62nd Annual Rowing Regatta

DULUTH, Minn.– There were more boats in the Twin Ports today as the 62nd annual Duluth International Rowing Regatta took place at Park Point on Saturday.

With over 300 rowers from 12 clubs throughout Minnesota, Michigan, and Manitoba, the lake was filled with excitement. After two years of not being able to row because of COVID, the racers were ready to get out on the water and enjoy the beautiful weather.

“Rowing is a sport where you get to enjoy the water. I think many of us look at Lake Superior and say, wow this is nice. We walk the beach, but to be on the water is a whole different experience,” Co-captain of the woman’s adult rowing team, Jenny Peterson, said.

This regatta was special this year because it marked the 100th anniversary of Duluth’s own Walter Hoover becoming a world wide champion in rowing. To celebrate, the Duluth Rowing club held a christening of a brand new rowing shell named in his honor.

“We were celebrating the 100th anniversary of Walter Hoover winning the Diamond Sculls in England. That’s a very prestigious event back in the 1920’s. This was kind of even before they had the Olympics. So, it was a wonderful thing to have a group of people to celebrate this occasion,” Peterson said.

This regatta held 29 men’s and women’s events in the junior, open, and masters rowing categories. Their next scheduled event is the annual Death Row Regatta September 18. That’s when rowers typically make their way up the Saint Louis River from Superior Bay to Chambers Grove Park in Fond du Lac.