Registration for the 2024 Crew Classic opened yesterdayy, October 23 on RegattaCentral. The Crew Classic promises to return in its 51st iteration with everything you love about the world's premier springtime rowing event, plus some exciting new changes.

Collegiate Club ACRA Invitational
2024 will mark the introduction of a Men's and Women's Collegiate Club Invitational event designed to attract more ACRA and collegiate club rowing teams to Mission Bay. Participating teams will have the opportunity to race in an ACRA-only event on Friday afternoon, and also race in the Men's or Women's Cal Cup during the Saturday and Sunday programs. The event is the brainchild of Crew Classic VP of Race Operations, Craig Doan, who has also coached the SDSU Club Team for the past seven years. "The level of participation and competitiveness in the ACRA field has really been taking off over the past few years," says Doan. "We at the Crew Classic are hoping to find a way to highlight the passion and talent of this population of collegiate athletes, and create more opportunities for them to compete early-season."

Open Gender 8+ Debut
The Crew Classic will also debut a new event in 2024 to complement the Mixed Masters Intermediate 8+ and Mixed Masters Club 8+: an Open Gender 8+. The Open Gender category will offer participants an opportunity to participate in the Crew Classic without having to declare a binary gender, or to meet a minimum number of male or female athletes in a crew in order to be eligible (as in the Mixed Masters events). The Crew Classic stands by and supports the inclusion initiatives of the USRowing Gender Identity Policy, and is committed to providing space and opportunities for all members of our community to compete, and to enjoy the Crew Classic experience.

Hot Quads
One of the most popular events from 2023 will be getting an upgrade in 2024: Men's and Women's Masters Club 4Xs will now run over two days, with heats on Friday, and finals on Saturday. "The quads were so popular last year, and we all know scullers are nuts," says Associate Director, Megan Kalmoe. "We got a ton of positive feedback on adding the quads last year, and we are hoping this expansion will give the two-oared folks more chances to give it full beans on Mission Bay, and more opportunities to have that type 2 kind of fun we all love so much."

Schedule Shuffle
Another change to the program will come in the form of a new race order format for Finals Day. Sunday's program will now feature all events' A Finals to start the day, followed by all events' B Finals. "There are always pros and cons to making changes at the regatta," says Executive Director, Bobbie Smith. "The schedule is not a place that we are ever going to make absolutely everyone happy, but we are looking to see how stacking the Finals in a more standard A to B format will go."

So get your RegattaCentral profile fired up—Crew Classic Registration is open, and it's time to plan your trip to San Diego. We look forward to seeing everyone at the beach!

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