Olympic Rowing Debuts at Arcadia Lake

Edmond’s Arcadia Lake is becoming an Olympic training ground as international athletes prepare for the debut of beach-sprint rowing for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

On Aug. 29-30, Arcadia Lake partnered with the Edmond Route 66 Beach Festival. During the festival, rowers showcased Beach Sprints, America’s newest Olympic sport debuting in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“We were asked to host the inaugural Route 66 Beach Festival by the Founder of River Sport,” said the City of Edmond Communication and Tourism Director, Jennifer Thornton.

“We recommended this opportunity, and it was $100,000, which is the biggest sponsorship we’ve ever given, and then we went to city council because they have to approve it. We felt like investing in something like this was worth it.”

A lot of preparation went into the Route 66 Beach Sprint Rowing Festival at Arcadia Lake. Arcadia Lake staff worked hard to make the beach nice, and the City of Edmond had to get permits for food trucks and sponsors for the festival.

“The cool thing about this sport is that all you need to play…is a lake and a beach, so it doesn’t have to be on the coast. The organizers of Beach Sprint Rowing really wanted the inaugural festival to be ideally on Route 66 in the middle of America, and that is Arcadia Lake.”

Beach sprint rowing is a fast-paced coastal rowing event that combines a land sprint, open-water boat navigation, and a final sprint across the sand.

Competitors start on dry land, sprinting roughly 50 meters across the sand and into the water. Handlers hold the boat in shallow water, helping the rower quickly jump in and secure their feet. Rowers navigate a 250-meter course out to sea, weaving slalom-style around buoys before executing a 180-degree turn at the final turning stake. Rowers sprint back through the waves to the shore and make a final sprint on the sand to finish the race.

Beach sprint rowing was inspired by rowing. However, rowers go down a river, so it is hard to see the sport. Beach sprint rowing is shorter, so people can watch the whole race.

“It is less than five minutes per race, and you get to see it all,” said Thornton.

“The goal is to be able to activate lakes throughout the cities in the United States to show how fun beach sprint rowing is. Since it’s a new sport and we get to be tagged with that, we are planning on having it in 2028 during the Olympics.” Said Thornton.

Arcadia Lake is going to be promoted worldwide as the inaugural festival. In 2027, there will be a domestic tour across the United States, but Edmond got to be the first one, said Thornton.

“We received a quality events grant from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, so we can get back $250,000 to help with the next event,” Said Thornton.

The city of Edmond plans to host this event annually once the logistics are planned. For example, the results, how much money the city made, and whether it is deemed “worth it.”

“When people are visiting Oklahoma City to watch the Olympics, they can also come to Edmond and watch Beach Sprints. The actual Beach Sprints will be in Long Beach, California.”

Learn more about the LA28 Olympics here.

Find future Arcadia events here.