The High Point Club Rowing Team began their season with a bang last Saturday.  We had a very good day in Clemson, SC.  We took six boats to the regatta and came home with five medals.  One Gold, Two Silver, and Two Bronze.  A wonderful start to the 2017- 2018 Rowing Season.  

          First off the blocks were the Women's Varsity 8+.  This was the first race for the new Varsity boat.  Last years seniors have moved on and our returning ex-novices have taken their places.  We've been impressed all season with the technical ability of this boat.  They are a talented group of rowers and finished with a well rowed second place for the Silver Medal.

         Next to launch were the Men's Varsity 4+.  We are in the enviable position of having 12 Varsity rowers who will contend all season for the 8 seats available in the Men's Varsity 8+.  The MV4 will be the alternate racing option for the Varsity Men.  The Men's 4 faced stiff competition and rowed to a very solid 6th place.  This was the largest field of the day.

           Then came the Mens's Varsity 8+.  The heavyweights, the big guns of every regatta and the race did not disappoint.  I was particularly pleased (and slightly surprised) with the results.  Since we're a club program we can't get specific line ups together very often.  We have to row the team members who are available at a given practice time.  We seat raced 12 guys for the 8 seats available in the boat.  This particular group of 8 had only rowed together three times as a complete boat. As a result, every practice last week was tense because we just weren't getting the cohesion needed to make the boat go really well.  The rowers were unhappy, the coaches were unhappy.  There just wasn't much chemistry in the boat.  Above all else, rowing is about teamwork and precision.  The guys could sprint into the low 1:30's a respectable figure, but our 5k times were in the mid 1:50's.  Nothing spectacular.  Just average and they knew it.  There was much frustration among the members of the boat and discussion on how to fix the problem.  There wasn't much confidence as we went to the start line.  However, during the first 4,000 meters of the race the men focused on the task at hand and averaged a 1:45min/500m split, a considerable improvement over our practice results.   But more importantly, once the coxswain got the Clemson A boat in sight the guys really cranked it up and rose to the challenge.  They rowed the last 1,000 meters at a 1:32/500m average.  For those not in the know, this is a fabulous time, capable of competing with any team, regardless of caliber, anywhere.  The guys were stoked when they got off the water.  They had put it all together and rowed as a team.  They could feel the connection.  They knew it had been a great row and were excited to hear the final results.  We ended up winning by 6 seconds (out of 17min:38sec) against the Clemson A boat.  A really superb effort on their part.  It's really what the best of racing is all about.  Power, dedication, teamwork, selflessness.  As a coach, It was an honor to have been a part of it.  This should give them (and the whole team) a real lift for the upcoming season.  Chalk up another very well deserved Gold medal for HPU. 

        Our fourth race of the day was the Women's Varsity 4+.  This was a group of four Varsity women who had come to us and asked to row the 4+ race.  They had just rowed in the Women's Varsity 8+ less than an hour before and wanted to race in the 4+ race.  This was one of the most competitive and largest fields of the day.  Despite the fact that all four women had just raced a 5,000 meter race (which means over 10,000 meters of rowing to get to the start line and back to the docks) they wanted to race again.  They met the challenge well and finished with a very solid third place for the Bronze medal.  

            Next came the Women's Novice 8+.  It seems every boat has a story!  With two exceptions (women who rowed in high school or equivalent) these women and coxswain had never picked up an oar or been in a boat before September.  It's always exciting to see people experience their first ever competitive race.  During the race, the ladies had about every mishap possible.  The cox box AND speed timing gear didn't work, they almost hit a railroad bridge (rough water - the last races of the day had higher winds to contend with), ran aground on the row to the start line, got to the start line at the last possible moment and were rushed onto the course by the referees, suffered inaccurate steering, etc.  But they kept fighting and never gave up. Let me repeat that - They NEVER gave up on themselves.  They kept going and ultimately gave an outstanding performance, finishing with the Bronze Medal behind two Clemson boats (Clemson has a very large D1 varsity women's program).  This should give them well earned encouragement for the next race.  I'm really excited to see how well these ladies can do as the season progresses.  

            The final race of the day was the Men's Novice 4+.  Once again I was surprised and humbled by the performance of the Men's four.  This was truly a last minute collection of rowers.  Due to class schedules and other restrictions we were only able to have this group of novices row together ONE time before the regatta.  They far exceeded our expectations.  The fall regatta season consists of long distance races that are run in time trial fashion.  You race alone on the course against the clock.  Boats are staggered at the start by 30 second intervals.  Therefore if you pass a boat you know you are rowing well and have made up the stagger from the start.  The Men's Novice four passed three boats and knew they had a really great time on the water.  We all awaited the final postings to see if they were first or second on the day.  They ended up a very solid second place for the Silver medal.  It will be a fun season to watch these men develop.  

            It was a very good day for HPU Rowing.  We are off to a fabulous season.  I look forward to the coming races.  Stay tuned.  We're off to Pittsburg next weekend for the Head of the Ohio.  This will be a much more severe test.  At Clemson there were 110 competitors.  At the HOTO there will be in excess of 450 contestants.  We have our work cut out for ourselves.