Before the Line: April 22

A big weekend of rowing is about to kick off. From Dallas to San Francisco, crews across the country are preparing to take their final strokes before Regional and National Championship training becomes the focus.

1. Texas Rowing Championships – White Rock Rowing will play host to the annual Texas Rowing Championships this weekend for the first time in history. The regatta will take place on White Rock Lake. 11 Texas clubs are competing in the juniors-only event. “Having an event that’s a state championship here, I think really brings attention to, ‘Hey, rowing in Texas is becoming a real thing,’” White Rock Rowing head coach Chris Leonard told WFAA. The Mayor of Dallas will also be naming Saturday, April 23 Texas State Rowing Championship Day.
2. FSRA Sweep Championships – Last weekend the Florida Scholastic Rowing Association hosted its annual sculling championships. This weekend it will host the sweep competition in Sarasota-Bradenton. 38 clubs from Miami to Tallahassee will compete.
3. Mercer Lake/ISA Sculling Championships – Another scholastic championship will take place up the eastern seaboard on Mercer Lake. 60 clubs will compete in the two-day competition at the event hoping to earn championship titles across both sweep and sculling races.
4. USRowing Raises Funds for ODP – USRowing raised more than $39,000 for Olympic Development Program scholarship aid that will be matched 1:1.
5. West Coast Scholastic Championship – In San Francisco, St. Ignatius College Prep will host the West Coast Scholastic Rowing Championships on Lake Merced. Seven clubs will compete in one day of sweep and sculling racing.