BETHEL, Ohio - Crews from all across the country have poured into East Fork State Park in southwest Ohio, gearing up for tomorrow's first day of racing at the 2015 USRowing Club National Championships.
Harsha Lake will play host to the 101 clubs competing in this year's regatta. The venue,
Club Nats Day 1 (a) 25 miles east of Cincinnati, was the host of the Youth National Championships from 1995-2010 and the National Collegiate Rowing Championships from 1983-1996.
The 1,342 entries across 71 events makes this the largest Club Nationals in history.
Sarasota Crew (Sarasota, Fla.) will be the most heavily represented club with 70 entries, almost all in one of the two junior categories.
Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Thompson Boat Center (Washington, D.C.) have 62 and 59 entries, respectively.
2014 team champions Vesper Boat Club (Philadelphia, Pa.) are on site with 57 entries ofClub Nats Day 1 (b) their own and are looking to take the team points trophy for the third straight year.
"We are absolutely thrilled to have the national rowing body back on Harsha lake," said former Clermont Coach Paul Schmid. "It's an exciting event for our kids and a great venue. Clermont is a small team and the effort to pull something off like this is a product of the help from volunteers from the community from state officials to city councilmen. It truly has been an effort of the Cincinnati community."
Although the chain of thunderstorms currently moving across the midwest forced everyone from the course early, all racing is still on as scheduled.
Racing begins tomorrow, July 15 at 8 a.m. with the women's U19 single sculls time trials.