IUPUI Regatta set for Saturday
INDIANAPOLIS - More than 100 teams will launch their canoes Saturday, Sept. 21, in the fifth annual IUPUI Regatta, a canoe race on the canal in downtown Indianapolis. Thousands of people are expected to line the banks to enjoy thrills and spills in IUPUI’s largest student-run campus tradition.
The IUPUI Regatta is a half-mile canoe relay competition involving 112 teams of up to eight IUPUI students, faculty, staff and alumni. The paddlers begin at Fairbanks Hall at the north end of the canal, race to the USS Indianapolis basin and then back to complete the half-mile leg.
The regatta also has events for families and children, including clowns, face painters, rock climbing, balloon artists and a bounce house. There will also be a dog costume contest and live entertainment from Indianapolis-area bands.
“The steering committee is excited to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Regatta,” Lyndsey Keener, executive director of the steering committee,” said. “we hope that the IUPUI and greater Indianapolis community enjoy the expanded lineup of performers on both entertainment stages.”
Established in 2009, the IUPUI Regatta, presented by Herff Jones, is an event for the campus and Indianapolis community, while benefiting an IUPUI student scholarship.
The first regatta heat begins at 11 a.m., followed by 13 additional heats. Three final heats for women, men and co-ed teams are scheduled to run from 3:30 to 4 p.m.
The IUPUI Regatta leadership structure is unique in that it relies on students and alumni to plan and implement the events, including those leading up to race day.
Regatta week kicked off Sept. 16 with an ice cream social for students, faculty and staff, as well as “S'mores & Oars,” presented by the Residence Hall Association, featuring s'mores and hot chocolate, games and music. Other events -- including Greek Life Battleships, Natatorium Battleships, a movie in the natatorium with audience members floating in the pool, an obstacle course competition, a volley ball tournament and a 5K run -- round out the week.
