Michigan rowers sweep
NewsOK video of the ARCA regatta in Oklahoma City
The American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championships have come and gone for 2010 in Oklahoma City. The event was capped Sunday, complete with a delay on the final day due to excessive wind.
When racing resumed with a shortened schedule, the Michigan Men’s Varsity 8, Junior Varsity 8 and Novice 8 swept the top spot in their respective races. But other schools had a chance to shine with Grand Valley State (Mich.), Georgia Tech, Wichita State, Kansas and Sonoma State (Calif.) posting wins.
Gregg Hartsuff, Michigan head coach and ARCA president, said he has high hopes for an event that has grown from 687 rowers to 1,150 since the regatta was last held in Oklahoma City in 2008.
“I hope in two years that we have 2,000 athletes here and 75 programs,” Hartsuff said. “It’s grown each year the last three years due in part to the generosity of Oklahoma City in helping us get off the ground.”
This movement to create a thriving rowing community in Oklahoma City goes beyond last weekend’s ACRA races. The evidence is in the construction of new boathouses along the Oklahoma River and the elite-level athletes training at Oklahoma City’s High Performance Rowing Center.
John Parker, the head coach and director of the program, has a goal to make this location the “best training center in the world . . . something other people will model.”
The program is well on its way. State-of-the art technology, such as the only dynamic propulsion tank in the world in which to train, will be located at the Devon Boathouse. The Devon Boathouse is scheduled to open this fall.
One of Parker’s athletes has made the move to Oklahoma City from Cleveland. As Aaron Marcovy trains for a national selection regatta this summer, he has an eye on making the Olympics.
The plans for rowing in Oklahoma City do not stop with the collegiate level and beyond.
Mike Knopp, the head coach of the Oklahoma City University men’s rowing team and executive director of Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, is focusing on making rowing accessible for the community.
Knopp and the Foundation are working with community high schools to bring rowing to the urban areas of Oklahoma City in a fun and accessible way. Beyond rowing, the organization is “creating a vibrant waterfront” and hoping to prove that “great cities have great waterways”.
“I think the Boathouse Foundation has done a tremendous job in making the accessibility of the sport far greater than I could have imagined,” Marcovy said of his new home. “Virtually anyone of any physical ability could come down here, learn how to row, learn to kayak, learn to bike, get out on a paddleboat, really enjoy a piece of their community.”
Also seen at: http://www.newsok.com/article/3463383
