The second 2005 National Selection Regatta (NSR) will be held June 10-12 on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. The national selection regattas are the first steps towards making the 2005 National Team, which will compete at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships August 28-September 4 in Gifu, Japan.
NSR 2 will include races in eight boat classes - the men and women's double sculls, men and women's lightweight double sculls, men and women's pair, men's lightweight pair and men's under 23 single sculls. In a change from previous years, winners of the double sculls, lightweight double sculls and open weight pairs will automatically make the national team without further selection if they meet the time standard during the NSR or at a subsequent event held before June 20. If they do not meet the time standard, the boat category will be opened up to all competitors at the 2005 World Championships Team Trials scheduled for mid July.
The men's double sculls event leads the way in numbers of entries with 13. Several former national team members will be racing in the event including past Olympians J. Sloan DuRoss and Adam Holland, as well as Luke McGee, Mike Perry, Dan Walsh, Gabe Winkler and Erik Winters.
Eleven crews are scheduled to race in the men's pair. Four members of the Olympic gold medal-winning men's eight will be racing in the event. Bryan Volpenhein and Beau Hoopman will race together, while Matt Deakin and Dan Beery will race in another pair. The field also includes past national team members Paul Daniels, Chris DeFelice, Josh Inman and John Wachter.
The women's double sculls event also has 11 crews entered. Kelly Salchow, a two-time Olympian in the women's quadruple sculls, and Anna Mickelson, a silver medalist in the women's eight in Athens, will race together in a double. Caryn Davies, who also won an Olympic silver medal in the women's eight, will be racing with Anne Browning. Other past senior national team members scheduled to compete include Cindy Bishop, Megan Cooke and Lia Pernell.
Nine crews will race in the women's lightweight double sculls. Past national team members scheduled to compete include Wendy Campanella, Sarah Hirst, Renee Hykel, Julie Nichols, Melissa Rice and Meghan Sarbanis.
Seven crews have entered the men's lightweight double sculls. The field includes two-time Olympian Greg Ruckman, as well as past national team members Mike Altman, Sean Maloney, Rich Montgomery, Tom Paradiso and Eric Wilhelm.
The women's pair includes three entries, all from Mercer Training Center. Olympic silver medalist Megan Dirkmaat, the lone competitor with national team experience, will row with Lindsay Shoop.
The men's lightweight pair has two entries. Simon Carcagno, a bronze medalist in the event at the 2003 World Championships, is scheduled to compete.
Ten scullers are scheduled to race in the men's under 23 single sculls event. These athletes are racing for invitations to the selection camp for the men's under 23 quadruple sculls crew that will compete at the Under 23 World Championships in July in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
NSR 2 racing begins on Friday, June 10, with morning time trials. Semifinals will be held on Saturday, with finals being held on Sunday morning.