Let the judge decide: Regatta judges at work

The sun shined bright this past Saturday with a cast of blue skies illuminating over the canal. The once empty canal has now been filled with shiny silver canoes that held eager IUI rowers. It was the 17th annual IU Indianapolis Regatta and IU students swarmed the canal chanting for their favorite teams.

Chants can be heard from along the sidelines as their teammates race down the canal.

With teams of two boarding at the Blackford street bridge, rowers race to the transition zone near the Ohio street basin, where they will maneuver around the fountain and switch team members to row back towards the bridge.

As the competitors swivel across the water, points are scored by Jennifer Baughman and Kris Schuster, Regatta judges. They have been volunteering for the past four years as judges and plan to continue in the future.

Baughman and Schuster agreed that volunteering as a judge offers an experience to be downtown with the community and just a fun way to spend your Saturday morning.

“It’s a fun way to end up in the mix of everything, and we are always looking for new people to volunteer,” Schuster said.

Regatta judges spend their time along the canal keeping track of penalties while also watching for rowers safety. The judges are looking for whether rowers are staying on the right side of the canal, and making sure they don't go over the transition barrier. They also must pay attention to each boat number and ensure people show good sportsmanship on the sidelines.

“The biggest thing for penalties is people using their paddle to push off, and then not being on the right side of the canal,” Baughman said. “People going down the center or going down the left will hit other people, so we want to make sure everyone is being safe.”

Each violation offers its own different penalty. For incidents such as committing a false start, being pushed off by a team member, or not buffing or stopping into the loading dock, will result in a 15 second penalty. Other violations such as not wearing proper apparel, unsportsmanlike conduct, or not paddling to the exchange zone within the 6 minute mark, will result in disqualification.

With all this commotion happening along the canal, many bystanders from the state museum or casual strollers were intrigued by all the commotion.

Salsabil F. Qaddoura

Event staff work from a table set up along the canal during the IU Indianapolis Regatta, monitoring the races and keeping track of competitors as boats pass under the bridge.

Schuter shared, “A really cute couple earlier today, walked by and were like what is happening so I gave them a whole rundown and they sat and watched with me.”

Kaylee Dexter, Director of Volunteers and a senior double majoring in psychology and law,was responsible for recruiting, scheduling, training and supervising volunteers to ensure all event areas are fully staffed and supported before, during and after the race. She oversaw all the judges this past weekend.

“Each canoe has a painted number and a temporary race number, which can twist or fall flat during the race. Kaylee helped improve the process this year by adding spaces to log the time and canoe number, which helps match the team to the canoe,” Schuster said.

For those interested in becoming a part of next year's Regatta, stay on the lookout for a sign up sheet set to come in August, or there is more information on the Regatta website.

Mya Kalita (she/her) is a senior majoring in Journalism/ Public relations with a minor in communications. She is a writer for The Campus Citizen and for the publication, Where Words Ignite Worlds.

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