When one sits down to contemplate the events that transpired over the course of the 2013 Masters National Championships, quite a few interesting dichotomies come to mind. First, younger athletes match up against more seasoned athletes, the serious race against recreational athlete, novices face off against very experienced rowers. Those contrasting elements are what make Masters Nationals such a unique event, and despite the variety of participants seemed to mesh into one fluid and ultimately successful event.

When the championships kicked off, there were so many festivities surrounding the venue that rowing almost took a back seat to the activities on shore. More than 200 state and local dignitaries arrived at the venue to celebrate the event, including Florida governor Rick Scott and ESPN college basketball commentator Dick Vitale. Governor Scott praised Benderson's vision and the creation of Nathan Benderson Park – the irony of course being the fact that Governor Scott vetoed the bill that was designated to fund this project. Of course he wouldn't be the first politician to change positions. As for Vitale, "it's Awesome Baby" to see support for rowing outside of the rowing community.

In the middle of the speeches, vendors, and parties, a regatta suddenly broke out. Masters Nationals is a very unique event compared to the National Championships for junior, collegiate, or club rowing. There is a great sense of community for all competitors as the usual segregations between rival programs were almost non-existent. Many of the athletes partook in the Rolodex method of forming boats as rowers from various clubs formed boats after sending emails, placing classified ads, and even making a few old-fashioned phone calls before the event. These athletes would often meet their fellow competitors for the first time at the venue. As a result, there were a large number of composite entries this year, which lead to endless confusion for the local commentators.

Attendance was down somewhat compared to previous years, yet some of the major clubs from around the country showed up in force. Saugatuck Rowing Club out of Westport, Connecticut took home the team points trophy with 638 points and 55 medals, followed by Potomac Boat Club with 496 points, Capital Rowing with 467 points, and Community Rowing with 417 points. One of the more memorable events took place at the very end of the regatta after Arnold Lande, 82, took the gold medal in the regatta's oldest age category. Arnold sat at the finish line and waited for Alvin Felman (at 84 the event's oldest competitor) to cross the finish line so they could row to the recovery dock together. It is moments like this that make Masters Nationals unique.

To gain a better perspective on this event, row2k spoke with Jim Coyne from Community Rowing. Not only has Jim been a five-time participant at Masters National Championship, he is a member of what is notably one of the most successful rowing programs in the country. When we asked Coyne how he would compare racing at Nathan Benderson Park compared to other Masters Nationals that he has attended he said, "Of the venues we have rowed at for masters nationals over the last 5 years, in my experience and for those that have rowed at this event longer, it is our favorite. The course is set up nicely… the wind has been manageable and fair… we are very impressed."? When I asked if there were any downsides to racing at Nathan Benderson Park he said, "the only downsides are the fire ants (typical Florida problem) and the number of competitors is small compared to last year."? Coyne also noted that "rowing in Florida in August is not everyone's cup of tea. That is something teams have to give consideration to, but my hope is over time they can build this venue up to where they can have a large turn out from the west coast, mid-west, and northeastern teams."

The 2013 Masters Nationals was overall a successful event. There were of course a few issues at Nathan Benderson Park this year. The stake boats had a mind of their own (one loose line almost sent a referee into the lake after wrapping around their prop), a few more wakeless launches need to be purchased, the weather was beautiful and then suddenly terrifying, and a few of the referees may have been vocally temperamental towards one another (I blame the heat).

Having said all of that, Nathan Benderson Park is well on its way to becoming an amazing facility. When trying to come up with an analogy to describe this venue, I can only think of the development of a promising child. When I first visited Sarasota a few years ago the facility was in its infancy. The venue was still learning to walk and talk, but it was in an environment where success was very much a possibility. Today the park is a teenager, well on the way to adulthood, but with a few awkward quirks that will hopefully work out in adulthood.

If Sarasota wins the bid for the 2017 the World Championships, the event's success will not be the result of the multimillion-dollar facility, TV cameras, or local celebrities. The event will be a success because of the amazing volunteers and the people in the community that have put in their time and effort into making Nathan Benderson Park a potentially world class facility. Yes, they are inexperienced and they have a lot of work ahead of them, but I've yet to see a city that wanted a venue to succeed more than the individuals in Sarasota. Even in the airport on my way home, random strangers, upon seeing my World championships tee-shirt would ask "how did you like the venue?"? Nathan Benderson Park isn't a world class rowing venue quite yet, but on the current trajectory it can be very soon.