2010 Nationals cont.
In all, there were more than
1,500 men and women rowers in
Camden, from 21 to 87 years old,
representing 137 clubs. They
raced in 199 events distinguished
by age and weight limits,
many requiring crews to
qualify for afternoon finals by
finishing with honors in morning
heats.
"Regattas are always fun and exciting, and it's great to see our little team do well," Deb Davis, president of CRRC, said of the Aug. 12-15 regatta. "Our core group of racers is over 55 - older than the largest, most competitive 50 to 54 age group - which helps keep us in the medals. I'd like to see us compete in events where the boats are a mix of men and women, and that may happen when our 2010 class of novices starts racing, probably this fall. Our club is growing and doing really well."
Davis routinely faces the fastest women in North America at Nationals each year when she sets out in her single. For starters, the 51- year old physician is in the same age bracket, and therefore in the same races as the nation's top-ranked woman, Margarita Zezza of Chicago's Lincoln Park Boat Club. Though Davis did well in both of her singles heats, streaking to first place in one, she failed to medal in either of her afternoon finals.
Still, Davis came home with three medals: silver for stroking a women's quad with Celeste Conn, Margie Elsberg and Dinah Riordan; bronze for a quad with Riordan and two women from the Virginia Boat Club and another bronze for a pairs race (two rowers, each with only one oar) with Jamie Thomas of the Orlando (Fla.) Rowing Club.
One of the high points for Chester River's women came on Aug. 13, when Davis' quad was one of two that the club fielded in the same event Both boats did I well enough in their morning j heats to qualify for the afternoon finals.
Quads are sculling boats where each of four rowers has two oars. Most rowers consider them more difficult to master than; "fours" and Eights" - sweep boats, where each rower has both hands on one oar. Two years ago, CRRC didn't even own a quad, and few rowers knew how to scull.
With the morning heats under their belt, the Chester River scullers were clearly excited that both boats had won the right to battle crews from Connecticut Saugatock and Maritiroe boat clubs, among the largest, wealthiest and best coached teams in the country.
"I remember all of those years when we didn't qualify (for the finals), so it was pretty remarkable to have two boats qualify in the same event," said Airlee Johnson, stroke of the quad that included Andy Jackson, Patti Nash and Debbie Yoder.
Johnson's boat didn't medal in the final, but the Chester River quad crewed by Davis, Conn, Elsberg and Riordan took second in 4 minutes, 15.21 seconds, losing to Maritiroe by less than 1.5 seconds.
"Our boat and Maritime's were battling for first and second the whole way," said Riordan, who was in the bow seat and therefore had the best view as the race unfolded. "I really thought we rowed a good race. I don't know what we could have done any better."
Riordan was in another Chester River boat that found itself on the losing end of a photo finish. The quad she rowed with Davis and two Virginia boat club rowers on Aug. 15 took third place, trailing a Vesper Boat Club quad (from Philadelphia's ''Boathouse Row") by less than a second.
For the second year in a row, 62- year old Kendall Ruffatto came home with the most CRRC medals. She won gold with Kate McGraw in a pairs race that was mostly a heroic struggle against nasty crosswinds; teamed with Elsberg to nab silver in a lightweight doubles race for women with an average age of 60 to 64; and rowed her way to two third place finishes, one in her single and the other in a quad with Nash, Yonder and a rower from Richmond's Virginia Boat Club.
Chester River's third silver medal was won by four women with an average age of 61. With Elizabeth Watson in the coxswain's seat, Elsberg, Johnson, Yoder and Deb Thompson beat boats from Genesee Rowing Club in Rochester (N.Y.) and Syracuse (N.Y.) Chargers Rowing Club, but couldn't catch another Syracuse Chargers' crew that roared off the starting fine and never looked back.
Medals put away and back on the Chester River, the CRRC rowers are already gearing up for the next big regatta. They will set out in early September for the FISA World Rowing Masters regatta in SI. Catherine's, Ontario, and in October they will have several boats on the water in the legendary Head of the Charles regatta in Boston.
