RegattaCentral

Desert Sprints Introduces New Two-Day Format!

Big changes are in store for the 2018 Desert Sprints Regatta. Saturday will be exclusively 2000-meter races for Juniors, while Saturday will feature a Masters-only lineup of 1000-meter races.

In 2018, the Desert Sprints celebrates its 16th anniversary, making it the oldest boating event on Tempe Town Lake, as well as the oldest and largest rowing event in the state of Arizona. The Desert Sprints has grown from a local, mom-and-pop event in the early days to a regular stop on the regatta calendar of many of the top Junior and Masters programs in the country.

The lake's 2000m Albano buoyed race course is one of only six such courses in the western U.S. It's a point of pride for the Arizona rowing community and a great way for competitors to kick off the 2018 racing season.

Tempe Town Lake is a man-made body of water located on the northern edge of downtown Tempe. The lake is two miles long and between 200 and 240 meters wide, with a new dam located at the west end of the lake.