The 34th annual San Diego Crew Classic rowing regatta for universities and club teams will launch its first race of the historic event at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 31, on East Mission Bay.
Early on Saturday morning of the two-day regatta, University of San Diego (USD), San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) will each compete in the preliminary events that will shape their weekend at the largest eight-person crew competition in the world.
Zach Johnson’s UCSD men’s crew is one of the favorites in the Cal Cup, racing against 20 teams in competition such as UCLA, USC, Notre Dame and Washington State as well as SDSU and USD.
USD’s women’s crew will be competing for the Women’s Cal Cup, while the Lady Aztec 8 will be out to make a good showing in the Jessop-Whittier Cup.
Founded in 1973 with 300 athletes, the two-day crew competition now draws more than 3,000 competitors ” from Washington to Minnesota to Virginia and Florida ” out to San Diego.
The action starts near SeaWorld, with six teams lining up their shells for the start of each race under the sky-chair ride at SeaWorld. The rowers race toward Crown Point Shores east of Ingraham Street on Mission Bay. Events start every 10 minutes and continue until around 5 p.m.
In the past, the final women’s and men’s major school open championship races were held in the afternoon on Sunday. By that time, winds typically can make portions of the course choppy.
This year, the championship finals for the Jessop-Whittier Cup for women and the Copley Cup for men will be run on Sunday before noon, with some additional club races filling out the afternoon.
Overall, the event will include 90 races. Crew is also the oldest intercollegiate sporting tradition in America.
The UCSD women’s varsity crew will again need to be at another regatta in Washington this weekend in order to meet their Division II NCAA Nationals qualifying requirements, according to head coach Pattie Pinkerton.
Teams are classified as Collegiate, Junior Varsity, Novice, Junior, Club or Masters. Some classes are further divided into lightweight crews; women in the team must be under 130 pounds and men under 160. Crews race in their class except for the open events, in which colleges and clubs can go head to head.
Eight-oared crews carry a coxswain to steer and keep the team paced as they battle their competitors.
Local club teams of all ages include the San Diego Rowing Club (SDRC) on El Carmel Point and the ZLAC women’s club in Pacific Beach. The historic SDRC was founded in 1888, followed by the women founding their own all-women’s club “ZLAC” in 1892.
Many junior-team members of SDRC and ZLAC have earned crew scholarships and will return to Mission Bay to represent their universities on familiar waters. Successful junior female crew athletes often earn a college scholarship.
Friends, family and fans numbering more than 20,000 are expected to participate in the festivities, including a crew-oriented trade show and the alumni tent gatherings. This year should draw large crowds, as the event coincides with spring break.
Tickets are $7 or $10 for a two-day pass. Guests under age 13 and active military are free. There is a fee for parking near the gate, but free parking is available in the lots on Vacation Isle near Ski Beach. A free ride by Cloud 9 Shuttle is available from the lots to the gate.
Pavilions selling food and beverages are set up around the grounds of the event. Crew Classic logo merchandise and other souvenirs will also be on sale, along with photos, art, jewelry, athletic clothing, health foods and medical services.
A huge screen near the alumni tents projects the race progress for fans to watch.
As the competitors near the finish line, after roughly seven minutes of all-out effort, partisan cheers erupt from the crowd for the exciting finishes. Most races are decided by just a few yards.
Lounge chairs are a good idea for seating, but there is plenty of grass or sand. No personal tents, bottles, bikes, skateboards or dogs are permitted inside. The weather is predicted to be sunny, with temperatures in the mid-60s.
For Crew Classic event information, visit www.crewclassic.org.