What about us?

So often, the focus and the limelight appears to shine on the top Boys' and Girls' Varsity boats, which often time begs the question from the rest of the club... what about us?

I am so very pleased to report that PCRA as a whole is fairing excellently this season, up and down the age groups. Now that everyone is settling into a rhythm, and swinging together with the timing and grace that we talked about so often at the beginning of the season, every PCRA crew on the water is worth watching.

At the King's Head Regatta, the boys' 2 V8+  beat the 1V8+, that was a fantastic achievement for them. Their depth is undeniable - their never say die attitude at training is impressive and I am confident that at any stage two or three of them could seamlessly slot into the 1V8+. It is worth noting that that race result was affected by race volume of the 1V8+ rowers during the weekend - but still a fantastic result - as was their Housatonic performance. In fact when including the JV boys (B3 V8+), the boys came 3rd overall at the Housatonic!

The boy's JV program is on a tear. On the days that they show up with an attitude to learn and apply (as is becoming more and more frequent), their rowing improves in leaps and bounds, as was proven by their gold medal performance at the King's Head regatta. Coach Morgan is increasingly pleased with their efforts and improvement and we are all really looking forward to seeing their results at both the Head of the Fish and the Head of the Riverfront.

The boys' and girls' Novice programs refuse to be outshone. With every practice, as the boys accept that timing is more important than power, their boat gets faster. Their 4th place at the Housatonic was a phenomenal result and we also look forward to seeing what they can accomplish in the last two regattas. I would like to see them take themselves a little more seriously at practice though. They waste precious water time by being boisterous before launch, which not only affects their amount of water time, but their mental state on it. Guys - lets make the last two weeks really count!

The novice girls are such a delightful group, possibly the most enthusiastic group at PCRA. I do feel for them that they have not had consistant coaching this season, but I am confident that all their coaching has been top notch. The girls have grown remarkably and are now swinging together with confidence and poise, and may I say that at times - with some decent puddles too. We were thrilled that this group of newbies - who have never raced before beat 3 boats at the Housatonic... lets see how many we can get at the Fish.

It is exciting that both boys and girls novice rowers are transitioning into sculling. A great new discipline and the perfect way to get them to add more swing and grace to their stroke.

Perhaps the greatest improvement of all the crews at PCRA has come from the girls 2 V8+ boat and scullers. At the beginning of the season they were beset with technique issues that hampered their timing, set and ability to create run. More and more they push the 1V8+ and as was shown at the Housatonic, they row beautifully as well. We have to ask ourselves "what if?" after their 12th place overall showing in that regatta. I was thrilled with 12th, beating the vast majority of 2nd 8+'s - but when you keep in mind that one girl constantly was fighting a jumping seat whilst the rest of the crew was reduced to racing by 6's... what if? We will know next week. I am challenging the girls to look forward and not backward, to take pride in their boat and their improvements to date. To come together as a team and to find what the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe call "Ukama" - a state of unity that is akin to family, for in the end we race not for ourselves - but for eachother.

What is exciting about the Head of the Fish is that most of our crews are in with legitimate medal chances, as they separate out 1V, 2V, 3V etc, rather than lumping them all in together, Unfortunately the same does not hold true for sculling, but still - it should be a huge day for PCRA.