Another successful year for Riverside at the 53rd Head Of The Charles Regatta! For the third consecutive year, Riverside took home the points trophy as well as racked up dozens of great results in all boat classes. Congratulations to all who completed, as well as Riverside members who raced with other teams this year!
On September 16, 109 Riverside members, family, and friends came together for the 6th annual Riverside Stripes Gala. The evening featured both a silent and not-so-silent auction, a literal wagon of meat, and an opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of the past while looking forward toward the future of Riverside.
Nearly 70 total donations contributed toward a grand total of $72,000 for the club. An additional gift of $25,000 brought the total to $97,000, a remarkable commitment from the attendees to the health and future of Riverside.
Donations will support the renovation of the docks, repair of the concrete foundations of the boathouse, the expansion of the facilities and boat bays and to continued support of Riverside’s High Performance athletes. To add your name to the list of supporters of Riverside, please consider a donation. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference toward securing the future of our beloved boat club.
The evening featured a speech from 2016 Rio Olympic Silver Medalist and first year medical resident, Dr. Gevvie Stone. Dr. Stone spoke about her journey from high school crew, to Princeton University, on to the training to make the US National Team while simultaneously completing her MD at Tufts University. Her inspiring story is one of perseverance, commitment, and determination to achieve one’s goals. Thank you Gevvie!
Thank You Volunteers! The 2017 Gala was a smashing success and would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of all the volunteers. Most of all, thank you Christine Higgins for your hard work planning the event and coordinating the volunteers!
The Green Mountain Head was raced on a beautiful Vermont day, there were a lot of RBC rowers and many of them did well. Pictured below are some of the Riverside rowers with their prizes of apples, cider and maple syrup!
Singles:
Lib and Pete, enjoying the regatta.
Doubles:
Riverside Stripes will be wearing Stars and Stripes at Worlds, and we would like to celebrate Judith Vogel, Tom Keister and Liane Malcos Keister for their dedication and expertise in launching these extraordinary athletes from Riverside’s humble boat club on the Charles.
Many thanks, members and friends, whose sustained programmatic support is critical to this effort and accomplishment. We are immensely proud of our extended Riverside family and wish them good luck and good racing. Go Stripes!
Men's Lightweight 4x, September 2017
There are 19 current and former athletes and coaches who will be at Worlds.
National Team (Riverside alumni):
National Team (Riverside athletes):
National Team Coaches and Staff:
View of the race course in Oak Ridge, TN.
Masters 8+s.
The US Masters Nationals was held August 17-20 on a beautiful cool river in Oak Ridge, TN. The water temperature was about the only thing that was cool as the heat steamed up during the day, but cool breezes and plenty of shade made the whole experience a delight as all the teams rented spaces for tents on shore to watch the racing. The weather and conditions were pretty much perfect though the sun was really intense as the rowers sat out in the boats waiting for the start of races. Three mornings there was an hour long fog delay but the organization by US Rowing was excellent as 99 teams with over 3000 rowers participated. Chinook again won the points trophy with almost twice as many points than second place, Texas Rowing Center. Only three members from RBC attended: Sean Wolf, Nikolay Kurmakov and Catherine Widgery.
Catherine Widgery racks in the medals.
Catherine again competed as part of a composite team of masters women from around the country and earned three golds: WF2X, WG4+ and WE8+ and three silvers: WF4X, WD8+, WF8+.
Masters Nationals moves to Oakland, CA next year.
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:
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
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
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!
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.
