USRowing Announces Creation of Masters Head Race National Championship for 2012

May 17, 2011

USRowing, Cleveland Rowing Foundation and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission are excited to announce the creation of the USRowing Masters Head Race National Championship, the organizations announced on Tuesday. The inaugural event will be held September 16, 2012, on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio.

“The advent of a masters head race national championship will provide a new competitive opportunity for a growing segment of USRowing,” said USRowing Chief Executive Officer Glenn Merry. “Cleveland is optimal for the inaugural regatta with its central location and history as an enthusiastic community that supports sporting events ranging from amateur to professional. The Cuyahoga River presents a challenging course of turns and twists under a vibrant urban backdrop, where the sport can be showcased to a new audience of fans and friends watching along the banks.”

While the exact racing program will be announced at a later date, the regatta will feature racing in both sweep and sculling events in all of the master’s age categories.

Currently home to the Head of the Cuyahoga, the 5,000-meter course involves strategy, curves, and fun. In addition to five major river turns (including an S-bend), gorgeous views of the Cleveland skyline are situated throughout the course. The river provides competitors with a pictorial history of Cleveland starting at the West Third Street Bridge.

“We are honored to host the first USRowing Masters Head Race National Championship at our new home on the Cuyahoga River, Rivergate Park,” said Theresa Gang, Executive Director of the Cleveland Rowing Foundation. “We challenge the best masters rowers in the country to participate in this event as it rotates to Cleveland every Olympic year.”  

Over 200 years old, the city of Cleveland has become a growing sports, tourism and convention destination with such attractions as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Great Lakes Science Center.

“The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is thrilled to be partnering with the Cleveland Rowing Foundation on the creation and hosting of a unique event. The rowing event will bring tremendous excitement and economic impact to our community. We appreciate USRowing giving Cleveland this opportunity” said David Gilbert, President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.  

About Cleveland Rowing Foundation
The mission of the Cleveland Rowing Foundation (CRF) is to promote and share the athletic, health, educational and social benefits of rowing throughout Greater Cleveland and to work in concert with community partners to enhance the recreational quality of the Cuyahoga River. Rivergate Park, CRF’s rowing facility, preserves public access to the Cuyahoga River as a vacant, industrialized site transformed into an urban waterfront park. The Cleveland Rowing Foundation is celebrating its 22nd year and is a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, visit http://www.clevelandrows.org.

About the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
The mission of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is to measurably enhance the economy, image and quality of life in the Greater Cleveland community by attracting and creating significant sporting events and activities. The philosophy of the Sports Commission sets it apart from others by operating as an economic and community development organization utilizing sports as a vehicle to forward other community agendas. The organization takes the unique approach of becoming a management and financial partner in each event with the goal of producing events that are more successful in Cleveland than other cities in which they have been held. Since 2000, the Sports Commission has been responsible for attracting over 100 sporting events, contributing to more than $300 million in economic activity. Visit www.clevelandsports.org for more information.

About USRowing
USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s official suppliers include Boathouse Sports, Filippi, Croker Oars, Rudy Project, Concept2, Nielsen Kellerman, PowerHTV and Ludus Tours. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation and its corporate sponsors, ANXeBusiness Corp and Voxer. For more information visit www.usrowing.org. USRowing has joined forces with Team Arnstein to help ensure the U.S. team’s success leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games under a new corporate sponsorship campaign, The Row to London. For more information, please visit www.teamarnstein.com.

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Allison Frederick

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