Rowing events will return to Langley Pond as it reopens after having been dormant for seven years for repairs to the leaking dam.
The announcement came during the Jan. 28 ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Langley Pond Park.
“On March 12, the Augusta Invitational Regatta will be the first event we have back out here. So, we’re excited to get rolling back to Aiken County,” said Mark van der Linden, Aiken County’s director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
[adrotate banner=”15″]
The regatta is sponsored by the Augusta Rowing Club.
“Back when we first started using the pond because, while the river is wonderful for certain competition, this with the stillwater and the protection that it has on all sides; it really meant that people could prepare for events like the Olympics,” said George Fry with the rowing club.
The U.S. Rowing Team used Langley Pond as the home practice facility prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Fry said eight or nine other countries also sent their teams to train there.
Among the new amenities the rowers and spectators will see are a finish line tower completed in early 2020, a large, adaptive playground, larger beach area, a multipurpose shelter and grilling area and hammocks along the bank.
Fry said word that Langley Pond is re-opened is already spreading to other states.
“We’ve been contacted by some organizations in Florida, and they’re interested in holding some of the competition here at Langley Park and the other thing is teams coming into practice. If you’re able to come here, instead of going to Tampa it adds two days of practice if you’re coming down from Canada, you’re coming down from Massachusetts,” he said.
Van der Linden said the park can also be a selling tool for Aiken County growth.
“I’ve already seen realtors listing Langley Pond Park in their listings as being five minutes away. Developers and businesses locate near great parks, home values can potentially increase and revitalization often happens in areas where there are good parks, turning old neighborhoods into new,” he said.
More information about Langley Pond Dam and Park is available at: https://discoveraikencounty.com/langley-pond-park/ and https://www.facebook.com/langleypondpark/
Information about the Augusta Rowing Club is at: https://www.augustarowingclub.org/
