5 months ago
LAKE NATOMA, CA - Families and fans jostled for position at the shoreline. Others peered at the water through binoculars.
They were rooting for their favorite team at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. Rowers and their supporters have come from around the nation for the competition at Lake Natoma near Nimbus Dam in Gold River.
"We were pleasantly surprised. The set up for the tents and the viewing stands are wonderful," Chris Stevens of Madison, Wisconsin said.
"We drove our boats across the country from Philadelphia," said Paul Savell. He coaches the Drexel team and hoped students from the school's Sacramento branch will come out to cheer them on.
Many of the competitors said they like rowing on Lake Natoma.
"It's been known across the country to be one of the best venues," Savell said. "It's a lake so there's not a lot of moving water and current. The hills around the lake shelter us from the wind."
Getting the rowing regatta on the West Coast was quite a coup, according to Brian Flajole of the Sacramento Sports Commission.
"The Sports Commission heard a couple of years ago that some of the West coast schools were complaining about the contest being on the East coast for 106 years," Flajole said. "So it's about time it moved here."
The boat racers were also bringing a lot of money to the local economy which has been struggling.
"There are over 1,200 athletes here," Flajole said. "The Convention and Visitor's Bureau has estimated (this means) $3 million."
Crew members couldn't wait to get in the water. "The competition should be close," said Mark Murphy, who rows for the University of Wisconsin. "I'd say California is definitely number one. We want to take them out."
The Associated Press
