Conestoga Women's Quad is Heading Back to the Thames

After being the first U.S. women's junior sculling boat to ever win the event, Conestoga High School is heading back to Women's Royal Henley to try to defend their title. Wins at Stotesbury, City Championships and a fourth place finish at Youth National Championship (first finishing non-club boat) earned them the oppurtunity to race abroad.

If you are in the Philadelphia area they will be hosting a Beef and Beer Fundraiser tonight at 6pm at Bachelors Barge Club to help lower the cost of the trip. The following is the invitation:

"Conestoga High School Crew will be returning to Women's Henley Regatta this year to attempt back-to-back wins in the Junior Women's 4x event. Last year's 4x won the final by 3/4 of a boat length and this year's boat hopes to do the same or better. The girls plan on representing the United States well as the only US crew in the event, but we NEED your support. We are looking to our family, friends, colleagues, and members of the rowing community to help us in this endeavor.Host: Paul Coomes & Amy Giddings
Location: Bachelors Barge Club
Kelly Drive, Philadelphia, PA
When: Friday, June 15, 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Phone: 267-386-6570"

These are certainly the things that the rowing community needs to help support. Succesful crews that have earned the right to compete internationally through consistent results should never be limited by funding. If given the oppurtunity these athletes will soon be fielding our U23 and senior national teams. The confidence and experience they will gain from regattas such as Henley Royal will only aide their development as elite athletes.

What's in a Name? Nationals Get's a Makeover.

I think everyone expected splitting Nationals into Club/Elite and then moving it from Indianapolis to Mercer to be a good thing but now, this regatta "is bonafide". With events filled with Casperson boats including a women's double that hosts 8 alone, this regatta has returned as a real National Championship; even medaling here will be an accomplishment.

The women's light single will be amongst the toughest events. With names like Julie Nichols, Rene Hykel, and Heather Moon this may be a preview of things to come at World Championship trials.

The Men's 4x hosts a ridiculous quad of Olympians including former gold medalists Dan Beery, Bryan Volpenhein, Beau Hoopman, and Chief Jason Read all from the Athens 8. To my knowledge none of which have sculled regularly, but their resumes alone make this a quad everyone will want to watch. They may be pokey off the line compared to Undine and Casperson 1 (which is another bonafide boat of elite scullers) but I’m sure the engines in this boat will have them plowing into the field after the first quarter.

The Women's quad is similarly absurd with 5 Casperson boats and one potentially solid Vesper Lightweight Quad. No names are listed for any of the quads but I’m sure you can expect; even with some awkward combinations, that most of these boats will go fast regardless of who sits where.

People can complain that Casperson may be pot hunting a little and that makes it a little harder on those of us who have yet to win a trial, but, who cares? Bottom line, this gives a lot of domestic boats another real opportunity to test their speed against some really fast crews, some of which may have competitive international speed. I think it is a great thing for American rowing. Kudos to USRowing for having the wherewithal to go back to a format that worked.

Another Rigging Survey to Obsess about.

Click on the link above. It is a rigging survey conducted at the 1999 World Championships in St. Catherines, Canada.

World Cup: M2x

Rowbotham and Wells submitted their official cover letter, resume, and three professional references for the position of 2008 Olympic Champion when they beat Cop and Spik in the final (extra) 250-m at Royal Henley last year. A perfectly matched, spotless sculling duo, this pair should do very well at all World Cup stops this year. Expect them to score top three points for every remaining stop, including World Championships. Considering England loves to contend for the World Cup points trophy, we could see them at all three remaining races. With an unbeaten M4- and stellar W4x they could give Germany a run for their money for the team title.

This British Duo already looks in top form this year, overcoming a significant deficit to nip Germany by .5 second at the first World Cup stop in Linz. However, they won't be able to do that against a fast starting Cop and Spik (who are again entered as a 2x next weekend). These two crews will undoubtably meet in the final on the Thames again this year.

On their home course, the German Double of Rene Bertram and Robert Sens (who are not entered at World Cup 2), finished 2nd in Linz a few weeks ago. They will certainly be the hometown favorites at World Championships and that may be enough to push them into the top three and Rowbotham and Wells out.

It would also be foolish to count the defending World Champs out; they have looked unimpressive so far this year but it's unclear if they can’t get it going, or are just waiting for the right time to reveal that nasty first 1000-m.

Regardless, if fantasy owners are looking for consistent performers at all three World Cups and a likely top three finish at World Championships Rowbotham and Wells should be the Steady Eddies of the field.

The U.S. will also send a representative in this event and racing fans are eager to see how the new pairing of Sam Stitt and Matt Hughes will do internationally. Hughes/Stitt beat all other comers at NSR 3 to earn the right to represent the U.S. at World Championships this year. They won the event with a cushy 5 second margin but; this being one of the most hotly contested events on the sculling schedule, the European crews will certainly test their speed. Amidst a field of Olympic medalists and World Champions even a top 10 finish at this regatta would be an impressive result.

After 4 long Miles it comes down to .5 second


Ending a 7 year draught, Yale beat the IRA runner up and Eastern Sprint champs by less than a second at the annual Yale Harvard Boat Race. The Bulldogs apparently overcame a 5 second deficit early on to sneak past Harvard at the line, the smallest margin of victory since 1914.
As reported by TheDay.com:

"Yale stayed within striking distance and then made a powerful move down the stretch. Harvard struggled nearing the finish line as No. 5 seat Andrew Boston eventually collapsed. Suffering from exhaustion, Boston was taken to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital as a precautionary measure, according to Harvard spokesperson Heather Palmer."

After a tough season, loosing to Harvard at Eastern Sprints by 2 seconds, congratulations goes out to a tough Yale Crew.

Greatest Races Week 11
In 1990 the Australian National Team put together a Men's 4- that consisted of Nick Green, James Tomkins, Mike McCay, and Sam Patten. They became instantly successful winning Gold on their home course on Lake Barrington. In 1991 and 1992 with Patten replaced by Andrew Cooper, they continued their dominance, winning the next two World Championships (besting American boats both times by small margins) and then finally Olympic Gold in Barcelona in 1992, making them the first ever Australian sweep boat to win an Olympic title and earning them the nickname; the "Oarsome Foursome". After a series of disappointing finishes, Andrew Cooper was replaced by Drew Ginn in 1995. In 1996 the Australian rowing world held their breath as 6 boats traded bow balls through the 1500-m mark in what remains one of the most exciting races in Olympic rowing history.