7/17/10

Hey all! Sorry about the ridiculously slow lack of updates. Here's the racing lowdown:
Wednesday: The A four and the B four both raced. The B four was first in thier heat, and thus secured a position in semi-finals. The A four was in the faster heat (for obvious reasons) and was fourth in thier heat, which still qualified them. We basically chilled at the hotel and the JL tent the rest of the time, and of course the girls who didn't race worked out. We also went on water for another practice run after the races were over. It was about eight thirty and it was pretty hectic with all crews in as mad a dash is possible while holding a 56 kilo boat for the dock. Not to mention almost forcing people out of the lanes. Needless to say, we didn't do that again.
Thursday: Was the pairs race! The B pair didn't qualify, but one still has to give them credit for beating a boat even though they didn't finish in the same lane they started. (Please note, I'm not giving them flak for that. If it were me, the boat would have run aground). The A pair achieved second in thier heat, which did qualify them for semis. It was a good day all around. Thursday night we went to the grocery store to restock on food. (Which couldn't even all fit in the fridge...)
Friday: Was the eights race!! There are no semi finals for the eights, but instead the top two go directly to finals. In the first heat, the B boat was first and of course qualified. The A boat was in a faster heat, and unfortunately got third. This ruffled a few feathers because the A boat had the third best time and beat the B boat by twelve seconds but still didn't get to go to finals. Lady luck is a fickle mistress. Friday night was a dance party at Bar Knoxville's teen night. It was a lot of fun, but one does have to wonder how many times it's really necessary to play "Party in the USA". Still, it was really great getting to better know the other CanAmMex athletes, though rowers aren't exactly renown for thier dance moves. The four's semi-final was also that night, which unfortunately made them late for the dance. The A four got fourth place in the event, which means they're not going to finals, but the B four got third and went today.
Saturday (Today): The A pair raced this morning and got fifth in thier event, though their start was shaken a bit by the fact that the person holding them at the stake boat didn't let go when the race started and it offset their course. Though this isn't enough to physically impact a boat, MENTALLY that sort of interference at the beginning of a race can shatter a rower's concentration, especially on tricky events such as pairs where most aren't overly confident to begin with. They did contest this, but since they didn't do so before breakage (in the first hundred meters, before the bouys change color) it was disregarded. The B four raced this afternoon and also got fifth in their race. (I would like to point out, in their defence, that these are all intermediate races. They would smoke the juniors) Tonight we went out to dinner at O'Charley's and now we're bouncing around the hotel on a sugar high. The end is drawing near...it's saddening to even think about.
More later. Tata for now!
Saturday: