RowingRelated

Washington among leaders, East and West (Photo: B. Kitch) The varsity-level national championships are in full swing, from Gold River, California to West Windsor, New Jersey, and there have already been some very impressive results posted in the heats and reps. While we missed our chance at pre-race predictions, we do have a few thoughts on just how things might shake out this year (more on that below), and, as ever, we're excited for the finals on Sunday. Let's take a closer look.

A new video from Washington Husky Crew This weekend, the when the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship  kicks off in Princeton, New Jersey, the Washington Huskies will be looking to accomplish something that has never been done in the more than 100-year history of the IRA Regatta: That is, to win five straight men's varsity eight titles.

The famous finish line tower at Lake Lanier (Photo: A.J. Brooks) The 2015 American Collegiate Rowing Championships, celebrating the best of the best in intercollegiate club rowing in the United States, showed once again that the level that it takes to reach the top of the podium continues to rise in the club ranks.

This week, we're taking a quick break from our coverage of the U.S. intercollegiate racing season to showcase our friends across the pond at Reading University .

The 2015 ACRA Championships are set to begin tomorrow morning on the 1996 Olympic course at Lake Lanier, Georgia, and, well, it just wouldn't be right if we didn't take the opportunity to shoot our mouths off and throw some picks and predictions out there. Feel free to use them as motivation—anything to fuel the fire. Warning: Opinions will follow. Started rowing in Georgia this morning on the 1996 Olympic course #ACRA2015 A photo posted by Bucknell Men's Crew (@bucknellcrew) on May 21, 2015 at 12:02pm PDT The men's varsity eight event this year will be a barn burner, with more heat coming from teams out West than in previous seasons. As evidenced by San Diego Crew Classic and later Newport Regatta (see video below), both UCSB and the UC Irvine Anteaters are looking strong—the Anteaters got the better of the Gauchos at WIRAs , as did Washington State , and UC Irvine followed up that performance with a victory in Newport Harbor (a first for the program...

The Kiwi men's eight training on the Montlake Cut (Photo by B. Kitch for ROWING Magazine) This year, Rowing New Zealand will be looking to qualify no less than 48 athletes—the maximum number allowed for any single rowing federation—for the Olympics in Rio.

Pac-12 fans lining the shores of Lake Natoma (Photo: B. Kitch) This week's videos come to us from across the good ol' US of A, from the 2015 Pac-12 Rowing Championships in Sacramento, California, to the  Ivy League Rowing Championships , held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to the ACC Championships in South Carolina, to Big 12s in Tennessee.

Pac-12 bling (Photo: B. Kitch) Championship Weekend is here in the U.S., and there's no shortage of fantastic racing from coast to coast at this very moment. Here's our breakdown of the action, plus resources to stay on top of all the racing.

Last weekend was jammed with great racing at the junior and collegiate levels, but look no further than these two races for some of the most exciting, and closely fought action on both sides of the Atlantic.

Close racing at the first World Rowing Cup (Photo courtesy of FISA/quattro media) This week's video comes to us from the beautiful shores of Lake Bled, Slovenia, and gives a hint of the atmosphere at the first of this year's World Rowing Cup regattas, as well as some insight into the starting-line rituals of several of the world's best rowers and scullers.

Lofgren training in the single (Photo courtesy of Esther Lofgren) Olympic gold medalist Esther Lofgren is no stranger to success on the water. In addition to her podium-topping performance with the U.S. women's eight in London, Lofgren also won two world titles (2010, 2011), with her first international medal—a bronze—coming in the women's straight four in 2006. Here, Lofgren shares some insight into the drills that have helped her progress technically along the way.

Texas Rowing's Dave O'Neill on the cover of a recent issue of ROWING Magazine This week's double feature combines two separate dual meets. The first took place in Austin, Texas, where the Longhorns took on the University of San Diego , and the results were another feather in Dave O'Neill's already well-feathered cap (maybe cowboy hat now? Do you put feathers in those? He'll figure it out), as Texas swept the Toreros across the three NCAA events.