1st regatta in 76 years set on river

Central Arkansas has a storied history of regatta racing on Labor Day. It's just that most people don't know about it.

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A map showing the course for the Six Bridges Regatta.

The Arkansas River was a well-known site for regatta racing from the late 1800s until the early 1900s, but the races stopped in 1938 when the Little Rock Boathouse was destroyed by fire, which essentially ended rowing competitions on the river.

Six Bridges Regatta

WHAT U.S. Rowing national 5K head race

WHERE Arkansas River. Boats will launch near the Interstate 30 Bridge, where participants will row upriver to the starting line near Big Rock Quarry and finish at Junction Bridge.

WHEN Saturday. First race starts at 8:30 a.m.

DIVISIONS Junior, Collegiate, Open, Masters

COMPETING Arkansas Boathouse Club, Dallas Rowing Club, Greater Houston Rowing Club, Rhodes College Crew, Rowing Club of Northwest Arkansas, St. Louis Rowing Club, Wichita (Kan.) Rowing Association and unaffiliated rowers

That will change Saturday, nearly three-quarters of a century later, when the Six Bridges Regatta launches on the river between Little Rock and North Little Rock. The event is a U.S. Rowing-sanctioned 5K (3.1 miles) head race where participants in four divisions will race against the clock in the first regatta held on the river in 76 years.

According to co-event chairman Lawrence Finn, the stretch is the perfect venue for the inaugural Six Bridges Regatta.

"Rowing is special to Little Rock and North Little Rock, and the Arkansas River is recognized as an amazing stretch of water that runs through Little Rock," Finn said. "It has some of the best river rowing water in the nation, so we have a resource in our own backyard that is underutilized.

"Little Rock is a very athletic, active community. This is a great opportunity to introduce the community to the sport."

Seven clubs and other unaffiliated rowers in junior, collegiate, open and masters divisions are scheduled to compete. Rowers will launch from the Interstate 30 bridge and will travel upstream about 3 miles to the start line near Big Rock Quarry before racing against time to the finish line at Junction Bridge.

There are 38 races scheduled, with the first set for 8:30 a.m. and the last at 2:30 p.m. There will be singles divisions as well as two-, four- and eight-man teams in men's, women's and mixed competitions.

"The most popular entry is singles," race director Yates Phillips said. "It's pretty easy for a person to put a single boat on top of a vehicle. A four-person or an eight-person is a major operation."

Ellen Sullivan of North Little Rock will be among the locals on the water Saturday morning. She was an avid tennis player until she developed osteoarthritis, which resulted in a total knee replacement when she was 53.

Sullivan started to ride bicycles but was still looking for a sport that would allow her to have an aerobic workout without the impact on her knees. Now 61, she decided to give rowing a chance and became a member of the North Little Rock-based Arkansas Boathouse Club in 2006.

Sullivan, who will be sculling a mixed doubles with Finn and is entered in other races, said joining the club came along at a perfect time for her to continue her athletic endeavors.

"In 2006, we re-established the club and it was at that point I joined," she said. "I had never rowed before. Since then, it has been my sport. Rowing is a fabulous sport for all ages and has no age or gender preferences."

Little Rock's Traci Berry, who will team with Sullivan in female doubles, said conditioning cannot be taken lightly with a high temperature of 92 degrees and thunderstorms in the forecast for Saturday.

"I am on the water every day," said Berry, 40, who also will compete in other races. "I have been trying to get at least 10K, if not more, in every day. I am also doing other bodyweight conditioning, different workouts as well as my time on the water."

Phillips said he believes the regatta could be the start of a new tradition to end the summer in central Arkansas. Riverfest is a good season opener, he said, but the perfect bookend would be an event that could attract thousands in the future.

He said organizers will gauge interest from participants and observers Saturday to see if another date should be considered in the future, noting the races could be pushed back a few weeks to welcome in fall.

"We've chosen to hold our regatta on Labor Day weekend because Labor Day is a historic day for us and is a Labor Day tradition for our club," Phillips said. "It's a challenge finding a club to bring strong crews because of the date, but we will entertain other ideas."

Sullivan, who is the Boathouse Club's membership director, said work on hosting the regatta has been a labor of love over the past several months. She said members are excited about hosting the event, even though it has been a lot of work.

"I don't expect to see anybody on Sunday. I think we will probably all just crash. " Sullivan said. "Several pubs in North Little Rock and Little Rock are doing a pub crawl Saturday just to celebrate all the clubs that are there. It will be quite fun, but I can bet you we will not see each other on Sunday."

Sports on 08/28/2014

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