Yahoo Sports This Regatta Draws America's Top Rowers to the Historic Enclave of Tuxedo Park
On an ideal fall weekend, 16 of America's top rowers met on the lake in Tuxedo Park, New York, for head-to-head races in the Tuxedo 1886 Regatta on October 13.
Now in its third year, the regatta has become one of the country's leading rowing events, attracting Olympians and members of the U.S. National Team. It began when three residents of Tuxedo Park, America's first gated community and the namesake of the dinner jacket, teamed up to reinvigorate rowing in the region. Phil Tavani, Joe Ehrlich, and Chris Mahan then tapped Michael Martinov, who has coached the National Team, and Martinov recruited both rising and current stars of the rowing community to take part in the regatta.
This year, the event featured a $14,000 purse (the second-largest in U.S. rowing), with the men's and women's winners each receiving $4,000, the second-place finishers receiving $2,000, and each of the semifinalists receiving $500. Of the 16 competitors, five had competed at the Olympics. Scroll down for a look at the event.
The scene at Chris Mahan's kickoff cocktail party for rowers and guests
The regatta's random draw
Savannah Brija and Kara Kohler
"It's very interesting because we don't do a lot of head-to-head races," Brija, the winner of 2023's Tuxedo 1886 Regatta, said. She also noted that the length of the course, 1,886 meters, added to the excitement (the length is a nod to the year Tuxedo Park and the Tuxedo Club were founded, 1886). Most fall races, often referred to as "head" races, are longer distances around 4,000 to 6,000 meters. The Head of the Charles, for example, took place the weekend after the Tuxedo regatta on a 4,800 course on the Charles River separating Boston and Cambridge.
Announcers Charlotte Buck and Regina Salmons
Eliot "Finn" Putnam, the men's winner
Corn hole on the Tuxedo Club lawn overlooking the lake
Breck Duncan and Cedar Cunningham
Cedar Cunningham
"It's very nice to have people here that are very supportive of what we do," Cunningham, a National Team hopeful, said. "Usually you go to races and there's very little glory behind it, but here we're in such a beautiful area with a beautiful racecourse with people who want you to succeed."
Joe Ehrlich, Michael Martinov, Phil Tavani, Christopher Mahan, Eliot "Finn" Putnam, and Cedar Cunningham
The scene on the Tuxedo Club lawn on race day
A Photo Finish
Savannah Brija, Kara Kohler, Eliot "Finn" Putnam, and Cedar Cunningham
"It's been so nice to see friends and hang out in a pretty relaxed manner," Kohler said. "The beauty of fall racing is that it's much more laid-back compared to spring and summer racing, which is when selection events begin and the world championships are held, so tensions are a little higher."
Hannah Paynter was competing in Tuxedo Park for the first time.
Paynter, whose Princeton rowing blazer indicated her undergraduate rowing experience, said the experience reminded her of rowing in college. "When you're in college, there are men's and women's teams training under one boathouse and there's a whole community of athletes that you're training with," she said. "Rowing at the elite level becomes very individualized, and so I think this kind of event is nice because it brings you back to the camaraderie side of the sport."
Competitors at the dinner honoring the rowers.
You Might Also Like
