The 2020 calendar had flipped to March as I was thinking about the storylines for the upcoming women's collegiate rowing season. Out of the 11 conference championships that would take place, SEVEN schools have conference title streaks of at least five years in a row, including Virginia who stands at ten in a row. Last season, schools like Drexel and SMU came close to breaking those streaks while Marist snapped Jacksonville's streak of five in a row. And coming off a year where Washington pulled off another NCAA title to add to their collection, Texas has been knocking on the door for their winning their first national title.
In the morning a week or so ago, I had just finished looking at Princeton's racing schedule to preview what racing I would see on Lake Carnegie while joining Ed in the launch to align races and shoot photos for row2k.
As a sports junkie, the next several months is my favorite time of year to watch all the upcoming NCAA Championships, starting with NCAA wrestling where Iowa was poised to take their first wrestling title in over a decade. March Madness would follow next, where the women's side featured Sabrina Ionescu, one of the best female basketball players I have seen in recent times out in Oregon, while the men's side of hoops had several teams that were capable of winning it all.
Then I read the shocking news of the Ivy League canceling all of its spring sports. At the time it seemed a bit premature to be canceling full seasons. Then that night sitting at home, I put on ESPN hoping to catch hoping some college basketball. Instead they were covering the NBA, where the story was unfolding of players refusing to take the court before the game was officially called off.
In less than a week, all professional sports were postponing and collegiate sports were being canceled. Spring breaks for colleges were getting extended and classes moved to online. The reality of the coronavirus had really started to sink in here in the US. I must applaud the Ivy League for having the courage to be the first group to making the correct and difficult decision when they did.
Then on Friday I came across a graph that really hammered home the serious of the situation we are dealing with today. It is an older graph, but makes a clear point.
The rate that the Coronavirus has taken off in the last month shows you how contagious this virus has been. At work, we have been having Skype meetings and trying to work from home when possible. And now we are looking at the possibility of the 2020 Olympics being affected as we will have to wait and see.
With social distancing becoming a new technique to combat the spread, maybe we will see at the Tokyo Olympics where the quad event will have the 2 and 3 seat empty to keep bow and stroke a safe distance from each other.
Anyway, as I have to learn to enjoy life without sporting events and we all are learning to change our daily habits, I want to wish all seniors the best of luck with the rest of what would have been their last spring semester. And to everyone else, please stay safe and healthy!
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