With the 2017 USRowing Youth National Championships just a few weeks away, over 2,000 eager juniors from 48 clubs jammed the shores of Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester MA Saturday and Sunday to compete at the Northeast Youth Championships on one of one of the first rain- and wind-free weekends the region has experienced this spring.
The main prize on the table for the varsity level crews was a trip to Youth Nationals, and fifty-three attending crews qualified to join the hundreds that have already earned the right to race for a national championship June 6-11 at Nathan Benderson Park, Sarasota-Bradenton, FL.
But the two-day row fest was not just about nationals qualifications: for the junior varsity and novice rowers, this was one last chance to test their development and show who would be knocking on the qualifications door in the next few years, while for the coaches it was about team building.
"This was about connections between the four squads - the varsity boys and the novice boys, the novice girls and the varsity girls," said Community Rowing Inc., head varsity boy's coach Will Congram. CRI took both the men's and overall points trophies.
CRI won a total of seven gold, one silver and five bronze medals among its 29 crews in competition. They were one of largest teams at the regatta, but saw significant competition from several other clubs large and small, and the points award was up for grabs right through the last of the Sunday finals.
"We were talking about the fact that we were in contention for it," Congram said. "It didn't create pressure, but people feel more connected through it. As an organization, as a team, it bought us together and we're really grateful for the opportunity to have competed for it."
Right up there in medals won was Greenwich Crew. The Connecticut based club won 13 medals, including five gold, six silver and two bronze, and noticed their name on the women's and novice points trophies.
"This has been awesome," said Greenwich director of rowing Mike Wieneke. "It's a full team effort. On the women's side, they have been working hard all season and it's awesome to see seven out of nine entries win medals. But no matter if it was the fastest boat or not, it was an all-out team effort."
While the big clubs took the largest of the points trophies, there was also strong showing from the teams that participate mostly in the sculling events. New Canaan High School Crew won five medals - three gold, a silver and a bronze - and earned the Sculling Points Trophy with 229 points, followed closely by Narragansett with 206 points and GMS Rowing with 148. It was a solid two days of competition with more ahead next month in Florida.
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