The Roth Pond Regatta is a boat race held at Stony Brook University's Roth Pond. The event, held annually since 1989, [1] involves teams of boat racers working towards the common goal of getting from one side of Roth Pond to the other. What makes the event challenging, however, is the strict restriction on the materials that contestants can use.
The tradition started in 1989, when the Roth Quad Yacht Club published an article in The Stony Brook Statesman declaring the date, rules and goal of the competition. [2] The original event was supposed to take place during the 1988 Roth Quad Olympics as part of a boating/sailing section, but the olympics did not occur that year. The yacht club decided to hold the regatta as a stand-alone event which would "be the opening event if [the Roth olympics] do take place". [2]
The Roth Regatta is now traditionally held during the last Friday of April [1] and run by the Undergraduate Student Government at Stony Brook, since the absorption of the Roth Yachting club by USG.
The judging is split up between two different types of boats: Speedsters and Yachts. The difference between the two categories is that speedsters can hold a maximum of two team members. Yachts hold between three and five team members. In either category, those who start the race in the boat must stay in the boat until it crosses the finish line. This is so that, among other things, speed isn't gained by a member pushing off the boat as they leave, and so that boats entered as yachts don't finish as speedsters.
The rules for the Roth pond regatta have changed since the first. Currently, the rules state that all boats must be made of only cardboard, duct tape and paint. Any string, glue, and cellophane may only be used for decorative purposes. Initially, the rules were broad, and only barred specific materials such as styrofoam, metal, wood and glass. [2] As late as 2009, the rules allowed for cloth sails and string for construction. [3]
Boats are only eligible to race if they meet the material requirements (see above) and if they fit the dimensions given by the rules. Traditionally, these are a maximum length of 20 feet, a maximum width of 15 feet and a minimum volume of 3 cubic feet per crew member.
There are three prizes for the winners of the regatta. [3]
The Roth and Seawolf cups go to the fastest boats in each category
The best of show has an additional basis for judging. The boats that are judged highest in apparent seaworthiness, appearance and originality are considered. Costumes worn by the crew may also be judged. The design of the boat and costumes must also pertain to the specific theme of the regatta for that year. The themes for the past few years have been:
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. Matches are held several years apart on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. There is no fixed schedule, but the races have generally been held every three to four years. The most recent America's Cup match took place in March 2021.
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.
Sailing/Yachting made its first appearance as an Olympic sport at the 1900 Summer Olympics after competitions were cancelled at the 1896 Olympics. With the exception of 1904, sailing was thereafter always a part of the Olympic program. The sailing program in 1900 consisted of a total of eight sailing classes. For six classes, the races were scheduled from 20 – 27 May at the river Seine around Meulan, and several series of three races were held for the largest classes from 1–5 August on the North Atlantic off the coast of Le Havre. Approximately 150 sailors in 64 boats from 6 nations competed, including 1 woman, Hélène de Pourtalès, who won a gold medal in the 1 to 2 ton.
A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least 21 metres (70 ft) in length.
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad. With the exception of the 1904 and the canceled 1916 Summer Olympics, sailing has always been included on the Olympic schedule. The Sailing program of 1908 was open for a total of five sailing classes (disciplines), but actually only four Sailing events were contested. The planned venue of all races, named matches, was Ryde, Isle of Wight.
Rowing at the Summer Olympics has been part of the competition since its debut in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing. Lightweight rowing events were introduced to the games in 1996. Qualifying for the rowing events is under the jurisdiction of the World Rowing Federation. World Rowing predates the modern Olympics and was the first international sport federation to join the modern Olympic movement.
The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. The designation "12 Metre" does not refer to any single measurement on the boat, and is not referencing the vessels overall length, rather, measures the sum of the components directed by the formula which governs design and construction parameters. Typically 12 Metre class boats range from 65 to 75 feet in length overall; they are most often sloop-rigged, with masts roughly 85 feet tall.
San Diego Yacht Club is a yacht club located in San Diego Bay. It is located in Point Loma across from a spit of land known as Shelter Island.
The One Ton Cup is a trophy presented to the winner of a sailing competition created in 1899 by the Cercle de la voile de Paris (CVP).
The Farr 40 is a 40-foot one-design sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design in 1996 following after the Mumm 30. It was originally designed as a one design class but had some compromises in design to rate under the International Measurement System (IMS) rule. The class has held World Sailing class status since 1997.
The 33rd America's Cup between Société Nautique de Genève defending with team Alinghi against Golden Gate Yacht Club, and their racing team BMW Oracle Racing was the subject of extensive court action and litigation, surpassing in acrimony even the controversial 1988 America's Cup. Since the two parties were unable to agree otherwise, the match took place as a one-on-one deed of gift match in gigantic, specialized multi-hull racing yachts with no other clubs or teams participating. The Golden Gate Yacht Club swept the two races as their yacht USA 17 powered by a rigid wing-sail proved to be significantly faster than Société Nautique de Genève's yacht Alinghi 5. The litigation leading up to the match included which club would be the challenger, the dates and venue for the regattas, certain rules governing the regattas, and the construction of the boats.
The Twelve Foot Dinghy was designed by George Cockshott, an amateur boat designer from Southport, England in response to a 1912 design contest. It became the first one-design racing dinghy to achieve international recognition. The class was granted the 'International' status by the IYRU in 1919 and remained this status until 1964 when it was revoked by the same authority. The class was selected as the dinghy class for the Olympics in 1920 & 1928. In 1924 the French wanted to use an alternate French design.
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
Stony Brook University is the largest residential campus in the State University of New York system, with approximately 54.5% of its students living on campus. Housing at Stony Brook is issued and controlled by Stony Brook University Campus Residences, which provides 9,445 spaces in its 11 corridor style buildings, 19 suite style buildings, and 23 apartment style buildings to Undergraduate students, Graduate students, and students' families. The large majority of on-campus housing is provided to students on the university's west campus, but housing is available to those on east campus, and for Stony Brook Southampton students.
The campus of Stony Brook University is located in Stony Brook, New York, and consists of 213 buildings over 1,454 acres of land. It is the largest public university in the state of New York in terms of land area. The campus was moved to Stony Brook in 1962 after originating in Oyster Bay, New York.
The 38th America's Cup will be raced between two yachts, one representing the defending yacht club and the other representing the challenging yacht club. The defending yacht club will be the one whose yacht wins the 37th America's Cup. The challenging yacht club will either be the one which is first to issue a valid challenge to the defending club under the Deed of Gift of the America's Cup and becomes a sole challenger, or the one which wins a Challenger Series organised by the first valid challenger, which would be called the Challenger of Record.