KROC

KwaZulu Natal Rowing Officials Commission (KROC) attend to the administration of regattas in the province. Officials from KROC attend events in KZN, at national and international level.

The first step in becoming an official is to attend an official’s course, upon completion of the course, students may elect to write the officials exam. The required pass mark is 75% but candidates achieving 60% are invited to an oral examination and the assessor may determine that they are eligible to pass. The exam may be written as many times as the candidate wants to.

After passing the exam, candidates become Intermediate Officials and are assessed by their peers during the course of two years at regattas. Once competence has been determined the official is confirmed with National Status. Some officials elect only to be eligible for certain tasks for instance non-water, or not in the Judges Box. These officials are awarded the status National Official (the area they have chosen) for example: National Official (Water Only). Officials competent in all areas are awarded the designation National Umpire.

An official retains their national status until the year in which they turn 70, upon which mandatory retirement is applied. In KZN, however, we value the vast knowledge that these officials have attained and encourage them to participate in regattas within the province for as long as they choose to. In order to retain the umpiring licence an official must either perform a set number of duties per year (as determined from time to time in the Rules of Racing) or attend an Umpiring Seminar at least every four years.

International Umpiring

After a minimum of three years as a National Umpire an official may choose to write the FISA (International) exam. The candidate must write an exam of approximately 5 hours and a pass mark of 75% will earn the candidate a place in an oral examination. The candidate must be less than 61 years of age on the 31st of December of the year of the examination. The number of attempts at passing is very strict. Upon failing the first time, the exam may only be attempted after a year has passed. If the candidate fails a second time, a period of three years must elapse before the candidate can write again.The exam may only be re-written twice after which a failing candidate is permanently ineligible.

The successful candidate is awarded a FISA International Umpiring Licence and may be invited to attend international regattas all over the world. The pinnacle of this career is being invited as a Member of the Jury for the Olympic Games. To retain a FISA Umpiring Licence, an umpire must attend an International Umpiring Seminar at least every four years and be a National Umpire in good standing at their national federation. An International Umpire must retire in the year in which they turn 70.