More than 1,500 young athletes compete in Sarasota for shot at U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals

SARASOTA, Fla. - It’s a race on the water that’s months in the making.

"When they get across that finish line, they just have that sense of relief and just emotion that, hey, you know, I did it. You know, I qualified for youth nationals," said Jake Robinson, event organizer for U.S. Rowing.

"So that's that moment right here for a lot of these athletes. As you can see, just pure excitement and just gratification," he added. 

Dig deeper:

At the U.S. Rowing’s Southwest Regional Youth Championships, 54 teams and more than 1500 athletes compete on the water.  The top four teams in each event will advance to the national competition in Sarasota next month. 

 "There's 44 youth national championship events that will qualify here today. So top four, top four in every event, go to youth nationals here in a couple of weeks," Robinson said. 

 "We have a beautiful day," said Rick Brown, CEO and head coach of the Sarasota crew. 

"They get to go out and perform and do what they've been doing all year long, the whole school year there, preparing for this race and this opportunity," Brown said. 

And these young athletes are preparing to go the distance for the opportunity to row on the big stage. 

"We have kids that didn't have any idea about the sport before September or even January of this year that are racing here," Brown said.

"We also have kids who are seniors in high school that have been rowing since they've been in third or fourth grade.  This is their last chance at qualifying for that youth national championship. We train for the entire year. These kids are probably some of the most fit kids in the Sarasota area, the amount of time and effort that they put into it," Brown added. 

 Whether you come in first, fourth or beyond, the hard work and determination rowing instills in these athletes makes a lasting impression beyond the sport.

What they're saying:

"For some athletes, this is that pathway for them, that high-performance pathway of making their way along that high-performance pathway to the Olympics someday, right? And so for a lot of athletes, youth nationals and making it to the nationals is a huge step in their rowing career," Robinson concluded.