How do starts work, and what happens on a false start?

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Be there early: crews assemble behind the start line at least 3 minutes before their start time, and are called forward into their lanes no later than 2 minutes before. The Starter may give a late crew a warning (with the same effect as a false-start warning) and a time penalty of up to 5 seconds. Commands: "Are you ready?", then "ATTENTION", then "GO" (which may be replaced by a gunshot, electronic signal or other distinct sound). The gap between "ATTENTION" and "GO" is no more than 5 seconds. Once the Starter has alerted the crews, all paddle movement in the water must stop, and movement is penalised as for jumping the start. False start: starting after "ATTENTION" and before "GO". A red flag is raised and the Starter recalls the boats ("STOP", "STOP", "STOP" or a second gunshot). It is the drummer's job to watch the officials and tell the crew to stop. The Starter then gives the responsible crew a warning, excludes it from the race, or awards a time penalty. Jumping the start: where a false start cannot be called but the Starter considers a crew gained a material advantage, the Starter may award time penalties of 2 to 5 seconds. Equipment failure: if a drummer's seat or steering arm/oar breaks off the start and up to 50 metres after it, the race is restarted if the crew stops paddling immediately and the paddlers and drummer raise their arms fully in the air. This does not cover a paddle. Damage before the start: if a crew tells officials in the start area, before being called forward, that its boat or equipment is damaged, the Starter may delay the race for up to 5 minutes for repairs. Source: Rules of Racing, January 2026 Edition, rules 9.1 to 9.12.