States entries are in.  Here are the lineups.  The MN4+ trip details are going out by email.

Big Mathews details are below.

1. We have a final schedule.
2. Lineups are set.
3. Arrival time is 0730 for all the men, and all boat drivers.  All other students should be there by 0830.
4. You are not allowed to drive down to the race site for any reason.  Parking is 0.5mi away (walk down or take bus).  There is usually a line for the bus; plan accordingly.
5. Unloading/cleaning/re-rigging at the boathouse will be more intense this time.  Expect to get wet.  Projected finish time will depend on tunnel traffic, and go out on Band.
6. Please read through this additional info on spectating and parking.

Saturday went as expected. We were rusty from the week off. We weren’t tuned up for the pace because of our focus on zone 2 in winter and early spring. We looked like we need huge improvement on our technique… because we do. That said, it’s encouraging that most of our results were good; something to build on. So let’s start building.

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.  If you’ve got the drive and enthusiasm to keep up with us, we’ll help you become a competitive athlete.  If you practice with us, you’ll race with us. We have a full year’s training planned (calendar is here).

Need convincing? Look at how well the new athletes did last year and the year before that (posted below). Perhaps some past highlights will motivate you. Want more info? Start your reading here. There’s lots more info here. Want to ask questions? Come see us at freshmen orientation. 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.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are priorities for our team. I think we do an ok job on the last two, but we’ve never been as diverse as our school. It’s a failure I’d like to correct; thus, we’ll keep working on DEI. I’m not sure this addition will help recruiting, but it’s still worth saying.

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.

Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championships is always a tough place to medal, and our novices met that challenge once again; very impressive (especially for the women, since three of their athletes only tried crew for the first time in February).  For those unfamiliar with rowing filmed from this angle, the action gets exciting around 3:30.  Of course if you’re in the boat, it’s exciting the whole 6-7min.

They looked good in heats too.  Hopefully this performance helps us recruit a big group of novices for next year.  We want many more student athletes to have this opportunity.

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.