RegattaCentral

Updated February 20, 2020  CHANGES IN RED

Temperatures on Friday afternoon will be dropping through the 50s and will be in the 40s early on Saturday.  Be sure your crews have the proper clothing and footwear.  It will also be somewhat windy, which will make it feel chillier.

UPDATED TRAFFIC PATTERNS POSTED (see link on Overview page)  Once you enter the course, it is one-way to the finish and return around the island; no turning around.  Beware of floating dock installation at the 1500 meter mark.

TENT RENTALS ARE NOW CLOSED.  ONLY 10X10 TENTS (2 MAX) ARE ALLOWED.

NOTE: IF YOUR ENTRY FEES EXCEED THE CAP, PAY THE TOTAL AND REGATTA CENTRAL WILL SEND YOU A REFUND.  THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN HANDLE IT AT THE MOMENT.

COACHES & COXSWAIN'S MEETING - will be held at 4:30pm on Friday and 7am on Saturday and Sunday in the bleachers.

PRACTICE TIMES:  On Friday, practice times will be 1pm to 5pm, but the last launch will be 4:15pm.  We need to clear the course for the Middle School races starting at 5:30pm.  On Saturday, the course will be available for practice from 10 minutes after the last race until 6pm.  No practice allowed on the course in the morning on either Saturday or Sunday.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: The Middle School Exhibition races will be run on Friday evening about 5:30pm to minimize scheduling issues on Saturday.  If you are a coach who intends to have Middle School entries, please contact the director if you have a problem with Friday evening races.  To run most efficiently, we will use a floating start and race about 1000 meters.  The wave attenuator will be open so the kids will not have to row all the way down to the 2000 meter start to get on the course.

ROWING FOR LIFE COMPETITION - CHANGES IN RED:

We will be having the Rowing for Life competition on Saturday again this year!   Each boat must be half juniors and half masters, and at least four women. The plan is to go with mixed events for all entries. 

Juniors: All the Juniors must be from the same club, and must also compete in at least one other Junior event in the regatta .

Masters:  If the Junior club has an affiliated masters club, then all the masters must come from that affiliate.

 If the junior club does not have a masters affiliate, they can have masters from another club within their region of which ever gender is needed, but all the masters must come from that one club; “cherry-picking” high performance rowers from multiple clubs is not permitted.  Junior Coaches may compete as masters.

There are two $1000 prizes for the event.  If there is just one heat, the two prizes will be awarded to the first two finishers.  If there are two heats, the winner of each heat.  If more than two heats the prizes go to the fastest two finishers overall. 

The $1000 goes to the Junior club, so, you Juniors, find some Masters to row with and compete for the prize!

Subject: Concept2 Free Regatta Service

When: Sarasota Invitational  starting at 8am Friday Feb 21-23

What: Concept2 will be in attendance at the Sarasota Invitational to provide free regatta service. We will replace worn parts on Concept2 oars free of charge. First-come, First-serve. No reservations required. For more information on what can be serviced, please visit this page:

https://www.concept2.com/oars/conference-and-regatta-service-schedule/about-regatta-service

TEAM FOOD TRAILERS:  All team food support trailers must arrive before Friday night to be put into place near your team tent. If you need to arrive at a different time please contact Sarah at 941-224-9395. For the safety of our athletes and spectators, this year Nathan Benderson park will not allow any vehicles on race days in the team tent area(not even for drop off). Please plan accordingly to drop off your food and items for the tent before hand. Thank you for your cooperation as we strive to keep Nathan Benderson park a safe and world class venue for all.

DRONES: Due to park regulations, no private drones are allowed at Nathan Benderson Park without their written permission.  Thank you for your cooperation.