Sports

Benderson hosts weekend regatta

The holiday break is over at Nathan Benderson Park. The rowing facility has played host to events each of the past two weekends. This weekend is the annual Sarasota Invitational Regatta, which draws club rowers from across the country.
The holiday break is over at Nathan Benderson Park. The rowing facility has played host to events each of the past two weekends. This weekend is the annual Sarasota Invitational Regatta, which draws club rowers from across the country. Bradenton Herald file photo
SARASOTA

More than 1,500 athletes are expected to converge on Nathan Benderson Park this weekend for the eighth annual Sarasota Invitational Regatta.

The regatta features youth, masters and adaptive rowers and starts at 8 a.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Races will feature up to eight boats competing in a heat. Seventy races are scheduled for Saturday and 50 are scheduled for Sunday.

More than 800 boat entries, representing more than 70 clubs from across the nation, are registered.

The second annual Rowing for Life eight-person event highlights Saturday’s schedule. The event, with a $1,000 first-place prize, combines youth and adult rowers. It is scheduled for noon.

Sunday’s race card is highlighted by Operation Showdown, two races reserved for military veterans.

Admission is free. Parking costs $5. Food and drink vendors will be onsite both days.

The regatta is co-hosted by the Sarasota County Rowing Club and the Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates, Inc., the nonprofit that operates Nathan Benderson Park.

For more info, visit SarasotaInvitationalRegatta.com.

Herald staff report

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Benderson hosts weekend regatta."

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