The Division I Women’s Rowing Committee debated the merits of introducing automatic qualification to its championships selection process during its recent annual meeting.

Viewed by the committee as a way to increase sponsorship of the sport, the issue of adding AQ may be one of timing. Division I has asked that its championship bracket be expanded to 16 full teams (each team would include a I Eights, II Eights and Fours boat) beginning in 2009. While the pending expansion, coupled with the six conferences that would immediately qualify for an automatic bid, makes AQ an attractive enhancement to the championships, other critical factors are also in play.

Rowing committee chair Tom Bold, an associate athletics director at Brown, said the committee wants to grow the sport but is uncertain how AQ would work if the number of eligible conferences ever exceeded 50 percent of the championships field.  “Once we get nine or 10 conferences, how do we decide which eight would receive them?” he said.

In addition, opponents to automatic qualification are most concerned it could lead to a watered down championships field. Although the committee understands the concerns, Bold said the group believes that if 50 percent of the field is automatically set while the other half is chosen through at-large berths, the best teams will still earn bids to the championships.

“I’m not sure the committee is as strongly in favor of a field with more than 50 percent being AQs,” said Bold. “It would be ideal if we could agree with not more than 50 percent of the field being AQs.”

Bold said the group could submit a proposal in time for the Championships Cabinet’s September 2008 or February 2009 meeting. The earliest that automatic qualification would be introduced is at the 2010 championships.

Race format

Also in anticipation of a larger bracket, the committee changed the race progression for the championships. Beginning next year, the top two boats in each of the Friday morning I Eights, II Eights and Fours heats will advance to the semifinals. Boats placing in third through fifth or sixth place will advance to one of six repechages (two races in each of the I Eights, II Eights and Fours) on Friday afternoon.

Bold said the new progression isn’t necessarily better than the previous one in which the top three boats in each of three heats advanced to the semifinals, but it is different. In addition to accommodating the expanded bracket, the change could also influence the venues that could host the championships.

“We’ve struggled with finding venues to host this championship because one of the requirements is a seven-lane course, which cuts out a lot of venues,” Bold said. “There are potentially more venues available that have six lanes.”

Noting that a location for the 2009 championships has not been selected, Bold said the committee discussed the notion of selecting sites on a three-to-six-year rotation. Doing so, he said, would not necessarily mean a venue would host the championships in consecutive years, but it would give hosts more time to plan the event. Consequently, the group is currently working on securing sites for 2009, but also 2010 and 2011.

Said Bold, “If we can get into a rotation that people can really gear up for hosting, that’s better for everyone.”

In other actions, the committee added two more coxswain meetings during the championships. Now, each participating team’s coxswain must attend one of the three meetings, which will be held Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. The group also clarified the selection criteria related to late-season performance by defining late season as competition that takes place within three weeks of championships selections. Finally, the committee confirmed plans to continue to assign hotels for each team after successfully introducing the feature last year.

Divisions II and III actions

The Division II Rowing Committee clarified that to be eligible for the championships, teams must participate in at least five varsity competitions against Division I, II or III programs, and that three of those regattas must be against Division II in-region opponents.

In the Division III Rowing Committee’s meeting, the group agreed to adjust the championships race schedule. Beginning in 2009, Friday afternoon heats will begin at 2:30 p.m., one hour and 15 minutes later, to allow teams who participated in the morning heats to more fully prepare.

In addition, the group clarified that each participating team is required to have at least one result against an opponent in the same racing category. In accordance with the policy, each I Eights and II Eights crew must have one result against an opposing I Eights or II Eights crew.

The Division III panel also elected Elese Lebsack of Mills as the new chair to succeed Jody Law.