State Regatta

Saturday Nov. 12 LSU, Northwestern State University and Tulane University competed in the biannual State Rowing Championships of Louisiana in New Orleans.

The race was the last of each team’s season and the first 2,000-meter race of the season. This race served as a preview for the spring sprint race season.

The venue was the New Orleans Outfall Canal. The navigable portion of the canal is just over 2,000 meters.

The canal is narrow, so races were separated into flights. All of the boats in the first flight would row to the starting line and wait for each of the races in flight one to finish. After every race finished, flight two launched and rowed to the start. There were three flights total.

Tulane won all events except the Men’s Varsity 4+, which was won by LSU, and the Novice 4+, which was won by Northwestern State.

The conditions in the canal proved to be problematic for participants. The first 500 meters of the racecourse were covered in a thick layer of duckweed and debris.

Rowing through the duckweed was difficult. It weighed down the oars and slowed the boats as they cut through the scum. By the end of the races in the second flight, boats and rowers were coated in a layer of green.

Several boats hit logs hidden under the duckweed. Those boats suffered broken skegs early in the race and struggled to navigate through the three bridges on the racecourse.

By the final flight, the wind had blown the weeds so far up the racecourse that races were shortened to 1,500 meters.

At the end of the day, equipment malfunctions cost each team at least one race.

When the conditions were taken into consideration, our team was proud of the results and hopeful for a strong 2K season in the spring.

A late lunch on the levee and an afternoon spent with teammates in sun made for the perfect end of the day and of the fall season.

Head of the Hooch- Trip Home/Game of the Century

Our team finished packing the trailer and boarded our charter bus to leave the race site by 5 p.m.

For this trip we rented a bus and paid an extra fee to have satellite TV so we could watch the LSU vs. Alabama football game. We, as dedicated LSU students, had been highly anticipating this game that had been dubbed The Game of the Century.

Everyone on the bus was excited to watch the game and cheer for the Tigers, even if we could not be in Tuscaloosa for the game.

When we got on the bus for the return trip, we immediately noticed a problem. When we switched the channel to CBS we were greeted with an all grey screen with the message, “No service. For subscription information call [Direct TV toll free number].”

Our captain made calls to Direct TV, the bus company, our coach who was driving separately with the trailer and numerous sports bars along the route home showing the game over the two hours until kickoff. As time and phone conversations wore on, it became increasingly doubtful that we would be able to watch the game.

An hour before kickoff, Jonathan Dejean, our captain and one of the most die hard LSU fans I know, announced that there was no way for us to watch the game. Instead we would be stopping for dinner as quickly as possible and re-boarding the bus to listen to the game on the radio.

I was devastated. I have been a devout LSU fan my entire life. I am a third generation LSU student. My grandfather was in Tiger Stadium on Halloween night when Billy Canon made his famous rumbling punt return. Both my mother and father were students at the “Earthquake Game” against Auburn in 1988. All of my family agreed; this game against Alabama was the most hyped game in memory.

To add to my angst, my father and brother had made the trip to watch the regatta and were staying an extra night with a family friend in Chattanooga. My coach had given me permission to stay with them an extra night and ride home separately from the team.

I debated whether I should stay or ride with the team. In the end a cramped bus seat, 15-inch screen and the guaranteed camaraderie of my 60 teammates trumped the promise of a warm bed and reliable high-definition cable.

As long as I got to watch the game I would be fine.

I silently brooded while I bought my dinner after Dejean made the announcement.

When we got back on the bus we tuned the radio to a station broadcasting the game. We were driving through Alabama at the time and the only station we could pick up was broadcasting out of Tuscaloosa as part of the Crimson Tide Sports Radio Network.

The homerism made me sick.

But as the game progressed my teammates and I became less frustrated with the situation and more anxious about the outcome.

When a big play happened we collectively groaned or cheered.

By the time the game went into overtime, the bus had reached Meridian, Mississippi and the edge of the radio range. The reception crackled in and out. The voice of the announcer was overwhelmed by static.

We heard bits and pieces of the commentary. It was first-and-ten. then there was some kind of penalty. All of the sudden Montgomery made a third-down sack and Alabama was lining up for a 52-yard field goal to take the lead.

When they missed we went nuts.

Everyone was standing in front of his or her seat with an ear pressed to a speaker straining to hear what happened when LSU had the ball.

The static got worse, but the words and phrases we caught from the Alabama announcers became more depressed. When we lined up for a field goal the station started to change to one playing oldies, but it faded back to the staticy broadcast of the game in time for us to hear “The kick is up… and good. The Alabama Crimson Tide has lost its first game of the season.”

The bus erupted.

As upset as I initially was that I did not get to watch the game and that I had not chosen to stay with my family in Chattanooga, I realize now that my experience Saturday night is one that I will value forever.

I have not touched on it much in this blog, but our team has always put fellowship first. We realize that we may not win every race or any regatta, but even if we were to do so those accomplishments would pale in comparison to the value of the tight-knit community of life-long friendships our team has created.

Saturday is a perfect example of that. I will probably forget what place my boat finished in my first Head of the Hooch within a matter of years.

But someday I will tell my grandchildren about my boat mates and I the night we didn’t watch The Game of the Century.

(photo courtesy of Courtney Mills)

Head of the Hooch- Race Day

Head of the Hooch

LSU Rowing competed in the “Last of the Great Fall Regattas,” Head of the Hooch, in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Saturday Nov. 5.

(The hectic scene as some of the 1600+ boats entered in Head of the Hooch launch and recover)

The morning started with temperatures in the high 30s and an hour-long fog delay.

Once the fog lifted, the women’s varsity 8+ was the first of our boats to compete. Next was the men’s varsity 4+, followed by the men’s varsity 8+ and the men’s novice 8+.

(The LSU Men's Varsity 4+ as it approaches the 4000-meter mark)

In the afternoon temperatures reached the mid 60s and the gusts of wind that had made the race course choppy the day before were nonexistent. The women’s varsity 4+ and the women’s novice 8+ A and B boats enjoyed the improved weather for their races in the afternoon.

Overall the results were underwhelming. Our boats finished in the middle of the pack in virtually all of the races.

The pool of talent at this race was unlike anything we had ever seen in head racing. The women’s college club novice 8+ division had 49 entrants, Earlier in the season at Hobbs Island, the same division had only eight boats entered.

(A shot of boats approaching the finish of the Women's Novice 8+ event)

The places we finished in each race may have been disappointing, but the weekend as a whole was immensely rewarding.

We competed in this year’s largest regatta in the country. We had a great time watching a day full of rowing among a close-knit group of friends at the most beautiful venue I could have imagined.

Our expectations for next year will without a doubt be raised. But for now we will head into the home stretch of the fall season content with this year’s experience in Chattanooga.

(All photos courtesy of Courtney Mills)

Head of the Hooch- Arrival/Practice Session

This weekend LSU Rowing traveled to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Head of the Hooch Regatta.

We groggily boarded a charter bus at our dock at 2:30 a.m. and made the long drive to Chattanooga. We arrived at the race site around 3:00 to see the most competitors we had ever seen.

Everything about this race is big.

The Head of the Hooch is the second largest regatta in the country. More than 1,200 boats have entered. In comparison, the Hobbs Island Regatta that we participated in earlier in the season had only 152 entries.

(Crews set out their oars near the launch dock to ease the launching process on race day.)

The river is big. We will be rowing on the Tennessee River as it passes through downtown Chattanooga. At Hobbs Island we rowed on the Tennessee as well, but we stayed in a small channel sheltered from the wind and waves of the main stream.

The venue is picturesque. The racecourse ends in the middle of downtown Chattanooga. Crews will row past the Hunter Art Museum, Tennessee Aquarium, the Bluff View Art District and numerous parks along the river.

The sheer volume of boats trying to launch for practice sessions before the race made things difficult this afternoon. A few of the boats LSU Rowing planned on racing tomorrow did not get to practice.

The crews that did get to practice experienced what I found to be the most beautiful rowing venue I have encountered in my short rowing career. The water was clear. The trees covering the mountains lining the racecourse were displaying their brilliant fall colors. Beautiful buildings sat atop steep cliffs along the river. The sky was clear, there was a slight breeze and the temperature was just cool enough.

Everyone, whether they rowed today or not, is looking forward to tomorrow’s races.

(Photo courtesy of Courtney Mills)

The Little Things- Weather

This is my first post in what will be a semi-regular series on the idiosyncrasies that make rowing unique.

The weather affects all athletes, but in the sport of rowing it seems those effects are magnified.

Baton Rouge is experiencing a cold snap. Temperatures at practice this morning hovered in the upper 30s. I am sure Northern readers would scoff at the thought of Baton Rougeans shivering in and complaining about such temperatures.

But for rowers, low temperatures are absolutely unbearable and in many cases unsafe. For safety reasons USRowing suggests a combination of air and water temperatures that add up to 100. Our lake has no tributaries that bring cold water from melting of snow and ice up north. The water temperature stays warm enough to keep the aggregate temperature over that level year round.

In other sports rain causes the cancelation of sporting events and rowing is no exception. But because our lake is landlocked, a lack of rain leads to dangerously low water levels.

A sewer pipe runs across the University Lake. When the water level is low there is only one spot where boats can cross the pipe without the skeg, a fin at the bottom of the boat for stabilization, hitting it and breaking off.

It has been weeks since it rained in Baton Rouge. The pace of morning practice is sluggish as boats get congested at the buoy that marks the safest crossing of the pipe. Novice coxswains have broken three skegs this week from collisions with the pipe and other obstructions on the lakebed.

An early morning fog may slow down rugby player or power lifter’s drive to practice, but keeps rowers off the water due to a lack of visibility.

Whether practice is on the water or limited to the land, the team is working hard to prepare for the Head of the Hooch Regatta scheduled for Nov. 5 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Hobbs Island Regatta 2011

Saturday LSU Rowing opened its season with the Hobbs Island Regatta in Huntsville, Alabama.

Each fall we begin the head racing season with a trip to Hobbs Island.

Head races are in the time trial format of racing and are typically over a longer distance than the sprint races in the spring. Boats are started at intervals. Crews cannot rely on their position in relation to the other boats to tell them how they will fair in the final standings.

For our team, this race was about knocking off the rust of a long summer. In previous years our team has had a good showing at this race. Last year our men’s varsity eight placed third, our women’s varsity four placed second and our women’s novice eight tied for first.

In previous years, the course started on a stretch of the Tennessee River that was open. After 2,000 meters of the 5,000 meter race the course veered into a sheltered channel formed by Hobbs Island, the race’s namesake. The last 500 meters of the race returned to the open water and the rough conditions that came with it.

This year the racecourse was altered slightly. The starting line was moved to within the calm waters of the channel and the race was shortened to 4,500 meters.

The weather for race day could not have been any better. The wind stayed calm until the last events of the day. Skies were clear and the temperature was in the upper 70s.

At the end of the day LSU Rowing placed third in the women’s varsity eight and fourth in the men’s varsity eight, men’s novice eight and the women’s varsity four. The women’s novice eight placed fifth, the men’s varsity eight placed sixth and the women’s novice second eight placed ninth.

The surprise of the day came when the Men’s Collegiate Eight division was changed to the Men’s Open Eight. With the change came the addition of the McCallie Preparatory School and Montgomery Bell Academy, two high schools.

Montgomery Bell performed as expected. They gave a great showing, but finished last.

McCallie blew everyone out of the water. They posted a time of 14:12.54, beating Vanderbilt by 10 seconds, Tulane by 30 seconds and LSU by a minute.

As a rower in the LSU boat, I had the vantage point of watching McCallie as they rowed straight through the boat from the University of Tennessee- Chattanooga and as they passed my boat in the last 250 meters.

They rowed a remarkably clean race. They balanced power and technique in seamlessly. They remained composed from start to finish and embarrassed rowers competitors older than themselves.

My hat is off to them.

Hobbs Island Regatta- A Look Back

This week the team prepared for a trip to Huntsville, Alabama for the annual Hobbs Island Regatta.

LSU Rowing opens its season in the Hobbs Island Regatta each fall. Last year, the race at Hobbs was my first.

That first race was a disaster. At the time of the race, my boat had only three weeks of experience on the water. We had serious issues to sort out, but whether we were ready or not we were thrust into the realm of competition.

The race went surprisingly well until we reached the 3,000-meter mark. We had been gaining ground on the Auburn boat that had started in the interval before us. At the 3,000-meter mark we passed by fans lined up on the bluff over looking the river.

All of our teammates were cheering, and everyone in the boat wanted to impress our teammates. Without prompting from our coxswain everyone decided to pull the hardest, most hurried strokes we had ever pulled. Technique was thrown to the wind, which also increased from a gentle breeze to a strong gust.

With the wind came rougher water. In the chop, rowers missed water on some strokes and were unable to clear their blade on others. Alex Templeton, the rower sitting in the eight seat, gave a tremendous push and caught nothing but air. The water did not slow the force he exerted and he pushed himself out of his shoes. His feet went above his head and he flopped into the lap of the rower behind him.

The sight of him pushing out of his shoes and his flailing attempts to get back into his shoes captured the essence of that race for us. As novices we were eager to compete, but in the sport of rowing where the victor must strike a balance between grace and power that eagerness is what did us in.

Out of the field of nine we finished sixth.

The disaster that was that race served as an opportunity for my boat mates and me to grow as rowers and to grow together as a team.

As embarrassing as that experience was, I would not trade it for a first place medal. Alex may tell you differently.

(Pictured Right- The LSU Rowing Mens Novice Eight displaying less than stellar form)

Photo courtesy of Courtney Mills

Extended Training Session- Bayou Plaquemine

The first week novice practice culminated in a trip to Bayou Plaquemine for an all day training session.

Our usual practice location is the University Lake on LSU’s campus. The lake is great because of its convenient location; most team members can walk to practice, but its size greatly limits the quality of practice.

The navigable section of the lake only allows 1,500 meters of uninterrupted rowing. Our shortest races are 2,000 meters. Because the lake is so shallow, a pipe that runs along the bottom threatens the skeg if it is crossed in all but one buoyed area of the lake.

The long stretches of open water at Plaquemine offer an opportunity for developing endurance and technique in way that is not possible at our daily practices.

We met at our dock on Dalrymple Drive Saturday morning, loaded the trailer and piled into our personal cars for the twenty-minute drive.

Practicing in Plaquemine created its own complications. The Bayou Plaquemine boat launch does not have a dock low enough to allow a fully rigged scull to pull alongside. Because of that lack we were forced to “wet launch.”

Wet launching requires rowers to walk down the boat launch and, essentially, parallel park the boat at an appropriate depth. If done properly the only part of the rower that gets wet is from the calves down.

It is rarely done properly.

This training session was the first time for the new novices to row without varsity rowers giving in-boat guidance. It was rocky at first, but serious progress was made.

Varsity boats had the opportunity to row at a steady pace for our full race distance. My boat had its best row of the season.

After 4.5 hours of  water time, we loaded our sore sunburned bodies into our cars are returned home.

New Members

This week our club was flooded with potential new members.

Our morning practices in just one short week went from having a group of around thirty returning members to being overwhelmed with just shy of ninety.

So where did all of these people come from? The answer lies in a few places.

Some where convinced to join the team by friends who were already members. Others were interested in the sport and contacted our Vice President of Public Relations through our website. By far, the vast majority decided to come out to practice because they learned about the team from the LSU Student Involvement Fair.

Last week LSU held it's Student Involvement Fair on the Parade Grounds as it does every semester. Along with the other sports clubs, religious groups, political groups and service groups LSU Rowing set up a booth. Current members of the club enthusiastically approached any passersby that gave our set-up more than a glance.

Some people feigned interest and others were down right rude. Many seemed genuinely interested and asked if any prior experience was required. It was not. They asked questions about competitions and club dues and after a while they would ask "When do you practice?"

At which point the recruiter would hesitate and say begrudgingly "Six a.m. every week-day." Which he or she would quickly follow with an explanation that it is the only time that no one is busy and that after the first week it just becomes a part of the routine

Most people came up with a polite excuse for why the no longer had any interest at all in the club. A few just laughed at the idea of being up that early, but some brave souls were undeterred and signed up to attend the first week of practice and receive informational emails.

We hosted two "Learn to Row" days in the afternoon at our dock. The potential new members came and learned about the basics of a rowing stroke, the parts of a boat, proper technique on the ergometer and the details of how the club is run.

Monday morning the masses came to practice and coaches, assistants, club officers and returning members shuffled people around in the dark, dividing them into boats and running groups.

The group of new members that was able to go onto the water learned the one of the best reasons to start practice every morning while it is still dark.

So we can watch the sunrise.

It was a good one.

Welcome

Rowing clubs across the United States face challenges unique to the sport in their struggle to stay afloat.

Success or failure on race-day often hinges on factors beyond the oarsmen's control. Adverse weather conditions, faulty equipment and so many other disadvantages take an immeasurable toll on the crew in its pursuit of victory. Issues such as these make the day-to-day operation of a successful rowing program even more difficult.

These problems are often magnified for developing programs outside of the established rowing communities of the east and west coasts. 

This blog will attempt to bring light to the problems faced for young collegiate clubs in the American Southeast and will specifically chronicle the struggles of the growing Louisiana State University Rowing Club. It will also serve as a learning experience for me, the blog's main author and a proud member of the LSU Rowing Club. 

I do not believe that I know enough about the sport to make overreaching judgements on the sport as a whole, but I firmly believe that my perspective gives me a view on rowing that differs from the norm.

I hope to share my views with you.