Ready for Regatta Season

As the weather warms and snow melts into mud here in Vermont, we’re busy preparing for another regatta season. Judging by the activity in the oar shop these days, lots of other folks are, too! The shop is bustling—racks of oars and sculls are being assembled from custom-made components one day, and then inspected, boxed and shipped out all over the world the next.

It's not just the building of oars that’s been at the forefront lately. We also have a full schedule of regattas at which we’ll be providing our—dare we say, famous—regatta service. In addition to a total of ten North American events, we’re about to head out to the first of ten international regattas starting with World Cup I in Croatia in early May and ending with the World Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints in Italy in October.

In between, it’s two more World Cups, the Under 23 World Championships, Junior Championships, World Championships, Henley Royal Regatta, World Rowing Masters Regatta and the World Rowing Coastal Championships, all on various European racecourses. One notable exception is the World Rowing Masters Regatta—for the first time for a World Rowing event, this regatta is being held in South Africa. We are super excited for that one!

Concept2 is proud to support our customers and products long after purchase and we offer our regatta service at no charge to the coaches and athletes for the lifetime of the oars, regardless of ownership transfer. It's a win-win. We are privileged to provide service and pre-race assurance to the athletes at so many diverse regattas, all the while experiencing the local hospitality and culture that makes each visit special.

Longtime employee Bob Beeman has become the face of the international regatta service scene, traveling to 3-4 regattas each season. His first overseas trip was in 1995, and this year will mark his 100th trip when he goes to South Africa for the World Masters Regatta. The summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 will mark Bob’s 8th Olympics!

Along with Bob and the entire oar production team, we couldn’t do any of this without our dedicated staff in Europe who handle the stocking of our two regatta service trailers based in Hamburg, Germany, as well as the countless other logistical details around working and traveling across international borders. We have a great team.

We're looking forward to the upcoming season, seeing old friends, making new ones and working hard to ensure athletes are confident in their oars and sculls when they're at the start line. Our entire oar production team makes our regatta service possible. Watch this video of the oar shop in action.

A little on World Rowing: World Rowing is the “governing body of the sport of rowing in all its forms, including elite, para-rowing, coastal, masters and aspects of indoor rowing. World Rowing oversees sanctioned events and provides advice and expertise for the organization of rowing regattas. The Federation also works on coaching education and other matters relating to the sport and its development."