Row Georgia - Managing My Season - How To...

Attendance Policy

The success of Row GA and each of its boats depends on the dedication of every rower. When a rower misses practice, it impacts the entire team, sometimes preventing time on the water and team practices in preparation for regattas.

Expectations: Athletes must communicate all absences directly with their coach in advance, ideally 24 hours before practice, or at least before noon on the day of practice.

Excused absences: Excused absences include documented injuries, medical excuses with doctor’s note, family emergencies, and special-circumstances academic obligations (e.g., SAT/ACT, travel-based academic competitions).

Unexcused absences: Unexcused absences include schoolwork that could be planned around, social engagements, no-shows, etc.

Excessive absences: More than 4 unexcused absences will impact boat placement and regatta participation. Excessive excused absences will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Timely and accurate attendance declarations are required for effective practice planning, resource allocation, and maintaining team commitment and accountability. 

All youth athletes are expected to attend all practices. To declare a "Not Attending" status, follow the instructions below. 

How To:

  • Declare your status: Mark "attending" or "not attending" for each practice in your BC profile. Click here to see an example.

    • If you mark attending, no further action is required.

    • If you are not attending, you must also email the coaches with the reason for your absence.

  • Changing your status: If your plans change, simply update your status in your BC profile. If changing from "attending" to "not attending," update your profile, and then email the coaches with the reason for your absence as outlined above.

Attendance Declaration:

  • Declare attendance as soon as the practice is posted on your BC profile.

  • Practices are scheduled for the season, and will take place as planned unless formal communication is issued indicating a cancellation. Practices will occur regardless of holidays or school schedules.

  • Coaches will routinely assess attendance and make adjustments to the attendance policy to maintain competitive viability, considering factors such as program size and attendance trends.

Key Points:

  • Declaring attendance is mandatory. Failure to declare your status in the BC profile is a violation of the attendance policy and will affect your eligibility for participation.

  • Attendance related emails to coaches are only to be used to provide the reason for a "not attending" status. Do not email about your absence unless you have already updated your BC profile.

  • Unexcused absences will be automatically assigned if no reason is provided via email.

  • Coaches will determine whether an absence is excused or unexcused.

  • Failure to follow the attendance procedure will negatively impact participation eligibility and practice planning.

  • Declare attendance early: Aim to declare your status at least one week in advance or as soon as the practice is posted. At a minimum, declarations must be made at least 24 hours prior to practice to allow for proper team adjustments. Of course, in the event of an emergency that falls within the 24 hours of practice, the same requirement applies, change your BC status and then email the coaches as outlined above. 

  • Rec and Dev, younger novice, are not held to the same high standards as competitive athletes with more experience in the sport. Declarations are still required across all youth programming, however, participation is not limited for Rec. Rec is a fantastic option for those that cannot meet the competitive schedule requirements. Competitive rowing is not a part-time participation sport. RGA provides a Rec option for participants who need a reduced schedule. 

Failure to declare accurately:

If a competitive athlete’s status consistently is declared one way, but does not match the athlete’s actual attendance,it  is a violation of the attendance policy and will negatively impact participation. This disrupts practice planning and demonstrates a lack of commitment to the team and the required responsibility required to be successful in a highly competitive sport. It takes less than 10 seconds to ensure the status is declared, Click here to see an example. 

Attendance directly impacts the team and, consequently, eligibility for participation. If an athlete is unable to meet the attendance policy, it disrupts training and planned opportunities for all athletes who do show up. Coaches will utilize restricting participation, up to and including roster dismissal based on attendance. Attendance is the most basic requirement to be in the competitive program. 

Why It Matters: Properly managing your attendance shows your commitment to the team. Since equipment is often used across multiple programs, even one absence can have a ripple effect, impacting boat availability and lineups for all athletes. Coaches reserve equipment around other crews based on declared attendance. An absence can have a domino effect across boats and crews. For competitive athletes, attendance significantly influences lineup opportunities. For non-competitive athletes, declaring absences helps coaches reserve the necessary equipment and plan the session accordingly. High performance crews require high performing crew members! 

Attendance and participation in land and water days are vital to the success of your team. Your attendance is the first step to becoming a better rower and better teammate. Team practices provide a solid foundation for success in any sport. However, rowing practices are uniquely tied to attendance of your full team. If just one member of a boat does not attend practice, the other athletes in that boat are unable to practice. Therefore, all athletes are expected to attend all scheduled practices (land and water days) and come dressed prepared for fluctuations in planned training provided based on the coach’s determination to allow for weather changes and staffing. 

Not attending practice can have the following effects: 1. The absent athlete does not gain skills and experience. 2. Other athletes are unable to practice.

Not attending practice may or may not have the following effects: 1. The absent athlete is removed from a boat and replaced by another athlete for practice. 2. The absent athlete is removed from a boat and replaced by another athlete for a race.

Rowing is a sport that strictly adheres to the 10,000 hour rule - the theory that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice can lead to expertise in a given domain. It takes hundreds of hours, both on the water and on land, to become proficient enough to safely and effectively succeed in rowing. Through continuous and repetitive training, RGA student-athletes develop precision and strength required to excel on the water. However, rowing is a team sport where student-athletes must work together to safely perform required techniques which are necessary to win. If an student-athlete cannot attend practice, he or she cannot practice and safety perform rowing techniques and are likely to either (a) injure themselves or others, (b) have their performance negatively impact themselves and others in their boat, (c) cause unnecessary stress for themself, others in their boat and their team, or, (d) result in a negative outcome for the boat. To ensure the success of the team and fairness toward others, student-athletes must comply with the following attendance policy.