What are the Starter's duties?

Rule 97 says the Starter and the Judge at the Start ensure the correct starting procedure is followed. Under Appendix 13, the Starter must:

• Check equipment: before starting duty, satisfy themselves that the start and course equipment is present and working, including radio or telephone links with the Judge at the Start, the President of the Jury, the Judges at the Finish and the Control Commission. Also make sure crews on the water are obeying the traffic rules.
• Communicate: in principle use visual signals with the Umpire; speak to rowers in English, and the Jury member may repeat information in another language if that helps a crew understand.
• Watch the weather: consider whether it is likely to create unfair or unsafe conditions and consult the President of the Jury (and the Fairness Committee where applicable). The President tells the Starter of changes in principle at least two minutes before a start.
• Inform crews: tell crews their lane when they first enter the start zone, and the time remaining, including when five, four and three minutes remain. Check competitors' equipment and clothing.
• Sanction: award a Red Card and exclude a crew with two Yellow Cards applying to that race. They may award a Yellow Card to a crew arriving less than two minutes before the start time or not ready at the start time, and may exclude a crew arriving after the start time.
• Leave lanes vacant: if a crew is excluded at the start or does not arrive, the lane stays empty.
• Markers: instruct the platform official to place a yellow marker (red for exclusion) beside a sanctioned crew's position.
• Delays: for an equipment breakage or event such as lightning, consult the Umpire if possible, then the President of the Jury, then tell the crews the new start time, and inform the Control Commission and Judge at the Finish. Crews must ask a Jury member about changes before getting out of the boat.