Despite Weather, Rowers Welcome Sport
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
2 October 2011
By Timothy McNulty
Dismal rain and cold made it a lousy day to watch the 25th
anniversary Head of the Ohio Regatta, but the rowers welcomed the
way rain flattens choppy river water.
Saturday's race -- one of the biggest single-day rowing
competitions in the country -- was also memorable for reversing
its traditional course. Instead of finishing at the Point, the
races started there and ended 21/2 miles away by the headquarters
of the Three Rivers Rowing Association on Washington's Landing.
When the races began back in 1987, the North Side riverfront was a
wasteland, and rowing fans had the whole area to themselves.
Not so anymore: Due to conflicts with home Pitt football dates,
finding surface parking for 80 unwieldy boats and trailers,
construction of Stage AE and North Shore hotels, and strict rules
for using Point State Park, organizers decided to move upriver.
"It's a blessing to have that riverfront development, but it's a
mixed one," said Lee Kulinna, the coach for Carnegie Mellon
University's crew team and a longtime city rower.
The Pittsburgh race has established itself as a premier East Coast
event, three weeks ahead of the internationally known Head of the
Charles in Boston or the Halloween-weekend Head of the Schuylkill
in Philadelphia. The fall races (among small boats carrying one
rower to large ones holding eight) are decided by the fastest
times, rather than head-to-head competition.
The famous Boston race is known for its narrow course, giving
prominent roles to the coxswains, who steer boats.
The Allegheny River course is broader and affords rowers and
spectators nice views of Downtown.
"It's one of the most picturesque cityscapes in the country," said
chief referee Lloyd McDonald of Scottsdale, Ariz., and formerly of
Mt. Lebanon. "Sometimes when you're on the water in the middle of
nowhere it's boring. [Pittsburgh's skyline] adds to the
experience."
Race organizers looked at holding it on the South Side -- or even
closing down the 10th Street Bypass for the day -- but went with
the Washington's Landing finish line to preserve its longtime
course between the Ft. Duquesne and 40th Street bridges, which
usually attracts curious onlookers.
The race "brings a lot to Pittsburgh," race director Rick Brown
said. "You don't need to know a lot about rowing -- it's just neat
to look at."
Some spectators grumbled about the new finish line, which could
not be seen from the rowing association offices, and required many
rowers and their families to park across the river in the Strip
District. Of course, rowers can be a cranky lot, as anyone subject
to grueling 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. practices would be.
"I call them 'morning prayer' and 'evening prayer,'" Mr. Kulinna
said.
Conditions were not so much better at the former finish line on
the North Shore. There, a few spectators idled under umbrellas
while dodging 600 runners in the 5K "Lupus Loop" fund raiser,
messy flocks of geese, and a Plum man with 35 dogs trying to set a
Guinness dog-walking record.
The temperature reached a high of 50 degrees by 1:53 p.m.,
according to the National Weather Service, with rain accumulation
of a third of an inch.
Ashley Suder, 23, of Wheeling, W.Va., was skating the 5K race with
other members of the Ohio Valley Roller Girls.
Ms. Suder, a roller derby jammer who goes by the name of
"Demolition Mortician," said the weather "was difficult, and I
have lupus, so that only added to the excitement."