About Us 

                                  Mercer Jr Men's Eight

Mission Statement and Goals

The Princeton National Rowing Association is a world-class training site and racing venue – complete with state-of-the art rowing equipment, a seven-lane buoyed course and well-equipped workout facilities – that uniquely combines youth and masters programs with elite rowing and international racing, allowing athletes of all skill levels and ages to train, improve and achieve together.

Background Information

PNRA took the first major step toward fulfilling its mission by hosting a FISA World Cup event in 2001. In 2002 PNRA built on this success by hosting The Princeton International Invitational Regatta, another major international event. That year PNRA also founded the Mercer Junior Rowing Club (MJRC), a youth rowing program open to students from throughout central New Jersey. The rapid growth of MJRC prompted a boathouse expansion project that commenced in the Fall of 2002 and was completed in the Fall of 2003. The Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center now accommodates MJRC, the Peddie School, the Lawrenceville School, the Hun School and the US National Team.  This boathouse and related racecourse improvements along with PNRA’s full time and well trained staff make Mercer Lake the best-equipped rowing facility in the Northeastern U.S.  As a result, Mercer Lake is presently the home of the annual USRowing National Selection Regattas and Trials, the Mercer Lake Sprints Regatta, and the Northeast Junior Regional Championships. PNRA will also host the 2005 Scholastic National Regatta and the 2006 FISA World Masters Regatta.   

USOC “Official Olympic Training Site” Designation Agreement 

As part of the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on November 21, 2003, Peter Davis, Director of Sports Science and Coaching for the United States Olympic Committee designated the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center as an official Olympic training site for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China. To qualify for such a designation PNRA has provided office space, locker rooms, shower facilities and exclusive boathouse bays for the National Team. PNRA has also enhanced the infrastructure of Mercer Lake to include a seven-lane buoyed racing course and a three-story finish line tower. 

For more information about the boathouse expansion project and rowing center improvements please visit the Venue section of the website. For more information on corporate sponsorship of the rowing center please visit the Giving to PNRA section of this website. 

PNRA, USRowing and the National Team 

PNRA is proud to be a partner of USRowing and is excited to support a highly successful National Team.  In conjunction with the USOC designation agreement, PNRA and USRowing are dedicated to providing a world class training environment for our National Team and world class regatta venue for USRowing members.  PNRA is especially committed to hosting USRowing National events such as the Olympic Trials, National Championships, Masters Nationals, NCAA Championships and National Team Selection Regattas.  In 2005, PNRA hosted the 71st Scholastic National Championships with an unprecedented number of competitors and spectators. In 2006, the Caspersen Training Facility hosted the 10th NCAA Rowing Championships for Women for Division I, II & III schools (May 26-28) and the FISA World Masters Regatta (Sept 7-10).