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DESERT SPRINTS ROWING REGATTA ADDS 2000-METER BUOYED RACE COURSE

When: Saturday, March 9, 2013; 8:00 a.m. (Heats if needed will start at 7am)
Where: Tempe Town Lake, Tempe, AZ

The waters of Tempe Town Lake will be churning with the blades of hundreds of rowers on March 9, 2013 as Tempe hosts the 12th  Annual Desert Sprints Regatta. This will be the inaugural event using the lake's new Albano six-lane buoyed race course, ensuring fair racing and accurate times, and giving crews an accurate way to measure their early-season speed.

"We're very excited to feature one of only six such race courses in the western U.S.," said Kathy Moum, president of the Tempe Rowers Association, which sponsors the event and partnered with the City of Tempe to fund the race course. "Past competitors and attendees can take pride in the course, since the entry fees and merchandise sales from past regattas were what enabled us to make the purchase. You built it, and now you get to enjoy it!"

Rowing clubs from California, Colorado and Utah are expected to compete against Arizona's best Junior/High School teams, ASU's club team and local Masters men's and women's crews in one of the first regattas of the spring sprint  season. The Junior races are expected to be particularly competitive, as collegiate rowing programs are recruiting many of the local scholar-athletes from Brophy Prep, Tempe Junior Crew, Tempe Town Lake Rowing Juniors and Xavier Prep. For the Colorado and Utah teams, this may be the first time they have been able to row on the water in the new year, having prepared through rigorous winter-long workouts on rowing machines and other training regimens. Teams will be competing in a series of 2000 meter (Open and Junior Events) and 1000 meter (Masters and Mixed) races in both sculling and sweep boats.

Spectators are encouraged to watch the races along the lake's north shore, with regatta headquarters and the boats launching from the SRP Marina, also located on the north shore of the lake. Sponsorship opportunities are available, including the highly coveted  Trophy Races.  For more information, please contact Kathy Moum at 602-430-0206.

Adaptive Racing: For the second year, the 2013 Desert Sprints will feature Adaptive Racing.  Tempe Town Lake has a committed and growing group of adaptive rowing athletes representing Rio Salado Rowing Club. We are hoping to draw some out of town racers to this year's event as well.

Hope to see you all at Tempe Town Lake in March for the Desert Sprints Regatta. It will be a great way to open the season.