The Men’s Youth Novice 4+ team was the first to qualify, as they easily rowed to a second place finish in their first heat of the day.  The Women’s Youth Novice 8+ boat followed their coach’s instructions to sprint hard in the final 500 meters of their 2K heat, surging to 3rd place in the standings.

An intense preliminary race between 3 teams in the Men’s Lightweight 4+ began at the midway point in their 2,000 meter battle down the river, ending with ETRO placing 2nd and advancing to the finals.  The Men’s Youth Varsity 4+ rowed in complete synchronicity, marked with a full 3-boat length lead, to take first place and also advance to the finals.

The Women’s Youth Varsity 4+ pulled out an exciting first place victory with a commanding 4-boat length lead against their competitors.  The Tiny Titans, named for their small stature, but tremendous core strength, celebrated heartily after receiving their gold medals from Coach Andrew Krug.  “We had a lot of tough competition, but were able to hold our own against more experienced teams.  Our tough daily workouts enabled us to row faster in the final 500 meters of each race.”  Tiny Titan team members include, Katie Silvester, Melanie Vines, Joanna Huntoon, Claire Bianconi and cox, Isabella Green.

Men’s Youth 2nd Novice 4+ took third place in their final race of the day.  Team members Alec Ferguson, Tony Hurst, Andrew Kirkland, Allan Hurst and coxswain, Nadia Jabbour were rewarded with bronze medals for their achievement.  The Men’s Youth Varsity 4+ also took third place in their final sprint to the finish line.  Tyra Brown effectively coxed team members Matthew Calloway, Joshua Bostrom, Nathan Dubs and Andrew Franks to a bronze medal, as well.

On Sunday, the ETRO Masters took to the water in hopes of upping the medal count achieved in Saturday’s Junior’s events.  The Ladies’ Masters did not disappoint.  Liz Hubbard, Shannon Burton, Alice Basler and Debra Potteiger, coxed by Claire Bianconi raced their way to a silver medal in the Ladies’ Masters row.  This is the first medal for the ETRO Master’s program.

ETRO takes their momentum from this race and heads next week to Chattanooga to participate in the Williams Island Regatta.  ETRO rowers will continue working on their speed, in hopes of placing in the US Invitational Rowing Championships in June.  The top 3 qualifiers in their respective divisions will advance to the qualifying rounds, held this year in Oakridge. 

This summer, ETRO will be offering Junior Learn to Row Camps June 17th - 22nd and July 22nd - 27th. The camps will run from 8 - 11 am, focusing on introducing the sport of rowing to athletes around the East Tennessee region. Athletes must be between ages 12-18 and able to swim and engage in physical activity. The camp fee is $300 and will include a unique ETRO T-shirt. 

38 area students rowed in various youth varsity and novice events.  Following a very cold and wet morning, ETRO Men’s Youth Varsity took to the water to win a bronze in their category, against 17 other crews.  This win was historic as the first medal for the ETRO Men’s Varsity team this spring!  Crew members include Josh Bostrom, Matthew Calloway, Nathan Dubs and Andrew Franks with hard working coxswain Tyra Brown.

ETRO Varsity Coach, Andrew Krug “This race was key for our team. We were able to determine our speed against some very formidable crews and uncover new areas of focus as we head through the spring. I am excited to see where this team will go, and I know this will be a huge year for the East Tennessee Rowing Organization”

Next up was the Men’s Youth Novice rowers.  With little more than one full season together, this team was able to pull out an exciting come from behind win against older, more advanced teams.  ETRO novice crew consisting of Alec Ferguson, Alan Hurst, Tony Hurst and Andrew Kirkland, (coxed by Michael Jones) were able to sprint in the final 500 meters to win Bronze.

Women’s Youth Lightweight rowed successfully to a silver medal win against seven other teams in their category.  Claire Bianconi, Joanna Huntoon, Katie Sylvester and Melanie Vines followed Belle Green’s cox orders to gain an early lead and maintain it through most of the 2,000 meters down river.  

ETRO Novice Coach, Erika Lauderdale, “I was very pleased to see our novice team race hard in their first spring style regatta this weekend.  The junior novice boys 4+ came home with a bronze medal, which was a great reward for their effort.  This regatta was a perfect place to gain experience and see where we match up against our competition. We will be working hard on and off the water in the coming weeks to gain cohesiveness as a crew.”  ETRO continues their quest for additional metal in the upcoming Dogwood Regatta at Oakridge on April 13^th.  

This summer, ETRO will be offering Junior Learn to Row Camps June 17th - 22nd and July 22nd - 27th. The camps will run from 8 - 11 am, focusing on introducing the sport of rowing to athletes around the East Tennessee region. Athletes must be between ages 12-18 and able to swim and engage in physical activity. The camp fee is $300 and will include a unique ETRO T-shirt.  If you’re interested in the sport, feel free to check out ETRO at www.igetrowing.com.

Mixed 8+ (1st of 14)

Andrew Franks, Nathan Dubs, Joshua Bostrom, Matthew Calloway, Claire Bianconi, Lauren Krawczyk, Diamond Hurst, Sarah Whitson, Tyra Brown (cox)

Men's Jr. Ltw 4+ (5th of 6)

Devin Baker, Ryan Wallace, Dylan Vines, Jonathan Vojohan, Sydney Boles (cox)

Men's Jr. Novice 4+ (16th of 22)

Allan Hurst, Andrew Kirkland, Tony Hurst, Alec Ferguson, Michael Jones (cox)

Women's Jr. Novice 8+ (8th of 13)

Grace Headrick, Delaney Whitt, Melanie Vines, Jordan Cooper, Emily McTyre, Kristen Davenport, Sarah Curtis, Jennifer Vorjohan, Lindsay Krawczyk (cox)

Men's Jr. 4+ (1st of 7)

Andrew Franks, Nathan Dubs, Joshua Bostrom, Matthew Calloway, Tyra Brown (cox)

Women's Jr. Ltw 4+ (1st of 3)

Jordan Beshore, Joanna Huntoon, Claire Bianconi, Katie Sylvester, Belle Green (cox)

Women's Jr Novice 4+ (3rd of 18)

Grace Headrick, Delaney Whitt, Melanie Vines, Lindsay Krawczyk, Kelsi Cornett (cox)

Women's Jr. 4+ (4th of 8)

Jordan Beshore, Lauren Krawczyk, Diamond Hurst, Sarah Whitson, Tyra Brown (cox)

The facility will feature a Focus Rack System and will accommodate ten 8's, five 4's and up to twelve small boats (singles and doubles). Our new rowing dock from AccuDock  will allow simultaneous launching of boats from both sides, extending 104 feet into our deep water cove on Fort Loudon Lake in Louisville, TN. Shoreline preparation and dredging of the cove were completed this spring by Southern Shores Development.

The location for ETRO is ideal for year round rowing with miles of great water.

We hope the new boathouse and the fantastic location of ETRO will allow many new members to enjoy our club.

We will be posting videos throughout the year of racing and practices, so don't miss out on this great opportunity to see the team hard at work.

Click HERE to visit the YouTube channel