Oak Ridge Today

More than 40 teams at Dogwood Junior championship regatta

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The Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta is in Oak Ridge this weekend on Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28. (File photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

More than 40 youth rowing teams from 20 different states are in Oak Ridge to compete in the Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta.

The regatta is Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28. It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

“These young athletes, ages 14 to 19, represent some of the best programs in the nation,” a press release said. “They’ll travel from multiple regions—as far away as Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia, and South Florida—to compete at one of America’s favorite rowing venues.”

ORRA’s Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta is the premier competitive opportunity for many teams, as they prepare for USRowing’s regional and national championships, the press release said. This year, the annual event features 1,100 athletes and more than 650 entries, from the single person scull to the coxed 8+. Racing began with time trials at 7:45 a.m. Saturday. Semi-finals are held on Saturday afternoon, and finals on Sunday over the 2000-meter course.

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Secret City Head Race in Oak Ridge

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The Secret City Head Race is in Oak Ridge this weekend, and more than 1,100 athletes will compete in more than 500 boats.

The regatta is hosted by the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. Rowing races are scheduled Saturday and Sunday at the Oak Ridge Marina. There will be athletes from major programs such as the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, a press release said.

“Spectators and fans are once again welcome to flock to the greenway ranging from Calhoun’s to the Melton Lake Park as they watch male and female rowers compete in a variety of nail-biting events,” the press release said.

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More than 100 teams register for USRowing National Championships

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The 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

There are more than 1,400 entries from 112 teams from across the United States for the USRowing Masters National Championships in Oak Ridge next week.

The championship regattas will be at Melton Lake Park in east Oak Ridge from August 12-15.

There will be rowers from as far away as Boston and San Diego.

[Read more…]

USRowing Southeast Youth Championships in Oak Ridge this weekend

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Rowers, officials, and referees are pictured above during the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The USRowing Southeast Youth Championships will be held Saturday and Sunday at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge.

More than 400 entries will be racing in the qualifying event for the Youth National Regatta for youth and teenaged rowers, a press release said. Trophies will include:

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Parking at Melton Lake Park to be closed for regatta March 13 & 14

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Rowing at Melton Hill Lake (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The parking lots at Melton Lake Park will be closed to the public during a regatta next week.

The regatta, the 2021 Oak Ridge Louisville Cardinal Invitational Regatta, is scheduled on Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14. It’s hosted by the City of Oak Ridge in partnership with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association, a press release said.

It’s an invitation-only event, and it will feature elite college women’s rowing teams who will compete in one of the first events of the season, the press release said.

To comply with ACC and Big 10 COVID-19 guidelines, this is a “no spectator” event, the press release said. As a result, the parking lots at Melton Lake Park will be closed to the public during the regatta, the release said.

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Regatta season starts next week

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The 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

This year’s regatta season will start next week with the Cardinal Invitational in Oak Ridge. That rowing competition with the University of Louisville is scheduled from March 13-14 at Melton Lake Park.

Other rowing events will begin in late April and run almost every weekend through May, a press release said.

This year, the Oak Ridge Rowing Association will host, for the first time, the NCAA Division I American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship, the press release said.

The races this year follow the cancellation of six regattas in 2020, including the NCAA Division I, II, and III Championships, the press release said.

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Atomic Rowing pair finishes 11th in USRowing Youth National Championships

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An Atomic Rowing team finished 11th in the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida, from June 6-9, 2019. The women’s lightweight double consisted of Sara Kate White, a sophomore at Maryville High School, and Veda Seay, a senior at Oak Ridge High School. (Photo courtesy Rachel Seay)

An Atomic Rowing team finished 11th in the nation at youth championships in Florida this month.

The women’s lightweight double consisted of Veda Seay, a senior at Oak Ridge High School, and Sara Kate White, a sophomore at Maryville High School. They competed in the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida, from June 6-9.

Seay and White had a fantastic weekend of racing, a press release said. Their boat placed 12th in time trials on Thursday, June 6, with a time of 7:29.200. Only the top nine teams advanced to semifinals, and the rest competed in a second-chance repechage.

Seay and White went on to win their repechage race on Friday, June 7, to advance to semifinals with a time of 7:47.576, beating a PNRA/Mercer team by about two seconds.

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Fisher, an ORHS graduate, competes in world rowing championships this week

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Local rower Kristopher Fisher participates in a signing ceremony with Temple University at Oak Ridge High School on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Local rower Kristopher Fisher participates in a signing ceremony with Temple University at Oak Ridge High School on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Local rower Kristopher Fisher, who attended Oak Ridge High School last year and signed with Temple University in February, will compete in world rowing championships in the Czech Republic this week.

Fisher and Cooper Tuckerman of Bozeman, Montana, will race in the Junior Men’s Double Sculls event at the World Rowing Junior Championships, which are scheduled from August 8-12 in Racice, outside of Prague in the Czech Republic. (You can see the start list here and the Heat 2 start list for Wednesday here.) More than 750 athletes from 57 nations are competing.

Fisher and Tuckerman swept the Men’s U19 2x at the USRowing National Team Trials in July, winning the best-of-three format handily with victories in both the first and second event, according to the Oak Ridge Rowing Association.

On July 5, Fisher and Tuckerman were tightly matched by Jeremy Wolpert of San Juan Capistrano, California, and Michael Fairley of Saratoga Springs, New York, through the first 500 meters before pulling away in the middle 1,000, finishing in 6:56.41. The second place pair finished well back in 7:08.03. [Read more…]

State grant will help with national park signs, waterfront improvements

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Pictured above during a state grant announcement at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building for national park signs and waterfront improvements on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, are, from left, Dave Jones, East Tennessee division manager of Tennessee Tourist Development; Amy New, assistant commissioner of community and rural development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch; Jody Sliger, community development director for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; and Marc DeRose, president of Explore Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above during a state grant announcement at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building for national park signs and waterfront improvements on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, are, from left, Dave Jones, East Tennessee division manager of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development; Amy New, assistant commissioner of community and rural development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch; Jody Sliger, community development director for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; and Marc DeRose, president of Explore Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A state grant of more than $50,000 that was announced Tuesday will help create interpretive signs for historic sites in Oak Ridge that are related to the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and improve the waterfront for events such as rowing, cycling, and festivals, officials said.

The $56,250 Tourism Enhancement Grant, part of the third round of grants, was announced Tuesday at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building. A few Oak Ridge officials attended, and so did representatives of the Tennessee Department of Tourism Development and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

“Through this grant, the City of Oak Ridge, in partnership with Explore Oak Ridge, will receive funds to support projects that improve some of the city’s key tourist attractions,” a press release said.

Marc DeRose, president of Explore Oak Ridge, said there are two parts to the grant. One is to enhance the city’s component of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The grant funding could be used to create interpretive signs at historic places like the Guest House and Chapel on the Hill. The interpretive signs will be accessible and include pictures and content, DeRose said. [Read more…]

Big 12 Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge this weekend

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Kansas State competed in the SIRA Championship Regatta on the Clinch River (Melton Hill Lake) in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 21, 2018. The Wildcats will also race in the 2018 Big 12 Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge on Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Kansas State competed in the SIRA Championship Regatta on the Clinch River (Melton Hill Lake) in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 21, 2018. The Wildcats will also race in the 2018 Big 12 Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge on Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 a.m.

The 2018 Big 12 Rowing Championships are in Oak Ridge on Saturday and Sunday.

The races will feature some of the top rowing programs in the country. The eight participating teams, including No. 3 Texas, will compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships set for May 25-27 in Sarasota, Florida, according to TexasSports.com.

Besides Texas, other teams competing in Oak Ridge this weekend are Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, in addition to rowing affiliate Alabama, Old Dominion, and Tennessee.

The Big 12 Championships begin at 2 p.m. Saturday with preliminary heats. Final heats start at 9 a.m. Sunday. [Read more…]

Big 12 Rowing Championship in Oak Ridge this weekend

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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. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge will celebrate new eighth rowing lane on Friday, April 28

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Rowers are pictured above on the Oak Ridge rowing course in the spring of 2017. The area that needed work to recently add the eighth lane is pictured at center-right along Melton Lake Drive. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Rowers are pictured above on the Oak Ridge rowing course in the spring of 2017. The area that needed work to recently add the eighth lane is pictured at center-right along Melton Lake Drive. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge will celebrate the new eighth rowing lane with a special dedication ceremony on Friday, April 28, the city said in a press release.

The dedication, announced by the City of Oak Ridge, will be at 3 p.m. Friday, April 28. It is expected to include state and local leaders, and it will help kick off one of the biggest rowing weekends of the season, the press release said.

The eighth rowing lane, which is now complete, has been on the city’s wish list for many years. Officials have said that it could help attract even more and larger regattas (rowing races) and help maintain the Oak Ridge course as one of the top-ranked rowing venues in the United States.

Those who attend Friday’s dedication ceremony will gather in Melton Lake Park at the pavilion across from the Oak Ridge Rowing Association and then take a short walk on Melton Lake Greenway to the new overlook for the eighth rowing lane, the press release said. [Read more…]