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MJRC |
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Venue
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Venue InformationFinn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center (Boathouse)Boathouse History 
The original boathouse project began in the
mid-1990s in an effort to provide a better venue
for the Peddie School and Lawrenceville School
rowing programs. Finn M.W. Caspersen, Chairman
of the Board of the Peddie School and father of
four former Ivy League rowers, led the effort to
build a boathouse on the shores of Mercer Lake
in Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New
Jersey. Though privately funded, the project was
a joint effort between The Peddie School, The
Lawrenceville School, and Mercer County
officials. Even before the original Mercer Lake Boathouse was dedicated in the fall of 1998, it was apparent that the location and size of Mercer Lake and the environment surrounding the venue made it perfectly suited for world class competitions and training. Soon after the boathouse was dedicated, the U.S. Men’s National Team was training there and giving the site rave reviews. 
In 2000, The Princeton National Regatta
Association (PNRA) was established as the
organization that would promote and facilitate
the international competitions and community
rowing programs for which Mercer Lake was so
well suited. PNRA’s 2001 and 2002 international
events were very successful and PNRA and its
youth rowing program, MJRC, grew rapidly. As
time passed more rowers came to the boathouse
everyday and used the venue for longer periods
of time. Soon it became clear that additional
boathouse space was needed for PNRA to fulfill
its mission of providing a world class training
environment for the National Team and Mercer
County’s community rowers. The plans for the current boathouse were laid out in the early part of 2002. Ground was broken for the Mercer Lake Boathouse Expansion Project in November 2002 and the ensuing construction doubled the size of the boathouse. The improved facility has allowed PNRA to accommodate additional youths involved with MJRC and embrace the US National Team as an Official U.S. Olympic Training Center. The New and Improved Finn M. W. Caspersen Rowing Center  The current boathouse is the result of almost ten years of planning and development. The rowing center now has six boathouse bays, eight bathrooms, an indoor training room, a spectator’s tower, office space for 18 individuals and a conference room. The race course has been improved with a new seven-lane buoyed course, a three-story finish line tower, additional dock space, and a far more spacious finish line viewing area for spectators. The infrastructure and topography of the race course meets FISA standards and PNRA has the equipment necessary to host the world’s largest regattas. The Finn M. W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake has truly become one of the premier rowing venues in the world and PNRA is dedicated to supporting its continued maintenance and development. Mercer Lake Racecourse
The Princeton National Rowing Association strives to be one of the world's premier regatta hosting associations and the Mercer Lake racecourse infrastructure was developed with this in mind. As both a training site and a world-class racing facility, the Caspersen Center can meet the demands of the biggest and most prestigious regattas in the world.
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