The Long Haul
Back from a long weekend in Eugene at the Covered Bridge Regatta. Given the results of both days I'd have to say I'm 70% pleased with where the novice men are and am looking forward to getting back into some serious training as we gear up for the last half of the season.
Friday
We managed to make it down to Eugene without any incident. Considering the length of time that it took to get to Seattle a couple weeks ago I think we were all mildly surprised but thankful. We got into Eugene about 5:30 with plenty of time for the kids to eat and unwind and for the coaching staff to meet with the coach from the club hosting the regatta to discuss our tri-scimmage on Sunday.
Saturday
Considering the doom and gloom outlook on the weather, it was nice to pull back the curtains at the hotel Saturday morning and see...zero puddles or slashes of rain. We managed to get to the race course quickly and get our boats unstrapped and onto stretchers and rigged without incident. Racing went throughout the day with the launch and recovery areas filling quickly. We had some minor issues launching one of my novice fours but for the most part all boats launched and recovered without a problem. Racing was going off of 10 minute centers - give or take - and for the most part we managed to stay on track. It was fun to watch the University of Washington and Oregon State University dual during the regatta and I got to talk to a couple of kids who were with our program last year. Unfortunately due to poor timing, I missed every single significant race we ran. I missed the men's pair winning their flight, the women's varsity quad pulling out a win at the line and my novice 8 nipping in for 3rd place. I did see one of our novice women's fours flip and I was impressed by the response of our athletes on the shore, sprinting to get extra blankets and clothing, some giving up their own jackets and then about 12 guys jump on to help lift the four out of the water. While it was disappointing for that boat - they were in 3rd place - it was refreshing to see such a quick response from all.
Sunday
Sunday was the tri-scrimmage with Ashland rowing and O.A.R and despite threatening looking skies, the water was still calm with little wind. I had been looking forward to this scrimmage all season long because it was the first time I was going to test our lineups with priority boats. In the two previous races I'd sent out mixed lineups in an effort to increase everyone's racing experience and to keep our true speed hidden from other clubs. I made this decision early in the spring and based it off of getting clipped at Regionals by a novice 4 from Everett that we'd not seen all season long.
I was a bit apprehensive about these lineups and was partially concerned that I'd been coy for no reason with the lineups. However the boys did not disappoint and both of my fours lineups easily outdistance their competition. Sadly due to equipment issues - we broke a skeg on something during the warm up - I didn't get to see my eight race and had to be satisfied feel that if we had managed to race, we'd have easily outpaced the other eight. I will have to test this lineup over the next few days to see if we can actually produce some good speed.
Overall I'm very pleased with how the regatta turned out despite missing the opportunity to see the top 8. I'm cautiously optimistic that we have more speed than I'd previously thought due to the results we've produced at two regattas with mixed lineups. I'm hoping that this will bode well for our next race when we actually put out true lineups. However that's a ways off so for now we're back to the grinding stone tomorrow - unloading and rigging today. It should be interesting.
Friday
We managed to make it down to Eugene without any incident. Considering the length of time that it took to get to Seattle a couple weeks ago I think we were all mildly surprised but thankful. We got into Eugene about 5:30 with plenty of time for the kids to eat and unwind and for the coaching staff to meet with the coach from the club hosting the regatta to discuss our tri-scimmage on Sunday.
Saturday
Considering the doom and gloom outlook on the weather, it was nice to pull back the curtains at the hotel Saturday morning and see...zero puddles or slashes of rain. We managed to get to the race course quickly and get our boats unstrapped and onto stretchers and rigged without incident. Racing went throughout the day with the launch and recovery areas filling quickly. We had some minor issues launching one of my novice fours but for the most part all boats launched and recovered without a problem. Racing was going off of 10 minute centers - give or take - and for the most part we managed to stay on track. It was fun to watch the University of Washington and Oregon State University dual during the regatta and I got to talk to a couple of kids who were with our program last year. Unfortunately due to poor timing, I missed every single significant race we ran. I missed the men's pair winning their flight, the women's varsity quad pulling out a win at the line and my novice 8 nipping in for 3rd place. I did see one of our novice women's fours flip and I was impressed by the response of our athletes on the shore, sprinting to get extra blankets and clothing, some giving up their own jackets and then about 12 guys jump on to help lift the four out of the water. While it was disappointing for that boat - they were in 3rd place - it was refreshing to see such a quick response from all.
Sunday
Sunday was the tri-scrimmage with Ashland rowing and O.A.R and despite threatening looking skies, the water was still calm with little wind. I had been looking forward to this scrimmage all season long because it was the first time I was going to test our lineups with priority boats. In the two previous races I'd sent out mixed lineups in an effort to increase everyone's racing experience and to keep our true speed hidden from other clubs. I made this decision early in the spring and based it off of getting clipped at Regionals by a novice 4 from Everett that we'd not seen all season long.
I was a bit apprehensive about these lineups and was partially concerned that I'd been coy for no reason with the lineups. However the boys did not disappoint and both of my fours lineups easily outdistance their competition. Sadly due to equipment issues - we broke a skeg on something during the warm up - I didn't get to see my eight race and had to be satisfied feel that if we had managed to race, we'd have easily outpaced the other eight. I will have to test this lineup over the next few days to see if we can actually produce some good speed.
Overall I'm very pleased with how the regatta turned out despite missing the opportunity to see the top 8. I'm cautiously optimistic that we have more speed than I'd previously thought due to the results we've produced at two regattas with mixed lineups. I'm hoping that this will bode well for our next race when we actually put out true lineups. However that's a ways off so for now we're back to the grinding stone tomorrow - unloading and rigging today. It should be interesting.
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