30th Annual Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac

• Click here to register!

Ms. Samantha Byrd, chair of Potomac Boat Club’s Regatta Committee, is proud to announce that the 30th Annual Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac (SHOP) will be held this year on Sunday, September 26.

The regatta is held in memory of, and to honor, legendary rowing coach, Charlie Butt.

Once considered a tune up regatta for the Head of the Charles held in mid-October, today the SHOP includes more than 40 sweep and sculling events, and is considered its own milestone on the fall racing calendar.

To register, please visit the Scullers Head of the Potomac online registration area on Ronin Racing. Entries must be received by Saturday, September 11, 2010, to avoid the late fee. Please note that once registration closes on Saturday, September 18, 2010, it’s closed. There will be no race day registration this year.

Still have a question about the SHOP? Please send it to our Regatta Committee at headofthepotomac@gmail.com.

The Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac is a true test of physical endurance and mental toughness for sweep crews and scullers alike. Don’t miss a chance to race down one of the Nation’s most historic rivers!

Potomac Masters make a run for gold at the border

Perennial favorites Camilla Durfee and Cal Sutliff will try to bring home the gold once again in the mixed 2x. (Pictured above in 2006.)

From Camden to Canada, Potomac Boat Club’s most experienced this week head north again to St. Catherines, Ontario, for the 2010 FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta.  The four days of racing starts tomorrow, September 2nd, and culminates on September 5th, with a usually raucous party. (And we’ve seen pictures of our MRP at this party from years past, fully enjoying their time away from home waters. Let’s just say that one year, they got the cops on the dance floor … to dance!

But with over 2,700 entries and 300 clubs participating, the racing does get serious, folks. See for yourself!

Draws are now available here.  Click here to visit Regatta Central for a list of PBC entered events and the names of those competing for the club.  For real time results throughout the event, make sure you click here. (Refresh your browser often to ensure the latest results are visible.)

Not enough schedules and results for you?  Visit a link below to find results for each day of the regatta:

• Thursday’s Results
• Friday’s Results
• Saturday’s Results
• Sunday’s Results

And maybe we’ll get lucky again and have more guest reporting from the event.  Check back over the next few days for updates!  [Update: Someone is writing us! (Squeal) See who it is below!]

Good luck to everyone and … GO, PBC!

Potomac’s 2010 Masters Nationals Results

Masters National Championships 2010 had us thinking: Where is it almost always perfect rowing weather? Wherever it is, we want to live there.  Or at least race there. At Masters Nationals in Camden last year, the sun and heat were absolutely punishing. At Masters Nationals in Camden this year, the wind definitely got the best of some.

But that’s okay, right, PBC? It’s not the moment that defines us. We define the moment. No matter the conditions. (Yes, we’re watching the PGA Championship and our results roll in from Camden.)  Besides, if we didn’t have conditions to complain about, we’d call it, um … bowling?

Anyway, at the end four days, our PBC masters pulled off another stellar MatNats performance, and walked away with their annual haul of gold, silver, and bronze hardware. They also earned us second in the overall team point trophy! And, folks, that’s second only to the most populous rowing club in the universe, Saugatuck. Impressive stuff.

By the way, if you haven’t already, make sure you check out Ed Ryan and Debbie Charles Chisholm reporting from Camden under “Recent Comments” on the right side of the Star.  Our thanks, again, to them!

Awesome job, everyone!

• Click here to access all of the results.
• Click here for Point Detail for Potomac Boat Club Women - 4 Gold/6 Silver/1 Bronze
• Click here for Point Detail for Potomac Boat Club Men - 8 Gold/5 Silver/6 Bronze

Combined Point Detail - Potomac Boat Club

(Click on the red links below for more detail.)

Regatta	Race#	Event	Team Value	Place	Points
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	018	Mens Hwt D 2-	COMP	2	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	020	Mens Ltwt F 2x	A	6	0.75
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	022	Mens Hwt. H 2x	COMP	2	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	042	Mens Hwt. D 1x	R. LEWIS	3	4.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	045	Womens Open F 2x	A	2	12.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	060	Mens Hwt. B 4+	A	3	8.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	065	Mens Club D 8+	A	1	30.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	078	Mens Ltwt H-J 2x	A	1	15.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	092	Mens Ltwt E 1x	E. RYAN	2	8.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	102	Mixed D 4x	COMP	4	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	116	Mens Hwt. B 8+	A	1	30.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	118	Mens Hwt. D 4+	A	3	8.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	133	Womens Club E 4+	A	2	16.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	138	Womens Open C 2-	A	4	0.75
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	139	Mens Club C 8+	A	1	30.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	144	Mens Hwt. F 4x	COMP	3	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	157	Mens Hwt. F 2x	COMP	5	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	159	Mens Hwt. D 8+	A	2	24.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	161	Mens Hwt. B 1x	T. NIX	4	2.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	167	Womens Open E 4x	A	2	16.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	170	Mens Ltwt C 1x	P. PIETRA	5	1.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	178	Mens Ltwt H 1x	C. SUTLIFF	1	10.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	184	Mens Club B 4+	A	1	20.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	185	Mens Club D 4+	A	1	20.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	194	Mens Hwt. C 8+	A	2	18.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	196	Mens Hwt. A 4+	A	2	16.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	121F	Womens Club F 8+	A	1	30.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	124A	Mens Club A 8+	A	4	6.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	179F	Womens Open F 8+	A	4	6.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	067E	Womens Club E 4x	A	5	2.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	097E	Mens Hwt. E 4-	COMP	1	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	145F	Womens Open F 4x	LANDAUER	2	16.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	003	Mixed F 2x	COMP	5	0.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	019	Womens Club D 8+	A	3	12.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	021G	Womens Open G 4+	A	2	8.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	069	Womens Club C 4+	A	6	1.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	082	Mens Ltwt D 2x	A	3	6.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	067FG	Womens Club G 4x	C	1	20.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	122	Mens Hwt. H 1x	C. SUTLIFF	3	4.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	127	Womens Ltwt D 2x	A	6	0.75
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	145GH	Womens Open H 4x	DURFEE	1	20.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	156G	Womens Club G 4+	A	1	20.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	164H	Mixed H 2x	A	1	15.00
2010 USRowing Masters National Championship	189G	Womens Open G 2x	-	2	6.00
Totals				462.25

Making weekend plans? Let’s go to MatNats!

[This is a retread of sorts.  What can we say? It's Masters Nationals in Camden, again!  We have members saving people during practice. Juniors winning medals in Eastern Europe. The postcard is what we could do for now. Next year, MatNats will be in Oklahoma City. Maybe we'll stick a cowboy hat up there or something.]

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Hey!  With most folks headed down to the Carolina beaches this time of year, why not head up the road instead?  This weekend, a short 2-3 hour drive north on 95 will land you smack dab in the middle of some hot race action. Where? Why, in always-lovely, ever-effervescent (drum roll) … Camden, New Jersey!

From Thursday, August 12, 2010 to Sunday, August 15, 2010, PBC’s Masters rowers will join almost 1800 others out on the Cooper River for Masters National Championships 2010.  We’re pretty confident our folks will be leading the pack in more than a few events, so go cheer them on!

[We even put together a little map for you and directions to the venue. Scroll down to see it. We wouldn't want you to end up in Philly.]

To find out who will be wearing the white star, and in which of 200 events, visit the PBC Masters Nationals lineups page on Regatta Central here.  Click here for live race results.

And fine. For those of you who would rather watch from the air conditioned comfort of your own homes, USRowing will stream live video of the finals at http://rowing.teamusa.org/live. (We were planning to tell you eventually!)

2010 USRowing Masters National Championships Finals Live Feed Schedule

Thursday, August 12, 2:45 p.m. – 6:09 p.m.
Friday, August 13, 2 p.m. – 5:32 p.m.
Saturday, August 14, 1 p.m. – 4:28 p.m.
Sunday, August 15, 1 p.m. – 4:32 p.m.

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Map to the venue (directions are below):

View Larger Map

Directions to the venue:

From the Ben Franklin Bridge:
Merge onto Route 30 East
Merge onto Route 30 – 70 East
Bear right after overpass onto Route 70 East
Turn right @ first light (McClellan Avenue)
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From the Walt Whitman Bridge:
Take the Route 130 North exit towards Route 168 North
Keep right @ the fork in the ramp
Bear right onto Route 130 North
Follow route 130 North to N. Park Drive
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From 295 South & North:
From 295 South take exit 34A (Route 70 West)
From 295 North take exit 34B (Route 70 West)
Take Cuthbert Boulevard (South) exit
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From NJ Turnpike North:
Take exit 4, Berlin - Philadelphia
Take Route 73 North to Route 38 West
Take Cuthbert Boulevard (South) exit
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From NJ Turnpike South:
Take exit 3, Bellmawr
Merge onto Route 168 North
Bear right onto Route 130 North
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

PBC Men’s Sweep Practice Becomes Rescue Effort

At 6:30 am, there was already too much traffic upstream and Potomac Boat Club’s Men’s Sweep Team wanted to get in a decent technical row before leaving for Masters National Rowing Championships this week.  So, Marco Bovo, coach of the team, decided to do something different and started practice downstream instead.

Marco followed the PBC men’s eight and four as they warmed up close to the Virginia shoreline and rounded Theodore Roosevelt Island. About 150 meters from Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, Marco stopped the crews so they could hydrate before doing a few race starts.

Marta Ulbricht, cox of the four, and Tiffany Dao, cox of the eight, pointed their boats through an arch and awaited direction.  But when Marco signaled for the crews to start up again, Marta seemed uncharacteristically distracted.  Marco rushed over to see what was wrong.  As he approached, he saw two men on the bridge yelling and pointing to the water, so he rushed to the spot instead.  Suddenly, it was clear … someone had jumped.

Once Marco got there, he saw a woman just beneath the surface and tried to pull her limp body out of the  water.  Marta and Tiffany moved their boats closer to the spot, and Leo Hergenroeder, bow of the four, and Tim Baxter, bow of the eight, jumped in and swam over to help.

At the same time, the guys in the eight and four yelled up to the men on the bridge to call 911 and advise emergency personnel to meet them at the Thompson Boat Center.  Marco, Leo and Tim had managed to get the woman onto the launch, and Leo and Tim climbed aboard to keep her from rolling back into the river.

The eight and four headed to Thompson’s to meet Marco, Leo, and Tim on the dock and help get the woman out of the launch safely.  Once on the dock, Leo stayed next to the woman and spoke to her to keep her awake until paramedics arrived.

Bob Price, PBC president, who rowed stroke seat of the eight this morning, said, “I can’t tell you how proud I am of everyone. Marta is young, still in high school, but she showed a tremendous amount of maturity and common sense by not starting her crew and in getting Marco’s attention.  Marco went into instant rescue mode, and was trying to pull the woman out before we even knew what was going on.  Leo and Tim didn’t hesitate to jump in to help Marco get the woman into the launch.  And Leo’s actions on the dock probably made another critical difference in saving her life.”

Well, a pretty impressive way to spend your morning, guys! Congratulations on a job well-done to our PBC heroes, Marco, Marta, Leo and Tim, and the rest of the Men’s Sweep Team, who acted swiftly and courageously to save a life.

To the woman in the water, we wish you strength in your recovery, and to your family, the best of all things in the future.

Finally, that life ring in our logo makes sense.

You’re invited: USRowing Town Hall Meeting on Mandatory Membership

In a tough economy and with many rowers and rowing programs operating on the slimmest of budgets, participants in our sport have started to question the cost of a USRowing membership and its value. In his August 2010 letter to the rowing community, chief executive officer of USRowing, Glenn Merry, outlined several of the issues associated with a proposed mandatory membership in USRowing. Thus far, formal and informal discussions on the subject have been heated.

This fall, USRowing will hold a series of town hall meetings to gather input from the community on the subject of mandatory membership and other related issues. The first one scheduled for the Mid-Atlantic Region is on Tuesday, August 17, at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria.

More meeting details are below, followed by a reprint of Glen Merry’s letter. Whatever your opinion might be, this is your moment to be heard and to influence the direction of our sport. Please consider attending. (Not mandatory.)

Tuesday, August 17
7:00-9:00 p.m.
Thomas Jefferson High School
6560 Braddock Road
Alexandria, VA 22312-2297

View Larger Map

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A Letter from the CEO, USRowing (August 2010)

Recently, there have been animated discussions taking place in the rowing community about USRowing membership, its value and its cost. The debate should elicit many thoughts.

As I reviewed how other sports handle their membership, I found that most provide the same general benefits: insurance, newsletters, discounts, information, competitions, rules, safety programs and perhaps a magazine. The major national governing bodies (sports like triathlon, swimming, gymnastics and volleyball) have mandatory requirements for individual membership. If you participate in the sport, you pay to do so. USRowing does not currently require individual membership for the sport of rowing.

Why do most [National Governing Bodies] (NGBs) mandate membership? In many cases, it has been driven by risk and insurance. Frankly, anyone participating in a sport, from the novice to the Olympian, adds to the perceived liability risk, and it is more economical for everyone when an NGB shops a policy that covers all of the exposure rather than have each team, club or person to do so on their own. In conjunction with this, the NGB then provides the infrastructure to safely run the sport, things like rules, referees, coaching education and safety regulations.

For two decades, USRowing has not mandated individual membership. This was not always the case. When I rowed in college in the late 1980s, everyone was a member of USRowing. The change took place in 1990, kind of. USRowing dropped individual requirements, but the requirement shifted to organizations. If a club participated in registered regattas, then it had to be part of the structure.

Fast-forward 20 years. The sport has grown to five times the size. We had three major accidents in the mid-2000s where rowers died, changing our perceived risk. Insurance premiums quadrupled. Organizational dues reformed into tiered insurance categories. The sport survived, and five years later, we are out the other side. But, we need to think about our structure moving forward.

During the past decade, the sport has grown by a factor of three. We are now pushing up against constraints of an aged system from an era that supported the 30,000 who rowed in 1989, not the 150,000 active participants of today. Much of the recent growth in our sport has been driven by the NCAA and its addition of women’s rowing to its program. This, in turn, has pushed the growth of high school rowing. High school rowing has exploded into thousands of participants and hundreds of regattas annually.

As this growth occurred outside the control and stewardship of USRowing, some of these growth areas have not paid proportionally into the infrastructure of the sport. We also face other issues of rapid growth such as the deficit of experienced quality coaches. Programs are faced with hiring “coaches,” many of whom have only the experience of being an interested parent or having rowed for three or four years. Do these issues seem like a sustainable model for a safe and professional sport?

I would argue that the answer is no.

Currently, 16,500 individuals pay into the system that supports the entire rowing population. It’s true that the 1,050 organizational members also pay dues of $350, but we are not seeing the scalable support required to take rowing to the next level. In addition, we have no idea the exact scope of the sport, and we need to know this in order to assess our combined risk, attract and activate new sponsors and appropriately program services.

It has been rumored that USRowing is planning to take over the sport, to mandate individual membership. In some regard, we aren’t taking it over – we are the sport. Love us or hate us, we provide the backdrop for the sport to exist (albeit we could do a better job in many areas). Where would we row without liability insurance, referees, rules, safety standards, or basic coaching education? The better rumor that I am starting is that USRowing seeks to become a better NGB. We want every rower to support a system and organization that fulfills his or her needs as a member.

So that takes us to mandatory membership. It has to happen to survive and to meet the growth of our community. What mandatory membership will look like is still up for debate. What we offer to our members needs to be redesigned. But, we are at the beginning of this conversation, with the target of January 2013 to roll out a finished product.

Let’s open the conversation about mandatory membership by describing some common models for consideration. Set aside the issue of how much dues cost right now; we will address that in relation to the value of services rendered to the members. There are two primary models commonly used to implement mandatory membership by NGBs. The first is a direct model where every individual joins and pays his or her dues directly to the NGB. This is close to what we do now with our full-privileged members. The NGB then provides regattas and clubs a roster of eligible members that can participate and compete. USA Swimming uses such a model, with about 400,000 members. The second model is indirect, where an individual is a member via his or her organization. Each athlete pays dues to the organization, and the organization then submits its roster to the NGB with funds to balance its account. USA Curling uses such a model and has about 15,000 members.

The current system used by USRowing is a hybrid of the two models. We have non-privileged members who sign waivers and are part of USRowing through their clubs, but without paying dues and without USRowing gaining access to their information. Our full-privileged membership is used by the 16,000 who have typically raced at one of the USRowing-owned regattas such as a national championship, or by those who want to receive the yearbook and newsletters.

There are some pros and cons to both systems and perhaps a hybrid is necessary for USRowing to meet all of the needs of our community. However, the current hybrid needs to be revised, so that we more actively engage those members coming indirectly through their organizations.

Now turn your attention to the issue of value and cost. Let’s assume for the purpose of this example that the status quo is sufficient for the service and programs provided by USRowing. If it is an accurate assumption that there are 150,000 active rowers and we keep USRowing’s expenses relatively the same as they are now (no new programs, some build-out costs for automated member systems, add someone to answer the increased calls and e-mail, etc.), then one could project a drop in individual dues by a significant amount. Five times as many people paying into the current system could result in half the dues per person.

But let’s take this to another level. What if we said that USRowing should be better (and it really should be.) We should offer new programs, say for example … a recruiting clearing house for youth members and college coaches, advanced coaching education systems, masters rowing camps and real marketing tools for clubs to recruit and engage their local communities. What would that look like? What would that cost with 150,000 rowers paying into that system? Could we do those things and others while reducing the per-person cost of dues?

I believe this is a conversation that we must have. We must address the question, “Is USRowing good enough.” This is the conversation USRowing is beginning with focus groups like the newly formed youth task force. We also will bring this conversation to the people in the rowing community through town hall meetings this fall at local boathouses nationwide.

When the board hired me in 2005 as the new CEO, USRowing was precipitously perched at the edge of collapse. We had run year after year of overspending. Our cash reserves were spent, and our balance sheet was a disaster. Our governance was out of date. We lacked revenue diversity. We were an unstable organization. I have spent the last four years rebuilding the internal structures and stabilizing the association with the help of the board and key stakeholders such as the NRF. We are no longer in triage mode, attempting to keep the association alive. It is time to move forward to not only assure that our sport has a future, but to create a robust future.

I have taken some criticism recently for again asking for input from the members and the community on these issues. It has been said that people have already screamed about what is wrong with USRowing, and how could I not know by now. It’s true that I have heard complaints about USRowing from some key individuals year after year. I guess what I wonder is if the people who have been screaming the loudest really represent what’s best for the masses of rowers or if they are just the loudest one-issue complainers?

I have to admit that after 24 years in the sport and five years in this role, I am more interested in hearing from, and working with, people who want to make USRowing better, stronger and fresher than those who revel in pointing out our missteps.

As I wrote earlier, we are about to embark on a series of town hall membership meetings nationally. If you would like to host a meeting at your boathouse, contact me and let me know. You can reach me at 609-751-0701 or glenn@usrowing.org.

Congratulations to Christina and the U.S. Junior Women!

Congratulations to Potomac Boat Club’s Christina Bax and the U.S. women’s eight on their silver at Junior World Championships!

From USRowing, August 7, 2010:

The second silver medal for the United States came in the last race of the day. In the final of the women’s eight, coxswain Christine Devlin (Harvard, Mass.), Rosemary Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), Louise Breen (Northampton, N.H.), Madison Lips (Parker, Colo.), Christina Bax (Bethesda, Md.), Marianne Hoeft (New Canaan, Conn.), Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska), Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) and Carli Goldberg (Sarasota, Fla.) went into the race having advanced directly from Thursday’s heat with an 18-second win.

Great Britain was first off the start, and continued to lead through the middle thousand. Less than a second separated the United States, Germany and Romania at the halfway mark, with the U.S. crew leading the challenge on Great Britain. Despite a strong push from the U.S. in the sprint, the defending world-champions couldn’t quite close the gap on the British. Great Britain crossed the line 3.05 seconds ahead for the gold medal in a 6:24.97.

“We were down at the 500, which we expected,” said coxswain Christine Devlin. “We just found some serious power. There was one point in the second 500 where we had a move for ‘pain barriers.’ We went from five seats down to three seats. That was exciting, and it was a big move for us.”

The U.S. took the silver medal in a 6:28.02. Germany came up with a bronze-medal performance, edging out Romania by 0.66 seconds in a 6:30.21.

Want to see more photos of the women’s eight final?  Dr. Ted Walkley, U.S. Team Physician, took the photos we used in this post and more during the entire event.  Click here to go to Dr. Walkley’s album.

A full reprint of the USRowing report is below.

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Women’s Four and Eight Win Silver at 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships

RACICE, Czech Republic – Steady rain persisted throughout the day, but it didn’t stop the U.S. from reaching the podium on two occasions the first day of finals at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships. The women’s four and women’s eight crews won silver, the first time in history that the United States has won double medals in sweep events at the World Rowing Junior Championships.
In the final of the women’s four, New Zealand shot ahead off the starting line, gaining half a boat length lead on the field in the first few strokes of the race. Crossing the halfway mark, New Zealand continued to lead the pack, with Australia and Spain close behind. The crew of Chandler Lally (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Jessica Eiffert (Honeoye Falls, N.J.), Agatha Nowinski (Sacramento, Calif.) and Lucy Grinalds (Southport, Conn.) sat in fourth place at the 1,000-meter mark before making its move. In a dead-on sprint, the U.S. crew overtook Australia with 150 meters to go, finishing less than a second behind New Zealand for the silver medal.

“It was an amazing race,” said three-time junior national team member Lucy Grinalds. “We had a little bit of a rough start, but we stuck to our race plan and really moved through the second 1,000 [meters]. Our goal was to make a huge move and a huge comeback. It was an awesome sprint through the finish.”
New Zealand held on to its lead to win the gold medal in a 6:49.48. The U.S. recorded a time of 6:50.38 at the line, with Australia holding off Germany by a mere 0.36 seconds for the bronze medal.

“They rowed it exactly as we talked about racing it,” said coach Justin Moore. “We knew that Australia was going to have a lot of early speed. It was possible, if we stayed close enough to use our efficiency to our advantage in the last 500. We knew that Spain was going to be fast; we knew that Australia was going to be fast. I was just so impressed because the girls really worked on rowing a very steady first 1,000 meters before committing to change momentum at the 1,100-meter mark. I couldn’t be happier.”

The second silver medal for the United States came in the last race of the day. In the final of the women’s eight, coxswain Christine Devlin (Harvard, Mass.), Rosemary Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), Louise Breen (Northampton, N.H.), Madison Lips (Parker, Colo.), Christina Bax (Bethesda, Md.), Marianne Hoeft (New Canaan, Conn.), Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska), Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) and Carli Goldberg (Sarasota, Fla.) went into the race having advanced directly from Thursday’s heat with an 18-second win.

Great Britain was first off the start, and continued to lead through the middle thousand. Less than a second separated the United States, Germany and Romania at the halfway mark, with the U.S. crew leading the challenge on Great Britain. Despite a strong push from the U.S. in the sprint, the defending world-champions couldn’t quite close the gap on the British. Great Britain crossed the line 3.05 seconds ahead for the gold medal in a 6:24.97.

“We were down at the 500, which we expected,” said coxswain Christine Devlin. “We just found some serious power. There was one point in the second 500 where we had a move for ‘pain barriers.’ We went from five seats down to three seats. That was exciting, and it was a big move for us.”

The U.S. took the silver medal in a 6:28.02. Germany came up with a bronze-medal performance, edging out Romania by 0.66 seconds in a 6:30.21.

“Our goal this summer was to prioritize the four and to win two medals in sweep, which the U.S. has never done before,” said coach Liz Trond. “Of course we were going for the gold, but we are definitely not disappointed with silver. Winning 13 medals today is pretty awesome.”

In the final of the women’s quadruple sculls, Hannah Solis-Cohen (Northfield, Mass.), Margaret Bertasi (London, England), Alexandria Chrumka (Grosse Point, Mich.) and Sophie Heywood (Tempe, Ariz.) finished sixth. Although it did not reach the podium, the crew recorded the highest finish for the U.S. in the event at the World Rowing Junior Championships. Germany, the bronze medalists at last year’s championships, won the gold medal in a 6:35.65. Ukraine took silver in a 6:39.42, while Belarus crossed third for the bronze medal in a 6:45.28. The U.S. crew was in fifth place through the first 1,000 meters of the course, before dropping back and crossing the line in a 6:55.86.

In semifinals action, the men’s four with coxswain and men’s single sculls qualified for the medal round on Sunday. The crew of Patrick O’Hara (Wilmette, Ill.), John McGrorty (Ambler, Pa.), Jacob Merrell (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Patrick Eble (Fort Washington, Pa.) and Michael Cox (Centerville, Va.) finished second in its semifinal, securing a spot in the final. The U.S. was in sixth place off the start and gradually worked its way through the field by the third quarter of the race. Italy took the lead at 500 meters, and held on to cross first in a 6:24.49. The U.S. posted a time of 6:27.31 in second, while Ukraine edged out Germany by 0.09 seconds for the third qualifying spot. Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand qualified from the second semifinal.

Andrew Campbell, Jr. (New Canaan, Conn.) qualified for the final of the men’s single sculls with a dramatic third-place finish in his semifinal. Germany’s Felix Bach, the defending world champion took an early lead on the field, gaining three boat lengths by the 700-meter mark. Campbell, who competed in the event at the 2009 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, was in third place off the start and rowed nearly even with Czech Republic’s Jakub Podrazil through the body of the race. Vying for second, both scullers brought up the rating to 36 strokes per minute in the sprint, but it was Podrazil who crossed in front by 0.42 seconds in a 7:46.36, with Campbell third in a 7:46.78. Bach won the race in a 7:42.56. The three scullers will meet again in tomorrow’s final, along with Greece, Italy and Slovakia from the first semifinal.

Alycia Daloia-Moore (Bronx, N.Y.) finished sixth in her semifinal of the women’s single sculls. Romania’s Laura Oprea won the race in a 7:54.75, with Latvia, Azerbaijan and Hungary less than two seconds back. Daloia-Moore clocked an 8:14.41 and will now race Hungary, Norway, Switzerland, Lithuania and Slovenia in Sunday’s B final for places 7-12.

Elizabeth Youngling (Westport, Conn.) and Hemmingway Benton (Glencoe, Ill.) won the B final of the women’s pair for a seventh-place finish overall. The U.S. duo was second off the start and pushed past France in the third 500 meters for the lead. Youngling and Benton crossed first in a 7:48.00, with France second in a 7:50.31. Czech Republic followed in an 8:12.72 for third.

In the men’s four, Thacher Dodge (South Salem, N.Y.), Parker Lange (Darien, Conn.), Thomas Stolarski (Weston, Conn.) and Charles Campbell (Darien, Conn.) finished sixth in the B final for 12th place overall. Czech Republic took an early lead, winning the race in a 6:14.84. The U.S. crew crossed the line in a 6:42.43.

The women’s double sculls and men’s quadruple sculls advanced to the C finals following each crews’ respective second-place finish in the C/D semifinals. Susan Greenberg (Westport, Conn.) and Alexandra Zadravec (Fairfield, Conn.) were second off the line and held off Estonia to cross second in a 7:52.34. Croatia won the race in a 7:36.86. In the men’s quad, Graham Anderson (Weston, Conn.), Patrick Donohue (Malvern, Pa.), Max Meyer-Bosse (Westport, Conn.) and Alex Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) led a dynamic sprint, nearly catching the French crew at the line. France won in a 6:09.06, with the U.S. just 0.49 seconds back in a 6:09.55.

Nader Al-Naji (Fairfax, Va.) and Robert Rasmussen (Washington D.C.) finished fourth in the C/D semifinal of the men’s double sculls, and will now race in the D final for places 19-24. Al-Naji and Rasmussen crossed the halfway point in sixth place, but were able to move past Estonia and Croatia in the third quarter of the race. Lithuania won in a 6:39.04, with the U.S. fourth in a 6:47.27.
In total, 679 athletes in 216 crews from 50 nations are represented at this year’s championships. Sunday’s schedule features finals in the men’s and women’s single sculls, men’s and women’s double sculls, men’s pair, men’s quadruple sculls, men’s four with coxswain and men’s eight. For more information, roster and athlete bios, visit www.usrowing.org.

USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s Official Suppliers are Boathouse Sports, Filippi, Croker Oars and Rudy Project; its Official Patron is Concept2; its Official Electronics Outfitter is Nielsen Kellerman; and its Official Timer is Powerhouse Timing. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation. For more information, visit www.usrowing.org.
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Potomac’s 2010 Quaker City Masters Results

The beer mug: International symbol of laid back.

The Quaker City Masters Regatta held on the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, July 31, 2010, is billed every year as the world’s most laid back regatta.  Laid back or not, we sure came back with a lot of gold.  (Or did they give out mugs?)

Check out our results below.  Congratulations to Nick Holland, Ed Ryan, Bill Cox, Cal Sutliff and the rest of the PBC folks who went up to Philly and cruised to first place finishes.

To see all the results from the regatta, click here.

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Race 7a: Mens D-H 1x Flight 1 @ 10:18 AM

1st

6

Potomac  (N.Holland)

03:50.59

03:50.59

00:03:50.59

2nd

5

Unaffiliated  (J.Miros)

04:08.89

7.9%

00:18.30

04:08.89

00:03:50.59

00:00:18.30

3rd

1

Genesee Waterways (T.Giarrusso)

04:14.96

10.6%

00:06.07

04:14.96

00:03:50.59

00:00:24.37

4th

2

Fairmount  (F.McAleer)

04:17.37

11.6%

00:02.41

04:17.37

00:03:50.59

00:00:26.78

5th

3

Greenwich Crew A (P.Oudheusden)

04:19.52

12.5%

00:02.15

04:19.52

00:03:50.59

00:00:28.93

6th

4

Nereid  (D.Wolf)

04:23.91

14.4%

00:04.39

04:23.91

00:03:50.59

00:00:33.32

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Race 7e: Mens D-H 1x Flight 5 @ 10:42 AM

1st

2

Potomac  (C.Sutliff)

03:56.25

04:09.15

00:12.90

00:04:09.15

2nd

3

University  (W.Vanderlinde)

04:00.16

1.7%

00:03.91

04:27.76

00:27.60

00:04:09.15

00:00:18.61

3rd

5

Three Rivers (R.Ulsh)

04:23.03

11.3%

00:22.87

04:23.03

00:04:09.15

00:00:13.88

4

Jack Sulgers (S.Killen)

Scratch

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Race 8a: Womens D-H 1x Flight 1 @ 10:48 AM

1st

4

Potomac (N.Faigen)

04:14.26

04:14.26

00:04:14.26

2nd

3

Occoquan (R.Quinn)

04:19.20

1.9%

00:04.94

04:19.20

00:04:14.26

00:00:04.94

3rd

5

Albany  (D.Bleau)

04:22.66

3.3%

00:03.46

04:22.66

00:04:14.26

00:00:08.40

4th

1

Vesper (M.Cooney)

04:26.70

4.9%

00:04.04

04:26.70

00:04:14.26

00:00:12.44

2

Whitemarsh (L.Bradley)

Scratch

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Race 18c: Mixed A-H 4x Flight 2 @ 01:48 PM

1st

3

Malta/Philadelphia Girls/Wilmington [Composite] (T.Trocky, T.Savard, B.Kris, F.Duling)

03:24.04

03:29.14

00:05.10

00:03:29.14

2nd

1

Pelham Community B (G.Houlihan, V.Houston, J.Carmody, D.Orlando)

03:30.67

3.2%

00:06.63

03:33.57

00:02.90

00:03:29.14

00:00:04.43

3rd

4

Potomac (K.Taylor, E.Ryan, N.Faigen, B.Cox)

03:32.66

4.2%

00:01.99

03:35.56

00:02.90

00:03:29.14

00:00:06.42

4th

5

Pelham Community C (P.Wakeham, D.Hughes, T.Mastrianni, M.Carmody)

03:56.79

16.1%

00:24.13

04:04.19

00:07.40

00:03:29.14

00:00:35.05

5th

2

Passaic River (S.Rauth, J.Flynn, e.schmidig, G.Lahm)

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Race 26b: Mens D-H 4x Flight 2 @ 02:30 PM

1st

4

Potomac (N.Holland, C.Sutliff, E.Ryan, B.Cox)

03:24.74

03:24.74

00:03:24.74

2nd

2

Passaic River (A.Fiory, B.McCord, C.Blessing, J.Lahm)

03:25.31

0.3%

00:00.57

03:31.11

00:05.80

00:03:24.74

00:00:06.37

3rd

3

University A (W.Van der linde, P.Mcgrath, H.Greenberg, F.Bobrow)

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Race 35a: Womens A-C 4x Flight 1 @ 03:54 PM

1st

4

Alexandria/Potomac [Composite] (K.Taylor, R.Ralston, H.Wentz, N.Faigen)

03:34.69

03:36.79

00:02.10

00:03:36.79

2nd

3

Greenwich Crew (C.DelSavio, K.Blankley, A.Branan, K.Erickson)

03:39.17

2.1%

00:04.48

03:40.27

00:01.10

00:03:36.79

00:00:03.48

3rd

2

New Haven (R.Hatcher, A.Almira, K.Picanso, L.Brailey)

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Race 39a: Mens Ltwt A-H 2x Flight @ 04:36 PM

1st

3

Potomac (B.Cox, E.Ryan)

03:24.15

03:50.65

00:26.50

00:03:37.96

00:00:12.69

2nd

5

Alexandria (J.Mitchell, N.Uber)

03:37.96

6.8%

00:13.81

03:37.96

00:03:37.96

3rd

4

Greenwich Crew (S.Im, P.Pugliese)

03:39.88

7.7%

00:01.92

03:50.38

00:10.50

00:03:37.96

00:00:12.42

4th

2

Bachelors (S.Gupta, M.Murphy)

03:59.24

17.2%

00:19.36

03:59.34

00:00.10

00:03:37.96

00:00:21.38

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PBC Juniors race Saturday in Racice!

Best of luck tomorrow to Potomac Boat Club’s Nader Al-Naji and Rob Rasmussen in the C/D semifinals of the men’s double sculls, and to Christina Bax and her crew as they go for a third-consecutive women’s eight world title for the U.S.!

For the full race schedule (in Racice time), go to http://www.worldrowing.com/medias/docs/media_361927.pdf.

To access the live viewer, go to http://www.worldrowing.com/index.php?pageid=151.

Want to see more photos?  Dr. Ted Walkley, U.S. Team Physician, not only took the photos we used in this post, but will post more online throughout the event!  Click here to go to his album.

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RACICE, Czech Republic (USRowing) - Five U.S. crews advanced Friday, despite heavy rain throughout the second day of racing at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships. The women’s four, women’s quadruple sculls and women’s eight are set to race for medals tomorrow, Saturday, August 7. In total, seven U.S. boats are headed to either the semifinals or finals after today’s races.

The men’s double sculls duo of Nader Al-Naji (Fairfax, Va.) and Robert Rasmussen (Washington D.C.) finished sixth in the third quarterfinal, and will now race in the C/D semifinals. The U.S crew finished fifth in its heat and second in its afternoon repechage en route to the quarterfinal. In today’s race, France pulled out early, gaining more than three seconds on the field in the first 500 meters and eventually winning in a 6:49.51. The U.S. posted a time of 7:20.35 and will take on Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic and Estonia on Saturday.

The U.S. women’s eight and men’s four with coxswain are back in action tomorrow after winning their respective heats on Thursday. Coxswain Christine Devlin (Harvard, Mass.), Rosemary Grinalds (Southport, Conn.), Louise Breen (Northampton, N.H.), Madison Lips (Parker, Colo.), Christina Bax (Bethesda, Md.), Marianne Hoeft (New Canaan, Conn.), Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska), Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) and Carli Goldberg (Sarasota, Fla.) will look to win a third-consecutive women’s eight world title. Coming off of a convincing win in its preliminary race, the U.S. crew will take on Czech Republic, Romania, Great Britain, Germany and Russia in the last event of the day.

Potomac’s HOCR 2010 1x Competitors

The Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) has posted the Singles Draw!

Singles Entry Applications were due on August 1st.  Doubles, Fours and Eights Entry Applications must be received by September 1st.

To read all of the HOCR rules and entry acceptance guidelines, go here.

In the meantime, below is the list of single scullers who will continue to build on Potomac Boat Club’s rich history at the HOCR.

And don’t forget that from this list, the Board will choose the next two winners of the David Challinor award.  Stay tuned for the announcement!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

(Times are provisional.)

Grand-Master Singles 50+

Men (8:00)

Women (8:33) - Potomac Boat Club - C. Cole

Senior-Masters Singles 40+

Men (8:58) - Potomac Boat Club - R. Lewis

Women (9:13)

Club Singles

Men (11:29)

Women (11:49)

Championship Singles

Men (16:07) - Potomac Boat Club - J. Greer

Women (16:20) - Potomac Boat Club - K. Stainken and M. Boklich

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Senior-Veteran Singles 70+

Men (8:00)

Women (8:25)

Veteran Singles 60+

Men (8:45) - Potomac Boat Club - G. Rasmussen and J. Hatch

Women (9:12) - Potomac Boat Club - D. Perrone

Master Singles

Men (9:45)

Women (9:58) - Potomac Boat Club - O. Huxley

Lightweight Singles

Men (11:51) - Potomac Boat Club - R. Rasmussen

Women (12:03)

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