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Competitive Rowing Field at Occoquan Chase
The boys crew, in their inaugural season and with barely 16 hours of on-the-water experience, are showing promise!
Please consider that the event we were racing in is almost entirely made up of rowers and coxswains that have at least a full year of experience, and take crew so seriously that they are competing during the "off season." Also, since all of the schools in Virginia do not row in the fall, the clubs are the equivalent of their region's "all stars" (TBC, RRC & ODBC). The clubs and year-round schools (DeMatha, B-CC, Gonzaga, Wilson) were only permitted to enter their top 3 boats, so no novices. We, on the other hand, have rowers with about 16 hours of on-the-water rowing experience (except Christian and Christos, who each have one season of competitive rowing, which still qualifies them as a novice rower).
With that said, now compare the results (scroll down to event 11b - "junior men's 8"): placing 27th out of 30 is very respectable. No "crabs," and the exhilarating experience of passing two boats. Being within 2 minutes of a majority of the competitors over a 5KM race is impressive. I also would point out that we had a faster time than two colleges in the "open" category (event 11a - JMU & UM), and two boats in the college novice category (DC Strokes & VA Tech).
We now have 3 weeks before our next and final regatta, "The Head of the Occoquan." I plan on having the boys row in 4's for the remainder of the season and hope to have an occasional guest coach to help fine-tune their rapidly developing skills.
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With that said, now compare the results (scroll down to event 11b - "junior men's 8"): placing 27th out of 30 is very respectable. No "crabs," and the exhilarating experience of passing two boats. Being within 2 minutes of a majority of the competitors over a 5KM race is impressive. I also would point out that we had a faster time than two colleges in the "open" category (event 11a - JMU & UM), and two boats in the college novice category (DC Strokes & VA Tech).
We now have 3 weeks before our next and final regatta, "The Head of the Occoquan." I plan on having the boys row in 4's for the remainder of the season and hope to have an occasional guest coach to help fine-tune their rapidly developing skills.
