We LOVE the IDR.

Funny. We used to dread the Independence Day Regatta (IDR) in Philadelphia. Nothing against the regatta itself, of course. It’s expertly run. It’s scenic and historic. And, yes, we admit it … we kind of dig the “old skool” style of some of the Philly refs. (We can’t help it.)

It’s really just everything else that bummed us out. Fighting the holiday weekend traffic on the way up there. The parking (or lack thereof) once we got there. Phillies Fans (just kidding; we’ll keep baseball out of this). Driving all the way back to DC with bellies full of meat (cheesesteaks) after a million races.

Anyway. You know what we’re talking about.

So, why would we love the IDR so much now?  Because darn if they (… and we’re guessing ”they” are the Schuylkill Navy’s Carole and Clete Graham) didn’t go make it SO easy for us to find every single Potomac Boat Club athlete signed up to race this weekend! All 45 or so of you!

Below is the list of the PBC folks you’ll want to root for – or watch out for – this weekend up in Philly.  See the numbers by each name?  Those are event numbers. Links to events and race schedules are below the list.

We just hope it’s as easy to get the big medal count next week after the regatta.  Row hard, PBC!

Potomac B.C. Competitors – IDR 2010

Al-Naji, Nader 13, 45
Bates, Philip 13, 17
Bryant, Virginia 29
Buffkin, Beverly 29
Calabro, Rosemarie 2
Capps, Cheryl 2, 29
Caraher, Hanne 29
Casey, Alex 13, 17
Chambers, Mary Beth 2, 29
Charles-Chisholm, Debbie 2, 29
Conzemius, Cory 2, 29
Desautels, Denise 29
Durfee, Camilla 31
Farber, Courtney 2, 29
Flanders, Joanna 2, 29
Fry, Kathy 2
Gellatly, Gordon 17, 27, 38
Hanlon, Joe 17, 27
Holland, Nick 58, 72
Kandell, Ellen 2, 8, 29
Kelleher, Elizabeth 29
Krawczyk, Lissa 44
Lacey, Patrick 17, 37
Landauer, Kathleen 2, 29
McCullough, Joani 2
Meade, Elliot 17, 27
Means, Marilyn 2, 29
Moncton, Jonathan 51
Myers, Tip 17, 27
O’Connor, S. A. 2, 29
O’Keefe, Catie 2, 29
Petrisko, Nancy 29
Pietra, Peter 59, 72
Rasmussen, Rob 13, 45
Richhart, Will 17, 38
Ryan, Ed 58, 72
Stainken, Katherine 44
Sternbach, Sally 2, 29
Sutliff, Cal 31, 58
Thom, Daniel 13, 38
Vihstadt, Ben 13, 38
Young, Giorgio 12
Young, Neal 58

Race schedules and other reports (yep, lifted right from the Boathouse Row IDR site at http://www.boathouserow.org/rega10/idr10.html):

Friday	html	pdf	Condensed race schedule	Coaches report
Saturday	html	pdf	Condensed race schedule	Coaches report
Sunday	html	pdf	Condensed race schedule	Coaches report

Potomac Gear Galore! Order by July 5th to save.

The Potomac Boat Club JL Racing Team Store is open!

Order by Monday, July 5, 2010, at midnight (PST) to save on your PBC JL Racing gear and get it by the planned ship date of August 3, 2010.  Get PBC hats and Henley-style tees from JL, too!

Check your email for a link to the store and instructions from Club Rowing Committee Chair Sylvia Frayne sent through the Yahoo group today or ask your team captains for more information.

[We'd give you the store link and Sylvia's contact info here, but it's bad enough we like to put on our PBC unis and send her random email messages. She probably doesn't need a thousand Internet trolling strangers doing it, too.]

Oh!  For those of you who wrote us about PBC rowing jackets, we’ve been working with Boathouse Sports (the official apparel supplier of the National Team) on jackets and other gear for the fall.  We plan to have the Boathouse PBC Team ordering site up by August, and the gear into your hot little hands by September.

You didn’t really need a Gortex jacket in August anyway, did you? Click here for a preview of how good you will look in September, but in red.  Even better!

Watch Potomac at National Championships now!

It’s not too late to catch our PBC Open scullers slug it out at the 2010 USRowing National Championships!  Watch live streaming video at http://rowing.teamusa.org/live.

Those left to race include Nicole Dinion and Brittany Robinson in the women’s lightweight 2x at 9:40!  (Like, really … you have four minutes. Git.)

Finally, Matt Madigan reminds us that PBC’s Open Scullers can’t do this without our support. Watch for tax deductible ways to donate through the Potomac River Sports Foundation to help these talented athletes continue to meet their elite rowing goals.

We are so proud of all of you!  Way to go, PBC!

WeCanRow DC

Potomac Boat Club is very proud to host WeCanRow DC, a volunteer-directed, not-for-profit, educational and support organization offering breast cancer survivors an introduction to sweep rowing, and ongoing recreational and competitive rowing opportunities.

Below is our WeCanRow DC photo gallery! If you have WeCanRow DC photos to share, please send them to Penelope at editor@potomacstar.com.

For more information about WeCanRow DC, please visit their web site at http://www.wecanrowdc.org.

PBC Men go for a cuptastic Henley 2010

From June 30 to July 4, Potomac Boat Club Men’s Sweep Team will compete for the Thames Challenge Cup, the prize awarded to the winner of the Men’s Club Eight event at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta.

The regatta, first held in 1839, takes place annually on the River Thames near the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. More than 500 crews from 20 nations will compete this year, including our own.

PBC men last competed at Henley in 2007. They were the only U.S. crew to make it to the Thames Challenge Cup quarterfinals. A few of the guys from 2007 are returning this year and hope to better their result. We think they will.

The 2010 crew includes Apollo Nguyen (cox), Chad Jungbluth, Paul Holland, John Forrest, Mike McCarthy, Bob Price (PBC President), Brian Wood, Nick Davies, and Tom Brock.

Each event at Henley is a single-elimination competition; in other words, you could be one and done, or get to play all week.  Boats race two at a time down a 2,112 meter-long course so narrow, there are only a few meters to spare when side-by-side. Adding to the potential drama (and undoubtedly, the regatta”s popularity with spectators), the course is lined by floating, unforgiving wooden bars or booms. Steering into the boom is known by onlookers as a “Henley Royal F[oul]-up,” and offending coxswains must wear crowns emblazoned with the same for the remainder of the regatta. (Just kidding about that last part. Maybe.)

On Saturday, June 26th, if all the guys make it into town on time, PBC will tune up and shake off the jet lag at the Reading Town Regatta.  Once racing starts at Henley, you can follow the guys as they battle through the competition by signing up for Twitter, Facebook or any of the other Henley results services offered at http://hrr.co.uk/pdisp.php?pid=316.  In the meantime, below we’ve included an alphabetical list of the clubs PBC will have to beat to advance, followed by a list of past PBC winners at Henley.

Safe travels and best of luck to Apollo and our crew. Row hard, guys!

~

The Thames Challenge Cup
Current holders: Molesey Boat Club A

1829 Boat Club
Abingdon Rowing Club
Agecroft Rowing Club
Broxbourne Rowing Club
Carlow Rowing Club, Ireland
Combined Services Rowing Club
Curlew Rowing Club
Durham Amateur Rowing Club
Galway Rowing Club, Ireland
Henley Rowing Club
HSBC Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club
Lea Rowing Club
London Rowing Club ‘A’
London Rowing Club ‘B’
Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club
Molesey Boat Club ‘A’
Molesey Boat Club ‘B’
Potomac Boat Club, U.S.A.
Putney Town Rowing Club
Reading Rowing Club
Runcorn Rowing Club
St. Michael’s Rowing Club, Ireland
Sons of the Thames Rowing Club
Staines Boat Club
Star Club
Thames Rowing Club ‘A’
Thames Rowing Club ‘B’
Thames Rowing Club ‘C’
Thames Tradesmen’s Rowing Club
Twickenham Rowing Club
Upper Thames Rowing Club
Vesta Rowing Club
West End Rowing Club, New Zealand
York City Rowing Club

~

Past Winners of the Henley Royal Regatta – PBC and Washington & Lee High School

1964

Washington-Lee High School
 

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup

1969

Washington-Lee High School

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup

1973

Potomac Boat Club
 

Silver Goblets & Nickalls Challenge Cup

1975

Potomac Boat Club

Stewards’ Challenge Cup

1980

Potomac Boat Club

Silver Goblets & Nickalls Challenge Cup

1996

Potomac Boat Club & National Training Ctr.

Double Sculls Challenge Cup

Protected: 2010 May – Club Boat Inventory

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Protected: 2010 September PBC Member Handbook

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Protected: 2010 February Board Meeting

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Henley 2010 – Men’s Sweep Practice

Below are some random photos taken of Potomac Boat Club’s Men’s Sweep practice, on Thursday, June 3, 2010.  This year, the men return to the UK, to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta (June 30 – July 4).

We hope to have more information on the lineup and race schedule soon.  Stay tuned.