Supervised Minor Rowing Policy

UVRF Non-Program Supervised Minor Rowing Policy

UVRF minors up to 17 years of age (U18) who have passed the UVRF Captains Test rowing from UVRF Kendal or Fuller sites in private or club equipment outside of official UVRF programs, must be supervised by an adult chaperone in a safety launch who is a UVRF certified coach or 21+ years old, and has met other requirements specified below. The water temperature must be at least 60 degrees F. 

All minors must wear a US Coast Guard approved inflatable safety belt or life jacket (these are available to borrow at Kendal). The supervised row may only occur in the hours after dawn and before dusk. Their parent or guardian must have submitted a signed Supervised Minor Rowing Policy – Parent Permission Form (link below) to the UVRF Executive Director (ED).

The adult chaperone must be a current USRowing member on the UVRF roster with a current USRowing waiver, and up-to-date SafeSport training with certification showing on their USRowing profile. They must have watched the USRowing Safety Video (see Resources below) on an annual basis.

The chaperone must inform the ED in advance of the date(s) and time(s) of their supervised outings of U18s.

Email: executive.director.uvrf@gmail.com

Adult Chaperone Supervision From a Safety Launch 

  1. A safety launch may chaperone up to 4 minors in singles or doubles.  If the safety launch operator is UVRF pair toe certified, they may chaperone up to 4 minor rowers in singles, doubles and/or pairs. If the safety launch operator is UVRF quad toe certified, they may chaperone up to 4 minors in a bow toed quad or up to 5 minors in a coxed quad. 
  2. The adult chaperone must have a charged personal cell phone with them at all times 
  3. Every person in the safety launch must wear a US Coast Guard approved life jacket (PFD)
  4. If the engine has a wearable kill switch, it must be worn while the launch is in operation. The launch driver must wear the cord that activates the safety/kill switch in accordance with the motor manufacturer’s literature
  5. The safety launch must be equipped with:
    1. Enough PFDs for each rower under the chaperone’s care
    2. Two paddles for the coaching/safety launch itself, a waterproof First Aid kit, emergency rescue blankets, type IV throwable PFD, a sound producing device (horn/whistle), a swim ladder, boat bailer, rescue throw line, fire extinguisher and other tools as may be needed for the locality and conditions
    3. Tool kit for minor rowing equipment repair, including wrenches, appropriate hardware, tapes, tools, and materials for small repairs. Only minor repairs should be done on the water
    4. A well-serviced engine that will start and operate with minimal effort, as well as a plan in place if the safety launch runs out of fuel or breaks down
  6. All safety launches must be within view of and within hailing distance (or 900m, whichever is less) of the minors they are supervising. Special care must be taken to obey the navigational rules of our locale. In the event the launch is rendered inoperable (mechanical issue, out of fuel, etc), the adult chaperone will guide rowers to either stay with the launch or return to the dock, whichever the chaperone deems safest.

Privately owned safety launches.  If a Safety Launch operator uses their own private boat, they must have submitted a signed liability waiver and statement to the ED attesting that their boat is well maintained and will be fully equipped as detailed above any time they will be supervising minors. This attestation must be renewed every calendar year. As a reminder, everyone who operates a motorboat over 25 horsepower on New Hampshire waters must have a NH safe boating education certificate. 

UVRF owned safety launches.  Any UVRF certified coach or person 21 or older with a current NH Commercial Boat License may arrange to rent a UVRF launch to supervise minors. They must send a scanned copy of their NH Commercial Boat License to the Executive Director. They must communicate with the ED to reserve a launch to supervise minors rowing so the ED can confirm there is no conflict with program or private lesson use. When using a UVRF launch, the driver must have a megaphone, and also a UVRF walkie talkie when any other UVRF coach is also out on the river. The charge for private use of a UVRF launch is $10 per outing. When using UVRF launches, be sure to replace all borrowed equipment and keys, lock the launch and the access road gate behind you. Contact the ED for details and instructions. 

Download the Supervised Minor Rowing Policy – Parent Permission Form

Download the Supervised Minor Rowing Policy – Private Safety Launch Form

Resource links:

USRowing Safety Video (2025) 

USRowing Safety Guidelines (2022)

NH Marine Patrol Safety Handbook

USRowing Kippy Kit from Burnham