It was a blustery day for the Gruenberg Cup but weather failed to hold the Aztecs down as they were victorious in defending their title. The Varsity 8 was in a position to defend the cup on Sunday the 6th, coming off a week of heavy fog and cancelled practices. The V8 was the first event of the day and set the tone for the Aztecs with a win against USC and LBSt. Our JV came in just behind the Varsity pack in the same event, showing our depth on our experienced rower squad. The next event was the Novice 8, in which we fielded our 1st and 2nd Novice boats and came in 1st and 2nd respectively in the race. The V4 was next up and came in 1st against the competition.
The Aztecs had planned to race every athlete on the team for our Spring opener, however the weather threatened to make this a reality. With winds up to 25mph, the Novice 4’s had to be scratched. It was hands down the safe choice and though I agree with the choice to scratch the race, I still feel for the athletes who were not able to show their contribution to this team. I look forward to seeing what they can do in our next regatta. We know this showing was a great example of our speed and depth, we hope to build off this momentum and continue to search for our true potential. A huge thank you to USC for hosting and keeping our guys and gals safe out there, this was no easy event to run.
Over our very long winter break, we were able to retain 95% of the Novice team, this is a great number and I think it can be directly related to the efforts of the Varsity. Having a varsity squad that encourages and holds the novice to the same standard as they hold themselves is a dream for a coach. I know that the Novice look up to the varsity but they also see them as teammates. This is a whole team who respects each other. Over the break, we had varsity checking in on the Novice to make sure they were still excited about the team and to make sure they were keeping up on their winter workouts. When we got back from break and we ran a fitness test, it was pretty obvious that people had taken their workouts seriously. It may seem like it is a thing of the past but the work they did then, is paying off now, as we saw on Sunday.
Another great addition to our speed increase is our new weight room! A racquetball court has been converted to a weight room for club teams and she is a beauty. We have been able to get the team three days a week with Novice and Varsity sharing the room on the third day. Having a mandatory weight schedule has really increased the athlete’s ability to get their weight workout in as well as being able to use their competitive character to encourage each other to push harder. A really big thank you to Student Rec for getting this room up and running.
We hope to see as many of you as possible at our upcoming regattas, if there is ever a time to get out and watch, it is now. Stay tuned for news and events on our webpage and sign up for our newsletter to get information faster.
Cheers,
Coach Julia Gamache
*Note on the times from Gruenberg Cup; LBSt. had entered their JV in the Novice event and raced it as “exhibition” full results can be seen here
