Darrell Winslow Regatta

19 April 2008

On a warm summer-like day (did we skip Spring?), accented by strong winds, Woodson returned to normal lineups and number of entries. At the Darrell Winslow, your Woodson team advanced your First Men’s and Women’s Eights and the First Men’s Four advanced through Heats to Finals. Your First Men’s and Women’s Eights both placed fourth in the Finals by very narrow margins. This is a significant achievement for your team as we have not raced “heavy” Eights in recent memory. Your team also achieved two First Place, four Second Place and one Third Place finishes (does not include the First Eight’s Heat places). This brings your team’s total accomplishments to twenty-four of thirty boats raced placing in the top three of their events.

The day began in what now appears to have become a tradition, with the Men’s First Four advancing to Finals, placing second in the First Men’s Four Heat. The First Women’s Four, although pulling hard and looking good, placed fourth and did not advance. This was followed by the First Men’s Eight placing first in a hotly contested Heat, and the First Women’s Eight placing second, both advancing to Finals. In our last morning event, the Men’s Lightweight Eight, racing “up” in the Men’s Second Eight category, placed third overall and second against Madison in the Lightweight category.

After the afternoon break, the Men’s Fourth/Novice Eight placed third.
Both freshmen Eight’s races were exceptionally exciting, with the freshmen Men winning first by a bow-ball, and the freshmen Women placing second by a bow-ball. In our final event of the day, your Women’s Second Eight continued their dominance by an open-water, pulling away first place.

Detailed results can be found at: http://www.ronincorporateventures.com/resultsoutput.asp?p=default&pt=rowing&GroupID=230&ItemID=159802;ASC&Year=2008&PopUp=True

We have one more “tune-up” regatta, the Al-Urquia, before the Championship series begins. Championships will begin with the Ted Phoenix Novice Championships followed by the VHSL Championships. Performance at these two regattas will determine eligibility for the Scholastic Rowing Association Championships in Oakridge, TN. Qualifications are as follows:

• First Varsity Eights: Top six in state (make Finals)
• Second Varsity Eights: Top three in state (third in Finals)
• Junior Eights: Top four in state (qualification unclear – use different categories than NCASRA)
• Lightweight Eights: Top three in state (third in Finals)
• First Fours: Top six in state (make Finals)
• Junior Fours: Top four (fourth in Finals)
• Freshmen Eights: Top three in the stated (third in Finals)

More information may be found at http://www.sraa.net.

- Coach Fitz