What penalties can an umpire impose?
Rule- South Africa
- Rowing South Africa
- RowSA Rules of Racing 2020
- Regattas
- Umpires
- All ages
- 2020/21
- Officials
Under Rule 7.1, an umpire or the jury may reprimand, or penalise, rowers, coxswains or people accompanying them who behave in an unsporting or improper way or break the rules:
| Penalty | Effect |
|---|---|
| Warning (yellow card) | Two yellow cards in the same race become a red card |
| Exclusion (red card) | The crew can't row in that race |
| Disqualification | The crew can't row in any event at that regatta. Presumed appropriate for flagrant or intentional breaches of the safety or fairness rules |
| Relegation to last place | For racing in an underweight boat (exclusion if it happens again in the same event) |
Typical yellow cards:
- Not at the start ready to row two minutes before the start time.
- Causing a false start (as identified by the aligner).
- An interference or clash in the first 100 m, if the umpire stops the race.
Principles:
- Penalties should, in principle, follow a previous warning. A collision can lead to exclusion without one.
- If interference happened before the umpire could warn the crew, a lesser penalty may be given.
- Restoring a disadvantaged crew's chance of winning comes first. Penalising comes second.
Also prohibited during a race:
- Receiving or sending processed data or communications electronically in the boat. The penalty may be exclusion. Raw data such as speed, GPS, heart rate and stroke rate may be collected.
- Coaches or anyone else giving the crew instructions or advice.
Updated 22 Oct 2026