Wednesday, October 31, 2012
MW Halloween 2012
written by Anne Jane
High flow from Hurricane Sandy drove us indoors but we made the best of it:
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Head of the Ohio Recap
written by Anne Jane
2012's HOTO started the same way as last year's: cloudy, cool, windy, rainy but unlike 2011 the day got progressively better, with the sun coming out around mid-day. The river was very choppy in the morning making for some interesting rowing and while it was still somewhat windy by the afternoon the waves were more manageable.
HOTO is an unusual regatta - the team rows on our home river but there is no central gathering place. We don't have to load, unload, rig, de-drig, unload, rig but we are all busy with volunteering. Still we made several unofficial team spaces such as the back of the scullers bay and by the boats in the parking lot and it was fun to make other teams feel welcome.And after experiencing the chaos of the Head of the Potomac the week before, we all appreciated how well our own regatta was run.
MW did well - there were a few races that were not as successful as had been hoped but these were balanced by others that were. Many came away with medals and the women's master's 8+ beat everyone in their field to come away with a silver plate.
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Masters National Head Race Recap
written by Anne Jane
The inaugural Masters National Head Race was held in Cleveland, OH on the Cuyahoga River, one of my favorite head courses. And while there were not a lot of entries this year, there was still some good racing and medals awarded by Olympians, Susan Francia and Margot Shumway, many to TRRA teams. While I know it is an obscure fact it should be noted that the TRRAMW Masters 8+ was the first boat across the finish line of this first National Masters Head Race!
The Head of the Cuyahoga 2011 recap describes the challenges of this curvy course and surprising appeal of the urban post-modern landscape. TRRA MW received medals in every race they entered, although veracity compels me to add that there often were only 1, 2 or 3 entrants. Still our boats were strong and posted good times. Nate's skillful navigating of the course, helped us by cutting corners close and decreasing pressure as little as was absolutely necessary.
The regatta hosted morning and afternoon award ceremonies during which Susan Francia and Margot Shumway placed medals on each rower and posed for photos. Earlier in the day when the two women were first spotted by MW, Susan Francia let those who asked to wear her gold medal from the 8+ for photos (and she never noticed Marie trying to see if she was the same height). Both women were unassuming and gracious.
A photo of TRRMW 8+ made it into US Rowing's write up of the regatta. It comments that "On the water, Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Rowing Association won nine gold medals to lead the way,..."
Head of the Potomac Recap
written by Anne Jane
Coach Alyssa summed up this race well in her email to the team:
Hey folks,
This is a bit delayed because work is crazy but I did want to let the group know that we had a really good (and long!) day of racing at Potomac. Ha, I was a bit cranky at the race because it was the least organized regatta ever (thank god for Megan) but we did get to go up against a lot of strong boats which is always good.
Most folks felt in control of their races and I certainly saw some exhausted rowers coming off the water. The masters 8 took third and passed 3 or 4 boats! The club 8 put placed right with the collegiate crews. The four had a solid row and enjoyed a great borrowed coxswain (don't worry we'll try to recruit her for Occoquan). Nate dodged every kayak, canoe, motorboat and cox some great races. Eva, Toby and Anne Jane each rowed a casual 27K total and Jaclyn survived her first race ever!
Good tune up before HOTO.
Note - not only was the river not well policed (there were kayaks in the race lane!) but there were too few officials around the docks making the launching and landing chaotic at times. There was also limited space for trailers and boats although Joanne and Jeanne got there very early and made sure we had a good spot! Parking space was also scarce and people had to find parking in paid garages nearby.
But the day was sunny and bright and the upper end of the course quite scenic making up for some of the other drawbacks.