RegattaCentral

The Beach Crew Alumni (BCA) welcome you to Marine Stadium, the rowing venue for the 2028 Olympics, for what has become known as the Pancake Regatta which will be held on Saturday, November 15,  2025.  We are anticipating over 250 competitors.  Past participants for this event include: CSULB, OCC, SDSU, UCLA, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO, USC, LMU and UCI have each committed to the event.  This regatta features 3 separate events.  

• The first event is a head race around Naples Island in Alamitos Bay.  The formal name for this event is the NICRC (Naples Island Collegiate Rowing Challenge).The distance is slightly over 4k.  Results will be recorded, and medals will be awarded to each member of the winning men’s and women’s crews in the 8+,4+,2-,2x. Due to beach launching this year, schools will have the option of racing in an eight and one other small boat. Based on the time schedule and schools able to launch from the beachside of Marine Stadium, schools will be able to participate in a maximum of two head races this year. GIVEN THE TIME SCHEDULE, SCHOOLS MAY NOT RACE IN TWO SMALL BOATS. THOSE LATE TO THE STARTING LINE WILL BE SCRATCHED FROM THE EVENT. ALL SCHOOLS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING TO THE START LINE ON TIME AND IN THE CORRECT ORDER. The “Queen Mary Trophy” will also be presented to the school rowing program with the most total points in the head race event. 
• The second event is a sprint race for novice eights and is 850 meters in length with 3-5 crews being aligned for each race.   This is a fun event which provides the novice crews an exposure to side-by-side sprint racing.  Unfortunately, “hot seating” will not be allowed this year due to the limited dock space.  Many of the crews have limited rowing time by November so it is not uncommon to see some crews race by sixes in their first races.  No order of finish or finish times will be recorded for participants in the Novice Sprints as it is purely a fun and educational event.  
• The final feature of the Regatta is that every participant is invited to a free pancake breakfast immediately after their row which provides an opportunity to network with their competitors for the day.  

Beach Launching: This year, participating schools will beach launch from the westside of Marine Stadium. In addtion, schools may set up pop up tents and store their boats on the beach. Given this is a new arrangement for launching, we ask that all schools participate in the pancake breakfast and awards ceremony at the Pete Archer Rowing Center which is on the eastside of the Marine Stadium. 

Universities out of State or from Northern California: We are offering boats, oars and housing, on a first come, first serve basis, for any team(s) that inquire. While we can only offer 2-4 eights and housing for a max of 36 athletes, we want to be able to defray the costs to a school interested in participating in the event. In addition, all athletes receive a free pancake breakfast after the event. If interested, please contact Kelly Hurley at [email protected]. 

Regatta Costs and Payment

This regatta is being run by the BCA (Beach Crew Alumni) who are the sponsors of the regatta.   All payments for entry are done through Regatta Central. If your university athletic department requires the event participation be paid by check, please contact Kelly Hurley at [email protected].  Below are the costs to participate:

NICRC (head race)

$145 for each eight

$125 for each four

$100 for each pair or double

Novice Sprints

$125 for each eight

Entry Deadline: Friday November 7th, 2025

Late Entries will be charged $25 per boat after November 7h, 2025