The Eastern Michigan University Rowing Team scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Friday, April 26, to celebrate the installation of its new eight-lane course on Ford Lake.
Located about five miles from campus, the 2,000-meter champion-level rowing course was designed under a plan to host home races and regattas, as well as middle and high school events. To celebrate its completion, the public is invited to the ribbon-cutting event at 4 p.m. at Ford Lake Park, 9075 South Huron River Drive.
The team has practiced on Ford Lake for about a decade, but “for the last few years, we’ve just had single races,” EMU Deputy Athletic Director Andy Rowdon said. “We can do that without a course, but it’s much easier with a course.”
The semi-permanent 2,000-meter course cost $487,000 to create; it includes floating launch and recovery platforms, and removable aligner platforms and starting docks.
“Geographically, we're just blessed to have Ford Lake here," Rowdon said. "It's the perfect home for something like this."
In a statement released by the university, EMU Rowing Coach Kemp Savage called the project a game-changer.
"The EMU Rowing Course at Ford Lake provides our student-athletes with unparalleled training opportunities," Savage said, "and positions Ypsilanti as a premier destination for rowing nationwide."
The course was physically installed into the lake between Big Island Park and the Ford Lake Park Beach Area.
On the lake, “There’s a big island, which ironically is named ‘Big Island’ on a map,” Rowdon said. “The course will start there and then head southeast to Ford Lake Park ... There’s a point that comes out right by the boat dock. That’s where the finish line will be.”
The course lines are made of stainless steel.
“They put semi-permanent lines that’ll basically go down to the lakebed at the start line, and then at the 500-meter [mark], 1,000, 1,500 and at the finish line,” Rowdon said, “and they run across pretty close to north and south.”
Each meter mark is supported by buoys, which are removable when not in use.
“Those stainless steel lines actually float upwards towards the surface,” Rowdon said. “When you don’t want it, you take the buoys off and the course sinks back down to the bottom.”
Rowdon said, “It doesn’t impact anybody who wants to be out on the lake. Even if the course is fully installed and people are out, and if a boater ran over a buoy, they might cut the rope and we’d lose a buoy, but it doesn’t impact anybody’s boat, fish, or any type of wildlife out on the lake.”
The rowing course has a low impact on surrounding neighborhoods and others who wish to recreationally use the lake.
"Typically the park is open to the public starting after Memorial Day and runs until Labor Day," Rowdon said. "The collegiate rowing season, for the most part, other than the NCAA championship, takes place before Memorial Day; it's an April-May type of sport. So, the majority of events that we would host will be April and May when the park's really not in use. It kind of fits perfectly."
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EMU worked with Ypsilanti Township and the state Department of Natural Resources when planning the installation of the course.
"This initiative marks a pivotal moment for Ypsilanti Township," Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said in a news statement released by the university. "The EMU Rowing Course at Ford Lake not only enhances our recreational offerings, but also positions us as a premier destination for sports enthusiasts, boosting tourism and community pride."
Rowdon said the natural resources department gave the course approval as well.
"They actually love the low impact nature of the course," Rowdon said. "There were no concerns about impacting wildlife in any way."
The course was funded and built through a cooperative agreement involving Destination Ann Arbor, Marriott Eagle Crest, the Ann Arbor Sports Commission, Eastern Michigan, and the Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees.
