Best 500m: Harvard Mv8 3rd 500 at the IRA
Worst/most heartbreaking 500m: USA W8+ 2nd 500 in the Finals at Milan

Best performance while wearing slapdash uniforms: Princeton frosh men

Where'd they come from? Harvard V. Lights at IRA
Where'd they go? Tucker & Ruckman, Worlds
Where'd they go, part II: Pinsent & Cracknell: no medal, Worlds

Best Rumors:
Cracknell, Pinsent into the 4- for Athens?
HOSR will return to downstream direction.

I wanna race there all the time: Cooper River
Take me home: (W)Indianapolis
Take me home part 2, with big uh-oh: the Schinias test regatta

Best performance by a lake: Otay Lakes at the ARCO Training Center stopped the approach of the California wildfires into the suburbs of San Diego.

Best regatta decision: reconfiguring the IRA racing schedule.
Worst regatta decision: running the NCAA DI semis, which included the championship's best field ever, with likely 11 crews within a couple seconds of one another, in sinking conditions.

Best Regatta presence: crew parents
Worst regatta presence: carabinieri in mufti

Best Streaks broken: Rutgers makes 1V Grand Final at Sprints for first time in 22 years
Best Streaks broken, part II: Germany loses W4x at Worlds for only second time ever

Best sign of a long winter: great erg scores in February
Worst sign of a long winter: ice on the Charles until March 20th

Best salvage job: US junior men's eight swims their shell the final 400 meters of their heat so not to DNF and be dq'd; goes on to win silver.

Best comebacks:
John Yasaitis rows in the HOCR a year after being speared and nearly gutted
US women's 8 bullies back into Games qualification after nearly dropping out of race.

Best-of re: evaporation of sponsorship money: Head of the Charles forges ahead
Worst-of re: evaporation of sponsorship money: USRowing dues debacle

Trouble that isn't going away for 2004: Athens course conditions, rowing's insurance problem.

Race most like a divorce proceeding: Princeton vs. Princeton, Temple Cup

Race most like a brawl in a large family: Champ 8 Men, HOCR

Best scheduling change: Yale drags the HY show to Camden for a true national championship

Boat Race best: the finish - 6" over 4 miles side by side, damn
Boat Race worst: Cambridge's collision with a monstrous tugboat; talk about the side of a barn...

Most interesting events:
Men's pair - this event is almost always interesting, and this year it got even more interesting
LM8 at the IRA - whew.
Could've, should've: DI W8 at NCAA's

Best information leak: Finding out that the Au Bon Pain's entire selection of Krispy Kreme donuts is 50% off after 4pm.
Worst information leak: Having your coxswain find out that the Au Bon Pain's entire selection of Krispy Kreme donuts is 50% off after 4pm.)

Have your own ideas for the best and worst of 2003? Send 'em in, we'll post the best of the lot.