Chula Vista, California - Yup, it's that time of year again: selection time. This is an Olympic year, so things are a little different than usual. The first thing you might've noticed is that we're already on to National Selection Regatta (NSR) 2. Every other year, NSR 1 has all of the lightweight women racing each other in singles, but this year none of us participated in that regatta. In fact, there wasn't even an option to. That's because the double is our only Olympic event, so we're all focusing on that this year. The other difference is that we're on the west coast. All of the NSRs in recent memory have been held on Mercer Lake in New Jersey, where cold, choppy April mornings welcome us to the racing season. This year everything has to happen a little earlier, so it's out here in California instead. The sun is out, the temps are approaching 80 degrees, and the winds are calm. Feels a little weird!
So that brings us to this week's NSR 2, which runs Tuesday April 10 - Thursday April 12. The weight of this race is significant; whoever wins it earns the opportunity to represent the US at the World Cups in Europe this summer. If they place high enough there, they will also represent the US at the Olympics in London.
I'm racing with Julie Nichols, my doubles partner since last April. We will be facing nine other doubles this week. The athletes in our event include former Olympians, national team medalists, Pan American Games medalists, national champions...the list of accomplishments goes on. It is an excellent field; maybe the best for an NSR this quadrennium. I can't wait to get the racing started.
USRowing has posted information and a schedule. Times are subject to change.
Tuesday April 10: AM Time Trial - to determine seeding for the heats
Wednesday April 11: AM Heats - top 3 from each heat advance to the A final, the rest to the B final
Thursday April 12: AM Finals - these will be broadcast live online.
More updates to come once racing begins. Stay tuned!
1 comment:
Go Kristin and Julie!!
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