At high noon on the shores of Lake Harsha, the temperature reached into the high 80s. Hot but not too hot. Humid but tolerable, though not a temperature that one would willingly decide to sit in for no good reason. In the bright midday sun in the middle of the venue, John Alvarez of Sarasota High Performance Camp took a seat on an erg. With a small pad of paper, he wrote a message, "Everyday, 22 veterans commit suicide. I'm rowing 22 km today to spread awareness of invisible injuries. Support your veterans."
After competing, but not advancing in the men's under 19 eight earlier in the day, Alvarez thought he could get in his meters in a more meaningful way.
"I decided to go the extra mile," said Alvarez. "In this case, the extra few kilometers and row 22,000 meters."
For Alvarez, the state of veteran's affairs is one that holds great importance to him. His father, who served 24 years in the military, still suffers from PTSD to this day.
"I see a lot of similarities between the military community and the rowing community," he said. "There's no bashing beyond competition and that competition is a healthy one. It's to make each other stronger. It's to make each other be the best that they can be."
Alvarez's message is simple. Communication and transparency are what returning veterans needs more than ever. They needs people to raise their voices.
"If you have a friend who's a veteran. If you have a friend who's friends with a veteran, talk to them. Let them know that you're there for them, because the biggest thing about people coming home is that they think that they're as alone as they were overseas," he said. "They need help and they need their friends and family to be with them every step of the way. We need to listen to them."
Alvarez's twenty two thousand meters were added to the 212,397 meters amassed at the Row to Rio Challenge today as USRowing continues its campaign to cover the distance between the USRowing Training Center in Princeton and Rio de Janeiro.
Emotional moments were had on and off the course as day four of the 2016 USRowing Club National Championships came to a close on Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow's finals mark the end of the event, as clubs compete for the chance to win the team points trophy, the Colgan Cup.
After Friday's first round of finals, the New York Athletic Club leads the overall team points race with 148, ahead of Vesper Boat Club's 100.
TBC Racing leads the women's overall point race with 66 points, while NYAC leads the men's category with 95.
Saturday afternoon's semifinals started off with a photo finish when 0.666 seconds separated first through third place as Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club and TBC Racing narrowly pulled their bow balls ahead of Community Rowing, Inc., to qualify for the final in the men's under 19 eight. CRI missed the final by a margin of only 0.588 seconds.
"They are a young crew that rows with courage and heart," said CJRC's Head Coach Greg Hull. "This group of boys embodies everything that is wonderful about working with kids."
Third in the women's overall points race, Greenwich Crew had another strong showing in the semifinals as four crews advanced to the finals. In the women's under 17 double sculls, Lucy Koven and Daisy Devore posted one of the largest margins of the day, finishing with a time of 8:04.145 more than five seconds ahead of Parati Competitive Rowing.