Senior Rowing Programme in Seattle (November 6-8)

9 November 2009Jim Ganley

On Friday afternoon, 32 students boarded a bright yellow school bus and headed to Seattle to compete in two regattas. It is one thing to organize a trip for 32 athletes, a boat trailer, hotels, entry fees, money for food, (thank you Mrs.Sage), but you also have to worry about getting a multinational group of students through a Canadian-American border. On the bus were three Americans, a German, and a student with a British passport who lives in Mexico. There was also our newest Canadian, Mark Zhong, who still holds his Chinese passport, his Canadian citizenship card but no Canadian passport as of yet. The American border guards were in a great mood and we got through with only a few extra visas to be signed. For some of the students, this was the first regatta experience for them. For the three Grade 10’s and twelve Grade 11’s, this was their first senior trip to Seattle. On Saturday the Club competed in the Frostbite Regatta. This is a 1000 meter race on Green Lake which is in the middle of the city. A beautiful location however, the weather did not cooperate. The northwest winds wreaked havoc on the course and after eight races the regatta was canceled. During those eight races Brentwood won three gold. Deirdre Huestis, Erin Young, Stephanie Ridenour, Adelaide Backer and Erica Mayer, racing in the varsity women’s coxed quad held on win the gold, beating Green Lake crew by 0.6 of a second. This was their first race in this combination. Toby Green, Mike Hayward, Dan Robinson, Martin Barakso and Jack Kornfeld took control of their race in the first ten strokes and cruised to a 2 length victory over Everett and Green Lake. Mark Zhong, Evan Marback, Connor McGuigan, Andrew Crowley and Alex Carr made a major move in the middle of the race and moved out on the Deep Cove crew from Vancouver to win the gold medal. Three races – three gold medals. Who knows how many gold medals the crews could have won if the racing continued throughout the entire schedule. New Grade 11 student , Cam York was recruited to jump into a composite men’s coxed quad with two Green Lake athletes and two athletes from NorCal Rowing Club of San Francisco. The crew had a great race and finished second in their heat. With the regatta canceled and the rain coming down in buckets and the wind blowing in gale force gusts, we decided to load the trailer, head to the University of Washington and unload the trailer. I have never seen 32 teenage athletes work so fast and efficiently to get the boats, blades and riggers off the trailer and get themselves back on the bus. With an entire afternoon to find something to do, we went to Northgate Mall, which was right beside the hotel and let them off at the food court for a few hours. At 3:00 pm we all met back at the hotel to spend a few hours studying on the material missed from Saturday’s classes. Team dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen and a few sets of our cheerleading parents, team meeting back at the hotel, 10:00 pm bed check – the full day was finally over. Sunday: Head of the Lake Regatta – University of Washington The Head of the Lake Regatta is a 5 km race from the shores of downtown on Lake Union through the Montlake Cut and finishing off in front of the Conibear Crewhouse on the shores of Lake Washington. In head style racing, crews start one after the other in fifteen second intervals. For Brentwood this was their first regatta of the season. For all the American clubs, this was the last regatta of their season which started last February. Sunday morning was a masterful array of scheduling nightmares. Starting off at 5:40 am, Derek Garside started the first of many shuttles between the hotel and the course. The coxswains headed down the the Hec Edmonson Building to take part in the coaches and coxswains meeting. This meeting is held in the same room as the famous University of Washington Husky football team meet before going out to battle against the other universities. At 6:20 am the boys Junior A eight came down the the course to get ready for their race at 8:09 am. The crew was made up of Evan Marback, Ben Coull, Dan Robinson, Martin Barakso, Eric Jackson, Adam Galbraith, Connor McGuigan, Andrew Crowley and coxswain Alex Carr. An issue with a few of the Lake Washington dock marshalls held the crew up for 20 minutes before they could get on the water. The crew raced up to the start to not miss their start time. Starting 6th, the Brentwood crew raced in a vacuum, rowing away from their competition starting 7th but starting forty seconds behind the 5th starting crew. At the finish line, the Brentwood crew finished 6th, thirteen seconds behind the winners, Rose City of Portland Oregon. The rest of the squad had a brief sleep in and arrived at the course as the boys Jr.A eight was coming off the water. The second Brentwood crew to hit the water was the Girl’s Varsity Quad. The crew made up of Cassidy Johnston, Erin Young, Deirdre Huestis, Stephanie Ridenour and Adelaide Backer were well organized and prepared for their race. Starting 6th, Cassidy weaved her way through the winding course with great precision, like her tour of duty at the Head of the Charles a year ago. The crew came off the water knowing that they had a good race. When the results came in, the girls placed 3rd and were the top high school in the event. We put two crews into the boys Jr.A JV race. The lightweight eight consisting of Sean Hacking, Paiton Brierley, Ryan Cooley, Dylan Glazier, Jordan Wille, Dillon Horth, Riley McCrossan, Cam York and coxswain Jack Kornfeld, started in 5th position. A great spirit in the boat, the boys raced with grit and determination, finishing 2nd, the best result ever by a Brentwood crew at this regatta. The Jr.A JV 8+ consisted of three complete novice rowers, David Lawrence Ramirez, our Brit living in Mexico, Landon Goold from Vancouver and Henryk Schmieleau, our German exchange student. New Grade 12 student Mike Hayward from Duncan, Jr.B rower Brett Leighton and three returning rowers, Mark Zhong, Toby Green and Dan Hilhorst made up the crew. The boating order for the crew was decided on minutes before bringing the boat down to the dock. The night before, in our crew meeting, we talked about goal setting and expectations. Dan Hilhorst, Toby Green, Brett Leighton and Mark Zhong are all national champions at the junior level. Of the fourteen crews racing in the Jr.A JV event and we set finishing in the top half of the draw as the goal for the crew. Finishing 8th, four seconds out of 7th was a great result for this new crew. With the trailer loaded, bags packed, checked out of the hotel, three hour bus ride, border crossing, ninety-five minute ferry ride, one hour bus ride, we finally returned to the school. The thirty-two athletes and the two coaches would like to thank the following people. These trips are a great experience for the students. However, little is known in how these trips unfold from an organizational perspective. Mr. Tony Carr for assisting in the coaching ranks. Mr. Vermegen for taking on the task of driving the trailer to Seattle for the first time. The top shelf bus driver, and blade carrier, Derek Garside. Mrs. Crossley and Mrs. May for all their work behind the scenes with the consent forms and border crossing documents. The kitchen in organizing boxes of snacks for the athletes on the trip. Finally a big thank you to Mrs.Sage for planning a seamless trip, again. The next regatta for the Club is not until February. The next four months will give all of the athletes an opportunity to hone their skills on the water and get fitter and stronger on land.

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