RowingRelated

Pimm's in the Enclosures (Photo: Marianne Wood) Despite a game effort from the Potomac Boat Club Thames Cup VIII, the crew was unable to match speed with Royal Chester in the quarterfinal, and the race saw PBC's run at the Thames Challenge Cup come to a close for 2012. While it's always disappointing to end a regatta on a loss, it's difficult to be discontent for too long when in Henley-on-Thames, and the Potomac boys have kept this in mind on Saturday. Here's John's take on Friday's race and PBC's plans for future HRRs:   For our quarterfinal race, we drew Royal Chester Rowing Club and a relatively early 9AM race time. The strong headwind that started on Thursday afternoon had slacked off a bit by Friday morning and at times was swirling around to a crosswind. It seemed that the increase in wind would be offset a slight lessening in the strength of the current. Royal Chester was very quick off the start and took about six seats on us by the quarter...

Yesterday, exactly one month before the rowing begins in London, the official Olympic lineups were announced by Rowing Canada Aviron, and can be viewed in full in the RCA press release posted to RowingNews.com. The men's eight, made up of Gabe Bergen, Jeremiah Brown, Andrew Byrnes, Will Crothers, Douglas Csima, Robert Gibson, Malcolm Howard, Conlin McCabe, and coxswain Brian Price, will undoubtedly be one of the most competitive in the field this year, having taken bronze last season in Bled, and having set a new world's best time in the heats in Lucerne. The above video is another great one coming out of the Canadian camp, giving further insight into what it's like to be a part of the Spracklen training program. Henley Friday has come to a close, and saw out Potomac BC Thames Cup VIII fall to a very competitive crew from Royal Chester. Congrats to Potomac and John Forrest on a solid performance at HRR–as Henley veterans no doubt they'll know where best to drown th...

The Progress Board (Photo: Marianne Wood) As anyone on the towpath, or listening to Regatta Radio can tell you, the morning race between the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and Potomac Boat Club was a barnburner. PBC took a small lead early, and were able to fight off push after push from RHKYC down the course, responding to Hong Kong's furious sprint and taking a 1/4 length victory to advance to Friday.  Here's the John's take on the race: Thursday morning brought us an exciting second round race against the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the only other non-UK entry in the Thames Cup this year. Racing conditions were roughly similar to yesterday with a strong current but with a lighter wind. Going into the race, we had some information on Hong Kong but not a lot. From the racing program, we knew that their weight average is nearly identical to ours. From talking with them at the Overseas Crew Reception, we knew that they are similar to us in age, experience, and preparation....

Potomac Boat Club Thames Cup VIII races the heat (Photo: Marianne Wood) While the Potomac Wyfold IV experienced some hard Henley luck, the Thames Cup VIII crew responded well to a tough challenge from local favorites, Marlow Rowing Club.  Here's John's view of the first round of the Thames Challenge Cup from the six seat of the PBC eight: Today was the first day of racing at Henley Royal Regatta. PBC’s four and eight were scheduled to race at opposite ends of the day—8:40AM and 6:30PM. The four drew London Rowing Club ‘B’ in a morning Wyfold match up. It was a close race early on with Potomac taking a slight lead before drifting into London’s water. There was a clash and the race umpire disqualified PBC for interference. It is an understatement to call this a disappointing way to exit the regatta, but the four is handling it admirably. The eight then had the rest of the day to prepare for our evening race against Marlow Rowing Club. After a lunch break paddle, we rest...

View from the enclosures, HRR (Photo: RR) Picks and predictions for Henley are notoriously difficult in Olympic years, especially with a huge entry of 499 crews, but at RowingRelated we’re here to give it our best (some would say educated?) guess, despite the fact that the Stewards’ press release describes the entry as 'fascinatingly unpredictable!' With Olympic crews away on training camps ahead of the Games, the open events that usually witness the big players of the international circuit in match racing mode, tuning up for Lucerne, are instead somewhat more 'open,' featuring a mixture of non-qualified international crews, or top level university or club entries sensing their moment to try and claim one of the most prestigious prizes in rowing. Another element that’s accentuated in Olympic years is the discretion of the regatta Stewards, as their aim for a high standard of competition across the board will have inevitably led to some cajoling of certain entries ...

PBC Thames Cup VIII on the way to Reading (Photo: Allison Prevatt) It was a busy weekend for Potomac, as the PBC Thames Cup VIII headed over to compete in the Reading Town Regatta –a common practice as crews prepare for Henley Royal–narrowly avoiding a group of 'pirates' paddling along the Thames as PBC progressed through the locks on the way to Reading.  Here's the latest from John Forrest:  On Saturday morning, the eight paddled from Henley to Reading for the Reading Town Regatta. The row was about eight miles long and took us upriver through a fairly winding section of the Thames. This was a scenic row as we passed by a lot of country houses, waterfront pubs, and open fields. There was a little bit of excitement as we passed a group of pirates paddling down the river in canoes. They later wandered onto the Henley course and almost collided with the Potomac four as it was practicing. One of the unique parts of the row to Reading is rowing through three locks. The ...

Prince Albert Cup Qualifier (Photo: John Forrest) The Potomac Boat Club Thames Cup crew has arrived in Henley, and the qualifiers are now done and dusted, following a very windy day on the Thames. Getting acclimated to the surroundings, time-change, and course will be the task at hand for the next two days, with The Draw next on the list–a hugely important factor at Henley Royal every year.  Here's John's account of the PBC arrival in England: Yesterday was like most Thursdays—row, work, and class—except it ended with a transatlantic flight. After a pre-departure email with more words of advice and encouragement from our coach Nancy Faigen, we made our way from Washington to Henley. Today was all about finishing some big and small logistical details and getting settled in. First on the list was successfully meeting up in Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport in order to catch a ride with Henley Taxis. Although most of us were on the same flight, there was a bit of uncertainty a...

London looms (Photo: © B. Kitch) The 2012 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team lineups are now known (though the alternates have yet to be officially named), with the final three crews announced this afternoon, pending final approval by the USOC. The U.S. will have crews entered in all events, with the exceptions of the men's double and men's lightweight double. Following two silver medals (in two appearances) on the World Rowing Cup circuit this summer in the women's pair, Beijing gold medalists Elle Logan and Erin Cafaro have returned to the eight, and will enter the 2012 Games as defending champs in the event. The women's quad contains three-of-four athletes from last year's silver medal crew in Bled, with the addition of Kara Kohler (who began rowing only three years ago, and got her first experience sculling internationally at Henley last summer, later winning gold in the W4- in Bled). The men's quad is without either Warren Anderson or Sam Stitt, both of whom we...

The 2012 Henley Royal Regatta is just around the corner, with qualifiers set for Friday, 22nd June and the racing beginning on Wednesday, 27 June. Last year, in our first-ever On the Water (OTW) Series , Matt Miller of the Virginia Cavaliers gave us an insight into his team’s trip over to Henley-on-Thames, racing with the UVa varsity eight in the Temple Challenge Cup, and reaching the semifinals.  This year, Georgetown alum  John Forrest  of Potomac Boat Club's Thames Challenge Cup eight will be picking up where Matt left off, giving us an inside look at PBC’s preparation and training, as well as the experience of racing Henley.  In John’s first installment, he introduces the PBC crews that will line up in the starting blocks on the Thames, as the team gets ready to head over to England: Potomac Boat Club (PBC) has entered the Thames Challenge Cup for club eights and the Wyfold Challenge Cup for club coxless fours at the Henley Royal Regatta. These crews are dra...

The 2012 running of Henley Women's Regatta is in the books, with Radcliffe (Harvard) taking second overall in the Elite 8+ category, following up on their strong 2011-2012 domestic season (which saw the Black and White take ninth overall at the NCAA Championships in the varsity eight, and 12th in the team standings). After a solid victory over a very talented crew from Thames/Henley by 1 and 1/2 lengths, Radcliffe battled well in the final, but fell to University College Dublin by half a length in the last race of the regatta. Radcliffe will be sticking around the Henley course for a second go-round, however, this time at the Henley Royal Regatta (in the Remenham Challenge Cup), which begins on 27 June. The course is unique, and knowing where you are can make a huge difference when it comes time to race, helping you to manage your physiology as well as to plan and execute your moves at the right time. To that end, the above video is a guide to the course, courtesy of The Hen...

th <br> The Canadian women laid down a marker in Munich over the weekend, with the U.S. women's eight absent and currently in the process of reshuffling/reloading on home waters for the June 22nd naming date, when the USA men's and women's quads will also be announced, and the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team for London will be complete. The Canadian lineup in Munich featured Princeton grad Lauren Wilkinson (winner of the 2011 RoRy for Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year), another Princeton alum in 2006 grad Andréanne Morin (training for her third Olympics), two-time Big 10 champ with Michigan (and Beijing Olympian in the Canadian W4x), Janine Hanson , Syracuse alum Natalie Mastracci , and 2004 NCAA runner up with Yale, Ashley Brzozowicz , who raced in the CAN W8+ in Beijing along with Morin, and who was recently interviewed by World Rowing, in the video posted above. The stage is set for a cracker of a final in London, with what will likely be a new-...

Today marked the finals of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Rowing Trials, and saw two new combinations in the men's and women's pairs take center stage, earning their places in London in style. On the women's side, Sarah Zelenka and Sara Hendershot had an outstanding second 1000m, coming back from nearly two lengths down to defeat teammates and rivals Amanda Polk and Jamie Redman, as Zelenka and Hendershot explain in the video above. The men's race was perhaps less dramatic, but no less impressive, with the new-look duo of 2010 U.S. senior national teamer (and RR interviewee ) Silas Stafford and half of last year's U.S. men's pair in Bled, Tom Peszek , taking an early lead and building on it in the second half, finishing roughly two lengths ahead of double Pan American Games champions Ty Otto and Mike Gennaro (click here for a video interview with Otto and Gennaro following Pan Ams). The men's single was a fairly one-sided contest, with Beijing Olympian and...

The sun breaks through on Sunday, Melton Lake (Photo: B. Kitch)  The 2012 edition of USRowing Youth Nationals was an impressive example of the state of rowing at the high school level, with very talented and technically proficient crews taking home top honors in Oak Ridge. Prior to the racing, we did our research and put together what we felt would be a strong set of picks for every event. Let's take a look at how it all turned out, shall we? The sculling events saw consistently good performances from GMS , headed up by Günter Beutter, with phenom Rosie Grinalds taking home two gold medals within two hours (as we predicted), in the women's single and women's quad. We were five-of-six in our picks for the women's single final, and two-of-three in the medals, as Cicely Madden of CRI placed third (as we predicted), but our pick for fourth, the 14-year-old standout Elizabeth Sharis from Y-Quad Cities (and daughter of Harvard grad and 1992 US Olympian Peter Sharis) h...

While the UW 'Dawgs' may be dominant, they're not the only Huskies on the block. The Northeastern University Huskies had a breakout regular season this year, spurred by a very strong sophomore class and backed by what may be an even more talented frosh squad, which posted a bronze medal finish at the 2012 IRA national championships. Under the guidance of head coach John Pojednic , as well as associate head coach Ted Benford , NU posted sweeps of Georgetown, Boston University, and Penn during the 2012 campaign. Following the racing in Camden, I spoke with Coach Pojednic about the recent developments for the Northeastern squad, this year's results, and what to expect in the years to come. RR: As a head coach, how encouraging is it to see the freshman class perform so well at the IRA? John Pojednic: Next year will be my thirteenth as head coach, and this is the first point where I feel we've had some real momentum going forward. About 75% of our team is made up of...

This week's video comes to us from Lucerne, and features a great early-season match-up between Beijing silver medalists Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen of Canada, and triple world champions Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand. Racing at the 2012 USRowing Olympic Rowing (Qualified Small Boats) Trials begins tomorrow, with a chance to race the above crews in the men's pair at the Olympics this summer in London. Further places on the U.S Olympic Team are up for grabs in the women's pair and men's single. Among those entered in the men's pair event (by far the largest number of entries) are Jamie Koven , who is partnered with Mike Blomquist , as well as Jason Read , teaming up with 2011 U.S. men's eight stroke Nareg Guregian . Mike Gennaro and Ty Otto are back in the pair together after a victory in the Pan American Games last summer (the duo doubled-up and took gold in the eight as well), and Silas Stafford (stroke of the U.S. men's four in 2010)...

Here at RowingRelated, we're all about knowledge, and putting knowledge to use. In keeping with this idea, below you'll find the 2012 RR Picks and Predictions for USRowing Youth Nationals–a more comprehensive list of predictions full of information you won't find anywhere else–as well as crews to watch, courtesy of the RR Research Department. SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you wish to know what is going to happen this weekend in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Women's 1x: We expect to see a serious battle in this event between Harvard bound Rosie Grinalds from GMS (formerly of Connecticut Boat Club) and last year's winner Stanford bound Taylor Burdge from Tampa. Don't be surprised if the young up and coming phenom Elizabeth Sharis makes some serious noise this weekend and gets on the medal stand. and Cicely Madden from CRI (formerly of BB&N) will also be in the medal hunt. Look for Syracuse bound Alex Zadravec of GMS and young Kendall Brewer of Texas Rowing Center ...