Here is an idea that every chuck-wagon-equipped team out there seems to have adopted, but just because you can find this hack everywhere doesn't make it any less genius: The Portable Gear Rack.
Your athletes will arrive for Race Day with a ton of gear, snacks, devices, and bags to tote it all...and the Portable Gear Rack creates a go-to spot for all of it that is, crucially, not in the bed of your trailer.
Why is that important? Well, just ask any coach who has had to empty a trailer of every athlete's bag before they could load up the stuff that actually belongs on the trailer. Giving your athletes a spot that collects their stuff elsewhere saves a lot of trouble--and ensures there is no way you can drive off at the end of the day with something a kid "left in the trailer."
The best Portable Gear Racks we've seen all fold flat or come apart entirely, so they fit easily in a trailer, truck bed, or even tucked into the chuck wagon. A few versions are even just lengths of 2x4, with hooks every six inches or so, that can lay across sawhorses or a set of spare slings, and could even be hung from the side of a team tent with a few extra boat straps.
This is not just a trick for day-trips, either: we all know how team baggage multiplies if you have racing that runs past check-out time at a multi-day regatta--and those are usually the days you are least interested in sorting luggage before you can load your boats.
Other ways this hack can help: well, it keeps bags off wet and muddy ground, can be easily set-up near the trailer or at the parent tent--whichever makes more sense--and even makes it easier to keep an eye on the bags during the day so nothing wanders off.
If our strolls down Kelly Drive and through Cooper River Park last season were any indication, the Portable Gear Rack could soon be standard equipment for regatta day, along with oar carriers, team tents, shoe buckets, and all the other things we used to be able to regatta without, but are sure glad to have on Race Day now.
Does your team travel involve a cool hack to make the day a bit smoother? If so, share your tips--and hacks--in the comments below.
If you have a great rowing hack to suggest for future inclusion, then please send it to us, and we will feature your idea in a future column.
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