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A New
Winter Camp Theme: Bicycles
Picture a 200 acre training
center with dorms, great food, a lake, a boathouse, and
temperatures in the 70’s. Combine that with bonfires on Coronado
beach, Mexican restaurants in San Diego, and seven days to enjoy
it all, and it begins to sound like a great vacation. And it would
have been except that Bob Ernst, Michael Callahan and Colin
Sykes added three workouts a day. Welcome to the annual Husky
Winter Camp.
The coaches and 23 athletes converged on
Chula Vista, California, on December 26 and, after a day of wind
and rain on the 27th, trained at the Olympic Training Center under
sunny skies. Bob said: “We came back to Seattle this time with new
standards for work and fun. The guys returned with stronger skills
and with stories that are going to last them a lifetime.”
In past years, the men have gone out on the
water three times a day in pairs and in eights. This year the
coaches mixed up the routine by adding bicycles. Michael and Colin
had a quick meeting with the guys before leaving and rounded up 15
bikes – some road, some mountain – and Michael’s own
platinum-plated, mega-dollar racing machine.
Throughout the week, the squad trained in
pairs in the morning, in eights at midday and on the bikes in the
late afternoon. The coaches heard a little grumbling about the new
activity the first day or two, but once the men became accustomed
to the saddles and familiar with peloton tactics and
signals, the fun began. The shortest ride was about 24 miles, the
longest about 35 miles. With coxes doing their own training on
rollerblades through the Center’s trail system, the camp became an
unusual but successful attempt to keep enthusiasm high. Bob said:
“We’ve already thought of a few variations that will add a little
spice next winter.”
The Winter Camp highlight was a ride to the
beach one evening, followed by a five mile run to a beach bonfire
(thanks to Colin’s scrounging talents) and then dinner at a local
Mexican restaurant. The best news – and this may be a result of
the cross-training – the squad had no overuse injuries throughout
the week.
Look for more bicycle adventures next
December. For now, however, it is time to focus on boats and the
upcoming racing season. You can feel it down at the shellhouse;
this is going to be a good one. |
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Women’s National Team Visits
Tom Terhaar,
coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team
brought 16 team members to Seattle earlier this month giving our
women’s team a great opportunity to mix and train with our country’s
best.
The National Team was introduced to a large Husky
crowd at half time at the Husky-Arizona State basketball game (January
6th), and three of our own were given a special
introduction: Anna Mickelson, Mary Whipple and Megan Kalmoe.
Anna, the 2006 US Rowing Female Rower of the Year, will be a candidate
this year for the PI Sports Star of the Year. Stay tuned on that
affair.
Only a single negative was reported on the visit:
Unlike the men in California, the women had a miserable weather week
so we have no photos of the visit to share with you. |
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Accolades
Last year will go down as one of
the great ones for individual Husky rowers. Rob Gibson, Will
Crothers and Max Lang were honored by the Rowing Canada
Aviron with International Achievement Awards for their great gold
medal win in Canada’s eight at the 2006 World Rowing Under 23
Championships last summer.
As we reported last month, alumni Anna
Mickelson and Brett Newlin were named female
and male Rowers of the Year by US Rowing.
And finally, Lori Dauphiny,
Princeton’s women’s coach and former Husky standout, won the US
Rowing’s Ernestine Bayer Award for her contributions to women’s
rowing. That makes two Huskies in a row; Jan Harville
won the same award in 2005. |
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Fire Up Your Calendar
Get these dates down on your
calendar before planning a vacation this spring. The season is going
to be extraordinarily exciting. To see the entire Husky schedule,
including away races, visit
www.huskycrew.com and click on Events and Schedule, but for now
make sure these dates are on your calendar.
Friday, March 23, Varsity Boat Club
Banquet.
Al Erickson and his volunteer
crew have become famous for producing sellout, turn-away crowds for
this annual shindig, so don’t delay. Fill out the form at the end of
this newsletter and send it in with your check to reserve your spot.
This year the Varsity Boat Club Banquet will
feature two extraordinary rowing classes, 1977 and 1997.
The 1977 men’s crew won the Grand Championship at
Henley. There will be more in next month’s newsletter on activities
planned for the ’77 men over the Banquet-Class Day-BBQ weekend; for
now just make sure that all you ’77 jocks get yourselves signed up.
The 1997 men’s crew swept the IRA. Matt
Anderson has taken the lead in organizing his class’s
activities for the weekend. Expect announcement in the next few weeks
about a Banquet pre-function and other activities for the Class Day
weekend. If you want to help Matt plan the activities, or if you want
more information, send him an email at
m.anderson@gmail.com, or call him on 206 321-6288.
Calling all 1997 women! You, too, will be
recognized for bringing home the Huskies first NCAA Rowing
Championship. Make plans to get together with your classmates on March
23. More information will be forthcoming; meanwhile get signed up for
the Banquet. If you want to participate in the planning for your
class, or simply are looking for more information, contact
Katie Gardner at
ktg195@aol.com.
Saturday, March 24, Class Day
Come on down to the Montlake Cut and watch the
Sophomore Class defend its winning effort last year. Don’t count out
the Juniors, they’re tough as nails.
Saturday, March 24, World Famous BBQ
at Conibear Shellhouse
Watch out, Eziel, these guys are in your league
and coming on strong. Join the crowd after the Class Day races for the
great BBQ spread and awards ceremony.
Saturday, April 28, California Dual
What’s not to love about this race. The Bears
have assembled a new boatload of hirelings and they’re going to do
some serious dog hunting. Be there for Husky victories.
Sunday, May 5, Windermere Cup
Join 50,000 to 100,000 other racing fans as the
Husky men and women take on the Wiakato Club and Purdue University.
The Kiwis are strong and fast; it’s going to be an exceptionally good
race this year. Make plans to be at the Stewards’ Enclosure for the
races and at the shellhouse after the races for the awards ceremonies. |
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Title IX Impacts
As we all know, Title IX of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 made fundamental changes in intercollegiate
athletics. Many are well know and widely discussed – old news, as it
were – but one fascinating change might be little understood by many
of you reading this newsletter.
Ten years ago, women’s rowing became a recognized
sport by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, spurring huge
growth in the sport. As part of its new status, the NCAA allowed
women’s programs to offer as many as 20 scholarships to athletes. The
availability of scholarships at so many schools and the interest in
women’s rowing by great athletes across the country led to a leveling
in the sport that remains today. There are dozens of women’s programs
now in the United States and, in any given year, 12 to 16 that have a
legitimate chance to win the National Championship.
The competition for athletes, as a consequence,
has become intense. At Washington, we recruit three categories of
female athletes, women who are capable of winning world championships
(foreign as well as North American athletes), great rowers from
Washington State, and great athletes from the Pacific Northwest who
may not have rowed.
Why should you be interested and where do you fit
into the picture? We need you to keep your eyes open for great
athletes who haven't rowed, the high school basketball and volleyball
stars for example, and let Eleanor and her staff know about them. On
average, two out of eight women in the varsity boat will be walk-ons.
They are a key component of the women's program and, with a simple
telephone call to the coaches, you could be a major contributor to the
program's tradition and success. Here is the number: 206 543-8886. |
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Scholastics
High school athletes know that the
University of Washington’s academic requirements have made it an
especially difficult school to get into. And our rowing
student-athletes have discovered that, once enrolled, measuring up
both in the classroom and on the water can be even more difficult. But
we are happy to report that nearly all of our young women and men are
doing both very well. The successful ones invariably say that their
busy schedule is an advantage, not a disadvantage, because it makes
them become more efficient and more respectful of the time required to
excel.
One of the challenges all coaches face is
convincing their charges that classroom achievement is far more
important than athletic achievement. Fortunately, our rowing program
has a long history of academic excellence and it remains true today.
Two years ago, the men’s varsity eight boasted a G.P.A. slightly above
3.5. Last year’s varsity squad and this year’s, too, have a way to go
to reach that enviable level but the battle has been joined.
The women’s squad fared somewhat better than the
men’s in the last two years. Their traditional rivals among the
University’s athletic programs for best team G.P.A. have been the
tennis, gymnastics, cross country and swimming programs. And since
women’s rowing has significantly more athletes - 65 to 70 in all - it
requires a major team effort to perform as well as the others. Still,
women’s crew earned a team G.P.A. of over 3.2 last year and expects to
do better this year.
Here’s the really good news. Michael Callahan
reports that 82 percent of the athletes who entered the University of
Washington from 1996 through 1999 graduated within six years.
University officials say that that is the best rate among public
institutions on the West Coast and 11th best in the nation
among public institutions. The University’s graduation rate is tied
for 25th among all 119 Division 1 schools.
Today’s athletes should take special pride in the
fact that their program is resident in one of the finest and most
academically distinguished public universities in the country. In one
poll the University came in first; in others, it placed in the top
ten, but we all know that rating is an inexact science. No matter
where it ranks, it is fair to say that the nation’s finest collegiate
rowing program is resident in one of the nation’s finest public
institution of higher education. That’s no accident. |
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VBC Banquet Reservation Form
Select this form, print it, and mail it with your
check to:
Husky Crew Awards Banquet
University of Washington, Graves
Building
Box 354080
Seattle, WA 98195
Please reserve my spot at the 2007 VBC Banquet
to be held at the Conibear Shellhouse on Friday, March 23, starting at
6:00 p.m.
Name:
________________________________________________________________
Address:
______________________________________________________________
City: ________________ State ___Zip ______ Email
Address _________________
Please reserve ______ seats at $40 each
$_______________________________
Make me a Sponsor for ____ seats at $65 each
$_________________________
Make me a Patron for ____ seats at $100 each
$_________________________
I can’t make it this year but I want to support
the Huskies. Here is my donation.
Sponsor at $25 $_____________________
Patron at $60
$_____________________
I want to sit with the people I’ve listed on the
back of this form.
I understand my name and those of my
tablemates must be on a list at the door for entrance to the banquet.
I have written the names and email addresses of each attendee on the
back of this form.
Enclosed is my check for $_________ made payable
to Washington Rowing Stewards |
You can also get this form in MS Word or PDF format by clicking
here or on the icon.
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