Last Regatta of the Season

It seems that this regatta season has flown by, and with another successful weekend at the Dogwood Junior Championships, it's already over!  As the last regatta of my last season with Row Huntsville, I may not have achieved the results that I would have liked, but I gave it 100% and had a great time racing! 

I was excited about this year's Dogwood Junior Championships for a few reasons really.  Not only would this be the last regatta of the season, and my last regatta with Row Huntsville, but it would also be the first time that my grandparents would get to see me race!  

Since it would be a really important regatta for me, we decided to drive up to Oak Ridge, TN, the day before so that I could get some practice out on the course before race day!

I'm happy that I did, because other than competing at Percy Priest Sprints and at Baylor, I'd barely bad any practice in my single! 

But after that practice, it was time to get something to eat and rest up at the hotel.  The next day would start early and I wanted to be ready!

My team's novice four was the first to head out, and I followed not too long after.  I'd have to row up to the starting line, and I wanted to give myself enough time to rest before the race.  Especially since I knew that I'd be "hot seating" after that!

The row up there was rather uneventful.  I saw a few goslings, but that was about it. 

But the longer I waited, the more nervous I got.  After my single I would be racing my double, and while waiting for my first race to begin, some doubles were already gathering at the start.  I knew I'd have to be quick to race and switch boats to come straight back up!  

But soon enough, it was time for my race.  I entered the second lane, and as soon as the official made the call, I started rowing.  The course for time trials was 1750 meters long, and though I don't remember many details from the race itself, I do know that it hurt! 

But even after I'd crossed the finishing line, I couldn't stop to rest.  Immediately I had to start my trip over to the docks to switch boats and head back out!  

On the way there, I heard someone yell, "congratulations," and mention something about qualifying for semi-finals.  There were 21 boats in my even and only top 12 would advance, so I didn't really believe them and assumed that they were talking about someone else. 

Just a little bit later someone else also congratulated me and also mentioned my name, saying that I'd placed 12th.  I just assumed that not everyone was done rowing yet and that the results weren't official.  

But I'm pleased to say that they were!  I ended up finishing 12th of 21 in time trials and would be moving on to compete again!

Nevertheless, I had more important things to worry about.  It was time for my double to race!

My double partner and our boat were already on the dock waiting, so as soon as I docked, I grabbed my oars, hopped into the new boat, and we started rowing to the starting line. 

While my double partner rowed for the first 500m back up, I managed to have a quick snack.  It's actually pretty tricky eating a protein bar with one hand and grabbing both oars to balance the boat with the other!

We managed to get to the starting line and were allowed to race after the men's doubles.  Since it was just time trials, being a little late wasn't a huge issue. 

The race went well, and even though we didn't advance, we still placed 21st of 30.  But I guess I was more tired than I'd thought, because close to the end I almost forgot to yield to an approaching eight!  I hadn't even realized that it was an eight until after it had passed us! 

After docking, some of the guys on our team had to use our boat, so we didn't have to carry it back with us.  All that was left for me was to get some rest before my double's semi-finals!

I was able to rest for a little over two hours, but eventually it was time to head back out!

I was pretty nervous for this event!

I'd already raced the boat once that day, but there are some big differences between time trials and semi-finals...

First of all, the time trials course was 250 meters shorter.  It's not a big difference, but it's a bit more challenging!

But the challenge I was most nervous about was the start.  In time trials, there's a moving start, where rowers can gradually build up speed.  In semi-finals, however, we'd have to start racing from a complete stop, and I'd never successfully completed the "starting sequence" in a single before!

Semifinals were a nightmare!  A headwind. slippery oars.  Even a wake from the officials!

It was so bad, that when one of my oars hit the buoy line, the handle was flung out of my grasp!  I'm just lucky that I managed to catch it before I flipped!

At the time, I thought that I was doing something wrong myself.  The boat kept tilting to port, so I just assumed that my handle heights were wrong.  I tried to correct it, but it still kept happening.  So, then I guessed that the wind was to blame.  Regardless, for half the race, I was battling to keep my boat set and it left me with a really sore shoulder!

I ended up placing last (40 seconds behind 5th place) in that event. 

Back on land, though, I learned the truth about what had happened. 

According to my coaches and the parents who'd seen me race, the official's launch had been waking me for half the race!  I'd fallen behind in my event and that boat had basically kept me there!  I know that I probably wouldn't have advanced to grand finals either way, but I definitely would have finished closer to the other boats if I hadn't been fighting to get my balance the whole time!  Either way, I would have petit finals on Sunday, and that would be a chance for redemption! 

Regatta Weekend: Day 2

The next day, I would be the first on my team to compete.  The coaches and I would be the only ones even there at that time representing Row Huntsville, and while most of my teammates were allowed to sleep in until 11 or so, I had to be there at 7am!

I had about half an hour to get everything set and listen to my coaches, then it was time to head out!

I was pretty nervous that morning, since I'd done so poorly in semis, and because I'd never advanced to finals at a championship regatta.  Even if it was just petit finals.

I was especially nervous up at the starting line, waiting for my event to start! 

But I had to set those feelings aside and just race! 

And I feel that it went really well! 

I managed to complete the "starting sequence" and was in the middle of the pack for a while.  The middle thousand meters were super painful, but I kept rowing through it.  I still fell behind though. 

By the time I crossed the 1500-meter mark, I was actually pretty far back.  But then I picked it up and managed to close that gap!  

I still came in last, but all the boats, from first to last, finished within a 30-second range, which I consider really good!  And I was only a few seconds from 5th place.

I'm on the right side of the photo

Exhausted, I made my way to the recovery dock one last time...

Once I got there, however, I realized that my team hadn't shown up to help me.  I can't carry a boat by myself, so I was getting pretty nervous!

Luckily someone from another team helped me with that! 

And now that I was done racing for the weekend, all that was left to do was enjoy the regatta and help out my teammates! 

Even though I didn't place how I would have liked, I still think that this year's Dogwood Junior Championships were a great way to end the season!