High Point, NC, Oct. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- What began as a regatta with two visiting teams has grown into North Carolina’s largest international sporting event, drawing world champions, collegiate crews and thousands of local residents and visitors to High Point.
The 2026 Lenny Peters Cup attracted nearly 1,000 rowers, hundreds of dragon boat paddlers, and more than 3,000 spectators to Oak Hollow Lake on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Cup served as the main event of the High Point Autumn Rowing Festival, presented by Bethany Medical and the Lenny Peters Foundation.
Driving local tourism
Historically, about 70 percent of regatta attendees live outside North Carolina. They fill hotels, eat in local restaurants and spend money across the Triad. Visit High Point measured the economic impact of this spring’s Lenny Peters Cup at $2.6 million.
This growth resulted from a local partnership. High Point officials encouraged the rowing community to host an event if it could attract visitors. The inaugural event brought two teams from Raleigh and Charlotte. Today, the regatta welcomes crews from Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Florida and showcase teams from England, Scotland and the Netherlands.
The Foundation’s role in event growth
The Lenny Peters Foundation has supported the event’s growth since the sport’s recovery from COVID, when the host club lost nearly 90 percent of its members. That’s when Gene Kininmonth, founder and president of the Triad United Rowing Association and Lenny Peters Cup race director, first contacted the Foundation for support.
"There was no red tape and no expectations beyond 'keep doing what you're doing,'" said Kininmonth. ”They looked at what we were doing and saw people coming to the city and a healthy activity worth supporting."
That investment established the Lenny Peters Cup, now in its fifth year. Kininmonth said the club has grown by about 40 percent since the Foundation got involved. Triad United now includes nearly 70 youth rowers ages 12 to 18 from diverse backgrounds across the Triad. Foundation support helps keep membership costs low, ensuring the club remains accessible to all.
This year, the Lenny Peters Cup introduced dragon boat racing to encourage local participation. Approximately 200 paddlers competed in the inaugural Lenny Peters Dragon Boat Races, with the Golden Koi team from Fort Bragg, N.C., taking first place.
Saturday’s Lenny Peters Cup results
In the headline match race, the reigning Olympic champion Dutch women's four and its members, Ymkje Clevering, Tinka Offereins, Nika Vos, and Linn van Aanholt, overcame a deficit of nearly three boat lengths to defeat two-time world champion Team USA, whose members were Kate Knifton, Teal Cohen, Azja Czajkowski, and Molly Bruggeman. The race featured a sharp, nearly 180-degree turn around a large floating duck buoy. The Dutch crew executed the turn effectively and finished a length and a half ahead.
"This course forces crews to think like race car drivers, and that tactical execution made all the difference," Kininmonth said.
In collegiate racing, the University of Edinburgh won the Dash for the Lenny Peters Cup, finishing ahead of Duke University, the University of Oxford and High Point University. Official times, photo galleries and complete results are available on Crew Timer.
“Races like these don’t happen at most rowing events anywhere in the country," said Kininmonth. “They happen here because the Lenny Peters Foundation saw what we were building, believed in it, and kept investing. Thanks to that support, High Point has earned a place on the international rowing map.”
But the real winners weren’t the champions on the podium. They were the young people in the rowing program, watching the best rowers in the world from the shore, whose boats, oars and opportunities are built from events like the Lenny Peters Cup.
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About the Lenny Peters Foundation
The Lenny Peters Foundation is dedicated to giving back to the community, restoring dignity, creating opportunity and bringing hope where it is needed most. Guided by its motto, “A helping hand here at home and around the world,” the Foundation supports humanitarian, healthcare, educational and community-based initiatives throughout the Piedmont Triad and internationally. Founded in 2006, the Lenny Peters Foundation is commemorating 20 years of advancing health and well-being in our community and around the world.
About Bethany Medical
Bethany Medical is a multi-specialty medical practice serving the Piedmont Triad since 1987. Open seven days a week with walk-in appointments welcome, Bethany Medical provides primary care, urgent care and specialty services across 16 locations, committed to compassionate, respectful care that improves the health and well-being of the community.
Attachments
- Lenny Peters Cup (Oct. 24, 2026)
- Lenny Peters Cup 2 (Oct. 24, 2026)
- Lenny Peters Cup 3 (Oct. 24, 2026)
George Farthing RLF Communications // Lenny Peters Foundation gfarthing@rlfcommunications.com 919-534-6898
