50p
Rowing is Back!
And forth and back and forth.
You know how it goes: Catch, Drive, Release, Recovery, Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! :-)
But we're also back - as in we're back attending regattas like this weekend's two-day affair in Victoria, The Elk Lake Spring Regatta.
Over the weekend, almost all of our 90 rowers dipped their blades into their first sprint regatta ever. Sure, there were three Grade 12s who distantly remember CSSRA 2019, but other than that, they’ve been rowing in a Mill Bay bubble for the duration of the pandemic - their entire rowing careers.
The Junior Boys, a Cecil B. Demille cast of thousands ably admiralled by Mr Ward, led the way by entering 13 crews and coming away with a Gold in the U17 4+ (well done Cassidy, Felix, Paolo, Nathan & Peter) and a Silver in the U17 8+ (congrats also to Gleb, Connor, Hawk & Kevin who completed the 8+.) Admirable racing was also done by the younger lads who made finals in the JV8+ and fours.
The Junior Girls raced the coxed quad, four and eight in the U17 division on Saturday and then in the U19 Novice division on Sunday. For their first ever races for everyone of them, Saturday was challenging and scary! However, on Sunday they came through with a second place finish in both the coxed four and eight. The quad were the only crew in the A final on the U19 Novice Women’s 4x with a coxswain, and placed sixth. The difference between Saturday and Sunday was incredible and set the team up with positive vibes leading into this next phase of our training.
The Senior Girls were led by Felicity B who raced the single plus the quad in a week where she also won the schools’ Mathematics Competition. What a product! She’s unequaled! The U19 quad was the fastest school quad in the regatta and finished 4th overall behind three club boats. The novices were fantastic and very tired by the end of the weekend. Many were racing for the first time and they had a heavy racing schedule on Sunday. For a couple of them, who had just returned from the Provincial Basketball Championships the night before, this concluded a big week of sports! These good overall results are a springboard to racing in after Spring Break.
The Senior Boys, running on 100% authentic German engineering, had successful races wherever they went. Miles and Alec out serious watts in both the double and the pair. Paul smoked the competition with his speedy single, and the quad were able to intimidate the competition with their fantastic technique. The eight was good, but the fantastic four was in a tighter race that finished within two seconds of a first place result. Determined for more, the boys are always on the hunt for lower splits. Work won’t stop as the Senior men are hunting for more.
Many thanks to the coaches who gave up their entire weekend to manage and lead our crews, as well as to Ms Manton who coordinated the logistics, and Mr. Ross who managed all of the equipment.
The rowers have a few more practices before they head off for March Break, a holiday that will culminate in a Quamichan Lake training camp in preparation for the CSSRA National Championships in June.
You know how it goes: Catch, Drive, Release, Recovery, Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! :-)
But we're also back - as in we're back attending regattas like this weekend's two-day affair in Victoria, The Elk Lake Spring Regatta.
Over the weekend, almost all of our 90 rowers dipped their blades into their first sprint regatta ever. Sure, there were three Grade 12s who distantly remember CSSRA 2019, but other than that, they’ve been rowing in a Mill Bay bubble for the duration of the pandemic - their entire rowing careers.
The Junior Boys, a Cecil B. Demille cast of thousands ably admiralled by Mr Ward, led the way by entering 13 crews and coming away with a Gold in the U17 4+ (well done Cassidy, Felix, Paolo, Nathan & Peter) and a Silver in the U17 8+ (congrats also to Gleb, Connor, Hawk & Kevin who completed the 8+.) Admirable racing was also done by the younger lads who made finals in the JV8+ and fours.
The Junior Girls raced the coxed quad, four and eight in the U17 division on Saturday and then in the U19 Novice division on Sunday. For their first ever races for everyone of them, Saturday was challenging and scary! However, on Sunday they came through with a second place finish in both the coxed four and eight. The quad were the only crew in the A final on the U19 Novice Women’s 4x with a coxswain, and placed sixth. The difference between Saturday and Sunday was incredible and set the team up with positive vibes leading into this next phase of our training.
The Senior Girls were led by Felicity B who raced the single plus the quad in a week where she also won the schools’ Mathematics Competition. What a product! She’s unequaled! The U19 quad was the fastest school quad in the regatta and finished 4th overall behind three club boats. The novices were fantastic and very tired by the end of the weekend. Many were racing for the first time and they had a heavy racing schedule on Sunday. For a couple of them, who had just returned from the Provincial Basketball Championships the night before, this concluded a big week of sports! These good overall results are a springboard to racing in after Spring Break.
The Senior Boys, running on 100% authentic German engineering, had successful races wherever they went. Miles and Alec out serious watts in both the double and the pair. Paul smoked the competition with his speedy single, and the quad were able to intimidate the competition with their fantastic technique. The eight was good, but the fantastic four was in a tighter race that finished within two seconds of a first place result. Determined for more, the boys are always on the hunt for lower splits. Work won’t stop as the Senior men are hunting for more.
Many thanks to the coaches who gave up their entire weekend to manage and lead our crews, as well as to Ms Manton who coordinated the logistics, and Mr. Ross who managed all of the equipment.
The rowers have a few more practices before they head off for March Break, a holiday that will culminate in a Quamichan Lake training camp in preparation for the CSSRA National Championships in June.