USRowing is pleased to announce that cash awards will be presented to the top performers at the 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Trials - Rowing. The event, scheduled for April 17-24 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., will determine several crews that will compete at the 2016 Olympic Games and at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
nbuseThe trials will feature racing in both qualified and non-qualified Olympic boat classes and in the qualified men's and women's arms and shoulders single sculls Paralympic events.
The Nathan Benderson Community Park Foundation, Benderson Development Corporation and Wyc Grousbeck, a Boston businessman and avid rower, have partnered with USRowing to distribute the funds to the first-place finishers in the seven Olympic boat classes.
"This is a unique partnership between USRowing, the Nathan Benderson Community Park Foundation, Benderson Development Corporation and Wyc Grousbeck," said Curtis Jordan, USRowing Director of High Performance. "Not only will the awards recognize the individual athlete's efforts, it will also help fund their continued Olympic preparation.
"The winning athletes in each of the Olympic-class events will earn $3,500. There will be additional awards for second, third and fourth-place finishers, depending on the number of entries in each event," he said.
For the boat classes already qualified for Olympic and Paralympic inclusion during competition at the 2015 World Rowing Championships, trials racing for the individual athletes in the women's single sculls, women's double sculls and the lightweight men's and women's double sculls will be featured. Paralympic events include the men's and women's arm and shoulders single sculls. Winners will earn the right to compete in Rio, pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee.
Racing in boat classes not yet qualified for Olympic competition will include the men's single sculls, men's double sculls and men's quadruple sculls. The winners of these three events will advance to the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, May 22-25. Crews that place top two in the men's double and quadruple sculls will earn a berth to the U.S. Olympic Team, pending USOC approval. In the men's single, the top three crews earn Olympic Team nominations.
Nathan Benderson Park, the site for the upcoming 2017 World Rowing Championships, has been the host venue for several large events since its development. In the 2013-14 season, the world-class rowing destination hosted 27 events that had an estimated $13 million economic impact to the community.
Among them were the USRowing Masters National Championships, USRowing Southeast Youth Championships, Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, Florida Scholastic Rowing Association Sculling and Sweep Championships, Sarasota Invitational and Sarasota-Bradenton Head Race. In 2018, it will play host to the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships.
The community park is also conveniently located immediately adjacent to University Town Center—Southwest Florida's newest shopping, dining and entertainment destination.
waveAnother attractive feature of the venue is the ease and accessibility for television cameras. Racing can be filmed on the water from both sides of the course, and from a large, full-access road on one side and a wave attenuator road on the other.
"We are confident that SANCA and Sarasota-Bradenton will make this regatta a great experience for both our sport and our athletes, and bring a level of quality, professionalism and excitement to our Olympic Trials," said Jordan.
For more information about the event, registration and provisional schedule, visit usrow.us/2016OlympicParaTrials.