High Point, North Carolina – The 2016 High Point Autumn Rowing Festival attracted thousands of rowers and spectators to Festival Park at Oak Hollow Lake on Saturday.
After a brief delay to the start of racing due to early morning fog, spectators thronged the banks of the lake to watch almost 450 rowers in 151 boats from 20 different clubs, universities and high schools from as far away as Annapolis, MD to Atlanta, GA.
The rowing festival, now in its third year, attracted a number of marquis college names, including local favorite High Point University, as well as NC State, Wake Forest, and Davidson College. Event officials Mandy Greene and Jeanne MacPherson say they have plans to lure in ACC powerhouse programs from Virginia, Clemson, Duke and UNC Chapel Hill in 2017.
“High Point is now established as the convention center for rowing in the region,” says Greene. “There is no other event venue in the Carolinas that can match Festival Park at Oak Hollow Lake for spectator viewing, parking, lake access for rowing shells, and local hotels. We now have an established regatta management team of volunteers with a track record of running a large rowing event so there is no reason why we cannot double the Festival next year.”
Also competing on Saturday were Masters (adult) and youth programs from Atlanta, Raleigh, and Charlotte.
HPRC – 2016 Fall Regatta from Carolina SkyWorks on Vimeo.
The head racing course for the Festival is one of the most unique in rowing in that it requires the crews to steer around multiple turns including a 180 degree turn ‘Around the Duck.’ The ‘duck’ is an inflated rubber duck almost as tall as a three story building. Unfortunately, the duck tipped over for afternoon racing but this didn’t diminish the enthusiasm of the rowers.
Opening racing on Saturday was the men’s youth eights, which saw the squad from Atlanta dominate. High Point got tangled up with Raleigh’s Triangle’s ‘B’ boat on the turn around the duck, which delayed both crews from finishing.
High Point coach Gene Kininmonth, who witnessed the boats collide, said it was the result of High Point crews having perfected the turn to such a degree that crews entering the turn behind them could not react quickly enough to turn as quickly and so ended up T-Boning the High Point crew.
High Point was involved in an even more serious boat collision several events later in the women’s youth varsity eights. Having passed the crew from Belmont prior to entering the turn around the duck, High Point then executed a quick 180 degree turn only to have the Belmont crew smash its bow directly through the side of their boat. Fortunately, no rowers were injured in the collision. With the risk of their shell taking on water, the High Point rowers were quickly rescued by a safety launch as the Belmont crew continued on to finish the race. Atlanta won in convincing fashion ahead of Triangle.
Race officials will widen the turn in 2017 to avoid similar collisions in the future.
Six of the High Point Crew quickly recovered from the shock of the collision to later win the J16 girls eights event over Triangle.
High Point youth crews also won the Men’s Youth 4X, and mixed middle school eights event.
In collegiate racing, High Point University held off NC State to win the men’s varsity eights. HPU also won the women’s varsity eights race over Davidson College.
In Masters racing, High Point (average age of 50) showed a dashing display of skill and stamina to win the Burton Whicker Cup over Greensboro (average age 38). High Point ‘s Masters women (average age 47) finished in a close second place Carolina (average age 40) but ahead of Greensboro and B-boats from Carolina and High Point.
Greensboro Masters won the Mixed Masters eights, and the Masters Maiden Eights events.
