The City of Edmond spent a record $100,000 to bring the inaugural Route 66 Beach Sprint Rowing Festival to Arcadia Lake.

The two-day event on Aug. 29-30 showcased beach sprint rowing, a discipline set to debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Jennifer Thornton, Edmond's communication and tourism director, told UCentral Media the sponsorship was the largest the city has ever approved and required Edmond City Council authorization.

"We felt like investing in something like this was worth it," Thornton said.

Beach sprint rowing uses what organizers call a "run-row-win" format. Competitors sprint roughly 50 meters across sand to a boat held in shallow water, row a 250-meter slalom course around buoys, then sprint back across the beach to hit a finish buzzer. Each race takes less than five minutes.

The Route 66 Beach Sprints were an official USRowing event held at Edmond Park beach on the north side of Arcadia Lake, just south of Route 66. Before the festival, organizers said U.S. National Team athletes were expected to compete alongside recreational rowers and beginners. The event was free to attend, with only Arcadia Lake's standard $10-per-vehicle entrance fee.

The festival also featured dragon boat racing, live music, food trucks, beach games and kayaking.

Mike Knopp, founder of Riversport and Oklahoma City's Boathouse District, co-organized the festival. Knopp has guided two decades of development in the $150 million Boathouse District, which includes the $45 million Riversport Rapids whitewater center scheduled to host canoe slalom at the 2028 Games, according to Edmond Life & Leisure. That publication described the beach rowing event as "incredibly successful" in a Sept. 1 column.

In the city's June 16 announcement of the festival, Knopp described the spectator experience: "As a competitor, it's four minutes of mayhem. As a spectator, you just can't get any closer to the action than this."

Organizers chose Arcadia Lake for its location on historic Route 66, the highway connecting Oklahoma to Los Angeles. The festival was designated an official Oklahoma America 250 event and an official Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial event.

Thornton said the city has secured a quality events grant from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce that could reimburse up to $250,000 toward a future event. Edmond plans to host the beach sprint festival annually, pending review of results and revenue, with a 2028 edition timed to coincide with the Olympics.

A domestic tour of beach sprint rowing events is planned across the United States in 2027. Edmond was the first stop.