The Big 12 Rowing Championship is in Oak Ridge this weekend, Saturday, May 13-Sunday, May 14, 2017. Pictured above is a race during the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Big 12 Rowing Championship is in Oak Ridge this weekend.
It’s the third-straight season the Big 12 Rowing Championship will be at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge, according to big12sports.com.
“Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia, along with affiliate members Alabama, Old Dominion, and Tennessee will meet May 13-14 to battle for the conference crown,” the website said.
You can learn more, including about team seeding and how to watch the races online, in this story on big12sports.com.
Here’s a press release on the Big 12 Rowing Championship from Explore Oak Ridge:
The City of Oak Ridge, in partnership with Oak Ridge Rowing Association, is proud to host for the third consecutive year, the 2017 Big XII Rowing Championship on May 13 and 14. Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia—along with affiliate members Alabama, Old Dominion—and Tennessee will battle for the conference crown.
The Big XII Champion will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Rowing Championship at the end of the month. Saturday’s races will have the preliminary heats while Sunday is the finals.
The Melton Lake rowing course suffered extensive damage two weeks ago due to torrential rains creating a strong river current. Athlete safety concerns forced the cancellation of the Dogwood Juniors Regatta.
“There was definitely concern in the aftermath of the Dogwood Juniors cancellation if the rowing course could be reinstalled in time for the Big 12,” said Lisa Kendall, director of sales for Explore Oak Ridge, “but so many members of ORRA; the rowing community, including UT Rowing and Explore Oak Ridge; and the community at large gave of their time, and spent many many hours on the water clearing debris and installing the new course.”
“Many dedicated people have worked tirelessly in the last two weeks to ensure Big 12 has a great venue and course to host the championship,” said Sarah McAuliffe, regatta director for ORRA. “There was never a doubt in my mind that we could not rally and get the course ready in time for the Big 12 Championship.”
The championship will be streamed in its entirety on Big12Sports.com. The stream is free to the public. Fans can also follow along on Twitter @Big12Conference and @Big12DN for live coverage in Oak Ridge.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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Angi Agle says
Thanks to everyone who helped get the rowing course back into operation after the devastation caused by last month’s rains and release of water over Norris Dam! The devastation was unbelievable, but Oak Ridge came through!
johnhuotari says
I had hoped to do a story on what the rowers and volunteers had to do to put the course back together, but I haven’t had a chance to yet and may not be able to at this point. Seems like they got it back together fairly quickly, although it was probably a lot of work. I know I saw Jim Rogers out there working.