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The first ever Online Regatta was held Monday Dec 14, 2009 in the form of a Race Night Series organized by Concept2 UK and hosted by Digital Rowing.
The Race Night Series was announced at the British Indoor Rowing Championships in November, where participants saw a live demo race with 15 competitors in the UK, Europe, US and New Zealand racing online with RowPro.
The first night in the Race Night Series involved 25 competitors racing a 5-min, 3-min and 1-min sequence of races over the course of an hour. Competitors' raw scores were then adjusted for age, weight and gender to determine an overall winner across the three races.
Top-scoring competitor Jo Andrews was surprised to have won. "I looked up the results afterwards and I was listed way down towards the bottom. I went to bed thinking 'must try harder'. But the next day I discovered that, after the scores had been adjusted, I'd won! It's very motivating to know that even though I was racing against the 'big boys', I still have a chance to be placed."
Concept2 UK Race Night Series organizer Simon Larkin was delighted with the event. "I was extremely pleased to get Concept2 UK's first online event started" said Simon after the races. "I hope it's going to be the first of many."
"This first night's racing in the Race Night Series was an historic moment for us all" said Pete Loeffen, President of Digital Rowing.
"I congratulate Concept2 UK for embracing this new Online Regatta technology and writing this first chapter in the history of Online Regattas. I also thank all the participants for making this event a great success, and of course we all congratulate Jo Andrews on her historic win."
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C2 Race Night Series - Historic beginning to online regattasDigital Rowing Online Coordinator Pam Loeffen helped the Race Night Series participants prepare during the week leading up to the racing, and managed the check-in and start sequence for the races from New Zealand. "The participants were really on the ball" said Pam. "The warm-up and check in went very smoothly, and all the races started on time. It was a very exciting night!"
Jo Andrews dug deep for her win. "I found it tough going, but when you know you're being watched from all over the world, the pride takes over from the fatigue. For the one minute piece, I just went for it and think I achieved my highest ever stroke rate of 41spm. I loved the inter-race chat online and the tireless support from Pam online. Thanks C2 and Digital Rowing - a brilliant idea, well executed. I'm looking forward to the next one!"
"There's no doubt this is the way of the future" said Pete Loeffen, President of Digital Rowing. "We expect to see uptake of the new Online Regatta technology worldwide for a wide range of competitions, from inter-school, corporate and adaptive regattas to national and international championships. Watch this space!"
Concept2 UK Race Night Series