Thursday has come and gone and it was the best of times or the blurst of times (thank you Simpsons...). The 2V and 1V did some competitive work on the course into a pretty blustery head wind and recorded some good times but we had very little separation between the crews. One crew felt fantastic about their performance while the other was fairly underwhelmed and to be honest I didn't feel that good about the body language and look of the rowing compared to what I've seen in practice. On the good side of things, the times were still relatively quick but the level of satisfaction was somewhat low.The four rowed the course and did two final preparations for their qualifying race that goes off at noon tomorrow. The Trinity rowers will be lining the backs with encouragement to see if we can't help drive them into the top sixteen in the senior four. If they do it, it will be a tremendous accomplishment for three freshmen, a sophomore, and a first semester coxswain to make it into the field. But regardless of what happens, they have been an absolute pleasure to have on the trip and both Coach Besteman and I feel that their contribution has been so valuable to the future mission of the squad. Hannah Smith also made contact with the University of Edinburgh rowing team where she will be studying next semester...perhaps a tryout of sorts?
In the evening, after a somewhat drawn out sermon by me, we went to Brian and Susan Triptree's for a barbecue of grilled peppers, zucchini, asparagus, onions, plenty of salad, bread, and sausage. They were very kind to offer their three-terraced backyard with 85 degree pool for our use. It sure is tough to be in England.
The 1V and 2V will do an early morning row at 6:30 AM to stretch their systems before the course closes at 8:00 AM for qualifying races. Then it's a fair amount of family time as so many wonderful parents have found their way to Henley. It's always an awesome moment to watch the faces of the parents and athletes light up when they see each other for the first time...however, from a cynical standpoint as one parent put it...the bickering starts soon afterwards.
A special shout out to Coaches Will Porter, Andy Card, and Pat Tynan who are coaching at Bulldog Rowing Camp this week. They are a really supportive and fantastic coaching staff who are undoubtedly stretching the minds of their campers as we are here in England.
Great restaurant with friendly atmosphere: The Healthy Deli - quickly becoming a team favorite and when they can identify you as 'from Trinity' before you even open your mouth you have to wonder a little bit.
Also entries for the Remenham Cup were posted today - there are 17 entries being reduced to 8 by qualifying races. It will be interesting to see who is required to qualify but we absolutely must assume that we have to in order to make it into the Henley Royal Regatta.
Updates on qualification status as soon as I can get to a computer.
