The USRowing Masters National Championships is in Oak Ridge from Thursday to Sunday.
The regatta is hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.
The event draws competitors who are 21 years old and older from all across the United States. For many rowers, it will be their first big regatta in two years, a press release said. The regatta was last hosted by ORRA in 2017.
Racing will run each day from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Setup for the four-day regatta began on Saturday, August 7. Teams began to arrive Tuesday, August 10. and practice Wednesday, August 11.
During the regatta, heavy traffic is expected around Melton Lake Park and along Melton Lake Drive, the press release said. Expect cars to be parked along Melton Lake Drive. Melton Lake Park will be closed to non-race parking. The boat ramp at Melton Lake Park and the ramp just upstream of the park will be closed for this event, which has a permit from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Melton Lake Greenway will remain open to the public.
“Please be aware of congestion and use caution along the rowing course, especially at Melton Lake Park,” the press release said.
Melton Lake will be a strict no-wake zone, patrolled by TWRA and regatta officials, from the area upstream of Calhoun’s restaurant and downstream to the UT Battelle Rowing Finish Tower, the press release said. Boaters are asked to allow extra time and use caution if they plan to traverse the racecourse and to do so at idle speed.
In 2017, there were almost 1,500 crews racing from 125 clubs in 29 states and foreign entries from Canada, Germany, and Mexico. While COVID lead to the cancellation of the 2020 spring and summer races (including the 2020 and 2021 spring training teams), events have opened up this year, and organizers expect close to the same numbers again this year.
ORRA has hosted many of the long-time regattas this season, including the Cardinal Invitational, Dogwood Juniors and Masters, USRowing Southeast Regional Championships, the American Athletics Conference Championships (AAC), and the Oak Ridge Invitational Regatta, the press release said. For more information or questions, visit ORRA.org or contact the Oak Ridge Rowing Association Regatta Director Matt Kaminski at [email protected].
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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