Rower's Deck

2009-04-11T18:23:00.002-05:00

A Battle in the Rain.As most East Coast Coaches donned rain slicks and knee high boots to muck through the Ankle deep muck of the Cooper, and Carnegie, Buffalo paraded a deep squad of Varsity women down the course at the Knecht, Harvard beat Brown in the Basin, Yale HW Men beat Dartmouth in New Haven, the Harvard lights trounced Dartmouth sweeping the Biglin Bowl and the Yale and Penn Varsity 150

2009-04-06T15:28:00.008-05:00

Who's the tops?"Phew, those are some nasty ladies" said one spectator last weekend who watched Michigan unravel #2 Brown and #8 Princeton in Princeton to win their opener in style. They rolled on this week to capture the Jessop-Whittier Cup for winning the San Diego Crew Classic, besting most of the country's top 10 in just 2 weeks of racing. UW, USC, Wisco,OSU, WSU, Princeton, Brown and Oregon

Greatest Races Week: 33

2009-03-23T08:50:00.001-05:00

A veritable who's who of women's single scullers, many of these same women would continue to battle on for over a decade of succesful elite rowing. Truely a testament to determination, patience, and mental toughness, the three medal winners at this World Championships would all get their day in the sun as Olympic Champion.Karsten, already a former Olympic Champion would win another in 2000,

2009-03-18T10:55:00.004-05:00

Spring Forward Don't Fall Back.G-Town, St. Joes, and Loyola will travel to participate in the 10th annual Jesuit invite and Florida Tech and Rollins will both host their respective regattas in Florida this weekend. Manny Flick 2 will stroll down the Schuylkill and dual racing will begin to swing into full effect as Columbia HW face off against Florida Tech in Florida, Oregon State Vs. the Zags in

2009-03-17T09:06:00.000-05:00

It all begins at the beginning...Manny Flick One is in the books and God bless scholastic rowing. It's amazing to see the sophisticated timing and starting systems of Olympic rowing, to hear about boats with weighted ends to reduce pitch, have Asian children swimming under boats to pull weeds off of fins, and view a roaming camera that gets incredible scanning angles of boats from all

Greatest Races Week 32

2009-03-03T11:50:00.001-05:00

In 1984 Paul Enquist and Brad Lewis became a big part of American Rowing History winning olympic gold. Brad wrote about his exploits in "Assault on Lake Casistas" and a tattered, outlined, and notated copy can be found on nearly every American Rower's bookshelf. But they were certainly not the only story at this Olympiad. The U.S. took home one of the most impressive medal hulls in recent

2009-03-03T11:00:00.002-05:00

Wanted Writers.As the Rower's Deck expands its readership we are looking for new writers to give their perspectives on the American Rowing Community. If you have opinions, ideas, thoughts, or simply wish to recap a particularly exciting race or practice, please email me at Wisniewski.scott@gmail.com.

Greatest Races Week 31

2009-02-24T10:32:00.001-05:00

“I figured I had about 30 hard strokes; it was really about 45. At the end, I was just (saying) ‘Keep it together. Don’t let up.’ It was better than my best race.” Said Guerrette in a press release issued from USRowing and posted on Harvard’s website. It could hardly be said that Michelle began from humble beginnings, initiating her rowing career at Harvard and quickly working her way on the U23

2009-02-19T14:01:00.002-05:00

Hungry, Angry, and Determined... "“And most important never, never let them eat after midnight, because when they do, they change… They become clever, mischievous and dangerous.” Gremlins Trailer.Four peat? That just doesn't sound right. The Chicago Bulls couldn't do it in succession; the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn't do it in succession? Could the Big Red roll on under a new Head Coach to become

Greatest Races Week 30

2009-02-16T11:56:00.001-05:00

In 1964 Vyasheslav Nikolayevich Ivanov sat on the line in Tokyo for the start of the Heat of the Olympic Games as a Lion might lazily yawn and stumble upward before drawing its attention towards its next meal. A titan of historic rowing prominence; having won 2 Olympic games in dramatic and dominant fashion in 1956 and 1960, Ivanov’s first Olympic Gold Medal came as a result of a furious sprint

Greatest Races: Week 29.

2009-02-09T10:10:00.001-05:00

In 1936, Nazi Germany swept every Olympic Rowing event except for 2, infamous Jack Beresford and Dick Southwood along with the U.S Men’s eight from the University of Washington were the only two boats to defeat Germany with Adolf Hitler looking on. Herbert Morris, Charles Day, Gordon Adam, John White, James McMillin, George Hunt, Joseph Rantz, and Donald Hume, coxed by Robert Moch surged past

2009-02-03T09:47:00.007-05:00

Dual Season Approaches and Everybody's Got Cabin Fever: HW Men's Review As the snow gently falls in Philadelphia following a rare 45 degree February day the heated stares of rowers and coaches towards the frozen river seems almost enough to unthaw the last little bit of ice that stubbornly clings to our dock condemning us to yet another sweaty day, week, or month on the erg with the music turned

2009-02-02T21:36:00.003-05:00

Greatest Races: Week 28In 2005 a Cal Berkeley and St. Joes graduate sat together in Gifu, Japan as the U.S. Representative for the Light Weight Women's 2x. No U.S. woman had medaled in that event in over 5 years since Sarah Garner and Christine Collins won bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Trained in Philly under the tutelage of Ted Nash, from stroke number one, Rynee Hykel and Julie Nichols

2009-01-29T12:32:00.001-05:00

There will be a memorial held for Todd Craun on Friday, 1/30 at Vesper from 11-1.The club is establishing a fund in his honor to support the program he most cared about.Donations may be sent to:The Todd Craun Elite Athletes' FundVesper Boat Club10 Kelly DrivePhiladelphia, PA 19130. Any flowers may also be sent to Vesper Boat Club: 10 Boathouse Row, Philadephia PA 19130.

2009-01-27T07:32:00.003-05:00

Sad NewsWe are sorry to report that Todd Craun, long time Vesper Boat Club Member and Assistant Coach passed away yesterday of a heart attack. Services have yet to be scheduled.

2009-01-26T12:11:00.005-05:00

Greatest Races: Week 27 In 2000 no single sculler in history had ever won back to back World Championships en route to winning Olympic Gold. Born January 7, 1975 and grew up on a King Country Dairy Farm. He quickly rose up the ranks of the rowing elite and at 17 years old made his debut on the international rowing team as a Junior. Eventually studying in Japan and becoming a Judo black belt,

2009-01-22T11:10:00.008-05:00

What Have You Done For Me Lately? It only takes about 4 weeks for coaches and fans of Olympic rowing to start thinking about what the next quadrennial might look like. After 5 months most of the media has burned out and the awards have been delivered and by the time CRASH B's roll around everyone is looking for the next big thing. But oftentimes the superstars and Olympians ripen like a fine wine

2009-01-20T11:00:00.008-05:00

Watch Your Wake!In 1996, the EPA produced a document stating that gasoline marine engines are one of "the largest average contributors of hydrocarbon" emissions. In fact according to the EPA "of all categories of nonroad engines, recreational marine engines contribute the second highest average level of HC exhaust emissions. Only small gasoline engines use in lawn and garden equipment emit higher

Greatest Races: Week 26

2009-01-19T10:01:00.001-05:00

In the history of Olympic and World Championship Rowing only 4 American men have ever won gold in the single at a World Championship or Olympic Regatta. In 1997 as Jamie Koven took the center lane in France no American had won the men’s single since Don Sperro in 1966. After a devastating move at the 1000-m mark Koven would join the ranks of Frank Greer (1904), John Kelly (1920), and Don Sperro (

2009-01-18T09:55:00.005-05:00

Waddell vs. Drysdale: 4 More Years of Singles DualsThe world could not have asked for a better reality television show than 4 years of Rob Waddell vs. Mahe Drysdale. The latter who has said on several occasions prior to the Olympic trial drama that Waddell was an inspiration and one reason he converted to single sculling after marginal success in the four in 2000. Now New Zealand rowing seems to

2009-01-15T15:59:00.004-05:00

These Days It Seems I Spend a Lot of Time Dreaming...I spend a lot of time thinking what we can do better as a nation to make this amazing sport more successful, more appealing, more popular, and continue its path of growth through the next 8 years. I look at a sport often mired in archaic tradition, solidified in a fascination of what was. Club rowing, collegiate rowing, and yes, even scholastic

2008-07-28T08:57:00.006-05:00

Lightweights Top the Podium!Ahh at long last! After an eight year Lightweight men's gold medal drought the U.S. is again on top of the World heading to this years 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. The U.S. rowed well to advance directly to the final after defeating Italy by nearly 7 seconds in their heat and posting the fastest time of the regatta despite crossing the 500-m mark in second

2008-07-14T08:13:00.008-05:00

Beijing Bound:Ken Jurkowski; M1xIn our newest weekly segment, Beijing Bound, we will be highlighting some of this years most outstanding oarsmen/women, on their way to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. These athletes have spent nearly a lifetime suffering for their trade and now get to live their dreams of competing on the biggest athletic stage.Ken Jurkowski born in 1981 in Rhinebeck New York and

2008-07-10T12:31:00.004-05:00

California LoveThe newly renovated California Rowing Club has taken the country and indeed the World by storm. In his first year as Head Coach, Australian maverick, Tim McLaren has already made in roads to the national team. After just over a year at the helm he has already made a name for the club in a big way, qualifying a heavy men's double for the Olympic Games, a light men's quad for the

2008-07-09T14:05:00.007-05:00

Greatest Races Week 25From 1968-1980 the German Democratic Republic had dominated the Men's coxless four, winning gold in 4 straight Olympiads for the first time in History, a feet that has yet to be repeated. From 1966-1977 East Germany won every World Championship they attended. In 1986 as Ted Swinford, Dan Lyons, John Riley and Robert Espeseth rowed onto the course at Nottingham the U.S. had

2008-07-02T12:50:00.004-05:00

Challenging for the TempleAll U.S. crews rowed through the first round of the Temple Challenge Cup on the Thames yesterday. The Cornell lightweight, coming off their third IRA National Title set the fastest time of the day at 6:35 and where pushed most of the way by the school from Holland, D.S.R. Proteus-Eretes. Trinity came through the line in 6:45 to defeat Southhampton University by 1 1/4

2008-07-02T08:32:00.006-05:00

Greatest Races Week 24In 2005 Zac Purchase announced his arrival to the international rowing community as a brash 19 year old by winning a silver medal in the lightweight men's single, edging out the veteran single sculler, Fabrice Moreau by less than a second. His meteoric rise to the pinnacle of the lightweight rowing world has continued unfettered as he dominated the second 1000-m of this

2008-06-30T14:03:00.007-05:00

Development?The United States will send 3 lightweight U23 crews to Bradenburg Germany for this year's U23 World Championships; the light men's single, double, and pair. Turnout for this year's regatta was sparse at best with a combined four boats to compete for the LM2- and LM2x. The men's light 1x was the most populated event of the U23 regatta with 7 entries. Numbers across the country for U23

2008-06-26T15:57:00.007-05:00

Mercer Makes The World Takes! 19 Non-Olympic boats earned the right to represent the U.S. at U23 and Senior World Championships this morning on Mercer Lake in Mercer County, New Jersey. Calm water and warm conditions posted moderate times for most boats. California Rowing Club (CRC) and Penn AC showed well qualifying several boats.CRC will send boats in the Men's U23 Light 4-, and Light 2-, to

2008-06-25T15:33:00.008-05:00

Greatest Races Week ???In Gault We Trust.Yes, it's true we're back and of course, badder than ever. Let's not get all emotional, I've missed you too.Since the close of the Athens Olympics the Polish men's quad of Konrad Wasielewski, Marek Kolbowicz, Michal Jelinski, and Adam Korol have been nearly infallible. In fact, they had not lost an international race since the 2005 World Cup stop in

2008-04-30T08:19:00.002-05:00

Wanna Be A Champion?The Penn AC lightweight racing team in Philadelpha, PA is accepting applications for its 2008 summer program.Athletes should have at least one year's competitive rowing experience, and weigh 140-168lbs. Individuals rowing faster than 6:35 are encouraged to apply however all applications will be considered.Competitors will attend the USRowing National Championship and Canadian

2007-09-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

Thank you...We have really enjoyed generating discussion about the status of American Rowing today and hope that productive discussions on lightweight rowing, diversity within the sport and the addition of sculling to collegiate regattas continues, however, we will be taking a temporary hiatus from the blog. We can no longer donate sufficient time to providing the quality posts you are

2007-09-05T12:15:00.001-05:00

World Championships Wrapped up...As another World Championship regatta is entered into the history books all eyes turn firmly to the 2008 Olympics in Bejing. The U.S. has already qualified 11 boats with 43 athletes for next years Olympic Games. The boats that are guaranteed to represent the U.S. next year are: M2-, M2x, M4-, M4x, M8+, LM4-, W1x, W2-, W2x, W4x, and W8+. These boats have met the

2007-09-03T12:29:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 22 As billed the Heavy men's four was as spectacular as we all expected. Primed with a British crew with high expectations and a crop full of crews with nothing to loose this is simly one of the best races in history.

2007-09-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

"Row the World" Courtesy of Our Friends in MunichWith the translucence of a swimming pool and the precise lines you’d expect from German engineering, the racecourse venue in Munich, Obershchelim, Germany has hosted an Olympics, a few World Championships, and is an almost annual stop on the Rowing World Cup circuit. The enormous, bleacher-style grandstand, the largest in the rowing world, stirs

2007-08-31T14:49:00.000-05:00

We appologize... We appologize for the light posting this week. The Sculler's Deck will be relocating to the Housatonic. We will hopefully reestablish a consistent internet connection and daily posts next week.Stay with us, in the meantime, if there is something you would like to see added to the site please email me at Wisniewski.scott@gmail.com. While you're waiting...enjoy this photo of the

2007-08-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week: 21 These three women have sat at the pinnacle of the Women’s Single for the last decade. Karsten, Neykova, and Rutschow have owned this sport winning countless world and Olympic medals and their battles became the battle cry of women’s rowing. Not since Karppinen and Kolbe have we seen such a viscous rivalry. This is simply; one of the best races in history. Not

2007-08-24T08:53:00.000-05:00

Men's Light 4- Finicky boats and erratic behavior; the light men’s four is one of the most volatile and highly coveted spots on the lightweight Olympic team. Not since the Danish “Golden Four” has there been a lightweight boat to truly dominate this event, and their World Record, set in 1999 in Lucerne still stands today. Eskild Ebbessen, the remaining member in that crew has rowed this boat

2007-08-23T08:42:00.000-05:00

World Championships Review: The M4- Part 2 of 2Tomorrow: Men's Light 4-We expect the top contenders for a medal this year to be boats from: Great Brittain, the Netherlands, France, Italy, New Zealand, and the USA. The Dutch have been stalking the British for two years. At World Cup 1 they nearly beat them in the Semi Final handing them their first loss in two years. In World Cup 3 with

2007-08-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

Row America: Week 5Winding nearly 130 miles and fed in part from streams in the Appalachian Mountains, the Schuylkill River is one of the most storied rowing rivers in American History. Inhabited mostly by the Delaware Indians, the Schuylkill area was taken over by the Dutch, the name deriving from the modern Dutch word Schuilkil which literally means” hideout creek". Year after year more rowers

2007-08-21T07:02:00.000-05:00

The Men’s 4- Part 1 of 2. 24 boats, 96 athletes will take to the water to participate in arguably the most presitgous heavyweight event the Men’s Straight Four. An Olympic event that has been won by the “dynasty” teams, World Rowing’s version of the Lakers, Bulls, and Celtics; one needs to look back nearly 20 years to find an Olympiad that wasn’t won by the British or the Australians. It

2007-08-20T08:53:00.000-05:00

This Week's Greatest Races: Week 19 Prior to World Cup in 2003 the rules had been written. Cracknell and Pinsent, who had dominated the World just a year previous by accomplishing the unimaginable double of winning gold in the pair-with and the straight pair would be the British Olympic Pair, and most likely they would stand on the top podium as they had done with Steven Redgrave the year

2007-08-17T06:20:00.000-05:00

World Championships Preview Part 1 Make no mistake about it this will be a big one! As the Olympic picture becomes more clear athletes across the globe will be in a desperate search for their niche on next year's Olympic Team. Several events such as the Light Men's double and Men's single are filled to the brim with contestants and non Olympic events like the Light Men's and Light Women's

2007-08-16T08:39:00.000-05:00

American East Coast to Invade the World Rowing SceneAs the World readies for the East Coat’s arrival in Munich clubs are doing there best to keep athletes from maxing their credit cards to fund the very pricy trip. The following are fundraising parties scheduled for the next few days. If you are in the area stop on by, meet the athletes and donate what you can to

2007-08-15T08:26:00.000-05:00

Row America Week 4: Martindale Pond, St. Catharines, OntarioIn honor of this years, 125th running of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, this weeks Row America will be Martindale Pond.With a very limited amount of navigable rowing miles it is the clean water, and beautiful venue that brings thousands of rowers to Port Dalhousie every year for the Canadian Henley Regatta. Home of the 1999 World

2007-08-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

The last installment of the Calling: 6 of 7.

2007-08-13T08:25:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 20 In 2000, the stage was set. Defending Olympic Champion Xeno Mueller was the unknown of the regatta. With up and down performances throughout the Olympic cycle he was in every sense of the word a wild card. But every experienced sculler in the field new that the man to beat was defending World Champion Rob Waddell. Tough, rough, and determined; watching him row conjurs

2007-08-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

David Zimmerman's The Calling: 5 of 7

2007-08-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

David Zimmerman's: The Calling 4 of 7

2007-08-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

2007-08-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

David Zimmerman's: The Calling 2 of 7

2007-08-07T09:11:00.001-05:00

David Zimmerman's: The Calling Part 1 of 7In addition to our Greatest Races segment today we will be airing the first segment of David Zimmerman's, The Calling, something I stumbled on while strolling Youtube and couldn't resist posting. There are seven installments in this series which we will be airing in their entirety over the next six days. The backbone of the segment is a history of

2007-08-07T08:53:00.001-05:00

Greatest Races Week 19As US World Trials wraps up with an uncontested US 4- rowing 5:55.8 in moderate conditions, this World Championship and Olympic event could be the most important (read interesting) in recent history. The British, who have been virtually unbeaten in this event since the Australian Oarsome Foursome in 1996, will have their hands full with the Dutch and a New Zealand squad

2007-08-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Will Be Posted Tomorrow!We apologize to all loyal Sculler's Deck Readers, I have been traveling to the great white north to participate at Canadian Henley. Greatest Races will be posted tomorrow afternoon!

2007-08-03T08:42:00.001-05:00

Juniors To Test the Olympic Waters41 Athletes and 10 crews will be traveling to Bejing, China this week to test the Olympic Rowing venue and participate in the Junior World Championships. Reigning US Rowing Youth National Champion, Suzanne Maddamma will test her speed against the World’s best athletes. She defeated Stotesbury Champion Katherine Shiro to earn the right to represent the

2007-08-02T08:40:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia Taking Worlds by StormAs U.S. World’s Trials progress several boats have officially qualified for the 2007 World Championships in Munich Germany. The Undine Light Men’s quad of Dan Ackelsberg, Cody Lowry, Jon D’Alba, and Sam Saylor narrowly rowed under the time standard, posting a 6:01 yesterday. Despite problems early on in the race they will be packing for Munich at the end of

2007-08-01T08:46:00.000-05:00

Week 3 Row America: The Charles RiverThe Charles River in Boston Massachusetts is probably the best known rowing river in the country. Over 7,500 athletes flock to this river every fall to participate in the largest 2 day regatta in the world, the Head of the Charles. Known for its long sweeping bends that are perilously littered with stone bridge abutments, this difficult course has provided

2007-07-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

The Battle For Middle Earth Has Begun (Beware: Yet Another Cheesy Headline)Senior World Championship trials have begun in Mercer County New Jersey. This will be a critical year for all those athletes with Olympic dreams. The men’s 1x will certainly be one of the most hotly contested events at this regatta, with a slew of accomplished American Scullers hoping to claim a spot on the 2007

2007-07-30T07:08:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 18In 1996 all eyes where watching German, Thomas Lange. Since his first World Championship victory in 1983 in the Men's Double, Lange had won 5 World Championships and back to back Olympic Gold medals. He was a lock to win a medal at this Olympics cementing his place in Olympic rowing history as one of the best ever. He would stand in royal company along with; Pertti

2007-07-27T07:48:00.000-05:00

U23 Reps Prove Tough For U.S. CrewsU.S. Scullers had a tough time this morning as they took to the course with light winds and mild temperatures, the best finish coming from Undine's Nicole Nelson who finished 5th in her heat in the light women's 1x. She will race Slovakia, Japan, Israel, Algeria, and Russia in the "C" Final tomorrow.The light men's quad; who improved on their time from

2007-07-26T08:42:00.000-05:00

U23 World Championships Start This MorningSeveral Crews took to the river this morning in Strathclyde to participate at the U23 World Championships. A persistent head wind has kept the times honest and has given a slight edge to the stronger crews on the course. 10 American Crews and 41 athletes will compete for the top spots in the semi and repercharge over the next three days. Linday

2007-07-25T08:39:00.000-05:00

Week 2: Row America: The Allegheny River This main tributary of the Ohio River stretches across two states and 325 miles. Named Allegheny by the Lenape (Delaware) Indians meaning roughly “fine river”, it connects to the Monongahela in the heart of the City of Pittsburgh and forms the Ohio. If you were to drop a water bottle in the river it is likely to travel past Pittsburgh’s Point State

2007-07-23T14:28:00.001-05:00

Help Me Help You!So far 76 people have donated over $18,000 towards traveling expenses for the U23 lightweight quad. Although I sincerely hope that there is a time that promising athletes will not have to beg, borrow, and steal to afford trips abroad to participate in events like the U23 World Championships, it should be a source of pride that some members of the rowing community so regularly and

2007-07-23T10:39:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 17Georgeta Damian and Viorica Susanu queitly took to the Olympic rowing venue in Athens Greece as one of the most decorated crews at the regatta. With three Olympic Gold medals, and 19 World Championship medals between them, these two athletes were attempting to win both the women's 2- and the women's 8+, repeating their performance from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

2007-07-19T09:49:00.000-05:00

Rio Has Not Been Kind Thus Far To Jamie Schroeder.After finishing 5th to the mutch improved Latin American field American single sculler, Jamie Schroeder didn't have much time to relax and take in the beauty of Rio before being robbed at gunpoint! NBC News reported: http://www.nbcsports.com/sports/1793910/detail.html "RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- U.S. rower Jamie Schroeder was robbed at

2007-07-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

New Weekly Segment; Row AmericaWeek 1: Lake WashingtonWe will be reviewing some of the most beautiful rowing courses in America and will post this segment every Wednesday in a new segment we call "Row America". Please feel free to send us suggestions on your own personal favorite rowing spots.Lake Washington/Lake Union With over 17 navigable rowing miles, Lake Washington provides a myriad of

2007-07-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

World Cup RecapU.S. rowers recorded two medals at last weekend’s World Cup Race in Lucerne, Switzerland. The women’s pair of Megan Cooke and Anna Mickelson placed second among a talented field, finishing 2.5 seconds off the eventual winner. The women’s eight, with new members: Erin Cafaro and Portia Johnson won their event, leading from post to pedestal.The men’s double of Sam Stitt and Matt

2007-07-16T10:25:00.000-05:00

(THIS WEEK'S GREATEST RACES BELOW)Train Hard and Pay Out of Your Own Pocket.Last week ten crews, over 40 athletes earned the right to travel to Strathclyde, Great Britain to compete at this year's Under 23 World Championships. While most people their age are traveling to the beach for a summer of partying, these individuals have chosen to spend the last three months training obscene hours, and

2007-07-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 16In 1999, Chris Ahrens, Garrett Miller, Jeff Klepacki, Mike Wherley, Tom Welsh, Porter Collins, Bob Kaehler, Bryan Volpenhein, and Pete Cipollone sat on the starting line unbeaten in two years. The crew had remained unchanged since their last visit to the top of the Podium amidst a sea of criticism and doubt from the rowing community. As Tim Foster and Steve Trapmore helped

2007-07-13T11:01:00.000-05:00

Sweep Rowers Looking to Surprise the World 28 athletes in 9 crews will participate in the final World Cup Stop this weekend in beautiful Lucerne, Switzerland. The bulk of the women's camp will test their speed against some of the World's best along with the Men's 2x, Light Men's 4-, and Men's 2-, amongst others.The Men's Open Sweep camp has decided to remain anonymous until their 2007 World

2007-07-12T11:40:00.001-05:00

For Most U23's Time to Celebrate!After several days of intolerable heat and slow, windy conditions, aspiring U23 rowers caught a break this morning. Most winning crews where able to meet the minimal time requirement to qualify them to go to Scotland and compete at the U23 World Championships.Schuylkill River racers will send several crews to this event.Chris Klotzbach and the Light Men’s Quad

2007-07-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does”. The challenges in life can be so abstract and frustrating that it is really nice to have a tangible foe to take aim at and fight against.The often aimless and indirect pastime of living, juxtaposed with the clear form and function of rowing. Rowing offers a

2007-07-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

U23's Toil in the Heat. Muggy morning temperatures made for honest racing this morning as day 2 of the U23 trials resume.GMS Sculler Brian De Regt won the men's light single easily with an 8 second advantage over Peter Smith from the U23 camp. Brian hales from Rowayton, Conn. and was in the U23 light quad last year that placed second at World Championships in impressive fashion. He will now have

2007-07-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 15 For nearly four years the Danish Lightweight Men’s 4- dominated the lightweight rowing world. In 1999, after setting a world record at the Lucerne World Cup that still remains today, they earned the title of World Champions in St. Catharines, Ontario. In the fall prior to the 2000 Olympics, Thomas Poulsen, Thomas Ebert, Eskild Ebbesen, and Victor Feddersen seemed an

2007-07-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

TAKE 30 STEPS TURN AND FIRE The stage is set. Hacker and Schroeder fall. English fans; fill those top hats with booze, put on your finest wingtips and get ready for Campbell vs. Drysdale. Last year’s World Cup Champion Vs. last year’s World/Henley Champion. Even on his home course Campbell should be considered a heavy underdog, but who knows what ends English fans will cheer The Tideway

2007-07-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

U.S. Crews Roll On. Hacker, Drysdale, Campbell, and Schroeder advance unscathed as windy, slow conditions persist in Oxfordshire. The field is quickly dwindling down and now matchups are going to get more interesting.A persistent head wind and slow conditions have dramatically helped the big American advance in this, his second win at the 2007 Henley Royal Regatta. The next matchup will certainly

2007-07-05T10:14:00.001-05:00

Bring Your UmbrellasJamie Schroeder “easily won his first round matchup as the Henley regatta persisted through the rain and a nagging current (against the flow of the race course). Slow times and sore legs continue to mark the first half of this race. Alan Campbell also made an appearance in the Diamond Sculls winning his first round matchup by 4 ½ lengths.American Crews continue to post good

2007-07-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

IDR=Perfect Weather Perfect weather and fast conditions highlighted this years Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia, PA last weekend. The Schuylkill River provided a welcoming 78 degree average temp and a 5-10 mph tail wind through most of the three day regatta. Billed as the largest U.S. Summer Club Regatta, crews came from as far as England to participate. Roughly 750 boats in 85 events

2007-07-02T09:56:00.001-05:00

Greatest Races Week 14In 1985 a young Harvard prankster travelled to Hazewinkel, Belgium to compete in the Men's 1x against, what many consider to be, the best field of rowers in history. He would face the infamous Pertti Karppinen and Peter Michael-Kolbe. Despite his stellar performances at Harvard, and his 1984 Olympic Silver Medal in the 8+, he bathed in anonymity, never appearing in books

2007-06-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

This article was written in the Queens Courier Yesterday and posted on Row2k.com."Queens high school girls are learning how to “row, row, row your boat” through a program aptly named Row New York (RNY).Amanda Kraus, executive director of RNY, was inspired to launch the lessons in the summer of 2002 after working for an organization named Girls Row Boston as a graduate student.The following summer

2007-06-28T09:32:00.000-05:00

IDR Means Burnt Legs and Burnt Hot DogsRoughly 750 boats in 85 events will launch on the Schuylkill River this weekend at the Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia. Approaching its 130th year this regatta now carries the moniker of the largest U.S. club summer regatta. Boats from New Jersey to England (Thames River Sculls) will compete for watches (given instead of gold medals) in this three

2007-06-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

2007 Henley Over 30 American crews will cross the pond this week in preparation of this year’s Royal Henley Regatta. The Regatta begins today with qualifying rounds contesting the Thames (Club 8+), Temple (College 8+), Wyfold (4-), Prince Albert (Club 4+), and Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cups (H.S. 8+) and continues through Sunday.The U.S. have several American hopefuls at this regatta including

2007-06-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

All U.S. Elite 8+ Final at Women's Henley Several U.S. crews took to the Thames last weekend to compete in the 2007 Women’s Henley Regatta.Most notably the Elite 8+ Sports Council Cup came down to a battle of the U.S. Ivies with Radcliffe facing off against Brown. Brown defeated University College/Dublin Boat Club and Cambridge University to advance to the finals where they defeated Radcliffe by

2007-06-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 13We'll let the video tell the story. View Sidebar for Mahe Drysdale's story.

2007-06-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

Elite Rowing Weekend Brings Fast Conditions! As Canada and US women’s sweep boats battled each other in Mercer, NJ at the USRowing National championships this weekend, the bulk of the Men’s and women’s sculling team traveled to Amsterdam to participate in the 2nd World Cup. Fast conditions prevailed on both courses and fast times were recorded at both regattas. The Women’s Lightweight

2007-06-22T17:44:00.001-05:00

USRowing National Championship Postponed!After running some blustery heats this morning USRowing officials have succombed to the will of Mercer Lake. Evening events that were postponed several times were finally moved to tomorrow morning. Cross-tail wind gusts of up to 25 mph buffeted the course through mid day and the better part of the evening. Crews will have some early mornings tomorrow

2007-06-21T16:27:00.000-05:00

The Dad Vail Quad. On May 15th we wrote a piece entitled “An Eight for all Seasons” . In it we discussed the need for the rowing community to commit to developing sculling, namely at the club level. Since then we have written several emails to some members of the DVRA (Dad Vail Regatta Assoc.) committee urging them consider adding at least one sculling event to their regatta. During our very

2007-06-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

5 American Crews will Travel to Amsterdam for the 2nd World Cup 5 American Crews will Travel to Amsterdam for the 2nd World Cup stop to compete in the Men’s 1x, Men’s 2x, Women’s LW2x, Men’s LW2x, and Men’s 4x. The men’s LW2x have not officially rowed the time standard and could look to do so at this gorgeous course. If they can row time standard here, or finish in the top 6 they will lock up the

2007-06-19T08:16:00.000-05:00

Go Forth and Fend For Yourself Where have all the lightweights gone? In a country that hosts one of the healthiest lightweight High school/Collegiate rowing populations in the world, one is forced to ask, where do all the pre-elite athletes train? Why have lightweight rowers in particular had such a difficult time performing well internationally?Last year Eastern Sprints hosted 5 finals for

2007-06-18T09:14:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 12(excuse the Rammstein?)You won't find too many erg races posted on this blog, but this is one we could not help but share. In the proceeding months after Sir Steven Redgrave's retirement these two Olympic Gold medalists spent no time ruminating over their successes. They trained like men possessed. They were determined to leap from the long shadow cast by the five time

2007-06-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

Conestoga Women's Quad is Heading Back to the ThamesAfter 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

2007-06-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

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

2007-06-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-06-13T09:40:00.000-05:00

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

2007-06-12T10:28:00.000-05:00

After 4 long Miles it comes down to .5 secondEnding 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

2007-06-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

Greatest Races Week 11In 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

2007-06-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

FANTASY ROWING LEAGUEOk the fact that I have already done two mock NFL drafts tells me one thing (I have too much time on my hands?) that rowing needs a Fantasy League. Fantasy Football helped fill that all too present void between the time I get to work and the time I leave (joke). So for the summer what do you do? I certainly can’t join a Fantasy Baseball league, icky. So I’m starting a Fantasy

2007-06-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

The Blue Coat Bruisers?The third National Selection Regatta took place this past weekend amidst thunder clouds and intermittent rain squalls and several boats qualified for a spot on this year’s National Team. With good performances from the women's squad at the World Cup this past weekend the U.S. could be primed to take home a lot of hardware next year.The top story for this regatta is the

2007-06-05T13:53:00.001-05:00

UW Looks to Henley?Amidst screaming fans, UW finally broke their nearly 10 year dry spell last weekend winning the IRA regatta, generally recognized as the Collegiate National Championship. A 1 second margin separated the winner from fourth place Brown. Stanford and Harvard claimed silver and bronze with the exact same time, 5:34.125 and brown crossed the line just .8 thereafter. What an

2007-06-04T13:02:00.001-05:00

The 3rd and final National Selection Regatta took place in Mercer, New Jersey this weekend despite stormy weather. A light head wind prevailed through most of the regatta keeping the pacing honest and giving the edge to the sprinters and big ergs. The Men’s Pair final was one of the more hotly contested events in this regatta with the main story being the Penn A.C. Pair of Micah Boyd and Ted