About 5,000 people expected at US Rowing youth championships

The US Rowing Youth National Championships are in Oak Ridge again this year, and about 5,000 people are expected to attend, including athletes and their families, an organizer said Thursday.

The regatta starts Friday morning and ends Sunday afternoon. It will include about 1,800 rowers from 135 teams in 30 states, said Allen Eubanks, Oak Ridge Rowing Association head coach.

Oak Ridge hosted the US Rowing Youth National Championships last year and will do so again next year, he said.

Volunteers are still needed for this year’s regatta. Volunteers can sign up at a tent in front of the Oak Ridge Boathouse, he said.

“It’s a good way to help out and get involved in the community,” Eubanks said.

The youth championships feature rowers from 12 to 18 years old, most of them members of high school or club teams.

There will be free shuttles available for this weekend’s regatta. Sponsored by the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, the shuttles will pick up passengers in front of the former Goody’s store at Oak Ridge Mall.

Eubanks said no parking will be allowed alongside the northbound lanes of Melton Lake Drive between the finish line and Amanda Drive.

The youth championships could include 300 or more races, or a race about every seven minutes.

Eubanks said the race could have about a $8 million impact on the local economy.