Happy Monday rowers and parents. The leaves are starting to turn and we are in the home stretch of the fall rowing season. Below are the notes for this week:

Practice
Practice will continue to be Monday - Thursday right after school with one small change. On Wednesday, the students have an early release day from school at 11:58 am. Practice that day will be right after school, which means it will be from noon until approximately 3:00. Because there is no lunch at school that day, it is recommended that they bring a lunch with them to eat when they get to the boathouse before practice. We understand the time is a break from the norm but it is easier to organize the students right away rather than have them go home and find a way back to meet at the school at 3:00. If this is a problem for you or your rower, have them let the captains know you will not be able to make the practice.

Regatta
This weekend is the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, Mass. (the worlds largest regatta). The only rowers competing are those selected for the men’s and women’s varsity 8 boats. All other rowers have the weekend off. Please send your best wishes to those rowers representing the club!

Team Outing
Thank you to the rowers who organized the team outing last Saturday. And an even bigger thank you to the Hargroves and Hays who hosted the girls and boys for a sleepover that night. These are great events continue to bring our rowers closer together and make our team stronger. Thanks!

Uniforms
Those who ordered new uniforms from Boathouse.com should be receiveing them in the mail at their home or designated location in the next day or so. Let me know if you do not receive your order.

Spring Break
Great news! We have reserved our spot for the second annual spring break training trip to Sarasota, Florida next April. As mentioned in the returning rower and new rower meetings, the team is planning a trip next April 3-7, 2016 to Sarasota, Florida. This is a non-mandatory event but is a way for our team to get a jump start on training for the spring season and get ahead of our competition. And what better place could this happen than in warm, sunny Florida.

We will be using the World Class Rowing & Aquatic Sports Center (http://www.worldclassrowing.com) for our training. This site is used for US National training and tryouts in addition to hosting the 2017 World Championships. We will be at the Nathan Benderson Park on their 2000 meter fully-laned courses.

So, what does it take and what’s next:

  • This is a family-style trip, meaning it is intended for rowers and their families to make the trip

  • We need at least 20 rowers to participate to make it work Rowers will participate in twice daily training and practice supervised by Saline Rowing coaches

  • The cost for site access and transportation of our boats to Florida will be approximately $150 per rower (based on 20 rowers)

  • Travel, hotel, meals and extra-curricular costs are the responsibility of each family - We are once again working Homewood Suites in Sarasota, where the team stayed last year, to secure a block of rooms at a group rate, however, you are free to stay anywhere you choose

If you are interested, we need to have a formal commitment emailed to me December 1. A payment section will be set up on the school web store soon. After December 1, we will schedule a parents and rower meeting for those who are signed up to discuss further details.

If you have any questions, please let me know or stop me at the Leelanau Chase regatta at the end of the month. This is an awesome opportunity for our team to experience training in a new and unique location. I hope to hear from everyone soon!

Thanks, have a great week and GO HORNETS!!!

Chris Frick