High school teams all the way up to national team squads competed at the High Point Autumn Rowing Festival presented by Bethany Medical on Sunday, October 6, in High Point, North Carolina for the opportunity to see who could turn around the regatta’s renowned inflatable ducks.
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
“We have three ducks out there,” shared race director and Triad United’s head coach Gene Kininmonth. “I’ve driven way too many miles with boat trailers behind me. You arrive at regattas tired, having drank too much coffee, and a bit grumpy. I wanted something that people saw when they first arrived to put a smile on their face and the duck was what I came up with years ago. ‘Round the duck’ became the slogan.”
This year, among the competitors was Oxford University’s lightweight women and the Ukrainian national team, who went up against colligate teams, Duke, Old Dominion, and High Point. The High Point Autumn Rowing Festival served as the Panthers inaugural race as a varsity team.
“I think they had a wonderful weekend,” noted Kininmonth about HPU’s performance. “Their varsity eight put on a really fantastic performance in their first race with Old Dominion and Oxford. They took the lead early off the start. Oxford pushed through them. When they got to the duck, High Point actually took the lead on the turn and had almost a length before Oxford fought back. On the last turn Old Dominion snuck in on the corner and got past High Point but couldn’t pass Oxford. It was one of the best races I think I’ve ever seen.”
Full results from the regatta can be found here. Since its inception in 2012 the Autumn Rowing Festival has continued to grow over the years and feature a slate of varying experience levels with the goal of inclusivity.
“When I first started High Point Rowing Club in 2012 we had to leave the state to race,” said Kininmonth. “I realized at Festival Park in High Point we’ve got a gem. We can park 1,000 cars and can get in up to 35 boat trailers or more. We’ve got a natural viewing grass stadium on the hill at the finish line that can fit 5,000 people comfortably. It’s a real perfect place. It’s just grown and grown. This year it was 30% bigger than last year.”
Kininmonth hopes the event keeps gaining traction and the more crews have the opportunity to nail the turn around the storied High Point duck.
