Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) has been the principal source of rules and procedures governing high school rowing. They also run the Scholastic Championship Regatta which is widely acknowledged within the rowing community as a national championship event.
This year, our team has been invited to compete in four different categories based on our results in the NY Championship. I will be participating in the Junior 8+ category.
What does the Junior 8+ category mean? I am glad you asked.
It means that the boat has 8 rowers plus one coxsain all under age 17 (who will not turn 17 within the current year) or a junior in high school. Our boat has three juniors including myself and the rest are sophomores.
State Championships, the Main event of the year for all teams.
Statewide scholastic (high school) teams and large club teams, comprised of rowers from multiple high schools, attend this event with the goal of qualifying for national championships.
While top two scholastic teams qualify for Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championships (SRAAs), clubs try themselves for a chance in USRowing Youth Invitationals.
It is a good thing that scholastic and club teams have this type of separation, because clubs often have a very unfair advantage. They select people based on performance rather than attendance to a certain school. On top of that they usually have a much higher budget than the scholastic teams. One club even had their own therapist giving massages at the race!
Back to this year’s competition, according to the event website there were 66 teams competing with 628 boats.
On day one the boys rowed small boats then on day two we rowed the big boats. So, on Saturday I raced in the singles event, and on Sunday the eights.
During this season, I only had the opportunity to practice rowing a single twice before the race, since our coach prefers to practice larger boats, like my eight. Single racing demands a different strategy, as well as good form and technique. These boats are lighter and have a narrow width to smoothly glide across the water’s surface, making them highly susceptible to capsizing if not balanced well while rowing. This is exactly what happened to the participant preceding me during the time trials. Despite him having enough power to overtake the boat that started before him, he capsized just 250 meters shy of the finish line.
Time for the first race of the spring season, where we usually get back into the racing mindset, adjust within our boats, and get into our own rhythm.
This year’s regatta brough 40 teams from the Northeast to compete against each other.
Coach tried out smaller boats – quads – in this race in our category. I raced both days in different quad categories. On the first day in U17/Juniors, and second day on V2.
Our boat on the first day had a steering issue during the race and kept pulling us towards one side, as a team we struggled during the race keeping the course and power through. On the second day we raced well but lost the 3rd place to another team by 0.4 seconds and to 2nd by 2 seconds.
We are back at Fish Creek, Saratoga. Coldest day of the fall, and right before the start of the race rain started and never stopped.
Unfortunately, racing means waking up very early in the morning and being on the bus by 6am. When you wake up that early it is not easy to be ready, cautious, and prepared. So, I didn’t prepare for rain having no spare clothes or even a rain jacket with me. Luckily, My teammates saved the day, as they shared their extras.
Results:
Category – Scholastic / Overall / Total Number of Entries
Everyone knows it is an honor to race at the Head of the Charles, as it is an iconic event. There were high schools from Europe and even South Africa in the competition this year.
2-weeks before the race, I injured my hand during PE class, which turned out to be a hairline fracture. I taped my fingers, never skipped practice, and luckily kept my seat in the Charles boat. But getting a seat in the boat was only half the battle. We were trying to get into the top half which would guarantee another invite next year. However, the teams we were racing against were very fast, the best of the best, and we had a freshman in our boat (a very fast freshman, but still a freshman nonetheless). When it came time we fought well and rowed a good race but didn’t manage to make it into the top half.
Mohawk Fall Classic Regatta is a 3700 meter, fall, head race hosted by the Burnt Hills Rowing Association.
Head racing means that boats start the race one at a time with spaced intervals. Most fall races are head races. Honestly, these types of races are harder because it is difficult to know how well you are doing during the race. You usually try to keep your pre-race set strategy, and pacing, while trying to catch up and beat the boat that has started ahead of you.
In tail races each boat starts one after the other, and the boat that has the shortest time to finish the course is the winner. Therefore, everyone has to wait until the end of the race to see their ranking.
This event is hosted by Albany Rowing Center and held on the Hudson River in Albany, bringing together hundreds of competitors from high schools, colleges, and clubs from the Capital Region as well as other areas of New York and surrounding states.
It is also the first event in the Fall Racing Season for our team.
Unfortunately, this year we have a very young team. Majority of the team is freshman and sophomores, including only 3 juniors – including me. This is going to be one hard year against many seniors.
The 2023 New York State Scholastic Champions was held in Saratoga Springs for 2-days during May. This competition is open to all high school rowing teams in New York. It is the most important event of the year, where each team competes to be the best in the State.
My team practices and races in smaller boats. Quad, double and single categories (non-coaxed boats) are the categories that we race in.
I raced in all three of these categories from the bow position, steering and guiding my teammates.
Results:
NY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS May 13, 2023 – May 14, 2023
Racing in the high school championships after middle school / mod events was much more challenging. Going into the high school category meant racing with older students. Kids that are taller, and more experienced.
It is interesting to watch teams as they prepare for racing. You can see teams like ours that are very young as well as groups of kids who look like college students.
NY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS May 14, 2022 – May 15, 2022
Berk @Nisky 