LOWELL – There are 750 rowers from 33 clubs across the western United States and Canada who will race at Dexter Lake when the Oregon Association of Rowers hosts the USRowing Northwest Masters Regional Championships at the Lowell State Recreation Site this weekend.
The three-day regatta is one of the largest of its kind, drawing a field several times the size of a typical regional championship. This year, USRowing has invited rowers from the Southwest region, expanding the field to include athletes from California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, as well as a club from British Columbia. Competitors will race in nearly 150 events over the regatta’s 1,000-meter sprint course, the standard distance for masters rowing.
Master’s rowing competitions are open to athletes 21 and older, and crews at this level often include rowers in their 60s, 70s, and beyond, racing in age-graded categories.
“Dexter Lake is one of the most beautiful racecourses in the country,” said Renee Buchanan, president of the Oregon Association of Rowers.
Travel Lane County, the region’s tourism agency, estimates that the Northwest Masters Championships generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending across area hotels, restaurants, and businesses.
