Manatee County school board members John Colon, left, and Charlie Kennedy talk about the creative way the district revised the school schedule to make up four days lost to Hurricane Irma. Richard Dymond rdymond@bradenton.com

MANATEE 

Faced with finding a solution to make up four of six lost days of school due to Hurricane Irma, members of the School District of Manatee County had to think outside of the box.

The solution, approved unanimously by the Manatee County School Board on Tuesday, was to cancel “early out” on two days and make them full school days, use two scheduled hurricane days during the Thanksgiving holiday week and add 10 minutes to several other days.

I THINK IT’S GOOD. I’VE TALKED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR AN ANSWER AND HAVE SHARED IDEAS AND WHILE WE CAN’T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY WITH ANY CALENDAR DECISION I THINK THE IDEA THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HER STAFF CAME UP WITH WILL SATISFY THE MOST PEOPLE.

Charlie Kennedy, school board member

Manatee students now will attend a full day of school on “early release” days October 4 and December 6, according to Superintendent Diana Greene.

In addition, the first two days of Thanksgiving week, November 20-21, which were on the schedule as possible hurricane make-up days, will now be used as such, becoming full school days, Greene announced.

The revised Thanksgiving break will now be shortened to five days, November 22-26.

Finally, the district is adding 10 minutes to the school day from October 2 through December 20, Greene said.

“Every grade, every school, there will be 10 more minutes added to the normal day,” said school board member Charlie Kennedy. “That’s an additional 530 minutes, which is about a day and a half of school.”

“All of that gets us just slightly over four make-up days,” Kennedy added.

Greene said the district considered making Veteran’s Day on November 10 a school day, but it is noted as a day off in the teacher’s union contract and would have required negotiations.

“I think it’s good,” Kennedy added of the plan. “I’ve talked to a lot of people over the past two weeks who have been waiting for an answer and have shared ideas, and while we can’t make everyone happy with any calendar decision, I think the idea the superintendent and her staff came up with will satisfy the most people.”

“Extending the school day is always a great move,” said school board member Gina Messenger.

 Spring training sites, Premier Sports Campus and Fox Lea Farm also bring in national events

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA — Sarasota’s Nathan Benderson Park is basking in the international spotlight as it hosts the 2017 World Rowing Championships.  This is the first time the global event has taken place in the U.S. in more than two decades.

The rowing venue is far from being the only Sarasota-Manatee sports hub. From IMG Academy to Fox Lea Farm to two, soon to be three, Major League Baseball spring training sites, numerous other venues bring in their own national sports events, visitors and money to boost the area’s economy.

Spring training

The Baltimore Orioles have used Sarasota’s 7,500-seat Ed Smith Stadium since 2010 and generated $89 million last year in economic impact, a record for Sarasota County sports tourism, according to an independent study commissioned by the county.

David Rovine, the Orioles-Sarasota vice president, estimates that 120,000 people attend the team’s spring training games annually and about 65 percent of those visitors come from out of town.

Ed Smith Stadium also hosts minor-league Gulf Coast League Orioles games, youth baseball tournaments and cultural events such as Arts in the Ballpark, featuring the Sarasota Orchestra.

“We’re generating revenue and economic impact on a year-round basis, not just spring training,” Rovine said.

Bradenton has been the home of Pittsburgh Pirates’ spring training since 1969 at LECOM Park, known as McKechnie Field until a name change this year.

In 2016, Pirates spring training games generated an estimated at least $36 million in economic impact from fan spending, according to a study provided by Elliott Falcione, Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. About 71 percent of more than 103,000 visitors to those games came from outside Manatee County.

And now there will be a third Sarasota-Manatee spring training site. The North Port City Commission on Tuesday approved a long-in-the-works stadium complex in the city that would start hosting the Atlanta Braves in 2019.

IMG Academy

Bradenton’s IMG Academy is a boarding school for student athletes from around the world as well as a Sarasota-Manatee sports venue, hosting national and international events and training sports teams on its campus.

The campus opened in 1978 as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy by the renowned tennis coach before being bought by IMG in 1987. In addition to tennis, the program now includes football, soccer, basketball and lacrosse, bringing more than 1,000 students from approximately 80 countries.

The school now has a 5,000-seat stadium, nearly 60 tennis courts, 16 soccer fields and a recently opened soccer complex, four baseball fields and three each football practice and lacrosse fields, communications director Meghan Flanagan said.

These amenities make it a popular site for large sports events such as the Eddie Herr International Junior Championships, scheduled to bring in more than 2,000 tennis players from 90 countries Nov. 22 to Dec. 3.

IMG Academy has held the CONCACAF Boys U-15 Championship, U.S. Lacrosse’s Team USA Spring Premiere and NCAA Division II Track & Field National Championships.  And holds its own events, such as the IMG Cup soccer series and the IMG Classic baseball tournament.

One of IMG’s fastest-growing businesses in recent years has been team training and hosting, Flanagan said. The Oakland Raiders have trained there, as have multiple Major League Soccer teams and Chinese Athletic Association teams.

IMG plans to expand further.  A 150-room hotel is under construction, with plans to open in the fall of 2018.

Premier Sports Campus

Lakewood Ranch’s 140-acre Premier Sports Campus offers fields where local residents can play soccer, lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee and other sports.

But of the more than 45 events it holds annually, many are national and not all of them involve sports, director Antonio Saviano said.

Last year, the campus held the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase and Nike International Friendlies, which brought in teams from Brazil and Turkey. It also was the site this year of the music-and-motorcycle festival Thunder by the Bay after the event was moved from downtown Sarasota for the first time.

“Our facility is a multipurpose facility,” Saviano said. “We don’t just do sports, we do music festivals, we do 5K races. It’s a very broad type of facility.”

The campus opened in 2011 and has 22 multi-purpose fields, but Saviano said that number can be expanded to 36 if necessary for events. Last year, it also added a grandstand for 3,000 with a concession stand and information center.

In the 2016-17 fiscal year, the Premier Sports Campus generated an estimated $16 million in economic impact, with 22,000 participants and 18,000 hotel room nights, according to Sean Walter, the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and Bradenton Area Sports Commission’s director of sports.

Those events mean an influx of visitors coming to stay at hotels and dining at restaurants in Lakewood Ranch. Saviano said a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts has sometimes run out of food.

“When you bring 13,000 to 14,000 people to the area over the weekend, these people have got to eat somewhere,” Saviano said.

Manatee County has expressed interest in buying Premier Sports Campus from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the owner and developer of Lakewood Ranch, citing its ability to bring in out-of-town sports tournaments.

Fox Lea Farm

Fox Lea Farm may not have the name recognition of IMG Academy or Major League Baseball teams, but the Venice equestrian facility has made a name for itself on the national horse show circuit and become one of the top three sports tourism sites in Sarasota County.

“It’s very well-known nationally, but it hasn’t been well-known in the community until the last few years,” said Laurie Birnbach, its acting public relations director.

The 46-acre facility opened in 1983 and hosts around 40 events annually, most notably the seven-week, U.S. Equestrian Federation-sanctioned Venice Equestrian Tour, which started last year and runs from January to March. In 2016, Fox Lea Farm had a $17 million direct economic impact, Birnbach said.

The equestrian federation said its members have an average income of $185,000 and compete at least six times a year. Twenty-two percent own or two more homes.

“The demographic of the people that compete in the sport are very attractive to the economic development people,” Birnbach said.

The other big Florida horse show venues are in Wellington and Ocala, but Birnbach said one big appeal to Venice for out-of-town visitors is that it’s 10 minutes away from the beach.

Fox Lea Farm isn’t worried about this week’s other big Sarasota-Manatee sports tourism news about the Atlanta Braves spring training complex joining them in South County, Birnbach said.

In fact, it’s hoping the stadium will mean construction of additional hotels for people attending its own events.

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       What to know for the upcoming week:

• USPS mail delivery is still suspended.
• FPL is working around the clock to restore power. You can get updated outage numbers on the FPL website. 
• Many traffic lights are out. Treat intersection as a 4 way stop. 
• Sarasota and Manatee County Schools will be off the rest of the week.

• There is a boil order for the barrier islands in the city of Sarasota. 
• SCAT returns to normal status on Wednesday, but you can check the travel status on the SCAT website.
• Amtrak's website has the latest delay/cancellation schedule.
• You can check your local Publix store for opening information on their website. There is also information on Winn Dixie store statuses. Walmart has a special website section for that information as well.
• Tuesday night on ABC, and many other networks, you can watch the "Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief". For more information, check out the website.
• If you have an internet outage, there are some options across the Suncoast to help you get connected.
• If you would like to volunteer in the aftermath of Irma, check out Volunteer Florida.
• The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is open to all traffic.
• Waste Management; Manatee County: Residential and commercial service will resume Tuesday, September 12. Residents with Tuesday/Friday collection will have their garbage collected on their normal days. Residents with Monday/Thursday collection will have their garbage collected on Wednesday and Thursday this week. There will be NO collection of recycling, yard waste or storm debris.
• Waste Management; Sarasota County: Residential and commercial service will resume Wednesday, September 13 with Wednesday routes.
• Packinghouse restaurant is open and all first responders get free lunch.

Funding for a new Atlanta Braves spring training complex in North Port has been conditionally approved by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, according to Sarasota County officials.

County officials announced that $20 million in funding had been conditionally approved Thursday and is the last bit of funding needed to move the project forward.

A grant application for help with construction costs was filed earlier this summer by the West Villages Improvement District, Sarasota County, the city of North Port and the Atlanta Braves.

"We are thankful for the state's positive response to the Braves spring training project and its benefits to our region," said Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer in the release.

Final reviews for the city and county commissions and the West Villages Improvement District are set for Sept. 12. Should the final agreements be approved, the funding will be committed and construction can start, according to the release.

The Braves could start spring training in North Port as early as 2019.

“We are excited to be building a state-of-the-art spring training facility in this beautiful community," John Schuerholz, Atlanta Braves vice chairman, said in the release. "We have truly found some incredible partners in Sarasota County, West Villages and the city of North Port, and we look forward to training and playing there for many years to come.”

The Braves have held spring training at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Champion Stadium for 21 years.

The team decided to leave the Walt Disney complex in the Orlando area following the 2018 season partly because of other teams jettisoning Central Florida for other locales, including Arizona and along both Florida coasts.

In a Jan. 24 update on negotiations for their spring training project, officials said the stadium would include 9,000 seats, a 360-degree concourse, luxury suites, 750 paved parking spaces, six fields and two half practice fields.

Estimated cost is $75 million to $80 million, but does not include the cost of land and infrastructure.

The Braves noted at the update that they were committed to signing a 30-year lease with annual payments to cover stadium debt.

Jeff Maultsby, Sarasota County’s director of business and economic development, said at the time there is no cost to Florida residents and the necessary funds would come from tourism dollars.

The local dolphin community has had a record year for calves, according to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), a Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) program in collaboration with Mote Marine Laboratory. During the 2017 calving season, 19 calves have been documented by SDRP, the world's longest-running study of a wild dolphin population. These 19 calves joined up to five concurrent generations of long-term resident dolphins in the Sarasota Bay area year-round. Calving season peaks during late spring and summer.

The gestation period for dolphins is 12.5 months. Labor lasting usually lasts between 45 minutes to a few hours. Newborn calves range between 42 to 52 inches, weigh between 30 to 45 pounds and are typically born tail first. During the first few months, calves are usually darker than adults and feature creases on their sides. These creases are due to folding in the uterus and usually disappear within six months. It is also common for calf’s dorsal fin and tail flukes to be pliable during

the first few days after birth.  SDRP has noted up to ten calves in a mother’s lifetime. Paternity testing has shown resident males to have sired up to six calves each within the community.

"Bottlenose dolphins are sentinels of the health of our coastal ecosystem in Sarasota," said Wells, who is director of CZS’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. "They breathe the same air, swim in the same waters, and eat the same fish we do. Because of our consistent long-term research, our local bottlenose dolphins also serve as a reference population for NOAA and other research partners worldwide."

Successful calving years are good news for the health of our local ecosystem. The Chicago Zoological Society recently received a one-million dollar five year grant for SDRP from Barancik Foundation to support the research in creating a long-term dataset that aids in the detection and monitoring of threats to ecosystem health in addition to providing benchmarks for at-risk dolphin populations elsewhere. For

example, 83% of pregnancies identified from ultrasound during dolphin health assessments in Sarasota Bay were found during surveys to have resulted in calves swimming alongside their mothers. This stands in sharp contrast to the 20% success documented during comparable research in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, which experienced heavy oiling from the Deepwater Horizon spill, and pointed to one of the major impacts of the spill.

Although record numbers of births is good news, naïve newborn dolphins lack the skills and experience to avoid boats, and have to surface more frequently to breathe than do older dolphins. Mothers can also be more distracted with newborns and will not or cannot always get out of the way of approaching boats. Dolphins along the central west coast of Florida frequent shallow waters where they may be unable to dive below approaching boats.

Watch out for marine life while enjoying southwest Florida waters.

Follow Coast Guard-approved safe boating guidelines and use vigilance to avoid striking marine animals.

• Wear polarized sunglasses to see marine life in your path.
• Follow posted signs for slow-speed zones.
• Follow 10 dolphin-friendly fishing and viewing tips. Click here for a PDF. (These tips were made with dolphins in mind, but they're also great guidelines for the best ways to view all large marine animals.)
• Never feed marine wildlife. Click here to watch a PSA about why it’s harmful and illegal to feed wild dolphins: www.dontfeedwilddolphins.org.
• Stow trash and line when under way. Trash that accidentally blows into the water can become ingested by or entangled around marine life.

Within Sarasota or Manatee county waters, if you see a stranded or dead dolphin, whale or sea turtle, please call Mote's Stranding Investigations Program, a 24-hour response service, at (941) 988-0212. If you see a stranded or dead manatee anywhere in state waters or a stranded or dead dolphin, whale or sea turtle outside of Sarasota or Manatee counties, please call the FWC Wildlife Alert hotline at 1 (888) 404-FWCC (3922).

Photo taken by the Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program under National Marine Fisheries Service Scientific Research Permit No. 20455.

Willie Nelson, George Benson, Audra McDonald and Diana Krall are among the stars headed our way.

 The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall has just announced its 2017-18 season, and it’s one of which executive director Mary Bensel says, “The diversity flows throughout the season in so many art forms from magic to comedy to dance and so much more.”

The Van Wezel had previously made public its line-up of Broadway, classical and dance presentations, but with the addition of a host of pop, country, jazz, variety and holiday performances, the schedule now keeps the hall’s lights on most evenings from November through April (especially with non-hall-sponsored offerings from the Sarasota Concert Association, Ringling College Library Association Town Hall, Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Orchestra and more included).

The first show of the fall will be Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock and Roll, Oct. 13. Berg has previously brought Broadway musical revues to the Van Wezel (and will do so again this year, March 13); the rock and roll version features Broadway stars delivering music from such stars as Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Stevie Wonder and more.

Country music legend Willie Nelson is next up on Oct. 17, bringing his unmistakable voice and years of hits to the stage in a show billed as “Willie Nelson & Family.” Expect more hits from decades past (such as “Color My World” and “Saturday in the Park”) with rock and roll band Chicago on Oct. 30, featuring four of the original band members and six other musicians.

In November, the hall presents the season 14 touring version of television hit “So You Think You Can Dance,” Nov. 3; the Celtic Thunder 2017 Symphony Tour, Nov. 15; a cappella group Straight No Chaser with its “Speakeasy Tour,” Nov. 16; long-running pop rock band Three Dog Night, Nov. 18; and jazz saxophonist Dave Koz’s 20^th Anniversary Christmas Tour, Nov. 28.

The holiday season offers several Christmas-themed shows, including “We Three Kings: An Irish Tenors Christmas,” Dec. 2; “Today Is Christmas,” marking the Van Wezel debut of country star Leann Rimes; 98? at Christmas, bringing back together the quartet of Nick and Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre, Dec. 11; A Charlie Brown Christmas, in a matinee on Dec. 17; Cirque Dreams Holidaze, a holiday stage extravaganza, Dec. 21; and the perennial favoriteA Christmas Carol, Dec. 22. One non-holiday show during the month: Buddy, a Broadway musical telling the true story of rock and roller Buddy Holly’s rise to fame, Dec. 5.

The New Year brings the traditional Salute to Vienna concert, Jan. 3, followed by an appearance by Peter Cetera (formerly of the group Chicago), a solo artist since 1986 (Jan. 5); the touring version of the Tony-winning musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Jan. 6 and 7; A Night with Janis Joplin, delivering songs such as “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Piece of My Heart,” Jan. 8; and returning favorite comedian Steve Solomon with Cannoli, Latkes and Guilt, on Jan. 9.

The late great Nat King Cole receives a fitting tribute from fellow musicians Ramsey Lewis and John Pizzarelli in “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” on Jan. 10. Tango aficionados will welcome Tango Fire, featuring this Buenos Aires company under the leadership of German Cornejo, Jan. 12. And the “Legendary 5^thDimension” revives hits such as “Up, Up and Away” and “Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In,” when the group celebrates 50 years of music, on Jan. 15.

Operatic superstar Renee Fleming returns to Sarasota after her acclaimed debut here two seasons ago, blending classical songs, arias and selections from musicals, Jan. 16. Then two mainstays of the Broadway stage, Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune, join forces in “Two for the Road,” summoning up memories of hit shows from West Side Story to Nine to My One and Only, Jan. 17.

January also offers nostalgia with a rock/doo wop concert by The Drifters, The Platters and Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, Jan. 18; and laughs with Musical Thrones: A Parody, a sendup of six seasons of megahit Game of Thrones, Jan. 21. Tapestry, on Jan. 23, pays tribute to the music of Carole King; pop icon Paul Anka returns, Jan. 25; Masters of Illusion brings magic to the hall, Jan. 26; Michael Feinstein celebrates “crooners,” Jan. 28; and Cabaret brings back Sally Bowles and other 1930s Berlin characters, Jan. 30 and 31.

Take a deep breath; we’re only halfway through the season. Here’s a look at shows coming up in February, March and April.

Feb. 1: The U.K.’s modern dance company Balletboyz

Feb. 5: In the Mood, a celebration of the Big Band era.

Feb. 6: Sultry songstress Diana Krall pays a return visit to the hall.

Feb. 7: Travis Wall’s Shaping Sound: After the Curtain, a new show from choreographer Wall.

eb. 14: The Beach Boys. Need we say more?

Feb. 15: Grammy-winning guitarist, singer and songwriter George Benson

Feb. 17: Fellow Grammy winner, the soulful Michael McDonald

Feb. 18: Jazz ensemble The Hot Sardines

Feb. 19: Stayin’ Alive, One Night with the BeeGees

Feb. 27: The Moscow Festival Ballet’s productions of Carmen and Romeo and Juliet

March 4: Music ensemble Celtic Woman

March 6 and 7: A wild journey with the classic The Wizard of Oz

March 11: The National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, featuring Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist Yekwon Sunwoo

March 12: Dance to the Movies, starring Dancing with the Stars pros and more

March 13: Neil Berg’s 109 Years of Broadway

March 14: Audra McDonald In Concert, bringing back the powerhouse singer-actress

March 15: Rick Springfield of “Jessie’s Girl” and “Don’t Talk To Strangers” fame

March 21: The Four Phantoms, featuring leading men from The Phantom of the Opera

March 22: Classic rock fave band America

March 24: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with violin virtuoso Joshua Bell

March 26: Peter Pan, the 3D Stage Spectacular, flies into the hall

March 27-April 1: Motown the Musical, celebrating the American sound of the iconic record label with hits from such stars as Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson

April 4: Illusionist Rick Thomas: Nothing Happens Until You Dream!

April 5: Comedy show Robert Dubac’s The Book of Moron

April 10-12: Jersey Boys. Again, need we say more?

April 14: Wynonna and the Big Noise, with country star Wynonna Judd

April 15: Jazz trumpeter Chris Botti returns.

April 17: Let It Be, “the show you never got to see The Beatles perform.”

April 18: ABBA The Concert, a tribute to the Swedish phenom.

April 19: The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma—redefining classical music for 21^st-century audiences.

April 22: Comedian Bill Engvall returns.

April 24 and 25: A Chorus Line kicks up a storm on the Van Wezel stage.

April 26: Swiss-based theater troupe Mummenschanz’s latest show, you & me

Of course, more shows will continue to be added later in the season. But for now, tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 9 to the public, at the hall’s box office, online atvanwezel.org, or by calling (941) 953-3368.  

International Sand Collectors Society members collect sand from all over the world.

STEPHEN LEATHERMAN, aka Dr. Beach, named Siesta the best beach in America. Most people know Leatherman from his yearly rankings and media appearances, including on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

But few know that Leatherman is a card-carrying member of the International Sand Collectors Society, some 200 people dedicated to acquiring little vials of sand from all over the world. Leatherman serves as an adviser for the beach division of the society. Other divisions are devoted to historical mortars, microscopy and psychometry.

Many collectors are avid traders, swapping sand over the internet. But Leatherman collects within such precise parameters that he doesn’t trade.   

“I have to collect [my sand] at the mid-tide level of the beach so that it’s technically accurate and representative of the beach,” he says. “I can’t trade sand because I don’t know how [other collectors] collect it.”

Siesta’s sand is especially prized by collectors because it’s 99 percent quartz crystal, or quartz ground down until each grain is the same size. The process produces that white sand that feels like powder on your feet. Leatherman has collected enough sand at Siesta that he jokes authorities might stop him from taking any more.

This summer, International Sand Collecting Society member Jim Zimbelman, a geologist at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, spent some time in Bradenton to help his mother-in-law move. Although he didn’t collect sand on this visit, Zimbelman has 1,485 samples of sand from all over the world. He started collecting as a graduate student at UCLA, when he visited Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert and brought home a sample of sand.

“I didn’t envision a collection at that point,” Zimbelman says. “I just thought it was kind of pretty, so I grabbed a little bottle of sand.”

But Zimbelman saw ten vials of sand on a colleague’s desk and was hooked. In addition to picking up samples on travels, he traded with collectors and accepted samples from friends. He does not trade anymore, but he accepts donations and appreciates friends bringing him samples from their vacations. Some collectors are more scientific than others, Zimbelman uses a GPS when collecting sand to mark exactly where he found it.

Zimbelman has five samples from the Gulf Coast. Two came from Tampa, two from Sanibel Island and one from Clearwater. He snagged only a Sanibel one himself, collecting it in April 2014. It was number 1,446 of his collection.

“Florida beaches are beautiful white silica sand,” Zimbelman says. “That’s unique for the U.S.”

Zimbleman’s research focuses on dunes. Sand collecting is a hobby, but he uses sand from his collection as a visual aid when lecturing. He has a small, portable set of collected sand, including magnetic black sand from New Zealand, which he says he likes to show when he’s speaking to children. 

He uses little glass vials and stores his samples in plastic containers that hold 256 vials each. An Excel spreadsheet records sample number, setting (beach, dune, river, etc.), city, latitude, longitude, date, initials of the collector and a short description of the place (“landing beach at Bay of Pigs,” for example). A separate Word document records whom the initials represent. It is three pages long.

“Some people go whole hog into this, and their whole house becomes a sand collection,” Zimbelman says. Case in point: A former society president amassed over 12,000 samples. “I don’t want that to happen,” he says. “I’m doing this for fun and a little bit for science.”

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We are just one month away from welcoming the world to Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida for the 2017 World Rowing Championships at Nathan Benderson Park, September 23^rd-October 1st.  Here are the headlines about the event courtesy of Max Winitz, Media and Public Relations Director for the event:

• As of now, there are 71 countries scheduled to compete

• Multiple shipping containers with rowing sculls and shells inside of them will be arriving from overseas in about a week

• On August 28, construction will begin on the 2,000 seat grandstand

• Around 400 volunteers are still needed and there are more than 1,600 already registered

• VIP tickets inside the Nathan Benderson Park Finish Tower are already sold out for Championship Weekend (September 30th-October 1st). A few VIP seats are still available for September 24-29. Tickets can be purchased at www.wrch2017.com/tickets

• Around 50 vendors will be on-site during all 9 days of the event. This excludes the dozens of other vendors who will be at the event on various days

• The Opening Ceremony is on the evening of September 23rd. It begins at 7:00 p.m. The event is free for everyone and does not require a ticket. It will feature a firework show and some of the area’s most talked about and popular entertainment acts

• The United States Rowing Team will be announced on August 28th

• The first country to arrive at Nathan Benderson Park to train for the 2017 World Rowing Championships is, Ukraine. The team is tentatively scheduled to begin on September 7th

• Construction is wrapping up on Nathan Benderson Park’s new Starter’s Pavilion. It will house officials and timing cameras during the event and serve as a pavilion on non-event days

• As of today, reporters and photographers from 25 different countries have applied for accreditation to cover the event

• NBC Sports Network and the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, will carry the event in the United States