November 19, 2009 (BOSTON, MA) - The 29th annual C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints, recognized as the premier indoor rowing regatta in the world, will add a special category of heats at next February's competition for physically and intellectually-challenged competitors. With the introduction of an Adaptive Rowing division, C.R.A.S.H.-B. will extend its outreach to new participants who will join over 2,200 other athletes - including Olympic and World Champions - at Boston University's Agganis Arena to row up to 2,000 meters on Concept2 Model D Ergometers specially altered for their respective needs.
The C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints will take place on Sunday, February 14, 2010. Admission for spectators is free.
"We are committed to serving the entire rowing community," said Linda Muri, president of C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints, Inc. "The inclusion of adaptive participants is something that we have wanted to do for a long time. We are going to deliver a fantastic experience to these athletes with the assistance of their coaches, family members, and friends."
The 2010 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints will welcome rowers who are participating in the Adaptive Rowing Program with Community Rowing Inc. (CRI), military veterans from the VA Boston Healthcare System's Adaptive Sports Program, and others from around the globe.
One of the rowers set to compete next February at the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints is Grace Van Dyck, a thirteen-year old visually impaired participant in CRI's Adaptive Rowing Program. Because of her physical condition, Grace is not able to play on the traditional sports teams available to most kids her age and, as a result, misses out on the shared experience of being on a team with her peers. With rowing, she has been able to compete athletically in a group setting for the first time.
"I like how everyone cheers for each other," Grace exclaimed when asked what she most enjoys about rowing. "There is a lot of teamwork and cooperation. I started rowing indoors at CRI in December. I met some great coaches who taught me how to row with good form. I have learned that if I push myself, I can go further than I thought."
The C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championships originated in 1982 when a group of Boston rowers, many of whom were members of the United States National and Olympic Rowing Teams training out of Harvard University's Newell Boathouse, named themselves the "Charles River All-Star Has-Beens" and organized the first indoor meet of its kind in the world. Twenty-eight years later, athletes from as far away as Estonia and Chile (ranging in age from fourteen to ninety in 2009) come to Boston to row 2,000 meters on Concept2 Model D indoor rowing machines.
Rowers compete in several categories including Men's and Women's Open Divisions, Lightweight, Under-23, and Junior (eighteen and under). There are also Master's and Veteran's divisions for older competitors.
In its early days, the C.R.A.S.H.-B. competition was a five-mile endurance test on the Model A indoor rowing machine, known as an ergometer. Concept2, the chief sponsor for the event, has redesigned and upgraded its ergometer models four times since 1981.
Since 1996, the race distance has been 2,000 meters due to the specific training demands of international coaches who stress 2K rankings during the winter months as indicators of athlete progress. As a result, C.R.A.S.H.-B. has evolved to become the premier off-season rowing event destination in the world.
"The popularity of the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints has increased dramatically thanks to the continued growth of the sport of rowing around the globe," according to Muri. "We expect next year's event to feature the most competitive field yet."