RegattaCentral

LWRC Celebrates 50 Years

Lake Washington Rowing Club celebrates its 50^thanniversary this year and reconnects its ties to the University of Washington where the club’s rowing facilities were located until 1975.

After many years co-hosting the Head of the Lake Regatta, LWRC and the UW again team up for this 27^th annual head race that has grown to the largest fall rowing regatta west of the Mississippi.

Founded in 1957 by athletes training to compete internationally, LWRC was coached by Stan Pocock and won Olympic gold medals in 1960 and 1964 and Pan American Games gold in 1959 and 1963.

Olympic gold medalist Paul Enquist of Seattle founded the Head of the Lake Regatta in 1981 when a small group of scullers from LWRC wanted to cap their rowing season by challenging each other to race.

Today the head race continues to cap the rowing year for Northwest scullers and sweep teams.