Following a number of well-publicized boat scale issues in 2011, the Referee Committee has announced plans to switch to what they are calling a "scale-proof" boat weighing system.
"Scales can be inaccurate," one unnamed referee admitted, "And they can be a real pain to tear down each day and then set-up again the next morning--especially if you you need to do it early enough so no one sees you adjusting them."
Instead, referees at the so-called "standards regattas," where boat weights will be enforced, will designate one member of the jury as the "weight-caller"--and this referee will be deputized to make weight calls by eye during the course of the regatta.
"Look," said a senior referee, "Folks complain about the scale being too objective, so we decided to make it a subjective process, not unlike calling balls and strikes in baseball."
One benefit, according to USRowing, is that crews that are clearly not very fast will be spared random weight checks. This policy will allow referees to focus on crews that do surprisingly well, and those who are rowing notoriously underweight boats.
"Asking a bunch of kids who came in last with a 20 year-old shell to step on a scale is just silly, and a waste of time," said one long-time rowing official, "But if a crew in a brand new shell wins out of lane 6 on the Cooper, any experienced ref can tell you something is fishy."
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