Tag: usrowing

Racing Rowing Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Blood in the Water

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I don’t know when or how I stumbled on this article but it’s a great one. It was published in 1999 and briefly chronicles the selection process of Mike Teti’s heavyweight 8+ for the ’99 world championships and the 2000 Olympic team.

As the thin fog lifts over the pine trees and off the lake, Teti begins today’s practice session with his version of a pep talk. “For the past two weeks, I’ve been really flexible with your work hours,” he announces, his voice scratchy from weeks of shouting through a bullhorn. His face is tan and windburned from 18 years of flying up and down narrow channels of water with a clock in his hand. “I’ve been really flexible with your relationships. I have been really flexible with your academics. Well, I’m through being flexible. I’m going to the World Championships to win. Anyone who requires maintenance, you are not welcome here. I will provide the coaching, the equipment, and the expertise to those who want to go to the Olympic Games and win a fucking gold medal. Anything that gets in the way of that, I’m gonna run it the fuck over. Some of you guys are severely on the bubble, and most of you here will not make the Olympic Team.”

And this one…

“I don’t have all fucking day!” Teti screams. “Line up.”

And this one…

Teti never simply shouts, “Pull!” He yells things such as, “Pull like you’re the biggest, baddest motherfucker in a bar, and everybody in the bar knows it!”

Coxswains, remember that one – you never know when it might come in handy.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

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A new USRowing rule for sprint starts does not recognize hands at the starting line; they simply wait for alignment and then call the start. At my race today, the marshals called the start before coxswains got their points, which led to us steering into each other’s lanes for about the first twenty strokes fairly severely. How do you let the marshals know whether or not you’re ready without the hand up if they rush the start like they did today?

What’s supposed to happen, from what I understand, is that as people are getting locked on to the stake boats and being aligned by the officials on the side, you’re supposed to be getting your point at the same time, which is how it normally is. Previously they would wait until all hands were down until they would start the countdown or just say “attention, go” but they eliminated that (understandably, too) because coxswains were taking way too long to get their points, which was causing events to run behind schedule, which eventually led to the entire regatta being behind schedule. It’s a huge hassle and it sucks that the change had to be made but all in all I think it’s a good thing because it forces coxswains to really be on top of their game.

You can still have your hand up while you’re being aligned and everything so they can tell that you’re getting your point but as soon as the crews are aligned and they start the countdown, you’re on your own. Nobody is going to wait. It’s not so much them rushing the start though as it is them just following the new rules – although admittedly, to all the coxswains it’s going to feel rushed, especially if you aren’t ready. You’ve got to use the time beforehand wisely and know exactly what needs to be done to get you straight. Typically the announcers will say “2 minutes to start”, “1 minute to start”, etc. so you know how much time you have (at least, that’s what they did at my races). That’s a good question to ask at the coxswain’s meeting too, if they alert you to how much time there is before the start. It’s always good to practice getting your point during practice (in varying weather conditions) so you know exactly what needs to be done and how long it should take you to get your point if the wind is calm vs. when there’s a strong crosswind, etc. That’ll help you be more prepared for situations like this on race day.

If you have a problem with other coxswains steering into your lane and it somehow inhibits your race, that’s something you can protest afterwards, but in this situation I’m not sure what they would do if multiple coxswains are steering into each other’s lanes due to not being ready for the start. It’s a tricky situation. My suggestion is to get locked on to the stake boats as quickly as possible so that you have plenty of time to get your point. If it’s windy, remember to overcorrect so that when you start you’ll be blown straight. There’s nothing wrong with a little steering at the beginning of the race but that’s really the only place you want to have to do it. Also make sure that your rowers are paying attention and do what you ask them to do immediately. That’s one of the things that always heightens my nerves is when I ask someone to row and they don’t immediately respond.

The last resort is to just not leave the starting line. If you are so far off course that you know you’re going to steer into another crew’s lane then just don’t go when the officials say “go”. They’ll tell you this at the coxswain’s meeting to. They’ll stop the race, bring everyone back to the start, you’ll probably get a warning, and then they’ll re-start you. The biggest thing to remember is to not let it have any lasting effect on your race. Just stay calm, readjust, straighten out, and get on with the race.

Racing Rowing

Question of the Day

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Whats the difference between Youth Nationals and Club Nationals? I know you have to qualify for Youth Nationals but is Club Nationals still a big deal? I’m a novice and just heard my coach talking about them the other day and was curious! Hopefully one day I’ll race in one (or both) of them!

The differences between the two lie in eligibility, classification, and affiliation. If you go here and here you can scroll through the entry packets and read what they say.

Youth Nationals is held sometime in the first week or two of June. In order to attend you have to qualify by placing in one of the events at a qualification regatta. After placing, if you’re awarded a bid you can either accept or decline. If you accept, congratulations, you get to race at Youth Nationals. As far as affiliation goes, you have to be registered with the same club/team for the entirety of the spring season, which USRowing defines as being between January 1st and June 15th. Youth Nationals is also strictly for youth rowers, classified as “juniors”. Anyone over the age of 18 and/or not working towards their high school diploma is considered ineligible.

Club Nationals is later in the summer, usually in mid-July. It’s definitely “a big deal” because it’s one of the big summer regattas (the others being IDR and Canadian Henley). The eligibility requirements here reflect what classification you fall under, those being “senior”, “intermediate”, “junior”, or “junior B”. (You can read the definitions of each on the PDF.) Basically all it says is that you can’t compete in a classification below you. Racing is open to crews of all ages, as well as crews not from the United States. Crews are also allowed to be made up of rowers from multiple clubs (known as “composite” crews), but if you place the points you get won’t go towards the team points trophy.