The Rocketts Landing Sprints are part of the James River Adventure Games (promoted by the Richmond Sports Backers), taking place along the Upper and Lower James Riverfront in Richmond June 16 & 17, 2007.

Events will be refereed by USRA. The race course will be controlled by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Registration will be open in May: www.roninracing.com
All participants will receive a regatta t-shirt. A registration fee and a waiver are required for registration.

Our site, Rocketts Landing, has been in use since 1730, when Robert Rockett operated a ferry here across the James River. In 1816, Rocketts Landing hosted the first steamboat to reach Richmond. During the Civil War, Rocketts landing was an integral part of the Confederate Navy Yard. In April, 1865, after the fall of the City, President Lincoln landed at Rocketts Landing and walked to downtown Richmond. The Virginia Boat Club has rowed from Rocketts Landing since 1987, although, our presence on the river has a much longer history.

The Virginia Boat Club descends from one of the earliest rowing clubs in the United States. In 1876, seven young men from the Olympic baseball team and a six-oared shell founded the Olympic Rowing Club at Second Street by the Kanawha Canal. As Richmond grew commercially and socially prominent, Richmond rowing flourished. In 1888, the Olympic Rowing Club and the nearby Kanawha Rowing Club merged to form the Virginia Boat Club. With their larger numbers and resources, they moved to Mayo's Island by the current 14th Street Bridge where they built the first of several boathouses. The modern Club was reorganized in 1986. Today, rowing on the James continues with The Virginia Boat Club and Virginia Commonwealth University Crew Club. The VBC is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to amateur rowing. Our current boathouse was once the power generating plant for Richmond's trolley system. The boathouse is a large, white brick building distinguishable by the tall, red brick smokestack on the west side.

Spectators can watch the crews battle upstream over the 1000 metre course by standing by the Intermediate Terminal dock or on the banks of the Virginia Boat Club and Rocketts Landing site at 4708 Old East Main Street.