A rower competes at the Youth Beach Sprint National Championships at Lido Key Beach. Provided photo.

The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, will mark the first Olympic Games held on U.S. soil since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Games will be a seminal moment in the history of American sports, with new sports such as flag football and squash making their Olympic debuts and lacrosse, cricket, baseball and softball all returning to the Games for the first time in years. Another sport will also be making its debut in 2028—Beach Sprint Rowing, of which the US Rowing Youth National Championships were held at Lido Key Beach this week. Additionally, the trials for the US Rowing Beach Sprint National Team—with the winners slated to represent Team USA in the World Championships this October—are occurring at South Lido Key Beach June 20-22.

Beach sprint rowing is a format of the coastal rowing discipline and while it shares similarities with that of its flat water relative, it’s an entirely different ballgame altogether. In beach sprint rowing, rowers—either in singles or pairs—start the race on the beach outside of their boats. Competitors then sprint from the beach to the water, jump in their boats, paddle through the waves and the current along a 250 meter course, return to the beach and sprint to the finish line.

Some of the rowers at the flatwater US Rowing Youth Nationals, which took place at Nathan Benderson Park June 12-15, also competed in the Youth Beach Sprint National Championships. “We are trying to create that pipeline of Olympic athletes,” says Sarah McAuliffe, senior director of programming at US Rowing. “We have about 150 athletes competing at Lido Key—a lot of them don’t have beach sprint experience, they only have flat water experience—but they all obviously know the rowing motion and are top athletes. While some of these youth athletes will not be there for 2028, most likely some of them will be in the next cycle of the Olympics.”

Although the competition at the Youth Beach Sprint National Championships is as serious as it gets, the atmosphere is much more laid back than that of a typical flatwater regatta. “Picture a surf competition vibe. We have a DJ, there are balloons everywhere and our referees are wearing Hawaiian shirts,” says McAuliffe. “It’s still incredibly serious with phenomenal athletes, but we bring the fun to it.”

US Rowing Beach Sprint National Team Trials, June 20-22, South Lido Key Beach Park, 2201 Ben Franklin Dr, Sarasota, 34236

A rower competes at the Youth Beach Sprint National Championships at Lido Key Beach. Provided photo.

To learn more click here