The Intercollegiate Rowing Association has announced that Martin Cross, the British Olympic Champion recently turned race announcer for WorldRowing and the Henley Royal Regatta, will be announcing the IRA National Championship Regatta at Mercer Lake NJ on May 31- June 2, 2024.
Cross has announced some of the most iconic races at the highest levels of the sport, and will be bringing his experience in the booth and enthusiasm for the sport to all three days of the IRA Championship.
"The thought of announcing at such a prestigious event as the IRAs fills me with excitement and trepidation in equal measure," Cross said. "Ive announced on rowing events in the US before but this will be the first time - outside Henley Royal - that I will have called races with American collegiate crews. The research will be tough, even though there are so many multi-national crews racing at the IRAs."
Cross recalled a moment from the 2023 HRR where regatta researchers fed announcers biographical information about a US rower that was a direct rewrite of the theme song from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
"I also hope to spot some of the inevitable spoof bios the rowers create - unlike last year at Henley, when I fell for one story lifted straight out of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and called it during a race! I've plenty to learn and hope I can bring my love of the sport across on the microphone. Ten weeks and counting! "
Cross is also the author of Olympic Obsession: The Inside Story of Britain’s Most Successful Sport.
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