My Very First Regatta!

[old] KathiS · Post by **[old] KathiS** » September 25th, 2005, 10:22 pm

Hi Girls, I am very excited to report that I competed in my very first regatta this weekend. It was a 3 mile race. I was entered into two events, a Novice Women's 4 and a Novice Mixed 8, and we took 2nd place and got silver medals for both events. I rowed in the bow seat for both events. I literally cried when I found out that I had won not just one, but two silver medals in my very first regatta. My only real goal was to not to come in last!! We were all just thrilled beyond words. It was a very exciting day as every member of our rowing club got at least one medal (medals were only awarded for 1st and 2nd places). There were 600 participants and 30 teams. Our Rowing club placed 3rd in the overall standings!! It was an extremely rewarding experience, and I would really like to encourage any of you that aren't rowing on the water to give it a try! I am especially proud because in all of my life I have never competed in any other sporting event. I was never on any team of any sort. Until just a few years ago I lead a very sedentary lifestyle (and weighed a whopping 270 pounds). Not only have I gotten the weight off, but at almost 45 years of age, I have finally the discovered the thrill of competing in athletic event. The feeling we had we when finished our first race (long before we even realized that we had gotten 2nd) was just indescribably. The sense of accomplishment was amazing. The four of us gals were smiling from ear to ear when we stepped out of the boat and onto the dock. It didn't matter what place we finished in. We finished and we couldn't have been happier. Kathi Strichman

[old] CAROLE MAC · Post by **[old] CAROLE MAC** » September 26th, 2005, 6:24 am

Kathi that's fantastic.... we are so proud of you...

[old] Bufflehead · Post by **[old] Bufflehead** » September 26th, 2005, 10:30 am

Gosh, Ritz!! You've come a long way!! And - you're such an inspiration to the rest of us! I wish I knew how to make all those little animated graphics like you posted previously. You deserve them! I am smiling ear to ear with you! Buffle

[old] KathiS · Post by **[old] KathiS** » September 26th, 2005, 12:41 pm

Thanks Carole and Buffle! I will have to teach ya how to do those little animations Buffle! When I get a chance I will send you an e-mail with instructions! Kathi

[old] PaulH · Post by **[old] PaulH** » September 27th, 2005, 9:28 am

Sorry to step in to the Women's Forum, but I was the cox in the Novice Mixed 8 that came in third (not a novice myself, just helping out!) and you guys did great! You should be even more proud as the boat that came first was filled with the best set of novices I've ever seen (at one point their cox told them to ease off a little as they were rating a 32, which was higher than the Men's Masters 8 I rowed in earlier that day!), so by 'normal people' standards you came first Cheers, Paul

[old] Galt · Post by **[old] Galt** » September 27th, 2005, 9:48 am

Hi Paul, this is Kathi's husband. I was in the boat with her. Three of us 4 guys had just finished the mens's novice 4 when we had to get right into that 8 boat and row back down the river for the 8 race. (By the way, Paul, just as we launched for that novice 8, one of our starboard oars got caught between the upper dock and the lower dock, and a good sized chunk of the blade got bitten off. All of our other oars were in use, so our 5 seat had to row with only a partial blade. He also had mistakenly left his rowing pants at home, and was rowing in his loose fitting bathing suit. In the middle of the race his suit got caught in the seat wheels, and he did not row for about a minute or so.) I have been totally perplexed since we got home over the results from that race and the open men's 8 which took place just after. I imagine that you noticed that the same team which won our novice 8 (St. Cloud State) also had a boat in the men's open 8. Their novice boat (the one that beat us) rowed the course one and a half minutes FASTER than their mens's open 8, which came in 9th in that race! Do you have any thoughts or knowledge about how they manage to have new mixed rowers who are far superior to their mens racing crew??? Thanks so much for putting up your post and all of the other great stuff that you add to the forums. I wish to heck we had known that you were there so that we could have met in person. Jack

[old] PaulH · Post by **[old] PaulH** » September 27th, 2005, 10:09 am

I hadn't seen the result of the open 8, but I'm as puzzled as you! The only thing I can think of is that Men's Open 8s are often made up of ad-hoc crews (I know someone from my club, MRC, was working on a scratch crew at the event that didn't quite come together). Sometimes such a crew can add up to a lot less than the sum of its parts! But I don't know if that was the case here. Odd. Those quick turnarounds can be tough, can't they! I rowed the mixed double (slowly) and immediately hopped into the cox's seat for the mixed master 4, and that was hard enough My second year there, and my second year with gold for coxing (and at 175lb I'm a *big* coxswain!) and only silver/bronze for rowing. It hadn't even occured to me that other forumites would be there - I'll know better next time Cheers, Paul

[old] Galt · Post by **[old] Galt** » September 27th, 2005, 10:19 am

Thanks Paul, if we learn anything we will let you know. Forgot to add that what made that turnaround even worse for me was I absolutely tore my hands up in the novice 4 race. I had to run up on shore and wrap a ton of adhesive tape around my flapping skin. I wasn't even sure that I was going to be able to row. On a totally different subject... our head coach this year came over here for the summer from New Zealand. He is outstanding. Once we learned how to decipher his English, we owe him, our other coach, and our imported from England cox much of the credit for our results. Sorry gals.... leaving now.