The Dogwood Junior Regatta will be in Oak Ridge from April 30-May 1, 2016. Pictured above from left are an Atlanta Junior Rowing Association crew preparing to race in Oak Ridge, an Atomic Junior Rowing racing crew, and youth rowers from Asheville Rowing Club preparing to launch. (Photos by Explore Oak Ridge)
Junior rowing, for those under 19 years old, has grown by leaps and bounds in the southeastern United States during the past 10 years. Whether due to the extensive opportunities for rowing college scholarships or the general improvement in quanity and quality of rowing programs offered, junior rowing is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing sports in the nation.
This weekend, Oak Ridge will welcome about 2,000 junior rowers from all over the Southeast and Midwest to compete in the Dogwood Junior Regional Regatta. The regatta is one of the largest in the Southeast.
A crew’s performance at the event will be considered heavily for seeding purposes at the USRowing Regional Championship, where rowers compete to qualify for the Junior National Championships.
“If you’re a junior rower (from the Southeast) you’ll want to be in Oak Ridge this weekend,” said Shannon Moore, head coach of Atomic Junior Rowing in Oak Ridge. “It’s going to be the best opportunity for crews to test their speed prior to the regional championships. This regatta will inform coaches on how to train for the weeks leading to regionals, and (it) can be the difference between qualifying for nationals or not.” [Read more…]
