Crystal Lake Rowing Club Hosts Greater Chicago Jr. Rowing Championships

The Crystal Lake Rowing Club hosted the Greater Chicago Junior Rowing Championships on Saturday at Main Beach in Crystal Lake.

Crystal Lake Rowing Club has hosted the annual regatta for the past several years. The championship leads up to the Midwest Junior Rowing Championships and Midwest Scholastic Championships.

Rowing teams from Chicago, the North Shore and Midwest arrived at the beach by sunrise toting trailers packed with boats, oars, rowing gear, tents, coolers, grills and food for the day.

Teams competing from the Chicago area included New Trier High School, Lincoln Park Juniors, Loyola Academy, Chicago Training Center, Ignatius Chicago Crew and the North Suburban Crew, according to the GCJRC schedule.

Out-of-state crews were: Camp Randall Rowing Club from Madison, Wis.; Culver Academy from Culver, Ind.; Milwaukee Rowing Club, Wis.; and Rochester Rowing Club from Rochester, Minn.

Rowers competed in 18 separate events including junior varsity, varsity, men's, women's, novice and lightweight.

The athletes and their families set up "camp" at Main Beach, 300 Lake Shore Dr., where each team pitched tents, impressive picnic buffets, and chairs for their spectators, many of whom were equipped with binoculars.

The competitors carried their boats from Main Beach into the water and rowed to the West end of the lake where all races started. Crews raced to the finished line just past the Main Beach swimming area.

According to many athletes at the event, the competition was stiff. The event was greeted with sunny skies, warm weather and relatively calm waters for the races.

The Crystal Lake Juniors row out of Naoki Kamijima Park in Lakewood. Members hail from Crystal Lake, McHenry, Barrington, Elgin, Lake Zurich, Grayslake and Cary, according to the CLRC roster.

Results from Saturday's race will posted on the Greater Chicago Jr. Rowing Championship webpage.