Since migrating to the Tennessee River in 2004 after outgrowing the shores of Lake Lanier in suburban Atlanta, organizers say they have a record 8,600 rowers and coxswains registered to compete in the two-day regatta that starts Saturday.
Thousands of spectators are expected, and the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau predicts that the regatta and accompanying outdoor food and artistry market on the redeveloped waterfront will have a $4.3 million economic impact. That would make it by far the city's most lucrative convention event in November.
The rowing is free to watch, including from overhead on the pedestrian-only Walnut Street Bridge.
"During peak hours of the weekend-long regatta, boats are launching every 20 seconds," said regatta director Daniel Wolff. "It's quite a spectacle."
Female majorityFor the first time in the 29-year history of the competition, more women than men will be rowing. Most of the rowers in the competition are members of high school, college and masters teams from 30 states and Canada.
At its start in the early 1980s, 10 percent of the 300 participants were women. Last year, 49 percent were women, and it is 53 percent this year.
"For centuries, rowing was almost exclusively a men's sport," said Wolff.
The regatta includes four "Row for the Cure" events, which will feature more than 870 women rowing in pink T-shirts. Proceeds from sponsorship of the four races, a Learn to Row event and hot-air balloon rides, will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which supports breast cancer research.
More information is available at www.headofthehooch.org.
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