Welcome to the 2012 edition of the Sarasota Invitational

Updated Wednesday, February 22, 2012

  The latest heat Sheets are now up!      Be sure to get your on-line waivers in!

Coaches and Coxswains Meeting to be held Friday evening.

For those coaches and coxswains who are present, we will have a coaches and coxswains meeting by the grandstands Friday evening at 6:30 after the course is closed.  We plan to videotape the proceedings and have the tape available Saturday morning in the tent so late arrivals can view it.  Please try to have a representative at the Friday meeting since races will start early on Saturday and we want everyone to be prepared.

The Masters Party preparations are in full swing!   Time: 5pm to 8pm

We will have food catered by Cosimo's, one of the leading restaurants in the area, along with soft drinks, beer and wine.  To accompany it all we will have music from a DJ who worked at Walt Disney World and he has promised a nice mix of background music.  Dining will be both indoors in the main tent and outdoors on the adjacent patio.  Coaches, Masters rowers, referees, and parents are all welcome.

To partially defray the cost, if you sign up for the party at registration, the cost is $15 for all you can eat, plus the first drink ($4 after that).  (If you have already submitted your entries through RC and would like to purchase tickets online, follow the steps below to edit your Registration Form:

1.      Login to your RC account

2.      Click the Overview link for the 2012 Sarasota Invitational in the Regatta Calendar box

3.      Go to the Registration Form section in the navigation bar on the left side of the page

4.      Update the Special Options section and click Save)

If you wait until the day of the regatta, the cost goes up to $20.  So, sign up now!    Remember, winners of the Mixed Masters 2x and 8 on Saturday get in free (we will refund your fee if you have already paid!), so enter now!

We are expecting up to 200 participants, so it should be a lot of fun!

Masters:   Looking for an extra race or two?     Do you need a rower to fill out a boat?

If so, please send an e-mail to Jeff Koehler at [email protected].   We will compile a list to distribute upon request.  Rowers include age, gender, Sweep - Scull or Both, Events you are already committed for, and anything else you feel we should know.

Masters:   NOW TWO Tervis Cup races on Saturday -- Mixed 2X  and  Mixed 8+.

We have added a second Masters Event on Saturday, the Mixed 2X in addition to the Mixed 8+.   These will be 1500 m races.  Winners to receive custom made Tervis Tumbler Sarasota Invitational cups.   Winners also receive free entry into the Sat afternoon party  (see above).

Previous postings:

Due to this being an Olympic year, we will be unable to offer an Elite Singles Showcase this year, since the rowers are mostly on the west coast preparing for various trials.  We hope to have them back next year!

On Saturday, we will be having a fun race for the Masters (a Mixed 2x) in mid morning and another (Mixed 8) in mid afternoon.  They will be  over a distance of 1500 meters, and the winners of each get a custom Tervis tumbler made here in Sarasota! 

For coaches, referees, masters and parents, there will be a nice party on Saturday evening after the racing is over, with a local band, munchies, beer and soda.  More details will be forthcoming shortly.  A taste of our great Sarasota hospitality!

For our Adaptive Rowing Exhibition on Sunday our special guest will be Laura Schwanger, Bronze Medalist at the Beijing Paralympics

The MetLife Blimp will be overhead on Saturday, and Snoopy will be making appearances as well.

In 2011, the course finished at the 1500 meter mark on the lake.  This year, it will finish at what will be the 1750 meter mark on the new FISA course, while next year it will be at the 2000 meter mark!  While there is still a lot of construction going on, you should be able to get a pretty good picture of what it will look like.