Season Opener Regatta

We participated in the EVSRA's first regatta of the season on a cold Saturday at Botanical Garden. Even though we have had less than hoped for practice time on the water, we entered ten crews and everyone who attended managed at least one trip down the lake.

First up was our MV8 entry, but with injuries and absences we had novices sitting in the bow, two and three seats. The crew struggled off the line as evidenced with this vid from the start platform:

The crew finished less than three seconds behind Princess Anne (a school that has been rowing since August and had only varsity rowers in their boat.) Once we get the start sequence figured out and our novices in sync with the stroke, this crew has lots of potential. Thanks to Noah for coxing this thrown-together mix. Here's another video from the mast mounted GoPro:

Our second entry up was a Men's Novice Four crew who finished 2nd, beating the crew from Hickory and bettering the times of both Great Bridge and Cox High Schools in the other heat. It is notable that none of the other private schools that offer rowing as a spring-season only sport (NA, NCS or CH) even entered a crew in this event and that the crews from the large public high schools (Great Bridge, Cox, Hickory) started their novices in August. I see lots of potential in our MN4 crew as the season progresses.

Before the break in the schedule we launched the WV4 and the M2V4 crews. Both finished out of the money, probably due to lack of stamina leading to poor technique and the resulting check as the rowers rush the slide. The mast was mounted on Synchronicity for the WV4 race, but we forgot to turn on the camera!  

After the break we fielded out W2V4 entry. This crew again finished out of the money despite a solid start and a good first third of the race. Here are a couple of videos of that crew, again in Synchronicity -- the first showing the start and rowing with the leaders in the first 300 m. The second vid was taken later in the race where the check becomes prominent and the crew having dropped back.  

Our MV4 crew finished third in their event, ahead of our boathouse rivals, NoCo. The video shows the entire race, as seen from the mast mounted GoPro.

The MN4 crew filled the last four seats in our MN8 entry. This crew earned a ribbon for finishing ahead of Cox High School.

The video clips of that crew during the race are from Mr. Suhr in a following ref launch. The most obvious flaw is the poor timing. All eight oars must drop in at the same time. The stroke rower, by definition, sets the time and all others must follow. An early or late entry, relative to the stroke, causes set problems and a greater likelihood of catching a crab or of missing the water completely. We need to work on timing with our strong novices! The name on the Men's WinTech hull is  "σùν   χρονώ  νίκζ,"  which translates, "with timing, victory."

Four of our novice coxswains (Logan, Nina, Mia, and JoMarie) steered their first race on an unfamiliar body of water, guided to the finish with a strobe light marking the center of the course. The breeze was up and down most of the day creating some problems at the start and requiring delicate steering. Kudos to Nina who deftly steered pass a NA crew who rowed right through the middle of the WV8 race course. She stopped the boat safely until the NA obstruction was cleared, then restarted her crew who still managed to beat Princess Anne's WV8 crew (another large public high school who has been rowing since August.) The following ref placed our boat third ahead of Maury due to the obstruction. Truth be told, we finished only 13 seconds behind second place Granby, even after stopping, so our actual finish could have be 2nd. This crew is eager to race again on fair terms, especially after we manage to rein in the check on the recovery (no, footboards are not supposed to be yanked off the stretchers!)

The final results are below. Red indicates 2nd, Yellow indicates 3rd, and Green indicates also-rans. Blue will indicate a 1st place finish, something we WILL achieve in the next race. 

Coxswains gear up for the first race of the season in two weeks

JoMarie, Mia, Nina, Logan and Chase attended the coxswain's clinic held at the ODU rowing center and sponsored by EVSRA.  The three hour clinic was taught by Ashley Edwards. Ashley is a former high school and college coxswain (she earned a full ride to California State University in Sacramento as a coxswain) and has coxed at several international regattas. She is currently the head coach of the Hampton Roads Rowing Club.

Our coxswains have started to get their heads around the myriad aspects of racing. Below is a googlemap of the race course on which we race at Botanical Garden. An interactive version is on the right hand sidebar under "links" or clickable here.

Below are some stills and video snippets from previous years of the launch/start/race/finish/recover sequence. When your event number is called, the coxswain will have their crew bring the boat to the control station so the referees can perform a safety check (heel ties, bow, ball, lane number).

Crews will launch under the supervision of the regatta coordinators and will get a last word from their coaches and then row about 1 mile down the lake to the marshaling area near the start.

While rowing down the lake to the marshaling area near the start, it's important to stop rowing when other boats are racing.

Good rowing vids

Linked below are some videos that are worth watching to see good technique.

Caryn Davies (stroke in Olympic gold medals boats 2008 and 2012, silver in 2004) is an excellent role model for correct angles throughout the stroke and proper rhythm.

Bladework

I've copied the seventh page from the rowing technique download available on you myCRU team page below. Please read it carefully and then watch the videos, noting how the rowers perform an "early roll up" to square the blades before they get to a full compression.

Blade Work

    Blade work is a skill which has direct impact on the movement and speed of the boat. For this reason, many coaches pay much more attention to correct blade work than to the body motion. Yet, the blade work is a direct reflection of what is happening inside the boat. It is possible to change either body motion or blade work and see improvements in the other element. An example of good blade work is shown below.

Recovery

    During the recovery, the blades travel toward the bow in a smooth, horizontal plane at a steady height. The rower should allow enough clearance for easy squaring of the blades before entry without skimming the surface of the water.

Squaring

    The turning of the oars so that the blades are perpendicular to the surface of the water is called "squaring." Ideally, squaring should start as the hands go over the ankles. Squaring should be executed gradually at a constant speed, during the last part of the recovery. It should neither slow down or stop the motion of the blades ("hanging") before entry.

Entry

    The entry into the water should be quick, as a continuation of the recovery. It should be well synchronized with the speed of the boat, without too much back splash or front splash. For beginners, however, some minimal back splash is suggested, to make certain that they don't miss the water. The idea is to use the gravity or weight of the oars, instead of power, to place the blade into the water. "Scooping," the entry of the blades into the water, should be followed with immediate horizontal power.

    The "early roll up" as referenced in the title of this post is in contrast to a "snap" roll that many beginners use. Below I've illustrated what I'm calling a "snap" roll. The rower leaves the blade feathered until the last possible moment and then tries to immediately square it, sometimes even while the blade is entering into the water. The problem is that it's hard to feel when the collar falls on the flats of the oarlock when snap rolling the blade. If you rotate not enough or too much problems result.

    The early roll up allows the rower to feel the collar drop onto the flat section of the oarlock and ensures when the blade enters the water it will be perfectly square.  Below is a view from the port side of reasonable blade work in a pair.

Now the starboard side of a single:

Here is a slo-mo video the US Men's eight practicing before the world championship, followed by a close up of the blade work. Again, note there is not "snap" to the squaring, but rather a smooth easy and early roll up.

On the slow motion video also notice the body preparation at the start of the recovery and the relative handle heights between the recovery and the drive. The handles move horizontally with no "arching."

Navy - Injury - Recovery - Rowing (A Story Worth Sharing)

From Row2K:

I found this article motivating in so many ways I thought I'd share it.