Mystic Weekend Of Rowing

The month of September is soon upon us, which means that it is time for the Mystic Weekend of Rowing (MWOR) again. As usual it is a two-day event on the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut, with The Battle Between the Bridges on Saturday 19 September and the Coastweeks Regatta on Sunday 20 September. Both events have been established to promote the sport of rowing in a community environment, and they are supported by the National Rowing Foundation (NRF), Mystic Seaport Museum, and the Mystic Arts Center.

In August every year there is a fundraising event, a cocktail reception for MWOR. This is always a nice evening at the Mystic Arts Center where you can mingle and rub shoulders with the organizers of the regattas and other rowing dignitaries. This year it was yesterday, and unfortunately, I was not able to attend, which was a real pity.

But now to go back to the rowing events: the Saturday races between the Amtrak railroad bridge upriver to the famous historic bascule drawbridge in downtown Mystic are for invited top-notch scullers. Every year some scullers, who have competed at the World Championships and Olympic Games, find their way to Mystic to sprint on the almost 500-metre long course.

These races can be best viewed from the Mystic River Park, the drawbridge, or the Mystic Art Center’s lawn. As always, Andy Card, Yale University lightweight men’s crew coach, will be the witty commentator and introduce the rowers and call their races. This is a brilliant opportunity to watch the country’s, if not the world’s, best scullers in action – and it is free!!

On Sunday the rowing will move upriver to Mystic Seaport Museum for the Coastweeks Regatta, which is an event for local and regional rowers and scullers. Hundreds of athletes, men and women of all generations, will race on the 2,000-metre course from north of the I-95 overpass to the north end of Mystic Seaport.

To read more about this event (and to find more information how to sign up to compete on the Sunday event), please click here.

Last year, the organizers of Coastweeks Regatta had a real treat to offer the rowers, their family and friends, and the spectators at the regatta. Two of the 2008 Olympic rowing medalists, Anna Cummins (gold, women’s eight; to the left) and Michelle Guerette (silver, women’s single scull; to the right), were present to give a talk on how it felt to compete at the Olympic Games and therefore be a part of the history of rowing. It was indeed a very pleasant and enjoyable event with two very humble ladies.