Post # 172
Well, it's been quite a summer so far. CRC came back from Trials last week, where Kate and I notched a 1-2 finish in the singles. That finish places Kate on the World Championships team, if she chooses it.
Here's the hitch: the lightweight double that beat us at the NSR back in May recently raced at a World Cup overseas and came in 8th. They had to get top 4 to be placed directly on the World Championships team, so that means the event has been opened up again and another trial will take place in New Jersey in August. Kate and I have always loved the double, so we're excited that we'll get another crack at it this summer. Now having raced fully three separate regattas on the same New Jersey course so far this year, you could say we're getting used to racing there.
If we win that trial in August, we'd be directly placed on the World Championships team in the lightweight double. If not, Kate could still race Worlds in the lightweight single.
Confusing? Yes. Check out this row2k article on the squad so far, which has a blurb about each race at Trials, and an attempt at clarifying some things.
Onward. Go USA!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Trials
Post # 171
CRC is in New Jersey for Under-23 Trials and part of Senior Trials. So far our results have been headlined by our awesome Under-23 lightweight women's quad, who won their final today and landed themselves spots on the U-23 World Championships team. Big congrats to them.
The men's quad is also here to race for a spot on the senior World Championships team and Kate and I are racing in lightweight singles. The guys in the quad have been our main training partners for over a year. When all seven of us (quad + me and Kate + Bernhard) were stuffed into the minivan on the way to practice the other day, we joked that it's like we were a big family. It's pretty true, though. We interact with each other every day, both on the water and off, so we cheer for each other's highs and help each other through our lows. We compete with each other all the time on the Oakland Estuary - mainly for best percentages, but everyone knows that bragging rights are really what's at stake. We've experienced crazy, eight hour practice days together and seen each other when we're absolutely dog tired (that's when everyone's in the best moods...). We've eaten countless meals together and been on long rainy hikes and long sunny runs together. I wouldn't rather have another group of people to be on this team with.
Check out the live video feed of the final day of the regatta. CRC is racing in two finals:
7:30 am - men's quad (far lane)
8:58 am - lightweight women's singles (me and Kate, middle lanes)
Go CRC, go USA.
CRC is in New Jersey for Under-23 Trials and part of Senior Trials. So far our results have been headlined by our awesome Under-23 lightweight women's quad, who won their final today and landed themselves spots on the U-23 World Championships team. Big congrats to them.
Photo: Bernhard Stomporowski
The men's quad is also here to race for a spot on the senior World Championships team and Kate and I are racing in lightweight singles. The guys in the quad have been our main training partners for over a year. When all seven of us (quad + me and Kate + Bernhard) were stuffed into the minivan on the way to practice the other day, we joked that it's like we were a big family. It's pretty true, though. We interact with each other every day, both on the water and off, so we cheer for each other's highs and help each other through our lows. We compete with each other all the time on the Oakland Estuary - mainly for best percentages, but everyone knows that bragging rights are really what's at stake. We've experienced crazy, eight hour practice days together and seen each other when we're absolutely dog tired (that's when everyone's in the best moods...). We've eaten countless meals together and been on long rainy hikes and long sunny runs together. I wouldn't rather have another group of people to be on this team with.
Check out the live video feed of the final day of the regatta. CRC is racing in two finals:
7:30 am - men's quad (far lane)
8:58 am - lightweight women's singles (me and Kate, middle lanes)
Go CRC, go USA.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Youth Nationals
Post # 170
This weekend was the Youth National Championships in Sacramento and for the first time ever, Artemis had several boats racing there. Of the three doubles that competed (two girls' boats and one boys' boat), two of them reached the finals and both ended up with 16th place finishes. That's seriously awesome for a group of freshmen and sophomores making their first appearance at Nationals. By the way, one of the girls' doubles was also the one featured in Row2k's Photo of the Day last week - and for good reason!!
The bonds created in high school rowing are so strong that they last well beyond senior year. Case in point: my high school coach is visiting the Bay Area for the week and I get to see him this afternoon AND at a big reunion dinner tomorrow for all of the Community Rowing alums in the area. It's been ten years since I graduated high school (scary) but every time we all get back together, we fall right back into reminiscing about the good times we had in high school. I'm so fortunate to have had that experience and to hold onto so many great friends from it.
Here's a BIG congrats to all the Artemis kids - I can't wait to see you guys later today!
This weekend was the Youth National Championships in Sacramento and for the first time ever, Artemis had several boats racing there. Of the three doubles that competed (two girls' boats and one boys' boat), two of them reached the finals and both ended up with 16th place finishes. That's seriously awesome for a group of freshmen and sophomores making their first appearance at Nationals. By the way, one of the girls' doubles was also the one featured in Row2k's Photo of the Day last week - and for good reason!!
The bonds created in high school rowing are so strong that they last well beyond senior year. Case in point: my high school coach is visiting the Bay Area for the week and I get to see him this afternoon AND at a big reunion dinner tomorrow for all of the Community Rowing alums in the area. It's been ten years since I graduated high school (scary) but every time we all get back together, we fall right back into reminiscing about the good times we had in high school. I'm so fortunate to have had that experience and to hold onto so many great friends from it.
Here's a BIG congrats to all the Artemis kids - I can't wait to see you guys later today!
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Diana Nyad
Post # 169
Oakland, California - I'm not one to watch commencement speeches. I've heard a few pretty good ones, but otherwise the ones I've listened to or watched haven't been that memorable.
That's why this commencement speech is worth sharing. One of my teammates just graduated from Middlebury and told me I had to watch the commencement speech, delivered by none other than Diana Nyad. Diana is a long-distance swimmer who, among other incredible achievements, completed the first swim from Cuba to Florida last summer. In this speech, she describes how she goes about squeezing every last drop out of life. She challenges the audience to live a life so full and wonderful that you can look back on it and say with confidence that you couldn't have done it any better.
As we hiked the hours away together, my teammate told me she couldn't have had a more perfect speech given to her at her commencement. And even though it wasn't my own graduation, I think Diana's speech is a reminder for all of us: life has its ups and downs, but in the end, you just have to ask yourself the fingernail question. Take a look:
Oakland, California - I'm not one to watch commencement speeches. I've heard a few pretty good ones, but otherwise the ones I've listened to or watched haven't been that memorable.
That's why this commencement speech is worth sharing. One of my teammates just graduated from Middlebury and told me I had to watch the commencement speech, delivered by none other than Diana Nyad. Diana is a long-distance swimmer who, among other incredible achievements, completed the first swim from Cuba to Florida last summer. In this speech, she describes how she goes about squeezing every last drop out of life. She challenges the audience to live a life so full and wonderful that you can look back on it and say with confidence that you couldn't have done it any better.
As we hiked the hours away together, my teammate told me she couldn't have had a more perfect speech given to her at her commencement. And even though it wasn't my own graduation, I think Diana's speech is a reminder for all of us: life has its ups and downs, but in the end, you just have to ask yourself the fingernail question. Take a look:
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