So one more NCRC Invitational is in the bag. This one went more smoothly from a regatta management standpoint then any of our prior versions; certainly benign conditions (for most of the day) contributed to this for us but our coaching staff especially and all of our volenteers as well were tremendous. Being surround by folks like these make my job as a regatta director very easy.
A full race recap will be posted on our website soon; race results are already up. We even got some mainstream media coverage in The Columbian newspaper; Jim got some good quotes even if the piece is a little intersting (sinewy shoulders?).
Our days started out with the above scene; a two-hour fog delay got us started. I could see this coming from a few days away. Once things lifited the water was fantastic (until the last four races) and the sun got us all warmed up very quickly.
Our days started out with the above scene; a two-hour fog delay got us started. I could see this coming from a few days away. Once things lifited the water was fantastic (until the last four races) and the sun got us all warmed up very quickly.
While our athletes raced and relaxed in the sun our coaches drove launches, directed volenteers, rigged boats, and at the end of the day pulled up the course and drove five launches back to Portland (BIG thanks to Willamette for bringing one and saving us a 2nd round trip!).
Not to make our athletes sound lazy; two strong wins and one 2nd place, as well as some first class teamwork highlighted the day. I'll let the race recap tell the full story but there were two major highlights for me.
The first came when our Women's Varsity lost their skeg during the warmup and the whole men's team got the Men's V8 rigged in about six or seven minutes so we could get them back on the water and up to the start on time. Very awesome.
The second was watching our Novice women's four come THIS CLOSE to getting through to the final after three-seat tore out her handle as they were leading the heat with 500 meters to go. The bow pair went to the well to get them accross and they very nearly pipped the 3rd place boat in a 2 vs 4 battle. Just awesome.
Not to make our athletes sound lazy; two strong wins and one 2nd place, as well as some first class teamwork highlighted the day. I'll let the race recap tell the full story but there were two major highlights for me.
The first came when our Women's Varsity lost their skeg during the warmup and the whole men's team got the Men's V8 rigged in about six or seven minutes so we could get them back on the water and up to the start on time. Very awesome.
The second was watching our Novice women's four come THIS CLOSE to getting through to the final after three-seat tore out her handle as they were leading the heat with 500 meters to go. The bow pair went to the well to get them accross and they very nearly pipped the 3rd place boat in a 2 vs 4 battle. Just awesome.
I'm deeply exhausted today and I'm sure the team and coaches feel the same. It's all worth it. I'm a very fortunate to get to work with these people, and seeing our athletes be so selfless in their support of each other, passionate about their team, and aggressive in their racing is worth every challenge we face through the year.
