Ithaca Race Results

After our first race experience of the 2008 spring season we now have an idea about where we stand with regards to early speed. Frigid conditions and a stiff headwind made for slow times and I think that for the most part our rowers handled them well. Many thanks to Dan Robinson and Todd Kennett for hosting us at the Ithaca and Cornell boathouses.

It's obvious that there are many things that we can work on to improve from both a fitness and technical standpoint. I was particularly impressed with the aggression and effort of the Ithaca crews - their novices and third varsity crews demonstrated a willingness to attack all the way down the course that was startling. In many ways, our opposition can be our greatest ally in pushing ourselves to higher levels of performance. I'll be interested to see how all of our rowers, especially our 3V and novice rowers, improve over the coming weeks.

Also, please don't hesitate to check out the Trinity Rowing Clothing Store powered by Boathouse Sports that can be found at this link http://boathousetc.parcelport.net/ - the site will only accept orders until April 6th - all clothing will be shipped directly to the address you select.

Ithaca Race Day

The spring season has finally arrived with decidedly wintry conditions - the temperatures for tomorrow's race will be 28 degrees at 9 AM when the varsity race goes off against Marist College. The second varsity will race Ithaca in the morning at 9:30 AM.

The trailer drive up was fairly easy and it was great to see Marist women and Marist men along with the Cornell crews practicing in frigid temperatures. The challenge will be to row our best race when confronted with extremely uncomfortable race conditions. Illnesses have forced some rowers out of competition on both the men's and women's side so this will be a good test of our resiliency as a team.

To our novice rowers I hope that your first 2000m race experience will be an unforgettable one that only whets your appetite for future competition!

Trinity Rowing Clothing Order Page

We are about to launch the Trinity Rowing Clothing Page powered by Boathouse Sports that will offer a wide range of clothing for rowers, alumni, parents, and friends of the program. All gear may be paid for via credit card directly to Boathouse Sports and shipped directly to your address in a matter of weeks (in time for Spring championship racing). If you have any questions please email wesley.ng@trincoll.edu - the page will be live for ten days until April 6th, 2008 and after that the window of opportunity will close.

Wednesday Strong Racing

After a reasonably brutal training period from Saturday through to yesterday afternoon it was pretty exciting to see the squad respond in a great fashion this morning. In wet and windy conditions the 1V and 2V group did some excellent controlled rating and open rating pieces while the 3V/N group banged heads with some more competitive work in fours. It's always amazing to see that light bulb of understanding go on in an athlete's mind after a certain number of repetitions.

In only five short days we've seen technical awareness increase and a better ability to articulate what we want to have happen within the boat.

What's on the horizon?
- Henley invitations to be finalized
- Delivery of new racing shell
- March 29th Travel Race to Ithaca, NY to face Ithaca College, William Smith, and Marist College
- Parent. alumni, and team clothing online store to open on March 24th and stay open until April 4th. Items will include a parka, crew neck sweatshirt, men's and women's polo shirts, a technical t-shirt, and potentially a reversible fleece/supplex vest. Pictures of these items will all be available on the Boathouse website.

Yoga

Another fantastic yoga session and a rare afternoon off during this spring break cruise. The rowing continues to improve and I'm pleased to see younger rowers step up to fill the gaps left by some injured rowers. Dealing with injury over spring training is awfully tough but to be expected with a very large team - As we approach our first race date we'll continue to try and build upon our identity.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow AM!

First Spring Break Diary

Solid row this morning - and then an excellent two hour yoga session this afternoon. Later we'll be having an outdoor buffet on the Lido Deck and should expect some warm weather and sun. Temperatures are 45 degrees with expected showers! More updates to come!

Terrible Job! Apologies

I've been a terrible blogger - things have been hectic, exciting, and progressive as we've gotten back into the swing of being on the water. Things we are looking forward to in the near future: 1. purchase of a new varsity 8+ 2. organizing spring training here in Hartford and 3. continuing to make Henley preparations.

I'll write a little bit in the next couple of days about my perceptions of some of the issues facing the team but wanted to get back on the 'net'.

Also, the Raether Library is a fantastic place to study, surf the net, and take a great nap...found that out yesterday. I'll be writing a thesis on a comparison of leadership qualities of women in politics and sport so it could be an interesting exploration of both arenas.

Coast Guard Academy vs Trinity Men's Basketball in the 1st round of the NCAA DIII Tournament tonight - Women's squash placed third in the nation, Men's squash won a 10th title in a row and both hockey teams have playoff games coming up...it's a great time to be a Trinity athlete.