Another weekend in Philly/South Jersey

This weekend was a whole lot of rowing. Dad Vail on Friday and Saturday in Philadelphia and the ECAC right across the river on Sunday. The novice guys did pretty horrifically. Varsity women did pretty badly too. The pair did fairly well, however. They were the only boat to make it past the first round at Dad Vail.

Vails is kind of a circus of sorts. The race isn't a good one by most expectations but it's fun. There are vendors there and thousands of spectators and athletes. While in Philadelphia I heard the race mentioned on the radio, on TV and on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I always felt Cincinnati could be a good rowing city if only if had that kind of support. Visibility is half the battle for the popularity of rowing. I'd say 99 percent of UC students don't even know where the team rows. This is not true for students at Temple, Penn, St. Joe's, La Salle and Drexel.

ECAC was much more low-key. It was also cancelled half way into the day after high winds (much like Indianapolis). Regardless, it's been a long trip and it'll be good to be back home.

Head coach Figg said he thinks we should go to the American Collegiate Rowing Association's national championship on May 21 now. He was originally against the plan but has since changed his mind. It's a good race though. It's the only chance everyone will get to race teams from all over the country. It's very well represented.

Last year Jared Kentner (Skittles) and I rowed in a pair during it's inagural race in Oklahoma City. Very good race.