By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer
The Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference championships, a regatta for Division II and III schools, will be held in Lake Stevens on April 27, the first time the event has been held in Snohomish County.
The regatta is expected to draw up to 2,000 rowing enthusiasts to the city.
Plans for the event were announced earlier this month, a pet project of Bob Cummins of Everett, long associated with the Everett Rowing Club.
Both the city of Lake Stevens and collegiate rowing coaches involved with the regatta have signed off on the idea.
The city and members of local service organizations are backing the idea, saying, "Let’s do this thing," Cummins said.
The event could be a boost to rowing activities on Lake Stevens and to the sport of rowing in general, local rowers said.
"I think it’s fantastic," said Irma Erickson, past president of the Everett Rowing Club. "The more exposure to rowing no matter where it is would be a good thing."
"I think it’s an exciting opportunity to expand rowing into the eastern edges of the county," said Michele Hoverter, past board member of the Everett Rowing Association. "It will make rowing much more accessible for more people."
The annual championship regatta will feature male and female crews from at least eight colleges: Humboldt State University in California; Willamette University and Lewis &Clark College, both in Oregon; and Pacific Lutheran University, Puget Sound University, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University and Western Washington University.
Additional colleges may join this group, Cummins said.
The 2,000-meter course runs from Wyatt Park in the lake’s southwest corner to the north cove area near the city of Lake Stevens.
With an estimated 750 participants, including men’s and women’s varsity, junior varsity and novice teams, the regatta could be one of the biggest rowing events ever in Snohomish County, Cummins said.
The city chipped in $3,400 to pay for a temporary dock to help launch the boats, said Mayor Lynn Walty.
"I’m sure they did it with an eye toward the future," said Dave O’Leary, city manager. "That’s how excited they were about seeing these things prosper and flourish on the lake."
Walty said he hopes the enthusiasm generated by the event may help bring a rowing club to the lake.
"I would love to see the lake be used for something besides ski boats and power water craft," he said.
Those who come to the event will see that rowing is a sport "with a certain grace and elegance to it," Cummins said. "It’s good sportsmanship without hand-to-hand combat."
Members of local organizations, including the Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions clubs and Coast Guard auxiliaries, "are coming out of the woodwork to help out," Cummins said.
"I see some real positives for the both the city and the rowing community in the future," he said.
You can call Herald Writer Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486
or send e-mail to salyer@heraldnet.com.
If you’d like to volunteer for the upcoming collegiate regatta in Lake Stevens, call Bob Cummins at 425-258-2923.
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