- April 15, 2024
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All eyes will be on the water as athletes from around the world descend on Sarasota's Nathan Benderson Park for the 2017 World Rowing Championships starting Sept. 23.
But all ears will be on Sarasota attorney David Wyant.
The Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick attorney will be an announcer for the races, calling out up-to-the second news about athletes in the boats. Wyant, a self-described “sports nut,” tells Coffee Talk he'll be a “play-by-play and color guy” for races during the championships.
He'll get a firsthand, close-up look at the action since he'll be driven along the racecourse on the park's wave attenuator — designed to shelter the racecourse from waves but also doubles as a driving platform. “I just get a huge kick out of the fact that I'm moving and I get the best seat in the house to watch the race,” he says.
The business law attorney has announced regattas at Nathan Benderson Park for more than five years. He says during the championships, he'll likely alternate races with a different announcer and announce for roughly the first three quarters of a race, after which he'll hand it off to another announcer at the park's Finish Tower.
Wyant says announcing is similar to his day job and has even helped him at work. “That's kind of my job anyway to litigate or talk to clients on the phone,” he says. “I think actually announcing has really helped my articulation and my vocal skills quite a bit.”
Wyant's connection with rowing began in high school, when he rowed for the Sarasota Scullers. Today, he serves as a Sarasota Crew volunteer coxswain coach. “To some extent, I've been doing this since high school — letting my crew know where they are in relation to the other boats on the race course,” he says.
In preparation for big races, he plans to brush up on country flags and colors and research the dozens of teams from different countries competing. “What I get the most positive feedback about in terms of announcing is when I know things about crews and when I can humanize them,” Wyant says.
