USRowing’s RowFest National Championships were halted for a second consecutive day on Friday as wildfire smoke pushed air quality near Ford Lake into the hazardous range.
The venue at Ford Lake Park in Ypsilanti, Michigan, remained closed to athletes, coaches and support crews after the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 471 early on Friday morning, according to Rowing News. The index runs from 0 to 500, with higher readings indicating worse conditions; any reading above 300 is classified as hazardous.
“The air is black soup,” according to writer and rower Wang Ping, who had travelled to Inkster Detroit for this year’s RowFest.
A 3.15am event update said conditions had begun to improve but remained unsafe even for work away from the water.
“While AQI levels in the Ford Lake area are beginning to improve, they remain within the unsafe range for both physical and non-physical activity (rigging & trailer parking),” the RowFest update said. “The venue will remain closed on Friday, July 17, for all on-site activities.”
The closure kept crews from racing, rigging boats or accessing trailers. Organisers said another update would be issued at noon on Friday on whether any physical or non-physical activity could resume.
Thursday’s programme pushed into the weekend
Friday’s shutdown followed the complete cancellation of Thursday racing after smoke from Canadian wildfires moved across Michigan. Hundreds of boats remained on land while the championship course stood unused.
USRowing initially paused racing early on Thursday before confirming that the day’s entire programme would be postponed. The displaced races were to be moved behind the existing Friday, Saturday and Sunday schedules, with those rescheduled events first in line for cancellation if further changes became necessary.
Video Row Fest 2026 races canceled in Ypsilanti due to hazardous air quality
All 500-metre sprints were cancelled, easing pressure on the closing programme while removing those events from the championships.
Christopher Tims of Wyandotte had been due to race with his daughter, Chelsea, in a father-daughter event. After receiving confirmation that Thursday’s competition was off, he told ClickOnDetroit: “We’ve got to work out, see if we can get some land training. We’ll adjust.”
Nine-day championships lose more racing time
RowFest runs from July 11–19 and combines USRowing’s masters, club, youth and elite domestic championship programmes at one venue. It also incorporates the International Rowing Challenge, bringing youth athletes from several countries into the regatta.
The disruption came amid a wider smoke emergency across the Great Lakes region. More than 800 wildfires were active in Canada on Thursday, with hazardous air-quality alerts issued across parts of Michigan and neighbouring states.
Friday’s closure left two scheduled racing days after July 17, with the revised programme dependent on safer air returning to Ford Lake.
