Coach Thrasher

Regatta Report: River City

Regatta Date: March 18, 2006
Men's Entries: V8+, V4+, N8+, N4+ A, N4+ B
Course: 2000m, straight, 4 lanes
Course: 1000m, straight, 4 lanes (novice 4s, shortened due to deteriorating conditions)
Conditions: variable winds 10-25mph, light to medium chop, from port/port-stern
Results: (official results to be posted soon)

Saturday was a "learning" day out at River City. Our varsity eight had a really bad race. On reflection, we discussed several points that we could improve upon. Briefly they are:

1) Site preparation/rigging was rushed. We need to identify a game plan for getting boats off of the trailer, and appoint a "trailer captain" to guide this process.

2) Coxswain was a sub. Our normal coxswain had previously arranged to miss this regatta. We knew this, but didn't get another coxswain involved in our race plan until about 15 minutes before launching. Ideally, we could have had the sub row with us at practice to better familiarize everyone with what the plans were. As it was, Carolina did a great job on short notice.

3) We raced other team's race, not our own. We had just changed our start sequence in practice and were nervous about executing for the first time at this event. We didn't know what to expect, but we did know we'd beaten other crews that we were racing - so we didn't expect to be behind. As it was, we were behind on the start, and tried to keep the rate up and out of control for the body of the race. We were letting other crews dictate our race strategy because we were shaken on the start.

4) Given the windy conditions, we should have used a lower rate. This condition needed to be made on the course, since the conditions weren't apparent from the land. The best rate for our crew in those conditions would have been around a 32.

5) We effectively used lessons from the V8+ to have a better race in the V4+.

The varsity 4+ race went much more smoothly. From the start, through the body of the race, and through the final sprint from the bridge, the crew reported everything went more smoothly. In particular, the start went very well. There were actually two starts: 1) a false start and alignment issues, and 2) the final start that went smoothly. These went over well despite never practicing our new start in the 4.

Our parents and boosters supplied a great selection of healthy food for lunch, along with picking a great site for race viewing along the shore. I also got to know Joan (and her son Troy) from Delta. They have a similar program to our guys - this is their second year as well, and they are developing their program. We spoke of planning a regatta on April 8 at Delta (in Stockton, CA) since the Oakland folks have double-booked their venue.

Posted at 12:21PM Mar 19, 2006 by jason in Rowing  |  Comments[3]