Some 12,000 people are expected at the Chattanooga waterfront for the "Head of the Hooch" regatta this weekend.

The economic impact is expected to be $4,320,000 from the event sponsored by the Atlanta Rowing Club & Lookout Rowing Club.

There is no cost to public to watch the rowing events. The Chattanooga Market will be at the site.

More than 30 years ago, the Atlanta Rowing Club organized a small headrace on the Chattahoochee River, in front of their boathouse. It began with 105 boats. By 1998 almost 500 boats were raced in one day and the regatta was outgrowing its namesake site. In 1999, the regatta moved from Roswell to the Olympic venue in Gainesville, technically still remaining on the Chattahoochee River. The number of boats raced at the Hooch was growing by 10-15% each year and by 2004 the much larger venue in Gainesville had reached its limit with more than 1,000 boats - twice as many as only five years prior! The regatta needed to find a new venue that would accommodate the growing number of competitors and spectators.

About that same time, Chattanooga was completing a $120 million renovation to rebuild their downtown waterfront and in 2005 the Hooch (a shortened name for a new location) was held for the first time on the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga. The venue became an instant success. The appeal and convenience of a regatta in the downtown area of a city like Chattanooga was undeniable. Rowers and spectators could walk from the venue to hotels and restaurants. In addition, the city offered many attractions for the non-rowing members of the family. Its unsurpassed Southern hospitality and enthusiasm to serve competitors, spectators, and vendors became the trademark for the second largest regatta in the country. In 2011, over 2,000 boats raced in the one and a half day regatta.

 The Hooch organization is 100% volunteer run – there is no paid staff. ARC, LRC, SARC and University of Tennessee in Chattanooga provide the bulk of the volunteers.

2012 Row for the Cure Events

· Evt# 5: Women's Master 8+

· Evt#10: Men's Master 4+ (New for 2012!)

· Evt#30: Women's Youth 4+

· Evt#35: Women's Master 2x

· Evt#37: Women's Championship 4+

For more information on Row for Cure, visitwww.rowforthecure.org and www.rowforthecureatlanta.org.

NEW FOR 2012

• In 2010, The Hooch tested the waters and added a few Sunday races for adaptive rowers, rowers with physical or developmental challenges. This year, 2012, these races will move to Saturday providing an opportunity to showcase these remarkable athletes.

Rowing clubs across the nation have started adaptive rowing programs including the Atlanta Rowing Club. Adaptive rowing made its debut at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. To ensure fair competition for adaptive athletes, FISA has established a number of classifications (see below).

• TA (Trunk and Arms): Rowers unable to use a sliding seat are considered TA participants. Typical disabilities include bilateral knee amputation or a complete lesion at vertebrate L3.
• AS (Arms and Shoulders): Individuals with lesions at vertebrate T12 or cerebral palsy class 4 are included in the AS category and typically have minimal or no trunk function.
• LTA (Legs, Trunk, Arms): LTA-PD (physical disability) participants typically have a minimal disability of amputation, incomplete lesion at vertebrate S1, or cerebral palsy class 8. LTA-B classification is reserved for individuals with a minimum of 10% visual impairment.

For more details, visit:http://www.worldrowing.com/fisa/resources/rule-books

ABOUT ATLANTA ROWING CLUB

The Atlanta Rowing Club was founded in 1974 and is located in Roswell, GA. ARC is the original organizing club for the Head of the Chattahoochee. The purpose and objectives of the Atlanta Rowing Club is to promote rowing locally, regionally and nationally in addition to providing equipment and instruction to members while preserving the environment. The ARC has been extremely successful in all three areas.

ARC is proud to have played a part in the selection of the rowing venue for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and to have provided volunteers who contributed to planning, organizing and running both the Olympic test event and the Olympics.

Currently the club has about 250 members and maintains two boathouses and a pavilion, providing storage for both private and club boats. From the boathouse on the Chattahoochee River, you can row 1.5 miles upstream to the GA 400 Bridge and 4 miles downstream to Morgan Falls Dam. Three times a year the club organizes 'Learn to Row' programs for novice oarsmen and oarswomen.

In 2011, ARC launched an adaptive rowing program, extending membership to individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities through its Southeastern Adaptive Sculling (SEAS) Initiative.

For details about the Atlanta Rowing Club, visitwww.atlantarow.org.

For information on the adaptive rowing program, visit:www.atlantarow.org/view/adaptive-rowing

ABOUT THE LOOKOUT ROWING CLUB

The Lookout Rowing Club has a rich history in Chattanooga. First introduced in 1876, it was dormant until 1974 when it was revived with 15 interested individuals and supporters at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. In 1994, the William G. Raoul Rowing Center was built from private donations to support both Olympic and community rowing.

The LRC is dedicated to the promotion of rowing in the Chattanooga area. The club currently has about 75 members from 18 to over 70 years of age who are active in both recreational and competitive rowing.

For several years, prior to the Atlanta Olympics, the United States Women’s Rowing Team used the facility as their base of operations. Now the Rowing Center is the home of the Lookout Rowing Club and the Chattanooga Junior Rowing Program.

For details about the Lookout Rowing Club, visitwww.lookoutrowingclub.com.

THE CHATTANOOGA MARKET:

For spectators, the Chattanooga Market, the region’s largest authentic outdoor local food and artistry market, will be on Riverfront Parkway near the regatta on Saturday from 8am-5pm.

MEALS/RESTAURANT OPPORTUNITIES

The athletes and families make their own arrangements for meals and will be eating out at the local restaurants. The athletes will be ready to eat by 5:30 p.m. Typically, the crews are looking for inexpensive and healthy meals: pasta, chicken and vegetarian dishes being the most popular fare.