HOTO (Sunday) is a trip for our fastest rowers and coxswains.

• We load the trailer Thursday at end of practice. No early start.  We’ll do some drills on the water and try to end by 1830.  If you need to leave at the normal time, you can.  Non-HOTO folks go home as normal.
• There is no practice Friday or Saturday. Rest Friday.  Saturday, do some stuff to stay fresh for racing.
• Per the previously announced lineups, we are sending two boats. Any student must notify me immediately of an issues that would prevent participation.  We’d need to adjust quickly to prevent a wasted trip for many people.
• The draft schedule is out. We are bows 401 and 456.
• The weather forecast indicates a mid-temp morning, warming quickly for the race. Have the right gear up there to stay warm on land, to keep warm at the start (beanies), and to race.
• We’ll row in our new uniforms, and black spandex. If you’re doing an under-shirt, it’s black.
• Arrive at the trailer 1.5hr before your race time (girls race 0940, boys race 1030). Coxswain meeting is 0745 at the bottom of the hill.  Don’t get stuck in the line of traffic to the park and be late.
• Some families choose to get a hotel room the night before, but that is neither required nor expected. The coaches usually drive up in the morning.  Carpooling is encouraged.
• Our hulls need to be on the water 40min before the race. That means we need to be walking down 45+min ahead.  Make sure you’re physically ready to go on the water for a while.
• You should eat well-before arriving (2.5hr+ before race), and can have a small personal snack at least 30min before launch if needed.
• Trailer unload will happen Monday at normal practice time. We won’t derig boats for winter yet, because of the possible ORR event.

Here are logistics details for the site.

• Onsite parking is not available to parents/spectators or anyone transporting rowers.
• The drop-off location (or passengers can ride the parking shuttle) is between C and D lots (follow staff direction). Again, allow a time buffer for the line of traffic.
• Parking (free) is at South County High School (8501 Silverbrook Rd Lorton, Virginia 22079); then you take a shuttle to the park ($10 per person, 12 years old and under free). Allow at least 1hr minutes travel time. There are no restrooms at the lot.
• For pick-up (1120ish for women, 1205ish for men), there is no place to park and wait; pick-up must be arranged in advance.
• Spectators are encouraged to view the races from the open area below the boathouses. You must avoid the boat traffic and areas designated for coaches and athletes only. Our boats will be visible to spectators around 0953 and 1043 respectively.

Looking for a sport for the fall, winter, and/or spring season(s)? Consider rowing. No prior experience is needed.  There are no try-outs.  There are no cuts.  Grades 8-12 (any public, private, or home school) are welcome.  If you’ve got the drive and enthusiasm to keep up with us (you do!), we’ll help you become a competitive (or even more competitive) athlete.  Practice with us and you’ll race with us. We have a full year’s training planned (calendar is here).

Need convincing? Look at how well new and varsity athletes did in previous years (posted below). Perhaps some past highlights will add to your interest. Want more info? Start your reading here. There’s lots more info here. Want to ask questions? Come see us at freshmen orientation or the boathouse. If you’re worried this is a water sport, don’t be.

Want to improve your endurance? We do plenty of that. Want to lift? We do that too. Want to win races? We’ve done that at the Regional and State level. Want to learn while you train? Scroll down the posts below as far as 13Mar2020 to appreciate our emphasis on teaching and learning. Want a college athletic scholarship? Women have a better shot than almost all other sports; sorry men, it’s very rare for you.

The Maury WJ2x and Granby W1x had a great day. These medals are nice additions to what was already collected at Regionals in the WN4+ (gold), MN4+ (silver), and WJ8+ (silver). The drone footage of the WJ2x race was fun to watch. If you look it up, their race starts around 5:30.

The heat is a solid display of decent rowing.  Every crew is pulling hard, but only one of the 6 hulls contains athletes that understand boat-moving.  Our coaches are obviously better at instructing the rowing stroke than they are at color commentary.

As for the final, it is cu…ray…zee!  The race starts at 1:05.  I won’t spoil the rest.

Our novice women took third in a fast field of seventeen crews.  For the first time ever, Granby was ranked (by the league up in northern Virginia) going into the event, reflecting our well-earned reputation for quality novice crews.  And the WN4+ rose to the pressure of expectations, confirming that Granby novices go north to row fast and win medals.  In heats, they took first over boats from much larger programs.

In finals, they extended their margin over the crew they defeated in heats by being the only team to go faster during their their second 1500m of the day.

Our test of the barge went well. It will be an excellent tool in quickly training what we hope will be a very large group of novices joining each year.

Team priority #2 is safesport (#1 is safety).  The video below enables that priority.  Safesport is about treating each other with respect and kindness.  And how we interact often starts with how we speak.  It’s worth taking some notes, and really thinking about the points being made, because this isn’t just about safesport.  Quality speech is a key skill for coxswains, captains, teammates, etc.  Want to do well in future job interviews?  Speech is vital.  Enjoy talking with friends?  Improve the conversations you have.  Oh… one more thing… notice how the video ends with speaking AND listening.  If you want people to listen to you, start by listening to them.  That’s safesport too.

Sitting is bad for you.  Do less sitting.  Can you stand while in class, or while doing homework?  Maybe you’ll discover that’s better for your learning… and your health.

Our training calendar is intended to build readiness for racing.  Speed/skill in our sport demands many, many hours.  Believe it or not, the fastest crews invest even more time.  You can extra work, as long as it’s green/blue.  Build your cardio base, train healthy movement patterns, and strengthen key muscles.  For motivation, consider the following:

The video below states:  “once a skill becomes automatic, thinking about its precise mechanics interferes with your ability to do it”.  Rowing well comes from being a good rower.  Being a good rower starts with being a good athlete.  Being a good athlete comes from the work done to get there.  That work includes learning ‘the little things’ correctly so they become automatically correct.  Right now we can be putting in so many quality reps to create good athletic and/or rowing skill.  Then when the pressure is on, you have all the nuanced work done and you can use external focus on the ultimate goal… boat speed.  I am not endorsing the Audible advertisement, but I do highly endorse The Boys in the Boat.  It’s a wonderful read.