Rowers descend on the Schuylkill River for the Philadelphia Youth Regatta

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The largest one day sprint regatta in the country is taking place on the Schuylkill River Saturday.

Rowers from high schools around the country are taking part in the Schuylkill Navy Philadelphia Youth Regatta .

There are 52 teams - 650 boats - and more than 3,000 athletes competing.

The Philadelphia Youth Regatta is the largest one day sprint regatta in the country and more than twice the size of the Dad Vail Regatta .

Organizers say it's a big undertaking to host such a large regatta.

"This is essentially a stadium, it is a sports stadium we are going to have a huge volume of competition here, if you were here yesterday there was nothing here," Schuylkill Navy Commodore Bonnie Mueller said. "So almost overnight we have to build a stadium out of nothing and the place didn't look like this yesterday and it looks very different today that's because we basically assembled this arena to rowing in the middle of Fairmount Park."

Races begin at 8:30 a.m. and go off every five minutes, with rowers competing in categories ranging from singles to teams of 8.

Kelly Drive is currently closed and will remain closed until at least 6 p.m. Drivers are advised to use I-76 to get in and out of the city.