Green Lake Junior Crew joined 51 other teams on the shores of Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Washington May 17-19 for the US Rowing Northwest Youth Championships. Together our 145 rowers made a strong showing with many boats medaling and a few qualifying for nationals.
“Overall, we had one of our best regionals, with one of the best outings as one Green Lake team” said Coby Stites, Green Lake experienced girls’ coach.
Girls’ results
The varsity-8 lightweight boat took first place and qualified for nationals – the first time since 2011 that Green Lake Crew has qualified in this category. Green Lake also raced two lightweight-4s in two separate races. The first lightweight-4 came in third, and the second lightweight-4 placed first.
The varsity-8 came in second, after being slightly edged out by Holy Names Academy.
“We had a rough start giving Holy Names a four-seat lead at the start,” said Stites. “We made up for it by coming in second — only 1.5-seconds behind Holy Names.”
Despite the second place finish, the varsity-8 qualified for nationals – extending Green Lake Crew’s long record of qualifying for nationals in this category.
Green Lake also raced two varsity-4s, placing second and first, respectively.
“The 3V and 4V squads raced very well,” Stites added. “They really finished the season on a high note.”
Green Lake novice girls also raced extremely well and made a good showing at their first regionals.
See all the race results from regionals.
Boys’ results
“The boys’ team had a great end to the regular season,” said Scott Selfridge, head boys’ coach. “They are well positioned for next year after competitive finishes in almost every event.”
The varsity and junior varsity boats made a great showing at regionals. Despite a disappointing result in the varsity-8, they finished second in the varsity-4, and fourth in the varsity-quad.
“We are lucky this year to continue onto nationals in the four,” said Selfridge. “Then we will return to Seattle for a short week before boarding another plane bound for the Henley Royal Regatta, in the UK.”
The junior varsity finished second in their race with an impressive sprint in the last 500 meters. They will accompany the varsity boat to Henley in June.
The third and fourth varsity boats finished fourth and second, respectively, in their events against some very tough and competitive teams.
“This ends an incredible year for these two boats, who raced hard and really matured throughout the season,” said Selfridge. “Big things lay ahead for this group next year.”
The novice boys raced hard and finished their season strong. They finished second in the first novice event — in a timed final due to weather conditions. The second and third novice-8s also raced in a timed final, placing third and fifth, respectively, in a ten-boat event.
“It’s been a great year so far, and certainly a lot of fun. We still have work to do, and the boys are fired up to finish strong, said Selfridge. “Thank you to all the seniors for your hard work, and dedication! To the guys coming back next year – ‘any seat, any boat, any time!’”
See all the race results from regionals.
No food, no medals
What powers our rowers to push themselves during competition? A team of parent volunteers serving nutritious meals in the Green Lake Crew food tent. Headed up by Emily Marks and Patty Finney, this year the parents prepared four meals for regionals: Breakfast on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot of meals, but actually it’s weeks of preparation and a day-plus of shopping,” said Marks.
The volunteers also transformed a large tent space into an outdoor kitchen featuring two grills, a food preparation area, a dish washing station and buffet serving area.
“At regattas, there is a lot of down time in between my daughter’s races,” said Erika Hermanson, parent of an experienced girl. “Working in the food tent is a great way to pass the time – all while working with a fun group of parents and getting to know the kids on the team.”
All lanes lead to nationals
The girls’ varsity-8 and varsity lightweight-8, and the boys’ varsity-4 will represent Green Lake Crew at the 2019 US Rowing Youth National Championships, June 6-9 in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida.
“While all Northwest programs root for one another at nationals, we want to be the fastest crew in the Northwest” said Stites. “Our friends from Holy Names have provided the girls a level of motivation we would not have gotten on our own.”
Nationals: Watch live-streamed races or view race schedules
Although the race schedule has not been finalized, here is the tentative schedule (all times are Eastern Daylight Time and are approximate):
Thursday, June 6 – Time Trials
- 10:40 a.m. — Men’s 4+
- 12:16 p.m. — Women’s Lightweight 8+
- 12:52 p.m. — Women’s 8+
Friday, June 7 – Repecharges
- 10:40 a.m. — Men’s 4+
- Noon — Women’s Lightweight 8+
- Noon(ish) — Women’s 8 (after women’s lightweight 8+)
Saturday, June 8 – Semifinals
- 10:40 a.m. — Men’s 4+
- 11:15 a.m. — Women’s Lightweight 8+
- 11:45 a.m. — Women’s 8+
Sunday, June 9 — Finals
- 9:40 a.m. — Men’s 4+ — 9:40 a.m.
- 10:40 a.m. — Women’s Lightweight 8+
- 10:50 a.m. — Women’s 8+
