• All schools are required to supply volunteers for VASRA positions, which include everything from holding boats at the start line to parking lot guides to helping at the 2 concession stands — the Grand Stand concession at the finish line and the stand at the HQS building near the boat houses.
• If you are a VASRA Volunteer, please sign in and out at the HQS tables — the red shacks/buildings at the bottom of the hill, near the water and across from the boat houses. That way, your time and the school’s contributions are counted.
• VASRA volunteers get free parking, and they get to park in the gravel lots before you reach the boathouses. Spectators have to park off-site and pay $10 each way for the shuttle bus from the remote parking to the Sandy Run area. Sandy Run Regional Park map
• Regattas have parking lots, remote parking, and shuttle buses to help you get around, but it takes time. If you are volunteering, you will hopefully be able to get the nearby free parking. But in the worst-case scenario, especially on busy regattas, you will also have to park off-site. If so, please allow up to 1 hour+ to get to your assigned volunteer spot – shuttle from remote parking to the water, then shuttle to the Grand Stand (if that’s your spot). The parking volunteers should let VASRA volunteers park and ride the shuttle for free. It doesn’t hurt to have the email or sign up as proof you’re volunteering in case they ask. From there, you will also need time to sign in and get to your assigned spot. As a volunteer or spectator, you can take a paid shuttle bus ride to the Grand Stand, where you can see rowers cross the finish line, and where the Grand Stand concession stand is. From personal experience, the alternative to the 2nd shuttle bus is a brisk and free 20-minute walk on the path along the water.
• If you brought food, drinks, etc. for our Justice rowers, you can park and walk it down to the boat house. You cannot — and really do not want to — drive all the way down the hill to the boat houses.
• The concession stands sell T-shirts for each regatta, drinks, and an amazing array of food. I suggest you bring cash. They take payment apps, but cell service is very spotty in Sandy Run.
• Regattas are an amazing, well-oiled machine with a lot of people spending a lot of hours setting it all up. Sandy Run Park and VASRA have done their best to make the entire regatta a safe and supportive event. But the whole set up is not ADA/easily accessible for people with mobility issues. The parking shuttle buses can accommodate people in wheelchairs, but the boat house, HQS, and Grand Stand area have hills, gravel, and unpaved terrain. The Park has carts for their staff and officials, and they have sometimes offered to give people rides if they have time, but it is not a guaranteed service.

Feel free to call, text, or email me with any questions [contact number in email dated March 13, 2025]. I look forward to another exciting whirlwind of a regatta season!

—Christina Kish
Representative for Justice Rowing on the VASRA Local Organizing Committee (LOC)

Parent Volunteer

Row Strong