Regatta Events River City Crew Racing

2012 James River Regatta COMPETED IN

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2012

With plenty of viewing room along the James River, the free event features high school athletes from Virginia and will begin at 9 a.m. at Robious Landing Park behind James River High School. In past years, many high school teams competed including: James River Crew, River City Crew, Cox Crew, St. Margaret's Crew, Mt. Vernon Crew, and Princess Anne Crew.

Both boys and girls varsity and novice crews row four- and eight-man shells in sprint races covering 1,500 meters, a metric mile. The eight-man shells that are familiar from Olympic competition are an amazing 60 feet long, and each rower handles a 13-foot-long sweep. The fragile looking shells weigh only 200 pounds but can safely support three quarters of a ton of weight.

The physicality and conditioning required to sprint/row a mile is obvious, but it is combining the physical demands with coordinated teamwork that is the most difficult.