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Oak Ridge hosts national rowing championships at Melton Lake Park

Racing goes from 8 a.m. through 6 p.m., Aug. 12 - 15. City officials said people should expect heavy traffic around the lake during the championships.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Oak Ridge tends to bring in people from all across the country. Physicists tend to stay in the city alongside business leaders eager to enjoy all the city has to offer. Over the weekend, rowers will join them from across the U.S.

The U.S. Rowing Masters National Rowing Championships kicked off on Thursday, and the competition will last through the weekend until Sunday. From 8 a.m. through 6 p.m., rowers will race on Melton Lake to see who can coast through the water the best.

Heavy traffic is expected around Melton Lake Park, officials said. They said parking will be closed to anyone not involved in the races, but the Melton Lake Greenway will be open to the public.

For many rowers, the event is the first big championship in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For last time Oak Ridge hosted the event was in 2017.

"This is definitely a team sport. Even if you're racing in the single, you're not just racing for yourself," said Brook Yimer, a rower. "You're representing your program, you're representing your family, you're representing your teammates and you're just representing the sport as a whole. It's always going to be a team sport, which is why I love it."

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