew who fails to observe the Rules and Regulations herein will be disqualified.
    2. Each Standard Dragon Boat crew can be comprised of a maximum of 28 persons, being:
      Team Leader               1 
      Coach                         1
      Athletes                    26
      Total                        28
      Each Small Dragon Boat crew can be comprised of a maximum of 16 persons, being:
      Team Leader               1
      Coach                         1
      Athletes                    14
      Total                        16
    3. The Team Manager and Coach may not participate in the competition.
    4. If a Drummer or a Steersman is not able to attend the competition, they may only be substituted by reserve paddlers.
    5. All boats used by the athletes shall be provided by the Organizing Committee, but teams are welcome to use own paddles (according to IDBF- International Dragon Boat Federation spec 202a paddles), and subject to verification by the OC. Athletes or crews are not permitted to make any modifications or put in additional equipment on the race boat. The allocation of boats and paddles to each crew shall be at the sole discretion of the Organizing Committee. The Organizing Committee will not be responsible for any equipment failure during the race and each crew is advised to carefully check the boat and paddles allocated to them before racing.
    6. All crew members must follow the instructions of the Organizing Committee at all times.
    7. The Coach must accompany the crew to the Roll Call Area for roll call. The Team Manager will be responsible for liaising with the Organizing Committee and represent the crew at the prize presentation ceremony.
    8. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to refuse any crew participating in the race at their sole discretion.
  2. Safety Precautions
    1. Each athlete must be able to swim at least 100 meters.
    2. Each athlete shall be solely responsible for his or her own safety during official practice sessions and during the races. The Organizing Committee or any other individual or organization connected directly or indirectly with the races will not be liable to any incident such as death, injury, damage or loss incurred.
    3. Personal life jacket may be worn by an athlete, but this does not relief the crew from complying with rule 2.1.
  3. The Crew
    1. Each standard dragon boat can carry a maximum of 1 Drummer, 1 Steersman and twenty (20) Paddlers (for small dragon boat ten (10) Paddlers).
    2. Each crew will be entirely responsible for their conduct and comply with the rules of the race.
    3. Each crew must wear their crew uniform/shirt during the races. Should there be any commercial publicity on the uniform/shirt; the design must be submitted upon registration for approval. Only after the design has been approved, may the commercial logo be printed on the uniform, however the sponsor logo cannot be over 15x15cm or bigger than the crew’s name.
    4. If more than one team from the same organization, company, institution or sports organization are taking part in the same competition category, then each team must wear an obviously different coloured racing vest to distinguished from the other teams of the same organization, company, institution or sports organization.
    5. The maximum number of participants in each crew is 22 (for small dragon boat is 12), with the minimum being 20 (for small dragon boat 10), including 1 Drummer and 1 Steersman, to participate in the race.
    6. There is no restriction in crew composition in the Open Class, but men cannot participate in Women’s Class.
    7. Paddlers, Steersmen and Drummers cannot join in another crew of the same race and must comply with point 9 of the Race Program and Guidelines.
  4. Marshalling
    1. All crews must assemble in the Roll Call Area 20 minutes before the start of the race.
    2. Crew identity checks will be carried out by Race Officials in the Roll Call Area and crew members must be able to produce identification upon request. If the identity card has been lost, a fee of MOP120 (one hundred twenty Patacas) or USD15 (fifteen American Dollars) will be charged to the athlete for the re-issue of the card.
    3. All crews must embark according to the Boat Marshal’s instructions.
    4. All crews must use the boat and lane allocated by the Organizing Committee.
    5. None of the crews will be permitted to choose which boat to use and must race in the lane allocated to their boat.
    6. Once the crew has embarked, it must leave the boarding pontoon immediately and proceed to the starting area, warm-up area or designated area as per judge’s instruction.
    7. All crews proceeding to the starting area must keep clear of the course and must not interfere with any race which is in progress. Boats proceeding to the starting area must keep away from the race course until all the boats that are taking part in the preceding race have gone pass.
    8. Should any crew offend point 4.6 and 4.7, an additional five seconds will be added in their results of the respective race.
  5. Starting Procedure
    1. All crews must be positioned at the allocated lane at the start of each race.
    2. All crews in the starting area must follow the instructions of the Race Starters.
    3. At the starting line, there will be equipment located near the Drummer and the Steersman. They should touch or hold the equipments with their hands until the Race Starter finishes the announcement “ARE YOU READY, ATTENTION, GO”.  It will be considered as foul start if they release the equipments.
    4. If the Drummer hits the drum or makes a sound between the verbal signal “ARE YOU READY” and the boozing of the horn, or paddlers make any movement with the paddles, it will be considered as a false start.
    5. When the Race Starter finishes “GO” and at the same time gives the starting signal with a horn, the race officially begins.
    6. If the Race Starter considers that any crew has committed a foul start or violated any other regulation, a repeated short horn will sound to signal the restart of the race, meaning that all crews will have to return immediately to the starting line.
    7. In the case of a false start, on the first time, a yellow card will be exhibited to the respective lane as a warning; and on the second time, any crew who violates the regulation (even if the crew is committing a false start for the first time), a red card will be exhibited to the respective lane and the crew will be disqualified. The race will continue without conducting a third start.
    8. It is the responsibility of the Team Manager or the Coach to explain clearly to their crew members the above starting procedure.
  6. Race Conduct
    1. The proper course for each boat is a straight line from its starting position to a corresponding point at the finish line. Each boat must race on its designated lane that is distinguished by signaling buoys. Each race is supervised by the Race Umpire who will follow the race in a vessel, and will warn any boat that remains in its lane without advancing. The crew that persistently ignores the warnings made by the judges will be disqualified.
    2. In case of any boat crossing to another lane, interfering with the normal progression of another boat and/or causing the collision between two or more boats, the Chief Official, after discussion with the Race Umpire, has the right to disqualify the crew at fault.
    3. If an accident occurs affecting the normal progression of one or more teams, severely affecting the race or resulting in concrete interference with the whole competition,  the Race Judge can stop the race at any point, even if it has begun normally. In this case, the Chief Official can command the repetition of the race.
    4. If the collision affects the race results, the Race Judge can command one or more crews to repeat the race before the start of the next race.
    5. The Drummer must remain seated at all times during the race. He or she must rhythmically beat the drum from the 50m point to the end of the race. The Race Umpire will warn the Drummer who fails to do so.
    6. After each race or training, the crews must immediately return to the embarking area and return all equipment to the Organizing Committee. A fine of MOP5000 (five thousand Patacas) or USD650 (six hundred fifty American Dollars) will be imposed on the offender or the crew who intentionally damages the boat or the equipment. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to demand the offenders to pay for the cost of the repairs.
    7. All dragon boat races’ crews can only race in a sitting down position (except the Steersman). Any crew who fails to do so will be disqualified.
    8. Crews should finish the race in 4 minutes; the Organizing Committee has the right to demand the crew who cannot finish the race within this time to leave the course, to avoid disrupting the start of the following race.
  7. The Finish
    1. The finishing line is defined by a proper sign “F”.
    2. The race is considered finished when a crew crosses the finish line with the tip nose of the dragon boat.
    3. The ranking of each race and its respective timing will be determined by the Official Jury whose decision shall be final.
    4. When there is more than one boat crossing the finish line at the same time and a winner cannot be identified, in the Heat the concerned teams will have to repeat the race, whereas in the Repechage, Semi-Final and Grand Final, the winner will be determined by the times/results obtained by these teams in the immediate previous race;
    5. The race is considered finished when a crew crosses the finish line with the tip of the boat, and the same number of crew members from start to finish.
  8. Protest & Appeals
    1. After the finished race, if a crew wishes to protest against another crew, the Team Manager must present the complaint to the Chief Official who will present the case to the Competition Commission. Appeals concerning the result of the race should be presented not later than 10 minutes after the official announcement of the results.
    2. The Competition Commission will only accept a protest having received a duly completed protest form together with a protest fee of MOP1000 (one thousand Patacas) or USD130 (one hundred and thirty American Dollars). The protest fee will be refunded to the participant should the protest be granted. Protest forms may be collected at the Roll Call Area.
    3. The respective Team Manager must present the completed protest form to the Race Secretary positioned at the Jury Office located near the finish line.
    4. If the Team Manager wishes present an appeal to the Juries Commission, having received the written statement from the Competition Commission, he/she must do so within 10 minutes.
    5. The Team Manager must present the written statement from the Competition Commission to the Juries Commission together with an appeal fee of MOP2,000 (two thousand Patacas) or USD260 (two hundred and sixty American Dollars). The Juries Commission will remit the appeal’s result in written to the Competition Commission and to the respective Team Manager.
    6. The decision taken by the Juries Commission shall be final, and must be respected by the participating teams.
  9. Discipline
    1. Should any crew or crew member use violence or threatened the official judge or staff, or in anyway impede them from their duties, will be disqualified perpetually from participating in any dragon boat race in Macau.
    2. A MOP5000 (five thousand Patacas) or USD650 (six hundred fifty American Dollars) fine will be imposed on the crew or crew member, who intentionally sinks or overturns the boat. Further, the Organizing Committee reserves the right to disqualify the crew or crew member.
    3. Both infractions in terms 9.1 and 9.2, besides the payment of the fine, can result in the team’s restriction to participate in local races for one year or perpetually according to the gravity of the infringement.
  10. Equipment
    1. All boats used by athletes are provided by the Organizing Committee. The allocation of boats and paddles to individual crew shall be at the sole discretion of the Organizing Committee. Teams are welcome to use their own paddles, subject to prior verification and approval by the OC. If own paddles are used, teams should submit them for verification on the day before de race, between 15:00 to 18:00, at Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre. After approval, a sticker will be placed on the paddles by the OC. The Organizing Committee will not be responsible for any equipment failure during a race and each crew is advised to carefully check the boat and paddles allocated to them before racing.
      • Any sitting pad or device for the Paddlers must be made of soft material, to the extent that it should not be thicker than 2cm, not longer than 50cm, or wider than 30cm.
    2. All crews are not permitted to make any modifications or put in additional equipment on the race boat:
      • A plastic container will be provided by the Organizing Committee to remove water from the boat, other additional pump or device of any kind is not permitted.
      • No electronic devices, mechanical devices, and telecommunication devices such as mobile phone will be permitted on the boat.
      • No material of any kind should be spread on the boat.
      • If rule a, b or c of point 10.2 is violated, the team will suffer a time penalty or be disqualified.
      • Should an accident occur during the race, and the boat is damaged, the reserved boats will be used.
  11. Rules of the Race
    The current rules of the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) shall be applied. All regulatory details not mentioned in this document shall be determined by the rules of the IDBF, and in case of dispute, the English version shall prevail.

Note : The Organizing Committee reserves the right of final explanation in this Rules of Racing.