PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association hosted its second annual beach sprint regatta on Hollywood Beach earlier this month.
The event brought in competitors from Seattle, Portland and Tacoma, but OPRA managed to fend off these big-city rowers to stay atop the medal standings.
Beach Sprint rowing, which will be in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, is a duel format in which competitors start on a beach, run to their boat, navigate a three-buoy slalom course extending 250 meters from shore, then complete a 180-degree turn around a last buoy and head straight back to shore. They jump out of their boat and run up the beach to the finish. The winner of the duel then progresses in a tournament bracket.
For OPRA, Noah Oberly came away with first-place finishes in the single (low handicap) and double, where he paired with Cooper Disque to win the high handicap division.
Disque was third in the high handicap single. Mason Mai was second in the low handicap single and high handicap double, which he rowed with Quince Chanway. The team of Disque, Mai, Oberly, Hattie Peterson and Mariah Disque earned second place in the quad.
A second OPRA team of Quinn Peterson, Ann Patterson, James Lesniak, Anna Delacruz and Andrew Halberg earned third place in the quad. Complete results are available at www.tinyurl.com/PAregatta2024.
The Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association will switch its focus to head racing season. Head races are typically 5-kilometer races with sequential starts. Next up is the Row for Hospice race on Sequim Bay on Sept. 14.
Noah Oberly and Cooper Disque eye the turn buoy in Port Angeles Harbor as they get ready to head back to shore. (Courtesy of OPRA)
