The American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta starts at 7:20am Friday morning with a heat of the women’s single on Melton Lake, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. For three days, collegiate club rowers from across the country race for titles, and perhaps their last time.
To continue reading…
This article is exclusively for Rowing News subscribers. For as little as $5 a month, you can get access to the best quality, independent reporting on all the issues that matter to the North American rowing community.
Already a subscriber? Login
For UCLA men’s team captain and ACRA All-American Toby Gajar, it means a lot. “Last ACRA for me. It’s crazy to think that this experience is almost over,” said Gajar. “I’m so grateful to the team for what it has given me and I’m excited to row down the course in the blue and gold one last time.”
The Division III varsity programs—sponsored by their schools’ athletic departments, as opposed to the clubs, which are student-run—that will compete for NCAA (women) and IRA (men) national championships, earned their bids this week.
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association has announced the eight teams selected to compete in the 2026 IRA Division III National Championship, set for May 29-30 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. The regatta marks the 123rd running of the IRA and the fifth consecutive year to include a Division III championship.
Automatic qualifiers include Marietta College (MARC), Ithaca College (Liberty League), Wesleyan University and Trinity College (NESCAC), and Williams College (NIRC). At-large selections went to Tufts University, Bates College and Colby College.
Trinity enters the regatta as the defending Division III national champion after finishing second at the NIRC, while Wesleyan claimed this year’s NIRC/NESCAC title—its second conference championship in three years. Williams earned the final automatic bid out of the NIRC with a third-place finish. Ithaca secured its berth by winning a third straight Liberty League championship, and Marietta returns to the IRA for the third consecutive year after capturing the MARC title.
The NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Committee announced the eight teams selected to compete in the 2026 NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships, scheduled for May 29-30 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga.
Automatic qualifiers include William Smith (Liberty League), Catholic (Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference), Bates (NESCAC) and Wellesley (NEWMAC). The four at-large selections are Puget Sound, Trinity (Conn.), Tufts and Williams.
Each team will field a varsity eight and second varsity eight at the championship regatta. Bates earned the top seed in the varsity eight, followed by Williams, Tufts and Trinity. In the second varsity eight, Tufts received the No. 1 seed, with Trinity, Williams and Bates rounding out the top four.
Three more qualification regattas for the 2026 USRowing Youth National Championships are set for this weekend as crews continue competing for bids to Sarasota for the June 11-14 at Nathan Benderson Park.
USRowing recognizes seven youth districts nationwide, each with its own qualification regatta structure for Youth Nationals. Beginning this year, all bids earned at official qualifying regattas will be automated through the RegattaCentral platform.
The USRowing Northwest Youth Championships will be held May 15-17 at Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Wash. Also scheduled for the weekend is the Midwest Junior Rowing Championship, a USRowing-sanctioned regatta hosted by Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club May 15-16 at Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio. The USRowing Northeast Youth Championships will take place May 15-16 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
