A train bridge looms above racing shells as they hold one final rowing practice under sunny skies and ideal rowing conditions. As it passes through, the steady churn of iron wheels joins familiar regatta sounds - amplified coxswain voices, blades shifting in oarlocks and a murmur of preparing crews.
As crew make their way to the start of the sprint course, the train heads through Oak Ridge with a final destination beyond the forested and hilly Tennessee horizon.
For a second consecutive year, the 2012 USRowing Youth National Championships will take place June 8-10, on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. USRowing in conjunction with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association will host 1, 596 competitors and their fans from a total of 30 states.
“It’s my first nationals and I am really excited,” said Jack Maxson from Oakland Strokes. “I have no idea what to expect but the water’s beautiful, it’s going to be tough but I’m feeling pretty good about how we’re going to do.”
Falling one entry shy of the all time record, the 360 entries at the 19th annual USRowing Youth National Championships will compete in 18 boat classes in sweep and sculling events.
For the high school and junior rowers here today this was similar to most prerace days. The hours of sunlight are filled with unloading trailers, weighing boats and a fine-tuning row. However, the implications of the upcoming racing are not to be underestimated.
Alana Bobk and Kendall Chase, rowing a pair for the Denver, Colo., based Mile High Rowing Club, see this as an opportunity to best their third place finish last year. As recent high school graduates, this weekend is the last youth national regatta for both.
Bobk is prepared to make her third trip to nationals a memorable one before heading to University of Tulsa to row this fall.
“We’re going for the gold this year,” said Bobk. “We’ve been training all year. We started training ever since the second we got third.”
Chase has additional rowing aspirations for this summer before heading to row at the University of California in the fall.
“I would really like to make the junior national team again this summer. I was on the team last year,” said Chase. “And eventually, a little down the road, I would like to be on the national team.”
Athletes are not the only ones anticipating the weekend races. For coaches, youth nationals are important to the development of their rowing programs and are a chance for their athletes to reach the next level of competition.
“We have really fantastic experienced seniors so we are hoping for really fantastic results,” said Mile High Rowing Club Assistant Coach Kati O’ Hara.
“We also brought some of our younger girls to get them an unbelievable experience to see a new level of competition and compete with the best. They are our future and we are hoping they gain an immeasurable about of experience and maturity to bring back to our team at home. For us it is not just the results of the regatta that we are at, it is looking to the future because if we are lucky we only get them for four years.”
For the young athletes and coaches from around the country, the intended final destination of crews is the medal podium.
Tomorrow morning’s heats mark the first stop in the racing progression followed by repechage, or second chance races and semifinals Saturday. The last stop for some will include a national title on Sunday.
Others will be derailed in their quest to Sunday’s ceremony. The final results of this weekend will determine the opportunities available for young athletes with rowing aspirations far beyond the picturesque Tennessee horizon.
Click here for heat sheets and results, visit
http://www.usrowing.org/Events/YouthNationals/2012YNCResults.aspx
Semifinal and finals racing can be seen on live stream broadcasting beginning Saturday by visiting at http://www.ustream.tv/usrowing
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