Wisconsin’s largest and most-visited state park, Devil’s Lake offers a unique site for regattas. The 2,000-meter, eight-lane course will finish at the lake’s South Shore, while the course is surrounded by 500-foot bluffs on the east and west.
“Thinking about changing venues was challenging them and it’s like, ‘Well, Wisconsin is the frozen tundra right?’ Not all the time,” Bryans said of some of the concerns she has heard in the leadup to the championships. “If we can make it south, then everybody else can make it north. Hopefully they’ll see it’s just like traveling anywhere else.”
Schmelzer is expecting as many as 1,000 vehicles at the park May 19, while there will be nearby shuttles available to transport spectators.