Rowers will race at annual Paper City Regatta this weekend

Sept. 18, 2019 | Danielle Eaton
DanielleE@thereminder.com

HOLYOKE– Rowers will fill the Connecticut River in Holyoke this weekend as part of the annual Fall Festival Canoe and Kayak Race and the Paper City Regatta.

The regatta has been taking place for around 15 years, according to Director of Holyoke Rows, Stephanie Moore.

The Canoe and Kayak Race will take place Saturday morning at the Holyoke Rows Boathouse at 25 Jones Ferry Rd. Races will begin at 1:30 p.m. and include several classes of canoers and kayakers such as Novice, Adult, and Youth. In addition to different classes, there will also be varying distances available including a 10K race, a 6K recreational row, and 1K for youth. Following the races there will be a potluck meal.

The Paper City Regatta will take place Sunday morning. Moore said the races will also take place at 25 Jones Ferry Rd., but will happen on Sunday and begin at 9 a.m. The races will be over by 12 p.m.

Teams from locations such as Northampton, Amherst, Lenox, and the Berkshires will travel to Holyoke to compete in the regatta. Moore said youth teams including Northampton Youth and Community Rowing, the Pioneer Valley Rowing Club, Lenox Public Schools, BRASS from the Berkshires and the Great River Rowing Club will be competing in the event. Adult teams competing include Northampton, UMass alum, and the Great River Rower.

Races will include both sculling, which is single and double person boats, and sweep rowing in “4’s and 8’s” Moore said. In addition to showcasing the sport of rowing, Moore said the regatta also serves another, more important purpose.

“One of the reasons we hold this regatta is to give our adaptive community a chance to row, to race,” she told Reminder Publishing. “This just gives them a chance to experience what other experience in the rowing.”

The regatta will feature both adaptive rowing, where someone with a disability is able to row by themselves in a boat, and inclusion races where one adaptive rower and one able bodied rower compete in a boat together.

Moore described the event as “pretty low-key” and a “relaxed” regatta. She said, “I don’t believe people should have to pay a lot of money to race, so the entry fee is $10.”

Prizes will be awarded to the winners of the races. The prizes, Moore said, are pies made by the experienced rowers, also known as masters.

While Moore said a lot of people who attend the event are family and friends of the rowers, she said the races are a nice place to have a picnic, enjoy the outdoors, and even learn a little bit about the sport of rowing in the process.

More information about the event and the Holyoke Rowers program can be found online at Holyokerows.com.

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