Summer hydration & nutrition tips from your local HPG rower

By: Peter Schmitt

Canadian Henley might be in the books and many of us are taking a well deserved break before the start of the fall racing season but the summer heat is still here in Boston. And with the higher temperatures and UV indexes, comes a greater need to pay attention to our nutrition and hydration so that we can keep enjoying summer to its fullest.

One thing that goes without saying is the importance of hydration. The main rule of thumb that I try to adhere to is drinking between 0.5 and 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight. So for example, a 160 pound person should drink between 80 and 160 ounces of water. This isn’t to say that all of this has to come from water alone. Fruits and vegetables have water in them, as well as quinoa and other grains have water in them so you don’t need to be trying to drink over a gallon of water per day. (you might be spending a considerable amount of time in the bathroom if you do!) One tip for getting hydrated: watermelon is a delicious summer fruit and is 93% water. You can eat watermelon to your heart’s content, get hydrated, and not have to worry about losing your beach body that you worked for on the erg over the winter.

For those of us that still have races to compete in this summer, here are a few statistics to think about just in case you were on the fence about how important hydration is. Performance can be negatively impacted by as little as 2 to 3% body weight loss from sweat (e.g. 3-4 lb. for 150 lb. athlete) Additionally, dehydration can cause a decrease in the volume of blood being circulated in your body leading to your muscles not getting enough oxygen to perform to their true potential and exhaustion setting in earlier in a race. On top of that, your body is not able to flush lactic acid as effectively after a workout, leading to a longer recovery time between workouts. A general rule of thumb for how much water to drink before, during, and after a workout is 16 ounces or more 2-3 hours before a workout, 8 ounces 15 minutes before, drinking fluids as necessary during a workout, and consuming 16-24 ounces after a workout for every pound of fluid lost.

If you’re someone who sweats a lot, or even if you’re not, its a good idea to weigh yourself before and after workouts to see how much you sweat out so you can adequately rehydrate. Additionally, you may want to consider adding a supplement to your water bottle for consumption during a training session. Nuun and GU make hydration tablets that are easy to carry and add a tablet to your water before you launch, plus they come in all different flavor options so you can find one that you like best.

Take a look at the links below for more information on the benefits of staying hydrated and other tips as well. And if you have any questions or want a few more tips, you can come find me at the boathouse, chances are I’ll be there.

Sources:

• Hydration factsheet

• Fluid & hydration

• Minimize the risk for dehydration and heat illness

Party Time!

Summer means parties at Riverside. It is a tradition that goes back to the club’s origins.  They have been associated with victory celebrations, Charles River rowing camaraderie, and just good fun. As a Cambridgeport social center in the 19th Century, the club sponsored community dinners, dances and other festivities. Given Riverside’s Irish pedigree, they all had a Celtic flavor.

Because Riverside’s first boathouse was a former mill building on the grounds of The Riverside Press, in its early days the club held its events in Cambridge social halls. An 1886 newspaper story describes a Riverside “entertainment” and dance at the Prospect Street skating rink at which over 500 people enjoyed vocal quartets, whistling solos, and clog and reel dancers.

Celebrating Riverside rowing successes was a community event. The club honored its four-oared workboat’s victory in the first New England amateur regatta in 1887 with a banquet in Cambridgeport’s Austin Hall, at which Mayor and former Harvard oar William E. Russell and The Riverside Press President H. O. Houghton led city aldermen, the president of the city council and some 125 other guests into the event to strains of an orchestra.  Speeches extolling the credit Riverside had brought to Cambridge and to the printing company were followed by jig dancing and the singing of an Irish quartet.

On May 4, 1891, Riverside celebrated the opening of its new boathouse. Like others of the era, the building provided boat storage and changing facilities on the first floor. The second floor was social space, with an assembly hall and “gentlemen’s and ladies’ parlors and ladies’ toilets.” An 1892 article refers to a series of ladies nights. Over a hundred members and as many guests were said to assemble on Sunday afternoons to enjoy each other’s company. Seasonal events continued in Cambridge social halls, such as its Thanksgiving Ball in the Cambridgeport Union Hall on November 29, 1893.

It is testimony to the centrality of the social mission of 19th Century rowing clubs that an 1897 article describes its President Cleary as “one of the popular young citizens in this classic city. Although not much of an oarsman he strictly attends to the social interests of the club.” In any case, Riverside continued put on lively parties. The minstrel show—appalling by today’s standards but a staple entertainment of the time—it held in Union Hall in 1901 was an elaborate production featuring sets such as a warship and songs and comedy from both professional and club performers. In April 1904, the club’s held its 25th annual ball in Malta Hall. Another minstrel show in 1908, with “many girls taking part,” followed by flying rings, hand-balancing demonstrations and a dance, was said to be a great success.

The Boston area’s many neighborhood rowing clubs, such as Bradford Boat Club just downriver at the foot of the Brookline Bridge and St. Alphonsus at the Boston end of the bridge, enjoyed friendly camaraderie even as they remained intense competitors.  During the summer, they held Sunday open houses, oarsmen rowing to each other’s boathouses for social get-togethers.  Referring to Riverside’s Friday evening dances, The Boston Globe reported in 1904 that, “Boating parties from down the river make landings at their float and take part in the merrymaking.”  During winter months, the club’s social committee held evening “smoke talks” at the boathouse featuring speakers and boxing matches, said to be attended by “all the best local stars in athletics and in the theatrical profession.”

When Riverside’s second boathouse burned to the ground in 1911, it held parties to raise money to rebuild.  Its new one, the club’s present building, again contained a second floor assembly hall, whose bandstand can still be seen in its downstream corner, and separate ladies and men’s rooms, one of which is the present team room, with its attached single-sex bathroom, and the other what is now the men’s room.

The United States’ entry into the First World War dampened rowing and social activity.  With the war over in 1919, however, Riverside celebrated its Silver Jubilee with a banquet at the boathouse attended by over 200.  Dinner was followed by music and speeches by Harvard crew coach Bill Haines and Cambridge Mayor Quinn.  1920 was an Olympic year.  The club held dances every Tuesday and Friday evening to raise money for Cary and William Faulkner, its 1919 national doubles champions, and Jeremiah Shea to enable them to compete, albeit unsuccessfully, for selection as the United States’ single sculler.

The Great Depression doomed most of the Boston area’s surviving rowing clubs.  Riverside held on.  Its annual ball in October 1935 featured music supplied by Doney’s Society Orchestra playing dances such as “Of Course I’m Irish: My Name Is Quinn”, “Midnight Oarsman,” and closed with “Let’er Run.”  Nevertheless, membership dwindled.  After barely surviving extinction in the 1960s and ‘70s, the club got back on its feet in the early 80s.  There was a palpable sense of excitement about its future as the social committee mounted the first annual banquet in the modern era in a local hotel following the 1984 racing season.

After disappearing for a time, our annual gala is back.  The Social Committee once again organizes summer and seasonal parties, and the club is again an integral part of Cambridgeport life, hosting its association’s annual fundraiser.  This year’s party lineup includes,

• The Friday Night Movie/Documentary Series--usually about rowing and similar athletic endeavors

• The New Member/ Summer Kick Off BBQ Party

• The End of Summer Cocktail Party

• The world famous HOCR after-party at Ned Divine's

• The club Gala

• The annual men's sweeps Halloween party

• And the Holiday party

Adapted from A Brief History of Riverside Boat Club by Dick Garver with Graeme Calloway

Henley Recap 2017

After a second consecutive win in the Club 8 event at HOCR, and a 5th place overall finish when including the college 2v/3v’s also entered the event, Riverside’s men’s sweeps program decided to up the ante and undertake a campaign to compete at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. Rumblings of a trip started at the tail end of summer 2016, where the sweeps team put together a strong senior 8+ of year-round guys, who had helped step up the training and competition level that the sweeps team did not usually have in recent years. This was the right time—the guys, attitude, and enthusiasm was there to start something that would hopefully spotlight RBC on the international club stage.

The group met with Jeff in November and decided to take an 8 and a 4, a group of 12 rowers and two coxswains that would be named in early April, with lineups set by May. While winter training for the men’s team has predominantly been self-directed off-season training in the past, Henley training was much more rigorous. Thanks to the trainer-in- chief Jon Dwyer, the group created a training plan that would give the team focus and direction over the long 8- month process. Although everyone in the group had a full-time careers or were full-time grad students, the team trained eight or more times a week, and did pieces as a group, all while balancing work, life, and the occasional Phoenix nightclub cross-training sessions.

The squad had multiple “check-ins” throughout the winter which included a watts/kilogram 30’ test, three 6k’s, a trip to C.R.A.S.H.-B’s, and a final 2k to round out the winter. About half the team set life time PR’s on the machine, while others came close to, or tied their college scores.

As soon as the ice melted in February, men’s sweeps took up oars. We had only 3 coached practices a week while Jeff finished up his coaching priorities at MIT for the spring, so most of the days were spent on our own. Until lineups were set, un-coached practices were done in singles and pairs, while coached practices consisted of mixed lineups and pieces in three 4’s. After lots of different combinations, some selection, several subs filling in, hustling to borrow some Hudson shells that would match the ones we would row in England, lineups were finalized as follows:

Thames Challenge 8+
C. Sarah Ivey
8. Charles Wu
7. Brad Sherman
6. Alex Brown
5. James Leech
4. Callen Brooks
3. Jon Dwyer
2. Xavier Morelle
1. Graeme Calloway

Britannia Challenge 4+
C. Giuliana Vetrano
4. Evan Meisler
3. Gijs Hoogerwerf
2. Alex Barat
1. James Primes

Both the Thames Cup and the Britannia Cup are events designed solely for Club Crews, or only for members that have been formally members of the club for at least 3 months prior to the submission of entries. This is meant for guys like on men’s sweeps, who are rowing competitively post college, without necessarily having national team aspirations, and to prevent clubs from pulling in either summer guys or ringers to bolster their entry. Since most of the competition we face during the summer in club racing is against college kids who have come off competitive training environments with full-time coaching and resources, we wanted to have an apples-to- apples test of ourselves against true competitive club crews, which were mostly found abroad.

Once lineups were finalized, the crew looked for some races to test ourselves against. While the UK club system is very developed, with several spring regattas and opportunities to formally race against college teams (such as the Marlow Regatta), the Stripes knew we needed to have some tune-up racing to experience the pressures of a race situation. Unfortunately, there is minimal club racing prior to the start of the summer, and any summer competition would be far too late for us before we headed across the pond.

Thus, the team got creative began seeking out other U.S. crews going to Henley to scrimmage with. Fortunately, crews from WPI, Williams, and Harvard were willing to entertain these old men in some friendly competition over the course of the final month, which proved incredibly valuable for all parties involved. Satisfied with the training, and with the boat feeling good, the team flew out on June 20th to fit in the better part of the week training on the course. While the 8 was pre-qualified into the 32-crew tournament for the Thames Challenge Cup, the four was required to race on Friday of that week to earn a spot at the regatta into a smaller 16- boat event. On Friday morning, they laid down an excellent time trial, finishing in the top three which not only qualified them for the regatta, but also earned them the right to race as a “selected crew” alongside of the eight (selection is a type of seeding, in which selected crews, based on their qualifications and or race results, are set up so these potentially top crews avoid racing each other in the early rounds). With qualification under their belt, the stripes made for Reading Regatta on Sunday where both boats got in morning and afternoon races against other crews competing at HRR. In the afternoon, the 8 won the Elite 8 by open water over WPI and Winchester College, and got some shiny hardware in the form of pewter mugs, a staple prize for many UK regattas.

After several days of practice, waiting, with nerves and anticipation building, Wednesday finally arrived and race day was here. The Thames Challenge 8 raced at 4:05 pm against the Tideway Scullers, which was one of the more competitive boats in the event. We were confident that we could win, if we maintained focus and were able to listen to the coxswain’s calls and execute our race plan. No miracles needed.

No miracles needed, but unfortunately quite the opposite happened. The boat got off a clean start, clipping along their high strokes at a 47. As the Tideway and Riverside came to the end of the island neck and neck, Sarah called the shift from a 47 down ten beats to the boat’s base pace of 37. At this point the cox box and microphone died and while stroke seat, and the coxswain attempted to remedy the problem, Tideway moved out a few seats. Once the entire crew realized the cox box was dead for good, they refocused on laying down the best base rate they could and reeling Tideway back in in silence. Without the guiding voice of the coxswain calling moves, rate, distance progressed, and margins, the crew tried to keep their cool, although the sense of unease and tension increased as the race progressed without us able to muster some collective traction to poke our bow-ball ahead. All eight rowers were able to gather briefly for their planned move at the Fawley marker, which closed the gap to only a couple of seats, but once the two boats moved into the enclosure area (where the crowds, music, and myriad distractions awaited), Tideway was able to execute a very good sprint sequence, which the Riverside boat could not match without a coxswain. Tideway finished ¾ of a length up, and Riverside’s 8 crossed the line feeling rather shell-shocked. Tideway rowed a very good race, and were faster on the day. They proved to be an extremely strong crew, who won on Thursday as well and were a canvas from progressing to the Semi-Final on Friday.

There’s little room for error or protest in this sport and virtually none at Henley. While it was a tough pill to swallow, it reinforced for the 8 how important the process had been, and what a huge undertaking the entire trip had been. The bitterness everyone felt only revealed how much everyone one in the boat had invested in the project. And so, with a healthy sampling of local libations and a few stern warnings from the Catherine Wheel “not to return to this establishment” (we returned though…) the eight went to bed with high hopes for the Britannia 4’s race in the morning. And they did not disappoint.

Riverside’s 4+ drew Stratford-Upon- Avon in the first round. Since Riverside had already raced a qualifying event, should they win, they would go right to quarter-finals, or top 8 crews. Known for delivering high drama since 1564, Stratford-Upon-Avon did not disappoint in the first round of the Britannia Challenge Cup. The race was a nail biter and even got a special mention from Sir Matthew Pinsent. The British crew moved up a full length on the stripes right off the start. After establishing a commanding lead, Riverside was able to stop their momentum, and then over the course of the next thousand meters, reel the Brits back in until they managed to put their bow ball just ahead. The second half of the race was a stroke for stroke slug fest all the way down to the enclosures at which point, just as they crossed the line, Stratford Upon Avon was able to put their boat ahead by “a canvas,” which is literally a couple of feet at best. While the team was gutted, no one—neither rower nor hungover supporting teammate—could have asked for a better, or a gutsier race.

Racing done, the team got down to business. Hot tubbing, a trip to Oxford, fish and chips, a few pitchers of Pimm’s and a couple bottles of champagne all had to be attended to. Our sister boat club, Potomac Boat Club, was even there with us in spirit as they transferred us the funds for a few rounds of Pimm’s on them. Sunday afternoon saw all the stripes out in full force and dapperness, supporting the American teams and representing RBC with pride.

By Monday morning however, the entire team was ready to come home. Months of training, two weeks in England, countless emotions, and unknown quantities of Pimm’s had the Meatwagon yearning for the comfort of Boston and cool breezes on RBC’s porch. While it was far from the Henley trip the men’s sweeps team had dreamed of, it was a hugely valuable experience and speaks volumes about how far the team has come, and how far it intends to go. While Riverside has only made a few trips to England to race in recent history, don’t be surprised if you see another men’s sweeps boat storming down the booms in the near future.

And finally, the Meatwagon would like to thank the entire club for all the love and support as always. We couldn’t do it without your seemingly endless tolerance for our nonsense. Look out HOCR2k17.

Xoxo,
The Meatwagon

Recap: Cromwell Cup 2017

July 9, 2017 Cromwell Cup Regatta:
a beautiful day for a regatta with bright sun and clear skies all day.

5AM The first shift of volunteers arrives and packs boxes for those who will be out on the course, while others clean the dock or go out in launches to set up the course.

6AM orientation for all volunteers as they set off to their stations: Starters, timers, those that follow races in launches and those that keep the power boats at bay while racing is going on. Registration desk is set up and the first competitors sign in. The organization is awesome a military operation of efficiency as Ashley tells volunteers what to do hands out the walkie talkies and Molly is briefing those in launches

7AM first race is lined up and the race is on! Masters races move steadily through with occasional breaks to let through powerboat traffic.There was a light tail wind (for which the masters rowers were grateful). First Cheri Ruane was calling the races and then when she left to race herself, Mike Bannister took over announcing.

10:45 open and youth races start and by 11:15 the wind was picking up with a cross tail wind that by the afternoon was a stiff headwind. Magazine Beach Park was filled with trailers and tents as 400 boats from clubs coming from all over New England set up.

There was a lot of work to coordinate the starts with increasing numbers of power boats were kept waiting at Anderson and Boston Bridges and swarms of kayakers paddled up and down stream being herded by our launches and bridge marshals calling out to pull over to make way for on coming races. The level of coordination among all those involved meant a constant stream of communication on the walkie Talkies. Wonderful tight races moved down the course keeping close to the scheduled times as new volunteers took over from the sun burned and weary crews out there working all day.

The day ended with the top scullers and sweep boats in the finals after those who were slower had been eliminated in earlier heats. About 6PM another beautifully executed and much enjoyed Cromwell Cup Regatta came to an end as crews derigged and loaded trailers and RBC volunteers cleared out the boathouse and put away the signs and gear until next year.

Check results on HereNow.com

A HUGE thanks especially to Ashley and the tireless volunteers who made this such a success!

Recap: Riverside at the World Cup II, 2017

This past month, HPG athletes Peter Schmidt and Chris Rogers competed in the Lightweight double scull event for the USA at the world rowing cup 2 in Poznan, Poland. With their coach Judith Vogel, they arrived in Berlin Monday morning and then took a bus into Poznan. With their first race on Friday, Peter and Chris had a tight turnaround to get over jet lag, traveling internationally, and making sure that their weight stayed in check for their upcoming weigh ins and subsequent races. Both athletes managed this task well and set about on the even bigger task of competing in an Olympic level event against some of the fastest crews in the world.

The first day of the trip, Chris, Peter and Judith walked from the hotel to the course and met with Filippi to rig the double they had reserved, a beautiful F13 hull with carbon stern mounted riggers. Once the boat was rigged, Chris and Peter went for a run since C2 hasn't arrived yet and wouldn't get to the course until Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, there was a beautiful running trail around the entire lake that allowed Chris and Peter to take in the sights and get a feel for the course before they got in the double. It also made it possible for Judith to follow the races on her bicycle.

In the heat, the US double lined up next to Poland, Slovenia, China, Hong Kong, and the Olympic silver medalists, Ireland. The double kept with the pack off the start and past the 500m in mark. Coming through the thousand, the top boats took a shift and moved away from the US double. The progression was first place straight to the A-final with the rest to reps and the US double placed 5th so Chris and Peter got their legs flushed, took an ice bath and started getting ready for the reps the following morning.

In the rep, the double faced Poland, Japan, China, and Peru. The progression was top two to the A-FINAL and the rest to the B-final, so the double’s biggest competition would come from Poland, who placed 3rd at world cup 1 and Japan, who placed second in the heat the previous day. Again, the double kept with the pack off the start and was third coming through the thousand, 3 seconds behind Japan and a qualifying spot for the A Final. But the conditions in the second thousand of the course were rough with large rollers and wind gusts that the double did not handle as well as the other crews and ultimately finished fourth and would row in the B final the following morning.

Talking with Judith, the double agreed to race the B Final in many of the same ways that they had raced the previous two races; they would keep an aggressive start and make strategic moves leading into the thousand so that if conditions were the same as the past days, they would be in a better place to respond to moves from the other crews and keep their speed going into the second half of the race where they had faltered previously.

Come race day, conditions were much calmer in the second thousand and the double was right with the pack off the start and 2 seconds off the lead coming through the thousand. Coming into the last 500, the lead boat of Japan had pulled away to a comfortable 6 second lead over the double but only 1 second separated them from the second and third place boats of China and Slovenia. The double lifted their rate and began to make their final push and they made a valiant effort but caught a slight digger in the last 200 and finished fourth, two seconds off of third and three seconds off of second. Japan won the race with a time of 6:18, the US double finished in a time of 6:28.

Chris and Peter were pleased with their first performance in the lightweight double on the international level and have a plan for the changes they need to make in order to stay competitive throughout the race and finish as strongly as the other more experienced Olympic caliber crews. They flew back to America the following morning to resume their training, but not before sampling some of the traditional Polish cuisine that they had forgone earlier that week to ensure that making weight was the easiest part of their race.

Derby Delight

The Masters team competed at Derby Sweeps & Sculls on June 10, the first time we’ve fielded both men’s and women’s masters rowers at this regatta in Shelton, Connecticut. The weather was perfect, the food was copious (and delicious), and our blue-and-white striped tent made a bold statement.

The competition was very good and deep, with 37 entries from Maritime RC, 36 from Saugatuck, and 34 from Greenwich compared to 18 from Riverside.

Riverside had some fine results. Things started off very well when Rudy Schreiber and John Owens pulled off an upset by beating a very talented Greenwich pair. Graham Barnes, who now lives on the West coast, flew in to join us for the regatta and helped us to a win over Riverfront Recapture in the Men’s Masters 4+. The women were edged by Maritime in the Masters 4x but pulled off a victory in the Open 4x division, beating CRI. And Sean Wolf took first place in the Open 1x.

The regatta ended on a high note for Riverside. In the Mixed Masters 4x, the Riverside boat had the same handicap as Maritime. We were neck-and-neck down the whole course and just edged out Maritime by 9/10 of a second to win. In the next event, the Mixed Masters 8+ cruised to first place over three other entries. So in the space of four minutes, we collected 13 medals.

As always, much of the credit goes to our excellent coxswains Lyssa Bayne, Hannah Couture and Dan Snook, who was lured from CRI to join us.

Riverside at the World Cup II, 2017

Over the past 15 years, Riverside’s High Performance Group has supported USRowing in the
development of the country’s international competitors, both by preparing athletes for selection through its trial and camp systems and by raising funds for their expenses. In the winter of 2017, in response to disappointing results at the Rio Olympics, USRowing announced changes to this year's selection procedures and released a four-tier funding model for competitors’ expenses. Under the revised procedures, the winners of its World Championship Trials Regatta for the men’s M1x, ML1x, M2x, LM2x, LM2-, M2+, LM4x, LM4- and M4x, and the women’s W1x, LW1x, W2x, and LW2x will represent the U.S. at the 2017 Senior World Championships. Winners of the men’s and women’s pair may attend either FISA World Cup II or III and qualify for the 2017 World Championships by placing highly enough there, otherwise they would compete at Worlds Trials in August as well. The men’s 8+ and 4- and the women’s 8+, 4- and 4x will be selected through USRowing camps. Of these boats, USRowing will fund the expenses of the following Olympic boat classes; the men’s M8+, M4- and LM2x and the women’s W8+, W4x, W2-, W2x and LW2x, while relying on clubs to support non-Olympic event boats.

Competitor selection under the new system began with the 2017 spring speed order 2 / NSR2 regatta, held May 20-22 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, NJ. Four Riverside HPG athletes competed in Olympic events, Hillary Saeger and Erin Roberts in the LW2x and Chris Rogers and Peter Schmidt in the LM2x. In the May 20 time trial, Hillary and Erin placed second behind the Potomac/Vesper composite of Emily Schmieg and Michelle Sechser. Chris and Peter placed first, with a time nearly 20" faster than the second place finisher.

After a day off, the doubles raced their respective finals on Monday, May 22. Chris and Peter raced first and laid down a winning time of 7:05. The second place crew of Jack Devlin and HPG alum Andrew Neils were second with a time of 7:25. Hillary and Erin raced next, fought all the way down the course, but were ultimately beaten by just under 6 seconds by the Potomac/Vesper composite boat.

Chris and Peter's win in the light double earns them the opportunity to race at World Cup II in Poznan, Poland. After rowing for the United States in non-Olympic boat classes (LM8+ and LM4x), Riverside’s HPG program has enabled them to compete for the first time in an Olympic boat class at the international level. Both are extremely excited for the opportunity to make the next step in their rowing careers and to compete at the highest level.

World Cup II will be held from June 16-18. Results can be found at worldrowing.com.
Riverside congratulates them on the accomplishment and wishes them great success.

—

By: Peter Schmidt with Richard Garver

2017 Spring Speed Order 1

The Riverside High Performance Group had the first opportunity of the year to don stripes at USRowing's Spring Speed Order 1, the first official racing event of the 2020 quadrennial. Six Riverside athletes, and eight Riverside alums, tested their speed last week at Lake Mercer across four days of racing.

Peter Schmidt, Christopher Lambert-Rogers, Jake Georgeson, and Brendan Harrington faced off against eight other entries in the lightweight men’s single; all progressed through the time trial and semifinal, ultimately filling four of the six lanes in the semifinal with stripes. Battling a stiff headwind, Schmidt raced a gutsy race for first against Craftsbury’s Hugh McAdam, ultimately placing second overall in a time of 7:53.8, less than two seconds off first place.

“I found that my start for the semi was slower than what I’d like so I made a few changes to it for the final,” Schmidt said. “For the final it was my goal to go out aggressive and try to get as much of a lead as possible going into the sprint. Unfortunately I didn’t get the lead I was hoping for going into the last 500 and Hugh had a solid move and was able to move through me and get me in the end.” Lambert-Rogers, Georgeson, and Harrington came through the line next, locking up 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively.

Lauren Ayers, racing in the lightweight women’s 1x, earned a trip to the A final as well, ultimately finishing 3rd overall in a time of 8:46. Men’s sweeps member Alex Brown represented the Meatwagon in the men’s 1x, missing a trip to the semifinal by fractions of a second. “The thing about not knowing where you stand in an event is you need to treat every race like it’s the final, because you never know if that race is going to be the last one,” Brown said. Brown placed 2nd in the C final.

Riverside alumni continued to show their speed, with three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Lauren Schmetterling placing second overall in the women’s 1x. Molly Hamrick, currently training with SoCal Scullers, and Kristina Wagner and Elizabeth Sonshine, from AVIRON, competed in the event as well. Meanwhile, alumni Andrew Neils, now down at UVA, and Nick Dawe, representing NYAC, faced off against the strong current Riverside contingent in the lightweight men’s 1x. Maureen McAuliffe and Lily Keane, training with AVIRON, joined forces to race the women’s pair.

Though the results of Spring Speed Order 1 will have no impact on selection for the 2017 US National Team, the race is an opportunity for athletes to gauge their speed early in the season, as well as a long-awaited kick-off to the racing season. “My main goal going into speed order was to test my speed and see how I stacked up against the rest of the lightweights,” Schmidt said. “Having a speed order event this early in the season relative to when worlds is is good since it showed me what areas of the race I was lacking in and what to work on going forward as the season starts to pick up.”
The HPG returns to training with an eye on USRowing’s Spring Speed Order 2, an opportunity next month to compete in doubles and pairs.

2017 Crusher Casey Recap

This year’s Crusher Casey Classic was the most heavily subscribed in recent history. With four 8’s entered and 7 singles, the 3.4k stake-turn race required a brand-new format, facilitated by Crusher Casey organizer and men’s sweeps captain, Charles “the commissioner” Wu.

The day began at 9:00AM with the boat dedication ceremony. After getting the crowd warmed up with some topical observations, and a few witticisms, Captain Wu handed the mic over to Caro who started off boat dedications. Kit Casey, Chris Dyke, Jim Hanley, as well as Akamai Technologies were all honored and thanked for the contributions to the club over the years. Stories were told, friends were remembered, and all the boats were christened with sparkling cider, except for the Dyke whose honoree preferred to baptize his boat in some sort of bootleg moonshine concoction. He wasn’t sorry for partying. Boats dedicated, breakfast laid out, loins girded, it was time to get the racing underway.

The race schedule ran as follows:
10:00AM: Wave 1 8+s
10:20AM: 1x's race
10:40AM: Wave 2 8+s
11:15AM: 8s Final

That’s right. Heats and finals for the Crusher Casey 8’s race. In the first heat, the “B-Leech-er Report” was slated against the “Paul ‘Crusher Casey’ Casey” boat. As both crews launched, the atmosphere was tense. The crowd had already gotten a taste of Alex Barat in a “little mermaid costume,” and they were hungry for some action. The racing did not disappoint. As the gun went off, both crews took it off high and hard. Trading strokes through River Street, “B-Leech-er Report” eventually started to eke out a margin as the Casey crew struggled with getting their dresses and mermaid tails stuck in the tracks and rigging. “B-Leech-er Report” finished in a time of 13:09.46 with the Casey crew exactly 7 seconds back. Tight racing! The winning crew got off the water and began icing, refeeding, and replenishing red blood cell counts with the “team doctor” in the men’s locker room. The losing crew stayed on the water for a little while and had a swim.

As the crews in the second wave of 8’s commandeered their boats, and began making adjustments, the singles went off time-trial style. Kyle “Hurricane” Mabry ripped it off with a blazing start, heading straight for the abutment of the River Street bridge. He adjusted his point however, and finished with a winning time of 14:28.32 sustaining zero damage, bodily or otherwise. Xavier “the Belgian of Bedlam” was hot on his heels, but was unfortunately disqualified for creative interpretation of the Charles River traffic pattern. He finished in a time of 14:52.63. Fightweight Joe Hanna finished second with a time of 15:11.76 followed by Flyweight Krzysztof Danielewicz in a time of 16:22.92. Ed Ballo and Meghan Brundage vied for 4th place, going 18:13.27 and 18:37.66 respectively. Nicholas Daniloff (legend!) brought up the rear with 22:10.56.

[caption id="attachment_6662" align="alignleft" width="240"] Kyle “Hurricane” Mabry 1x Champ[/caption]

By the time all the singles were back on the dock the second wave of eights was ready to go. The unfortunately-named “Couples Boat+Trey” was lined up against the “Masters of Your Disaster.” The masters attempted to claim a handicap on the starting line, but Trey Chandler--men’s sweeps captain emeritus and current VP--cited Article 21, section VI, clause 4.2 “that all Crusher Casey petitions for handicaps shall be submitted in writing, in triplicate, at least one calendar year in advance of the event in question.” The masters were over-ruled and the race was underway. In a fit of rage, the masters jumped hard off the start, deeply shaking the Couples Boat. The young bucks were certainly rattled, but after a thousand meters or so, they managed to pull ahead and win their heat in a time of 13:41.17.

The main event: “B-leech-er Report” versus the “Couples Boat+Trey.” This was what everyone had been waiting for. Smack talk had resounded back and forth across the water and the gunwales all morning. Nerves were frayed and tensions were high. The “BR” boat had some big ergs, and a strong rowing pedigree, but it was whispered around the boathouse that the “CB+T” crew had “intangibles.” No one knew what that meant, but they knew it couldn’t be touched. The race was called, the start went off and the high strokes were punctuated by shouts, taunts, and shots fired over bows generally. Neck and neck, the two crews passed through River Street bridge and out of sight. After that, no one really knows what happened.

Only Igor Belakovskiy and Riley Hall witnessed the stake turn, and they have both agreed never to speak of the event outside of their group therapy sessions. Whatever transpired, CB+T returned to the dock 13 minutes and 18 seconds later, followed by the BR boat, 12 seconds after that.

All in all, it was a great day of racing and celebrating the people and history of Riverside. Think you’ve got what it takes to win Crusher Casey? Well 2x champion boat organizer Brian Frake now has a target on his back! Training starts now!

2016 Season Review, Part II

Continuing our retrospective look at 2016, the following are outdoor season highlights of Riverside Boat Club’s sculling, juniors and the High Performance Group programs.

Scullers

Despite being a relatively low maintenance bunch, scullers had no fewer than four coaches in 2016, starting with 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and MIT Varsity Women's Coach Holly Metcalf in the late spring and summer and continuing with the Dream Team of Sarah Baker (nee Schwegman), Kevin McDonnell, and Andrew Hashway into the fall.

Riverside’s April season opener, the Crusher Casey Challenge, was won by Mike Farry and Ilana Zieff. After about a month of "on your own" rowing, Holly began coaching once the MIT rowing season ended. Mike Farry probably had the busiest summer of the bunch, joining the High Performance Group in winning the Men's Lightweight Quad at Canadian Henley, and winning the open A single at USRowing Master's Nationals. Mike also joined Igor Belakovskiy as training partners to US Olympic single sculler Gevvie Stone, who went on to take silver at the Rio Olympics.

Masters Nationals was a popular race for Riverside scullers. Alexis Belakovskiy won six medals, in the single, doubles and quads. Alexis and Ilana Zieff went one-two in the Open A Single. Ilana also finished second in the AA Lightweight Single. In one of the more exciting races of the regatta, Coach Andrew Hashway and Niles Kuronen teamed up for a 0.041 win in the A Double. The two of them also joined Matt Muffelman and Sean Wolf to win a bronze in the B Quad. Paul Dale won the G Lightweight Single. Kelley Woodacre, Meghan Brundage, Beatrice Simms and Sarah Leach won the Club A Quad. Alexis, Kelley and Tina Vandersteel teamed up with Union Boat Club's Catherine Infantino to win the B Quad. In total, including sweep entries, Riverside won 11 gold, five silver and 12 bronze medals, good enough for a seventh on the overall points list.

After a short break, the all-star team of Hashway, Baker and McDonnell took over the coaching duties, each conducting one session per week. With the Head of the Kevin series and the Head of the Charles looming, they were well attended.  Liane Malcos Keister won the women's and overall Head of the Kevin, with a percentage of 99.6%, while Andrew Hashway, confirming that he can do more than coach, won the men's title with a 97.5% ranking.

At the Head of the Charles Regatta, Hashway defended his 2015 Masters Singles Title, while Malcos Keister finished second in the Masters Women's Singles. By a sizable margin, Sean Wolf and Pete Morelli defended their 2015 title in Masters Double as well. Catherine Widgery placed third in the Women's Veteran Singles. Jim McGaffigan was second in the Senior Masters Singles, the first of five Riverside entries in that event. The regatta also marked the return to competition by long time HPG coach Tom Keister, who teamed up with Igor Belakovskiy for a sixth place finish. Ashley Lanfer and Sarah White won the Women's Masters Double, while teammates Alexis Belakovskiy and Tina Vandersteel were third. Finally Sean Wolf joined Olympic gold medalist Lauren Schmetterling to win the mixed double.

To finish off the season, Tina Vandersteel won her category at the Silver Skiff Regatta in Torino, while Catherine Widgery finished second in hers.

Juniors

Riverside’s juniors utilize the Riverside fleet during the summer to improve their technique in both sweeping and sculling.  Athletes are able to row singles for the first time, improve their skills in pairs and double, and learn how to move quads, fours, and eights efficiently.  In 2016, RBC’s juniors had their deepest program yet. At Canadian Henley, where most of their events have 77 entries, a large number of its U17, U19, and U23 girls and boys boats advanced to the semi-finals.

In the fall, thanks to the many RBC members who lent their singles to the juniors, the program again had one of the largest contingents at the Head of the Quinobequin Regatta, the juniors-only singles race from Eliot to North Beacon.  At HOCR, a Riverside girls’ double placed 14th and boys four placed 21st.  The fall season was capped off with the Merrimack Chase, where good racing is always concluded with a bonfire and s'mores.

The High Performance Group

The goal of the High Performance Group is to qualify athletes to their respective National Teams; the PanAm Team, the World Championships, and the Olympic Games. Six of its athletes achieved that goal in 2016 by representing the USA at the U23 and Senior World Championships. Emma Betuel competed in the U23 LW1x (10th) and U23 LW4x (8th), Ashley Amos competed in the LW4x (5th), and Jacob Georgeson, Peter Schmidt, Chris Rogers, and Tobin McGee competed in the LM4x (12th).

Competing at Canadian Henley, their HPG teammates finished first in the Senior LM4x, Senior LM2-, and Senior LW2-. Other top three results were in the Senior W2- (2nd), Senior W4x (2nd), Championship M8+ (2nd), U23 LM2x (2nd), Senior W2x (3rd), Senior W2- (2nd), Senior LW2x (2nd), and Senior LM4- (2nd).

The Fall Speed Order at Princeton, NJ, which ranks east coast athletes and gives them the opportunity to make an impression on the National Team coaches and future rowing partners, is the HPG athletes’ priority autumn regatta. It entails a 6k erg test, which in turn determines the start order for a 4.5km headrace the following morning. Riverside’s results were:

6k erg test: W1x (2nd, 7th, 12th), LW1x (2nd, 3rd), LM1x (2nd, 3rd, 5th), and M1x (9th, 10th, 19th, 23rd, 26th).
4.5km race: M1x (8th, 9th, 15th, 22nd, 23rd), LM1x (1st, 3rd, 6th), W1x (8th, 13th, 14th), LW1x (2nd, 6th).

Finally, HPG athletes’ contribution to Riverside’s HOCR point trophy included the Championship M2x (12th), Championship W2x (6th and 7th), Championship M1x (11th), LM1x (3rd and 4th), Championship W1x (15th), and LW1x (4th and 13th).

Not counted in our Head of the Charles points championship total but worthy of note, HPG alumna and Olympic gold medalist Lauren Schmetterling returned to Riverside in the fall to explore the mysteries of sculling. The Head of the Kevin got the best of her—two bridges hit and one oarlock failure—but Lauren recorded a commendable fourth in the women’s championship single.

As these highlights make clear, 2016 was a rewarding year for Riverside Boat Club. We eagerly look forward to 2017, which will include sending a men’s sweep delegation to the Henley Royal Regatta.

Compiled by Dick Garver from reports from Igor Belakovskiy on the scullers, Katie Ruderman on RBC juniors, and Judith Vogel on the HPG.