The crew club once again made our fall trip to Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta, the largest rowing event in the world. The varsity 8+ competed in the Club Eight event on Saturday, October 23 on the Charles River.
The Head of the Charles is widely considered to be one of the most challenging, if not the most challenging race course in rowing. Crossing under six bridges and winding through numerous turns past thousands of spectators, it is a test of not only the strength and stamina of the competing rowers, but also of the decisiveness and skill of the coxswain. Starting in the choppy waters at the mouth of the river near downtown Boston, the race finishes on a significantly narrower course 3.2 miles upriver. The Mason varsity 8+ started 13th in the race based on last year's results. For all the obstacles of the course and a driving head wind, the race was without drama for our boat. The boat crossed the finish line with a time of 16:46.026 and a place of 20th out of 42 crews. Finishing in the top half of the field means a guaranteed entry in next year's regatta, which means that the Mason Crew Club will have the privilege of competing in this event once again in 2011.
In addition to the varsity 8+ on Saturday, Bob Spousta, our coach, competed in the veteran singles [60+] event on Sunday morning, October 24, and finished 6th out of 46 scullers with an adjusted time of 19:53.440.
Information about this year's and next year's regatta can be found at the regatta website at hocr.org. Race photos will be forthcoming courtesy of sportgraphics.com. Congratulations to the Mason varsity 8+ on rowing a solid race and securing an entry for next year and to Bob Spousta for his (as always) excellent showing at this year's Charles!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Occoquan Challenge
The Crew Club kicked off the fall racing season on Sunday, October 3 at the Occoquan Challenge. A head race unlike any other on the East Coast, the Challenge calls for crews to execute a hairpin 180-degree turn in the middle of the race.
Our first race of the day was in the championship 8+ race with the varsity 8+. Mason took 8th of 12 crews, having been edged out by William & Mary by 6 seconds and by Mary Washington by a mere 4 seconds. Moving quickly from the 8+ into 4+'s, Mason made a great showing in the Club 4+ race, with our "A" 4+ taking first place, our Alumni 4+ taking 2nd, and our "B" 4+ taking 6th out of 13 crews. With over a month of training and racing on the water remaining for the we still have plenty of time to improve on this fairly solid start.
That said, we ARE still looking for anyone interested in rowing/coxing for the club. Feel free to send an email to Club President, Danny Lewis at dlewisd@gmu.edu, or head coach Bob Spousta at rspousta@gmu.edu if you have any interest in joining our club.
Our next race will be on Sunday, October 17, when the Mason Crew Club will host the Occoquan Chase on our home waters at Sandy Run Regional Park.
Our first race of the day was in the championship 8+ race with the varsity 8+. Mason took 8th of 12 crews, having been edged out by William & Mary by 6 seconds and by Mary Washington by a mere 4 seconds. Moving quickly from the 8+ into 4+'s, Mason made a great showing in the Club 4+ race, with our "A" 4+ taking first place, our Alumni 4+ taking 2nd, and our "B" 4+ taking 6th out of 13 crews. With over a month of training and racing on the water remaining for the we still have plenty of time to improve on this fairly solid start.
That said, we ARE still looking for anyone interested in rowing/coxing for the club. Feel free to send an email to Club President, Danny Lewis at dlewisd@gmu.edu, or head coach Bob Spousta at rspousta@gmu.edu if you have any interest in joining our club.
Our next race will be on Sunday, October 17, when the Mason Crew Club will host the Occoquan Chase on our home waters at Sandy Run Regional Park.
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