Your weekly Recap of what you may have missed from out on the race courses is back!
Here is what row2k spotted as the Spring racing for 2023 got rolling last week...and yes, the "real" start of Spring around here has less to do with the equinox, and more to do with that first chance to do some wind-chill-ing atop the Strawberry Mansion Bridge otherwise known as Manny Flick #1.
Or Should we say, Manny 'Flips'
Hey, it's part of the sport, and even the best single scullers in the world sometimes go from a swim (like this guy in Racice last October) and, well, somebody has to be the first one we get a picture of:
Truly impressive? The Philly refs had him in the launch almost instantly:
Elapsed time on the row2k camera between those two photos was just 23 seconds--and they did almost as well on the second flip a few races later.
Still, with air temps having just clicked from 31 to 32 degrees on the weather app at the time of the first flip, it does seem like the four-oar rule should still be in effect, no?
Also Swimming Already? Coxswains
In more southerly climes, at least. Kudos to Jacksonville on for sharing what we've determined to be the the first coxswain tosses of Spring 2023, and for having a few wins to celebrate:
FIT is Back, Baby
Newly reinstated and doing some early season winning, life looks way better for the FIT men than it did just a few months ago:
The FIT women also won a few races on the weekend, but since they did not get reinstated by the ruling that restored the men's status, they will keep making a go of it as a club team for now.
Spring Breakers Make Spring Racers
Social media this month is rife with teams on Spring Break, er, Training, Trips and some of the more fun looking antics--including a Top Gun beach football tribute--made row2k's Best of Instagram last week.
The best part of teams making those trips though? Early season collegiate racing buffets like last weekend's 10 team, 3 session, 2 day Cardinal Invite--which gave us some sweet side-by-side video, thanks to Clemson's camera-phone work:
Of course, shaky phone vids will have to tide us all over until we get to the races with the full live-stream treatment.
Unfortunately, college racing also means the return of...
Ambiguous Results Tweets
Results from our final day in Oak Ridge ?? #GoCards pic.twitter.com/crCTCZ5clI
— Louisville Rowing (@LouisvilleROW) March 19, 2023
Of course, you can always try checking the row2k results page, which will hopefully have stuff like the opponents, margins, order of finish - but you never know, we are definitely in NTT season.
A Boat Race That's All Race, No Hype?
The Oxford and Cambridge Lighties did their Unis the favor by warming up the Tideway last weekend, a relatively hype-free and certainly hordes-less reminder of what racing looks like when the Beeb isn't watching:
The big @TheBoatRaces Show will be this coming Sunday, so just a few more days of hype and arguing over shades of Blue to go.
Winter Wear Well-Worn
Still plenty of "brrr" in the race day forecasts this time of year, which meant we got to see some epic hat-wearing:
At least one coxswain in full ninja-stealth mode:
Rowing in Flannel PJ bottoms:
And lots and lots of Comfys:
And, let's face it, Comfys are becoming to March racing what blazers are to Henley, so can team colors and custom designs be far behind? We'll keep an eye out.
Best Boat Name of the Week
Our winner, from the Polar Bear Regatta at the Occoquan:
But definitely a strong showing by the eight named "This Side Up" at the Flicks--which might have won with a better close-up.
Best 'Spotted the Camera' Pose of the Week
It was a 3-man, of course - three seat gonna three seat, baby!
And, In Case You were Wondering...
Yep, the season will be over before you know it:
But don't be sad, Elmo: lots of racing--and row2k Recap-ing--before then!