LOWELL — You may not have realized the City of Lowell has become a growing center for rowing. Well, this weekend the Mill City and the Merrimack River transform into the regional hub for a sport that appears to grabbing hold of the Merrimack Valley.
US Rowing, the national governing body for the sport, will hold the Northeast Junior District Championships in Lowell on Saturday and Sunday. At least 1,500 rowers are expected to compete. This event serves as the regional qualifier for high school/club teams in New England seeking a berth in the US Rowing National Junior Championships.
This year marks the first time the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Districts split their regional national qualifying events. Combined regional championships usually meant teams from New England traveling to New Jersey to compete.
“This was a big thing,” Lowell High assistant rowing coach Jen Bauer says of creating a separate regional championship event. “It was just a sort of push in the northeast region. The reality is there aren’t a lot of race courses that could host the event. Other coaches approached us a couple years ago, saying ‘You guys should think about hosting.’”
This weekend’s two-day event really began more than six months ago when Lowell High School put together the bid to host the Northeast Junior Championships. Once the bid got awarded to Lowell, Bauer began the long process which included acquiring permits, enlisting volunteers, and buying materials needed to set up a race course up to US Rowing qualifications.
Setting up the race course alone will take the better part of three 15-hour days, Bauer estimates. (The 2,000-meter course features buoys every 10 meters. So no, those aren’t little oil cans spread out up and down the Merrimack River).
Two years ago, Worcester hosted the joint regional event, but this year Lowell expects to have more teams for the Northeast championships than participated from both regions in Worcester.
Forty-nine squads will compete, representing eight states as well as several participants making the trip from Canada. “We’ve gone international this year, which is pretty cool,” Bauer laughs.
Bauer says the fact that so many participants will set up shop along the Merrimack River indicates the strong presence of the sport in the Northeast, saying, “It just shows that this is a long time coming.”
Area teams slated to race over the weekend include Lowell High School, Chelmsford High School, Andover High School, Greater Lawrence, and Essex Rowing (Methuen) as well as teams from the Greater Boston area such as the well-known Community Rowing Inc., as well as squads from around the state.
“For us, (Lowell High head rowing coach) Kendra (Bauer) and myself, we worked so hard to build this program up,” Bauer says. “We wanted to bring such a high-caliber event to Lowell.”
Focus on Lowell team
The event also provides an opportunity to put the Lowell High program and it’s success on display. At least one boat from Lowell High has competed in nationals in three of the last four years. Last year’s lightweight men’s four placed fifth in the nation — the fastest public school team in the nation. Lowell High has 20 almuni currently rowing in college.
It also shows the students that these sort of high-profile events aren’t just in places like Princeton, N.J., or the Head of the Charles in Boston.
“There’s also something really special about having elite races on our own course,” says Bauer, a Lowell native. “It’s right here. I just think its phenomenal.”
Veronika Platzer coached the women’s junior national team for the past four years. She is the UMass Lowell crew coach, and she works with the Merrimack River Rowing Association to run programs during the off-season.
“For US Rowing to award Lowell that bid,” Platzer says, “it has put Lowell, Mass., on the map. It’s a tremendous honor for Lowell.”
This entire weekend serves as a celebration of the rise of rowing locally. Today, the Bellegarde Boathouse along the Merrimack River will be rededicated. As part of the ceremony, the university will announce the return of the women’s rowing team to varsity status.
Platzer, who came to UMass Lowell from the University of Michigan, insists one of the reasons she came to UMass Lowell was that she considers New England a hotbed of rowing talent. This weekend is just another example.
“It’s really blooming from the bottom up instead of from the top down,” she says.
Platzer gushed about the impact of this event, pointing out that the executive director of US Rowing was in the city overseeing the setup this week.
Platzer, who is also a former member of the U.S. National Team, gives a huge amount of credit to the work done by Lowell High coaches Jen and Kendra Bauer
Saturday racing begins at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and continues until 6 p.m. Sunday, racing begins at 8 a.m. and continues until just after 6 p.m. Preliminary races take place on Saturday. Semifinals and finals will be on Sunday.
Lowell hosts this weekend’s regional, and Lowell High will also host the Massachusetts state championship next weekend, as well as the Merrimack Valley Cup the Tuesday following states. Lowell High, Chelmsford High, Westford Academy, Andover High and Greater Lawrence Tech will all compete in the Merrimack Valley Cup.
Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/sports/ci_15085295#ixzz0nvQlpJDp
