Date And Location: The Caley Cruisers Autumn Head of the Caledonian Canal will take place on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th November 2024. Racing will be held over 4500m on the stretch of the Caledonian Canal between Dochgarroch and Torvean – see map.

Events and Running Order: The full list of events can be found here.

Please note that the starting times for each division will depend on the number of entries and will be confirmed when the running order is published. Our aims are to i) start boating at 09:00 on Saturday but we may bring this forward to 08:45 if need be and ii) set off Division 3 on Sunday at 14:30 but no later than 14:45.

Time Only entries will be accepted at the discretion of the event organisers and we reserve the right to reject Time Only entries if there are too many entrants in the main events in each division (see event control options below).

Rules: The event will be held in accordance with the Scottish Rowing Rules of Racing, RowSafe Scotland and our local rules.

Fees: Entry fees (which include the Scottish Rowing levy and Scottish Canals event charges) are £12 per seat for senior crews and £10 per seat for junior crews. There is no charge for coxes. Junior crews racing in senior events are charged at the junior crew rate.

Prizes: Medals will be awarded in all events which attract more than one entrant.
The Head of the Caledonian Canal trophy will be awarded to the most successful club (based on a combination of points awarded for participation and performance).

Entries and Payment:  Entries close at 11pm on Wednesday 30th October.  No late entries will be accepted. All entry fees must be paid by 23:00 on Sunday 3rd November.

Following the successful implementation of our on-line crew registration and update system last year, we are moving to an on-line entry and payment system.  An invoice detailing your entries and fees due will be emailed automatically by “Stripe.com” as part of the checkout process.  Please note that IRC’s bank details will be included in this invoice and will be different to those you may have used before so please do not use any bank details stored in your banking app.

One representative from each club should email fours@invernessrowing.uk to receive details on how to access this system.  Please note that all correspondence relating to this event will be sent to this person. They should be available to act as the single point of contact for their club, e.g. to ensure that fees are paid on time and to liaise with club coaches should there be any questions regarding their club’s crews.

Any crew whose entry fees have not been paid will not appear on the Running Order when it is published.

Substitutions and Refunds: All substitutions/scratches must be made online.  Details will be emailed to the club representative who submits your club’s entry.  This system will be open as soon as we publish the running order and will close 1 hour before the start of each division.
No refunds will be given after the running order is published.

Racing licences: Clubs are reminded of their responsibilty to ensure that all entrants have a valid racing licence at the time they submit their entries and should be aware that IRC may be required to provide this information to Scottish Rowing.
Clubs can download their licence information from the Scottish Rowing membership system (go to “Club Reports” on the “Club Details” page and then use the download button to the right of “Valid members and points”). This should either be emailed to fours@invernessrowing.uk or a print out should be provided when collecting your bow numbers.

Entry List: A list of all entrants will be provided on this website once the running order has been published. This will be updated as clubs make any amendments to their crews.

Event Control Options: We expect that moving to this six division format will help to reduce congestion at the start so we intend to allow all crews to row the 4500m ‘long’ course. If entry numbers are significantly greater than expected and/or if weather forecasts indicate that it is prudent to make changes then we shall review options to reduce waiting times at the start taking into account the competitor comments from our survey in March. Please see Event Control Options for more details.

Facilities:
Toilet facilities will be provided at each of the trailer locations.
Refreshments, soup and hot food will be available from a catering unit located between the boathouse and the main car parking area.
Five shelters will be provided for competitors. These will be positioned as follows:- one at the boathouse area, two by the catering unit, one close to “T4” and one close to “T5”. See the parking map for locations T4 and T5.