Referee Tips for Rowers: Control Commission – Who is This Commission and What Do They Control?

This article is an introduction to control commission. We will be following up later with more information on the rules behind the duties of the position.

When referee assignments are handed out one that gets a mixed reaction from the refs is control commission. The reaction comes because it is the assignment that takes us off the water (bad) but puts us closer to the athletes (good). Like the rest of you, we like to see races and an assignment at control commission does not allow you to see much of the race! Control commission exists to make sure the races are safe and fair and can usually be found in a highly visible location on the regatta site, often right near the docks or the boat storage area.

The location is related to the functions of the role – checking boats and competitors. In part, the visibility of the position is one of the other reasons that we have mixed emotions about the job because control commission is often the only time some athletes will ever get to talk in person to a referee. A referee on control commission is often seen as the person who should know everything; we do our best to know about rules and races, but many questions about regatta operations are best handled by the LOC. It can be frustrating to both us and the person asking the question when we do not know the answer.  I tell referees that they need to understand that on control commission we are the first and last referee a crew sees, so our conduct and actions are highly visible.

Who is the Commission?

Control commission consists of one or more referees supported by volunteers from the local organizing committee. The duties of the commission (see the next paragraph) can be performed by non-licensed volunteers, but rule violations can only be addressed by a licensed referee. In smaller events, the commission is likely staffed mostly by volunteers, while at big events it will be primarily done by several referees working as a team.

So, What Does Control Commission Control?

In short, control commission is responsible for safety checks (bow balls, heel ties, and coxswain openings in bow loaded boats), equipment checks (boat weight, oar colors), and crew checks (uniforms, lightweight weigh-ins, coxswain weigh-ins, athlete identification; eligibility, and crew composition).  If you are surprised at how extensive the list is, that is because the duties vary with the size and scope of the regatta. At a small event, the control commission often only has time and staff to do safety checks and weigh-ins. At larger events, such as national championships, there will be as many as six referees on control commission taking care of all the duties listed.

The control commission can assess penalties for violation of rules. Most of the problems or questions raised in the control commission area, though, are satisfied through the correction of the violation (adding weight to an underweight boat for example). However, there are rules that don’t allow exceptions (lightweight maximum weights, bow balls), while others may result in a penalty (uniform violation, oar colors). 

Control commission also is the place most people come to find about schedule changes, weather reports, and file protests.

Another thing that I should mention is that in order to be fair to all teams, we have to be impartial. When we are “on duty,” we have a general policy of “being approachable but not approaching.”  We know that you have to be ready mentally and physically for your race, so we try and keep the chatter to a minimum to allow you to focus on your event – that means we probably won’t give someone we know the big hello we normally would. But we leave that up to you.

So next time you are at a regatta, stop by control commission.  If you want to talk to us, as time permits, we would love to have you come over and chat. If things are really busy, we may put you to work!