History of the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Championship

Before the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association [MSRA] was formed, there existed a Central States Schoolboy Championship (there were no high school girls competing in the region at that time) beginning in the late 1950s, and active in the 1960s until about 1978. The Central States Schoolboy Championship included Lane Tech and Weber High Schools from Chicago, South St. Paul HS (MN), St. John’s Military Academy (WI), Culver Academies (IN), along with Ecorse BC and Roosevelt HS from Detroit. Racing by the teams during that time often included competing against adult clubs and college freshmen, due to the limited number of high school aged competition. As a few high school rowing programs ceased to exist (those rowing from Lincoln Park BC in Chicago, St. John’s Military, South St. Paul) many more were established (Wheeling and Parkersburg, WV and Marietta, OH) and the Central States Schoolboy Championship disappeared.

The Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association was organized in the fall of 1983 with two purposes:

• First, to sponsor a midwest scholastic championship regatta each spring.
• Second, to organize midwest scholastic/junior regatta scheduling and information exchange.

The first Midwest Scholastic Championship Regatta was held in Culver, Indiana and was hosted by Culver Academies on May 12, 1984. Ten schools and two clubs attended the first regatta and competed in fourteen events for boys (1500 meters) and seven events, three with a single entry, for girls (1000 meters). The regatta grew into a two day format of heats and finals by its second year in 1985. The number of participating programs has continued to grow and the Association came to include crews from 12 states. The Association even included crews from Kansas and Tennessee for a while. The number of events also grew. There were 52 schools and clubs racing in 44 final events at the 2000 Championship. Continuing conflict (racing "youth" and "varsity" crews together or separately; 1500 meters vs. 2000 meters; adding "youth" events; and the enormous size of the regatta and the number of heats and finals due to growing participation) between "club" and "single school" programs caused the Association to separate into two organizations in the fall of 2000.

"Clubs" versus Schools: Youth rowing "clubs", drawing athletes from more than one high school, had been a part of the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association since the beginning. In the first championship, two "clubs" raced in 1984: Mendota Rowing Club and Cincinnati Outdoor Cooperative (a precursor of the Cincinnati Junior RC). Beginning in 1989, "clubs" that had more than four rowers of the same gender on their team, were required to race as the "high school"--their "club" instead of mixed together just as the "club." Over the years, some member schools became concerned about the participation against clubs that could potentially recruit from the best athletes at several high schools, and restrictions of the Michigan High School Athletic Association on its member schools. Separate "youth" and "scholastic" (single school) events were established starting in 1991. "Youth" events are open to either "clubs" or schools, while in the "scholastic" events, only athletes that attend the same school are allowed. After the 2000 championship, the Association separated into two organizations with the single school programs ("scholastic") remaining as the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association, and the clubs forming the Midwest Junior Rowing Association. The MSRA retains its championship on the second weekend of May and races 1500 meters, while the MJRA has its championship on the third weekend of May and races 2000 meters.

In the spring of 2000, prior to splitting into two organizations, the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association was composed of 48 high school teams and 18 “club” teams dispersed among 12 states.

Initially, the site of the Championship traveled among the member organizations in order to share the large travel distances within our very geographically expansive region.  The championship regatta site was selected by the coaches of the Association during a teleconference each November. The championship regatta was hosted by Indianapolis for five years (1991-1995), then Cincinnati for four years (1997-2000), near Detroit for four years (2001-2004) and returned to Cincinnati for seven years (2005-2012).  Wind or high water has several times disrupted the Championship, including high water levels at Cincinnati’s Lake Harsha in 2011 causing the regatta to be postponed a week and relocated to Oak Ridge, TN.

Beginning in 2013 the MSRA sponsored the Championship at Dillon Lake near Zanesville, OH.  This location is within a state park but otherwise had no rowing infrastructure and no local rowing program.  The site was developed with a 1500 meter course and docks as a permanent site for the Championship regatta.  Participation continued to grow at the championship, as more and more rowing programs were started by high schools.
The 2022 Championship regatta was hosted at Kent Lake in the Kensington Metropark outside of Ann Arbor, MI.

The MSRA and Dillon Lake LOC hosted the Scholastic Rowing Association Championship at Dillon Lake in 2016 and 2019.

The Midwest Scholastic Championship is a qualifying event for the USRowing Youth National Championship and the Scholastic Rowing Association Championship.

Previous MSRA Championships:

A team point trophy for boys events and a team points trophy for girls events has been awarded since 1987. Initially all events were considered, however beginning in 1991 (the year "youth" events were instituted), only the "scholastic" (single school) events were counted.  The MSRA "Guy Weaser" Combined team point trophy (teams that entered both genders) was first awarded in 2001.  Beginning in 2021 the team point trophies for boys and girls were divided into a team sweep points trophy and team sculling points trophy for each gender.  Beginning in 2023 points were weighted based on category for all boat classes: 100% for Varsity; 80% for 2V and Junior; 60% for 3V, Novice and Freshman.  In 2023 age eligibility was also modified to not reaching 19 prior to the start of school in the fall preceding the Championships and a limit of 4 consecutive years in grades 9-12

The governance structure has evolved from a chairman, expanded to sub-regional representatives and is currently administered by a Board of Directors, ten are elected from the sub-regions and one elected at-large headed by a Board Chairman.  Each Board member serves a three-year term with a rotational election schedule.