Dear Friends,

There is not long now to wait before our meet up, we are very excited to welcome you all  to our splendid Florence.

 First of all we would like to apologise for our lack of information regarding the transfers and the schedule in the time that we had planned.  As mentioned on our website there are many road works in progress, as you will be able to see for yourselves, the work on the new tramway which has changed the viability and direction of the roads and as a consequence delayed all the programs we had made.  As you can well  imagine all of this has created enormous problems. Unfortunately this does not depend on us, but we would like to reassure you that we are doing everything possible to clarify this situation with the local government and the transfer routes will definitely be advised before your arrival.  Would you please  kindly check our  website regularly for this update.

As is normal for all sporting and non sporting events, the very first thing to do  for all participants  is to register themselves and be issued with their ID CARD.  At the  Registration you will also get your race packs.

• In order to be able to participate in any of the activities offered by the Festival it will  be necessary to show your ID CARDS, which you must have with you at all times.
• There will be no access to any of the activities of the Festival for those people who have not registered as a paticipant of the Festival.

Registration will be held on the ground floor of Palazzo Vecchio  in the Sala d’Arme  from Tuesday July the 3rd to Thursday July the 5th from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

On Friday the 6th the Registration desk will be open from 10.30 a.m. until 3.00 p.m

As already said in order to contribute to a more efficient and  speedy registration, team leaders  alone are kindly requested to register all their team participants by delivering the following sets of 3 documents:

• Passport or copy thereof (READABLE) of all participants
• original waivers or copy thereof (READABLE) of all participants
• original health certificates or copy thereof (READABLE) of paddling participants (paddling BCS and paddling supporters)

The above 3 groups of documents must be delivered in order of the personal ID code of each participant.

Your co-operation with this process will be truly appreciated.

We would like to remind you that anyone who does not have a valid medical certificate (not legible, or properly filled out and signed) will not be able to race.  The Organising Committee has decided to give participants with invalid health certificate the opportunity of registering as supporters so that they do not loose their paid up registration fee but above all to give them the chance of participating in the Festival.

In the SALA D’ARME  you will find :

 – REGISTRATION DESK  for registering everyone, where the team leader will hand over all the documents, accompanied by a maximum of 2 people inside the sala d’arme.   Outside  the building the others can be waiting to pick up their race packs.  We ask your co-operation in this so that we avoid confusion inside the registration room.

– PENDING REGISTRATION DESK,  in the case of outstanding funds or reimbursements you will be directed to this desk, in the case of money due you will be able to pay in cash or with a bankers card.

ONLY AFTER PAYING ALL OUTSTANDING AMOUNTS  WILL YOU BE ABLE TO  REGISTER THE ENTIRE TEAM.

– MERCHANDISING DESK, Exposition only.  As outlined on our website you can pick up the products purchased online at the race venue  on the 7th and 8th of July at  MERCHANDISING booth, of course you can also buy there the products.

–  PONTE VECCHIO EXPERIENCE – this is exclusively for the teams which have the right to  this experience.  Here you can complete your booking by paying the amount established.

– ACCOMMODATION DESK  for those people who have booked their accomodation through ENIC.

– TRANSFER DESK  where you will have access to the transfer system. Everyone who has not  booked through ENIC will have to go to the transfer meeting point.

*********

 COMPOSITE TEAMS: you will find the crews lists and their training sessions times scheduled on July the 6th inside each Team account on the left column.

FESTIVAL VENUES

 As you will know the laws regarding public security have intensified due to the various events over the past years making security measures much stricter, which force us to comply with regulations for all the  occupied areas.  In order to carry out every phase of the manifestation in the best possible way, we really need your co-operation and patience.  All of the areas occupied  by the participants  must be cordoned off, the entrance to the said area  will be  controlled by qualified security personnel and each participant will gain access by showing their ID Card.

TEAM LEADER & STEERS MEETING at 3.30 pm on July the 6th at the Auditorium al Duomo, Via de’ Cerretani, 54/R

This meeting will serve to explain in detail the way in which the races will take place, the steers and team leaders are warmly encouraged to attend this meeting to ensure the smooth  execution of the  races.  Everyone must show their ID card in order to gain entrance.  The Race Heat  Schedule  will be available at the end of this meeting.

PINK PARADE: meeting time 5 pm at Piazza Pitti on July the 6th

We kindly ask you to be at the meeting point in Piazza Pitti well in time so that you gain  entry in the  area  set aside for us by showing your ID CARD , take your position in a swift  and orderly manner behind your Nation’s  flag.  The teams will be lined up by nationality inside the  area and in alphabetical order by team.  Each team should bring the banner with its name which will be given to the team at Palazzo Vecchio at  the Registration.

At 5.30 pm the speaker will begin to call the Nations and the Pink Parade will begin the procession in the heart of Florence passing over the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno to reach Piazza Signoria.  You will be assisted in this parade by your Ambasssadors and volunteers.

OPENING CEREMONY – Piazza Signoria on July the 6th

The teams will be able to gain access to the destined area by showing their ID card to the security personnel.  There will be only one entrance so we kindly ask you to have your ID Card around your neck, to facilitate identification.  Unfortunately for security reasons it is not possible to bring seating for everyone therefore we have reserved a small space for  people  who need  to sit or that  have  disabilities.  We invite those people who have  problems walking or particular needs not to participate in the Pink Parade  but to come directly to Piazza Signoria where they will find seating.

CLOSING CEREMONY – in the Athletes Village on July the 8th

Only those people who are registered and are inside the  village are able to attend  this  ceremony .

After the ceremony there will be an aperitif party where we will eat and drink together before saying our goodbyes.

RACE VENUE

There are no reserved parking lots in the area of the athlete’s village  and anyone coming by  car to the race venue will not be able to park in the area near to the village but should park on the other side of the river in an area called Isolotto.

The tents reserved for the teams do not have locked cupboards, there will  be a table and some chairs for each gazebo.  The teams can decorate the gazebo as is normal  for  the IBCPC Festval.

RACE RULES:

During the event there will be two types of races: BCS team races, and supporter races.

The BCS team races will be in 4 rounds and be carried out as follows:

• Each team will participate in four rounds of races: two on Saturday (round #1 and round #2) and two on Sunday (round #3 and round #4)
• The team placements for round #1 will be assigned arbitrarily
• No two boats from the same club will be assigned to the same heat in round #1.
• Boats in round #2 will grouped according to their finish times in round #1
• Boats in round #3 will be grouped according to their fastest finish times from round #1 and round #2,
• Boats in round #4 will be grouped according to their fastest finish times from rounds #1,2 and 3.
• Those teams that did not have a time posted from a previous round(s) due to non-completion of the round will be assigned subsequent heats/rounds using a time that is slower than the slowest time registered by all the other teams.
• After round #1, subsequent rounds will begin with the teams posting the slowest times and finish with those with the fastest times

The supporter races will be in one round according to the following rules:

• Each team will participate in one race
• The heats will be arbitrarily assigned
• Teams from the same club will be put in different heats, if the numbers allow

******IMPORTANT INFORMATION*****

Access to the village is possible from th 4th of July and only to those people in possession of their ID card.  Duplicates of the ID Card will not be released so please keep yours safe.

• All communications will be made over the loud speakers and only in English. Please pay attention to these announcements.
• For all help needed there will be an info point in the center of the village.
• During the practise sessions and the races it is obligatory to wear a life jacket. In the area where the boats are,  there will be life jackets and paddles for those  people who need them.  All the items taken on loan must be replaced immediately after use,  to the same place they were taken from.
• Each landing stage has two ramps, one for getting into the boats and the other for the descent. For the embarkation and disembarkation on the landing stage the crews must embark one at a time, therefore the embarking crew can only go onto the landing stage once the exiting crew has completely left the platform.  In any case access to the landing stage is regulated by appointed personnel.

Specific information for the races

• The races will all be 500 meters
• The races will be held in a sequence of one every 8 minutes.
• The call to boat marshalling will be made by the number of the race. Each team will be able to see this  on the race program which will be given out at the info point.
• The access to boat marshalling in the embarking area is reserved exclusively to the team called on the loud speakers.
• All the participants of the race called must go to the boat marshalling with their ID cards, these will be taken into custody by the personnel who are on duty at the embarkation.
• Once the control has been effected and following the indications given by the personnel on duty the participants must go to the landing stage corresponding to the lane of the assigned race.
• After embarking, each crew must go to the waiting area to the ascending lane which will take them up to the starting point and wait there for the signal to  begin the ascent to the race zone. During the ascent it is forbidden to go into the race area, stop, accelerate or  try out
• When the starting judge calls the crew for the beginning of the race they must go to the lane which has been assigned to them, by the side of the landing stage. The number of the lane is on that landing stage.
• Once the race is over each crew must go to the landing stage from which it has departed, specifically the one with the race lane number which has been assigned to it. The landing stage must be approached in the same direction as the race.

Please click on the following link:
https://ailonews.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/dragon-boat-festival-resource-guide2.pdf

To find lots of useful information –  this booklet has been prepared for you by the American International League of Florence Onlus (AILO) to help you during your stay in Florence.  AILO is responsible for your team of Ambassadors.

We thank you in advance for following all the indications given, your co-operation is essential to the successful outcome of our Festival and that everything goes according to plan.

Thank you

The Florence Organizing Commiitte

SEE YOU IN FLORENCE 2018! 

Dear friends,

The date of the Festival is fast approaching, and we have many news items and updates for you.

NEWS

• We are thrilled to announce that from March the 1st you will have the opportunity to discover the PREVIEW OF THE EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE PRODUCTS FOR SALE from the 2018 IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Florence Festival, and with online purchases you will have the benefit of special reduced prices.
  Click on http://www.florencebcs2018.org/merchandising
• COMING SOON the 2018 COMMEMORATIVE PADDLE!
  The 2018 commemorative paddle, created by the Florence Organizing Committee, FIRENZE IN ROSA Onlus, and manufactured by Hornet Watersports, will be a unique paddle and it will only be possible to buy it in the occasion of the 2018 Festival.
  The new Hornet STING model (IDBF license #3523) is the model we have chosen for the 2018 commemorative paddle. The STING Dragon Boat paddle empowers you to perform at your best. IDBF approved, this carbon fiber paddle is strong, lightweight and meets all the criteria for international competition. You can book it on-line, and then pick it up here in Florence. We kindly ask you for a little more patience… The commemorative paddle will be available for purchase on-line at the beginning of April on the Hornet Watersports website only. We will update you on the release date of this much-anticipated special paddle.

• We will also offer a special experience of paddling under the PONTE VECCHIO… We will send a specific email at the end of March to advise which teams are eligible to enjoy this very and exclusive experience. Please visit our news page of July the 7th, 2017 http://www.florencebcs2018.org/6-luglio-2017-inizia-il-countdown/

*****VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION*****

PARTICIPATION REGISTRATION
Registration for PADDLING people is definitely closed.
From now on only supporters that are not paddling can register, for further details (costs, deadline, etc..) please see Bulletin No.2.

LOGOS – ADVERSTING/TEAMS’ SPONSOR – MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

1. It is prohibited, under any circumstances, to use and/or reproduce, also in different colors, the 2018 IBCPC Dragon Boat Florence Festival logo and the IBCPC logo for any promotion activities, merchandize or any other purpose.
2. If your team wishes to advertise a sponsor you can put your sponsor names and/or logos on your paddling t-shirts. It will not be allowed to bring sponsor branded products or to put sponsors banners with their brand name around the tent area or in any other place at the Festival.
3. Teams can sell their own items with their team logo, without any reference to Italy 2018. Sales must only take place from the team tent and the items allowed are gift cards, jewelry, small trinkets, team t’ shirts and caps. Teams may sell goods online before hand for collection at the event, but these items must fall within the categories above. We will update you in detail on sales regulations next April. These special events are often policed by the local financial authorities, so please be aware that you must follow the stipulated criteria and you must issue receipts for sales of goods.

WITHDRAWAL and REPLACEMENT

Any person who withdraws from participation in the Festival may be substituted by a team-mate of
the same category and qualification without any additional costs by 15th May 2018, and the participant personal data should be modified directly on the team account of the registration system.
After 15 May 2018, any participant changes will be charged an administrative fee of Euros 20 for each change. If a participant withdraws and cannot find a substitute, he/she will forfeit the entire registration fee.

REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE FOR FULL TEAMS

1. Send an email to info@florencebcs2018.org Please include in the subject line the team USER code and the team name in the Subject line, and the name and ID of the person who dropped out and the name of the substitute.
2. Accredit the new paddler into the Team account (photo, waiver, health certificate -if she/he a is paddling participants- and qualification).
3. Remove the name of the person who dropped out from the Nominal Entry, clicking on you will see the dropdown list changing the name of the one who dropped out with the new name.
4. After this change go back to the Entry List page and delete the entry of the person who dropped out by clicking on the file on fire.
   In case of replacement of participants completely registered by January 31st , You will see that on the Payment Summary page the accreditation will be at 350 euros after the new accreditation,becausethischangehasbeendoneafterthe1stofFebruary. Ofcourse,wewill reset it after the full accreditation will be completed, and the amount will be reset to the previous amount. So you do NOT have to pay an additional amount for the change if done correctly in the correct time frame.

REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE FOR INCOMPLETE TEAMS
In order to make a replacement you have to write to the following email address replacement@florencebcs2018.org Please include the team USER code and the team name in the subject line, and the name and ID of the person who dropped out and the name of the substitute.

REGISTRATION

Registration will be held at Palazzo Vecchio (Piazza Signoria n.1) from Tuesday July the 3rd to
Thursday July the 5th from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. In order to contribute to a more efficient and
quicker registration, all team managers are kindly requested to register their team participants (BCS
and supporters) delivering original documents (waiver and health certificates) in ID code order, your
cooperation with this process will be truly appreciated.
The registration desk on Friday the 6th will be from 10.30 a.m. until 3.00 p.m. This shorter opening time frame is due to the opening of the 3 days Festival with the Congress in the morning of the 6th July and the Pink Parade in the early evening of the 6th July. It would be very much appreciated if all teams will try to register before July the 6th, quite simply because we will be very busy and there will
be a great deal of congestion in the palazzo on the 6th July.
At the registration desk we will deliver the race packs and all the necessary identification to attend
the Festival.
The race program will be delivered to Team managers at 5.00 p.m. Friday the 6th at the registration
desk in Palazzo Vecchio.

PADDLES UP and GET READY FOR JULY!!!

For any questions, please write to info@florencebcs2018.org, with the team USER code and the team name in the Subject line.

SEE YOU IN FLORENCE 2018!

www.florencebcs2018.org

www.facebook.com/florenceBCSfestival2018/

https://www.instagram.com/florencebcs2018_firenzeinrosa/

https://twitter.com/florencebcs2018

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=florencebcs+2018

URGENT REMINDER

Please read this reminder carefully and follow all of the information exactly.

DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING REGISTRATION: 30th November, 2017

Reference Bulletin No.3 http://www.florencebcs2018.org/bulletin-no-3-2/

All teams must complete the registration of participants within the date above and pay the full registration fee due. You must also have created the personal data for all participants with the uploading of participants photos and the waivers of legal responsibility and the permission to use images, including qualifications. If you have a full crew you have to insert the nominal entries.

RECAP: 6 steps

1) Insert PERSONAL DATA

2) Insert PHOTO

3) Download, sign and upload the WAIVER

4) Download, sign and upload the HEALTH CERTIFICATE (only paddling participants)

5) Insert QUALIFICATIONS:
BCS Paddler or SUPPORTER paddler – right, left, drummer or steer)
Non paddling supporter, team leader, press, etc..

6) ONLY FOR FULL CREWS insert NOMINAL ENTRIES

The health certificates for all paddlers (Paddler and Paddling Supporter) must be completed and submitted by the same date. ONLY after you have uploaded the health certificate, will you be able to qualify participants as Paddlers and Paddling Supporter. The health certificate must be correctly filled in and signed by a licensed medical doctor/physician. Every participant will be individually responsible for his/her health conditions.

After November the 30th, any unpaid balance of registration fees will forfeit the down payment made and participation in the Festival.
All data and documents (waivers and health certificates) must be submitted by the 30 November 2017.

If not uploaded by this date, the registration will be cancelled and the down payment will be forfeited.

***** NOVEMBER 30TH IS THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER PADDLING PARTICIPANTS. At the discretion of the Organizing Committee it will be possible to complete teams or register new ones (IF SPACES REMAIN).

STEERS AND DRUMMER

Reference Bulletin No.1 , No.2 and No.4 http://www.florencebcs2018.org/bulletin/

All teams must qualify each participant as a paddler, steer, drummer, or supporter (paddling or non -paddling), etc.. as noted above you will only be able to qualify participants, particularly paddling participants ONLY AFTER UPLOADING THE HEALTH CERTIFICATES.

Every complete crew must be made up of 22 paddlers, that is 20 BCS paddlers, 1 BCS steer and 1 BCS drummer. Teams that have been established for less than 2 years prior to the date of the Festival (established after July 2016) will be given an exemption if they do have their own steer, and we will do our utmost to provide a BCS steer for these teams. As noted in our previous bulletins, should a team consist of less than 22 paddlers (including steer-person and drummer), when the registrations must be completed (November 30th), then they willlose the downpayment of people missing and will lose the space reserved as a full crew, therefore the remaining paddlers will fall into the category of a composite crew. So it is critical that you have your full quota of 22 paddlers (unless you have already advised that you are not a full crew) noted and registered.

If teams under Early Bird status do not complete all participants’ data and upload the waivers and health certificates for all paddling participants, then they will lose the discounted price of 50 euro per person and the team will be included in the category of Individual teams without full crews, therefore the standard registration (300 euro per person) will have to be paid.

Composite crews will be formed EXCLUSIVELY by the Festival Organizing Committee.

SUPPORTERS and ACCESS TO THE RACE VILLAGE

Reference Bulletin No.1 , No.2, No.3 and No.4 http://www.florencebcs2018.org/bulletin/

SUPPORTERS (paddlers and non-paddlers) registration is exactly the same as the registration for the BCS paddlers. Only registered supporters and registered team members may access the race site. Therefore in order to have access to the race village all accompanying people/supporters (paddlers and non-paddlers) have to pay the same registration fee (300 euros per person) as the BCS paddlers. The supporter fee is a traditional aspect of the IBCPC Festivals; it has been the same in all previous Festivals, supporters have paid the same fee as the paddlers.

Supporters have the same services as the BCS paddlers, they will be included in off-water activities and meals with the teams. Please be aware that there will be NO organized or guaranteed zone from which to observe the races or visit the athletes village if you are not a fully credentialed participant.

If you are a Non-credentialed (registered) accompanying person you will not be considered a supporter by the Festival organization and none of the services provided to credentialed participants will be available to you and the access to the athletes village will be denied.

Dear BCS paddling friends,

Here is Bulletin No.4 with just a few updates in light of the fast-approaching deadline of 31 May 2017; this is the date that will close the EARLY BIRD registrations with the payments due from those teams that successfully registered under the Early Bird scheme last October.

Teams are able to check their registration payment status under their Team Account in the “PAYMENTS SUMMARY” section. Each team registered under the Early Bird scheme, however, will receive or has already received a summary e-mail from the Organizing Committee with the balance amount to be paid in order to complete the Early Bird Registrations. This amount payable takes into consideration any unpaid bank charges that accrued when the initial funds were received. The e-mail also includes the text that should be used in the “Note” section of the bank wire that will identify the payment to us.

Please communicate to your local bank that the international bank wire transfer should be effected as “OUR”; this means that all charges taken by the local bank, by the bank receiving the wire (the Festival bank) and all intermediary banks must be taken from, and paid for, by the sender’s account.
Please remember that all payments must be made ONLY by bank wire in EUROS and with the IBAN code that will be given in the Welcome e-mail after the online registration and is provided on the team account in the PAYMENT SUMMARY section. Please refer to Bulletin No. 3 for the payment methods and procedures.

We would also like to remind you that every complete crew must be made up of 20 BCS paddlers, 1 BCS steer and 1 BCS drummer. Teams established less than 2 years prior to the date of the Festival will not be required to have their own steer.

The Organizing Committee, from a special pool we are creating, will provide steers and drummers for the composite teams.

****If your team has steers and drummers who would be available, and who would very much like to be a part of the volunteer pool of steers and drummers, then please contact us at the following email address info@florencebcs2018.org

Please keep in mind that if a team consists of less than 22 paddlers, including steer-person and drummer, when the balance of the payment is due, the team will lose the discounted price of €50 per person and the team will be included in the category of Individual teams without full crews, therefore the standard registration (€.300 per person) will have to be paid. For further details, refer to Bulletin No. 2.

Regarding the registration of SUPPORTERS (paddlers and non-paddlers): remember that the registration is exactly the same as the registration for the BCS paddlers. The registration fee for SUPPORTERS is also euro 300 per person. We remind you that SUPPORTER registration can take place at the same time as the team registration. For further details, see Bulletin No. 3.

It is important to note when thinking about whether to register supporters or not, that only accredited participants (paddlers and supporters) will have the chance to view the races from the athletes’ village, and will have access to the race site and all the services provided by the registration fee. (See the Bulletin No.2).

For the Festival SOUVENIR BOOK, which will be in the race pack, we need your help. We ask all teams to send us their own team presentation (no more than 10 lines) with photo and possibly a logo, both to be in high resolution. The material must be sent to  info@florencebcs2018.org by September 25, 2017.

We would like to thank you for your kind cooperation, if you have any questions, please contact us at info@florencebcs218.org.

SEE YOU IN FLORENCE 2018!

Dear Friends,

We were absolutely thrilled by the success of the Early Bird registrations, in just a few days all of the Early Bird slots were taken.
This surprised and surpassed our highest expectations. It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm from Pink Ladies all over the world. When registrations re-open in January 2017, we are sure there will be an equally enthusiastic response.

Following in the IBCPC tradition of previous festivals, we want to reiterate that the Festival is an international event that is not a competitive event, but rather is an event that celebrates those who have had a diagnosis of breast cancer. This is a participatory event, everyone receives a medal, and everyone is a winner.

Currently, 61 teams have requested an account, 52 teams have successfully registered, but only 47 of these were eligible for the Early Bird discounts. The registered teams are from the USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND and ITALY.
Registration is temporarily closed while we verify and account for all the payments received to date.

In addition to the 61 teams above there are already another 26 teams waiting for registration guidelines that will be sent in January. PLEASE ensure you secure your place by registering as soon as you can after registration re-opens on January 2017. The Standard Registration will be open until 30 June 2017, unless all the slots available expire before then, as happened for the Early Bird Registration. Once we reach the total number of 120 teams registered to participate in the Festival, any further team registrations will be at the discretion of the Organizing Committee.

1) THE OPENING OF STANDARD REGISTRATION
PLEASE NOTE: Bulletin no. 2 information of the opening date for STANDARD REGISTRATION (€ 300 per person) has been CHANGED. STANDARD registration will open on Friday 20 January 2017. All registration information must be input using the online platform. Access to the registration platform should be requested in the REGISTRATION section.

Please follow the instructions in Bulletins no. 1 & Bulletins no. 2 in addition to the online registration pages.

The details of the Standard registration can be found in Bulletin no.2 point 3.

Registration for incomplete team individuals and/or groups (these will be formed into mixed crews) also opens on Friday 20 January 2017. All teams registering individual paddlers as part of mixed crews (from 1 to 21 paddlers) must be members of IBCPC.

As was done during Early Bird registration, SUPPORTER (paddlers and non-paddlers) registrations can be made at the same time as a team registration, with a €100 down payment for each Supporter. Once all the slots for teams have been filled through registration, non-paddler supporters can be registered, as per Bulletin no. 2 point 3.
There will be a Supporter’s race with crews formed exclusively by non-breast cancer paddling supporters. Once registration re-opens in January there will be a facsimile health certificate under the REGISTRATION section. This certificate will also need to be completed in order to register as “Paddling Supporter”.
Please keep in mind that full payment of the registration fee (after registration and receipt of the down payment) is 30 November 2017. After this date, any unpaid registrations will forfeit the down payment and participation in the Festival.
The names of all participants for whom a down payment has been made must be input by 30 November 2017. The health certificates for all paddlers (Paddler and Paddling Supporter) must be completed and submitted by the same date. ONLY after you have uploaded the health certificate, will you be able to register participants as Paddlers and Paddling Supporter. Please remember that you have to input the names into the website program and NOT in e-mail communications.
Templates one for the health certificate, and one for the waiver of legal responsibility and the permission to use images can be downloaded from the Festival website under the REGISTRATION section beginning 20 January 2017.  The final deadline for submitting these documents is 30 November 2017. If not received by this date, the registration will be cancelled and the down payment will be forfeited.
The health certificate is mandatory under Italian law for paddling participants. Please note that it certifies the overall good health of the individual and it is valid for one year therefore you should submit it after 8 July 2017. The certificate must be correctly filled in and signed by a licensed medical doctor/physician. Every participant will be individually responsible for his/her health conditions.

2) FEE PAYMENTS
Many of the Early Bird-registered teams did not include bank charges, fees and expenses in their bank wires. This is probably because their local banks did not indicate or know to charge ALL fees and expenses to the sender account. In order to avoid this difficulty for the next rounds of registrations, please communicate to your local bank that the international bank wire transfer should be effected as “OUR”; this means that all charges taken by the local bank, by the bank receiving the wire (the Festival bank) and all intermediary banks must be taken from and paid for by the sender account.
Please remember that all payments must be made ONLY by bank wire in EUROS and with the IBAN code that will be given in the Welcome e-mail after the online registration.

Please follow the instructions for the bank wires and include in the NOTE section of the wire instructions: “Team USER code, number of paddlers, number of supporters”. These are the ONLY instructions that should be in the wire Note. Please do NOT put in the names of the individuals who are making the wire transfer and do not write long notes. The only information we can use to identify your payments and to ensure that your registration has been accepted is the information requested above.

Registrations will be complete and finalized ONLY after the Organizing Committee receives in the Festival bank account the down payment. Usually, an international bank wire transfer takes 4 to 5 working days. Remember please that your registration status can be seen in the section Payment summary of your team’s account. You will not receive a specific e-mail regarding your payment. Please refer to your Team Area information on the website.

3) REGISTRATION procedures can be found in Bulletin no. 2 point 6.
IMPORTANT: We would also like to stress that all communications will be sent ONLY to the main team e-mail contact. Consequently, each team should please check the first page when you request an account that the main team e-mail is the one you want communications sent to. You can modify the main team e-mail address if you want. If you do not make any modifications to the e-mail shown on the screen at the time of account set-up, this will confirm your use of the main team e-mail as it appears. When the team account is first set-up, the team can modify any of the information found on the team account page. Subsequent modifications to this main team e-mail address after registration can only be done by contacting: info@florencebcs2018.org, with the Team USER code and the name of the team in the Subject line of the e-mail.

4) PENALITIES for withdrawing
The teams must provide the names of all the participants online (NOT by e-mail) and fully pay the outstanding registration fees by 30 November 2017. As stated above, any team that has not paid in full by 30 November 2017 will be cancelled from the Festival entries and will forfeit the down payment. After 30 November 2017 and before 15 May 2018 any person who withdraws from participation in the Festival may be substituted by a teammate without any additional costs, and the participant personal data should be modified directly on the team account of the registration system. After 15 May 2018, any participant changes will be charged an administrative fee of Euros 20 for each change. If a participant withdraws and cannot find a substitute (among team members or supporters), he/she will forfeit the entire registration fee.

5) ACCOMMODATIONS
Florence is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world; consequently, there is a very large choice of hotels (all categories) available. Accommodation listings will be available in January 2017. Any accommodation and tourist service that you may need can be made using our travel agent partner who is working with the Festival team in order to provide the best deals and the highest quality of comfort to the participants of the Festival. More information will be found in the TOURISM section of the Festival website from January 2017. Don’t miss this opportunity to book the best offers reserved for Festival participants.

PADDLES UP and get ready for January because many teams want to take the slots for the last available crews! Please make sure you lock-in your place by registering as soon as you can.

For any question please write to: info@florencebcs2018.org, with the team USER code and the team name in the Subject line.

Dear Friends,

Registration is just around the corner….
1 October 2016 online registration opens and the Festival dates are announced!

The Organizing Committee reminds you that all the information for participating in the Festival and the registration must be done through the online platform. This can be accessed after you have signed up on www.florencebcs2018.org area REGISTRATION.

Good to know:
1) The Festival will host 120 crews at the event
2) There are 2 kinds of registration: EARLY BIRD and STANDARD

• A. Early Bird registration is €.250 per person and Standard Registration is €.300 per person.
• B. A team’s registration down payment is based on 22 persons (20 paddlers and 1 steer-person and 1 drummer) on the team’s roster.
• C. Both registrations down payments are €.2.200.
• D. The total fee due (detail below) for Early Bird is a minimum of €.5.500 based on 22 persons. The total fee due (detail below) for Standard Registration (non early bird rate) is a minimum of €.6.600.
• E. Supporters are also eligible for Early Bird Registration as long as they belong to a team with a complete crew (20 paddlers and 1 steer-person and 1 drummer). Only over-eighteen supporters may participate in the races reserved for supporters.

3) DEADLINES FOR REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT
1 October 2016: REGISTRATION OPENS

1 October 2016 – 31 December 2016: EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION (discounted fee of €.250 per person (minimum 22 paddlers, including steer-person and drummer). During the Early Bird period, teams can register at €.250 per person, a discount of €.50 off the standard fee of €.300. A non-refundable down payment of €.100 per person (with a minimum of €.2,200 down payment each team) must be made at time of registration. This discounted rate is only valid until 1,231 persons have registered or 31 December 2016, whichever comes first. The team will be registered for the event once the full down payment is received.
The deadline for payment of the Early Bird balance is 31 May 2017.
When the balance of the payment is due and a team consists of less than 22 paddlers, including steer-person and drummer, they will lose the discounted price of €.50 per person and will be included in the category of Individual teams without full crews (please see below), therefore the standard registration (€.300 per person) will have to be paid.
Examples:

• A) When the balance is due and a team is not able to reach 22 paddlers as they have only reached say 16 paddlers, and have paid €.2.200 as a deposit, they will have a higher balance to pay at €.2.600.
• B) When the balance is due and a team is not able to reach 22 paddlers and have only 6 paddlers, they will have paid €.2.200 as a deposit, their balance will be €.0 and they lose the down payment of €.400.
• C) When the balance is due and a team is not able to reach 22 paddlers as they have only reached say 16 paddlers and then they add 6 supporters, and they have paid €.2.200 as a deposit, they will have a higher balance to pay at €.4.400.

Should a team desire to register more than 26 paddlers, including steer-person and drummer, the additional team-participants will be allocated to help fill the mixed crews therefore they benefit from the discounted fee of Early Bird Registration.

1 January 2017 – 30 June 2017: STANDARD REGISTRATION (€ 300 per person). During the Standard registration period, the non-refundable down payment is € 100 per person (with a minimum of € 2,200 down payment each team) until the maximum number of crews is reached (120 crews). The team will be registered for the event once the full down payment is received.
1 January 2017 – 30 June 2017: REGISTRATION FEE FOR INDIVIDUALS FROM TEAMS WITHOUT FULL CREWS (€ 300 per person). It is possible for individuals without complete crews to register by paying a non-refundable down payment of €100 per person, and pay the outstanding balance by 30 November 2017. Please remind each participant that they must be a member of an IBCPC affiliated team even if that person is registering as a single participant.
When the full registration of 120 crews has been reached it will be possible for supporters to register.

30 November 2017: deadline for paying the balances of the registration fee. All the names of the participants should be input by this deadline. Non-payment of outstanding registration fees after this date will result in forfeiture of registration and the down payment.

1 July 2017 – 31 January 2018: it is possible to complete teams or register new ones (if spaces remain) at € 300 per person, until all slots are taken.

1 February 2018 – 1 April 2018: it is possible to complete teams, or register new ones (if spaces remain) at € 350 per person, until all slots are taken.

After 2 April 2018, at the discretion of the Organizing Committee, it will be possible to register for non paddling people at €.350 per person (due to late registration it will NOT be possible to include the race package, medal and Festival 2018 T-shirt).
Note: participants under 14 years of age (born after 2003) can register at a lower price, a fixed price of €.180, but they will not receive the souvenir bag. Participants under 3 years ago (born after 2014) can register for free entrance.

4) PAYMENT

– Payments will only be accepted in EUROS;
– All payments must be made only by bank wire using the IBAN and/or SWIFT codes, which will be sent to each team after online registration. The bank wire should contain the team username that will be supplied by the registration system in the NOTATION section of the bank wire.
-Any transfer fees and fees associated with deposit of the funds must be paid for entirely by the team. The amount that is effectively credited to the Organizing Committee’s bank will represent the amount paid by the team.
5) WHAT IS INCLUDED IN REGISTRATION

1 practice session between Wednesday and Friday before the races. This session must be booked through the website after the team’s full registration fee is received.
Saturday and Sunday 2 dragon boat races each day
Saturday and Sunday lunches at race site
Supporters’ race
Opening ceremony
Pink Parade
Sandy Smith Global Race
Flower Ceremony
Closing ceremony with aperitivo party
Race package
Medal
Festival 2018 T-shirt
Festival Programme
Name badge
Reserved athlete area
Team tent
Banner with team name
Access to the activities in the athletes’ area
Complimentary water at the race site
Transfers to the race village from the predetermined meeting points
Ambassador for each team
IBCPC levy fee

6) DRAFT FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Tuesday: sign-in and delivery race package
Wednesday and Thursday: sign-in and race package; practice
Friday: sign-in and race package; practice and briefing for captains and sweeps, IBCPC Congress, Pink Parade followed by Opening Ceremony
Saturday: races
Sunday: races, Sandy Smith Global Race, Flower Ceremony, Closing ceremony and aperitivo party!

7) REGISTRATION
Registration is carried out only on the Festival website. There are two different paths to registration: teams already IBCPC members and teams who need to join IBCPC.
Teams already members of IBCPC:

• 1. Follow the instructions for “IBCPC member teams”. Choose the country and the team name and then fill in the form with all the required information. By filling out the form and submitting the request, the team will receive an e-mail that confirms receipt of the request.
• 2. The Organizing Committee will verify the completeness of the request and the team will receive via e-mail the information to sign into the registration system.

Teams not yet members of IBCPC:

• 1. Follow the instructions for “teams not yet IBCPC members”. Choose the country and then fill in the form with all the required information. By filling out the form and submitting the request for membership, the team will receive an e-mail that confirms the forwarding of the request with instructions for paying the IBCPC membership fee ($100).
• 2. Once the membership fee is paid, IBCPC staff will verify the completeness of the request and the team will receive the information to sign into the registration system via e-mail.

Once registration sign-in information is received:

• 3. The registration fee down payment must be paid by bank wire, indicating the username assigned in the credential e-mail. The fees will not be able to be paid before receiving the username.
• 4. Once the down payment is received and registered by the Organizing Committee, the teams can continue with the preliminary registration for the Festival with the number of crews reflected in the down payment paid (one team every €2,200). During this step, the number of the participants available for mixed teams should not be indicated.

8) TEAM PHOTOGRAPHS and DESCRIPTIONS: All teams must provide their team photo and the description of the team for the Festival Programme.

9) PADDLES and FLOATION VESTS: Available for those participants who travel without paddles and/or vests.

Questions? Contact us at info@florencebcs2018.org

SEE YOU IN FLORENCE 2018!

Dear Friends,
FIRENZE IN ROSA Onlus, the Florence Festival Organizing Committee, is busy laying the foundations for an unforgettable festival and a fabulous week of events in 2018 that is expected to break all records of attendance ever. We are working hard in order to complete the Festival’s website, which is already open at: www.florencebcs2018.org. In autumn 2016 you will be able to find details about the on-line registration, hotels, transportation, Festival activities and local attractions as well as a wide range of information about Florence. In addition, you can follow the ramp up to Florence 2018 on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/florenceBCSfestival2018/) and on Twitter (https://twitter.com/florencebcs2018)

In order to participate in the 2018 IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Florence Festival please take note of the following requirements:

1)   Paddler participants must be breast cancer survivors

2)   Your team must be an IBCPC member in order to participate in the Festival, verify your membership and check it out at www.ibcpc.com

3)   Each paddling participant must furnish a health certificate (you will find an example on our website)

4)   Each participant must submit an authorization to use images and personal information as well as a waiver of legal responsibility (you will find examples on our website)

5)   Each team must consist of a minimum of 22 individuals, including drummer and steers person (sweep), and a maximum of 26 participants. Any additional participants, or non-complete teams, will be inserted into the mixed team category. Drummers and steers persons (sweeps) can be available to the mixed teams.

The races are in 20-person dragon boats over a 500-meter course.
On-line registration will be open on the 1st of October, 2016. All participation questions, preliminary registrations and participant registrations must be done exclusively through the Festival website.

Registration is (euros) €300 per person. There is a non-refundable initial payment of (euros) €100 per person, with a minimum initial payment of (euros) €2.200 per team. The team is registered for the Festival at the moment the full initial registration payment of €2.200 is received.
There is a discount of (euros) €50 per person for the first teams that register, up to a total limit of 1,231 participants (paddlers and supporters).

SEE YOU IN FLORENCE 2018!