Space Coast Crew rowers are gearing up for the Annual Southern Sprints Indoor Rowing Championships — also know as the Erg Sprints — on Feb. 13. In this race, rowers will not be in boats racing on the water. Instead, each individual rower will be racing on an erg. Erg is short for the word ergometer which is a machine used to simulate the action of rowing on water.

There are about 80 different events at erg sprints. Most rowers compete in the 2,000 meter race.

“The event is intimidating,” junior Jake Bursk said. “Eventually you get into it and start feeling confident.”

This race tests not only the rowers’ physical strength but their mental strength as well.

“During the race you have a lot of adrenaline in your body,” Bursk said. “But once that wears off it’s so tiring and painful. You don’t think you can finish but somehow you do.”

Last year about 1,300 athletes raced at Southern Sprints.

“There’s always a lot of people in every event because you race on your own,” sophomore Marissa Scalise said. “That means there’s always a lot of stiff competition.”

The 33rd Annual Southern Sprints Indoor Rowing Championships will begin on Feb. 13 in the Charles and Ruth Clemente Sports and Recreation Center on the Florida Tech Campus.

By Summer Rhodes