#GoBlue

 

Blue Crew returns to the Charles River this week after our second weekend of exciting racing this spring season. The team woke up bright and early on Saturday morning in order to drive to the race site in sunny-but-chilly Saratoga Springs, New York. There, four Wellesley boats faced off against Williams College, William Smith College and University of New Hampshire.

The third varsity boat was the first Wellesley boat off the line, finishing third behind Williams and William Smith, with a mere 6 second margin separating first and third place. Then came the first novice boat, which finished third behind Williams and William Smith and 18 seconds ahead of UNH. The third Wellesley boat to charge down the racecourse was the second varsity boat, which finished in fourth place after just barely losing an inch-for-inch battle against William Smith. Finally, the first varsity boat wrapped up Wellesley’s race day with a third place finish behind Williams and William Smith, laying out an exciting race with a strong first 250 meters and suffering from a steering mishap made by the UNH crew.

The races were followed by celebrations and gatherings under the family and friends tent, where Coach Austin Work served up some delicious chicken sausages, and parents provided delicious and much-needed fuel in the form of pumpkin bread, bagels, strawberries and even hot chocolate. It was great to see the many friendly faces that had come to support our team!

As our team returns to the Charles, over which the sun rises earlier and earlier (being able to actually see the rower I’m following is an exciting prospect!!), Blue Crew focuses into the week of challenging practices that lies ahead of us. We plan to attack our training with an increased intention and ferocity, refusing to settle for anything less than gaining more speed and more power before we face off in two races this weekend: one at Tufts on Saturday and one at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. I can’t wait to see how this team will grow and develop in the coming days.

On a last, exciting note: USRowing tweeted a good-luck message to Wellesley Crew before this past weekend’s race! Although I don’t have much of a Twitter presence, I think it’s quite an exciting accomplishment… #GoBlue!

Meg Roberts '16

Sun is out...

Suns out, Guns out! Or as Patty Suquilanda ‘13 has claimed the "Chubbies Shorts" motto, Skies out, Thighs out!  

This past Saturday, Tess Ruderman ’13 and Ali Pierson ’13 broke out some practice unis for our first dam to dam of the spring season. With four eights, we headed down to the basin to get in our workout and more importantly, get our bagels and other snacks before we headed home.  

(Ironically, I’m writing this during an afternoon thunderstorm. Oh, New England springs…)

After rowing in the darkness of the early mornings all week, it was nice to feel the sun and to see other crews out and about. Since we just got back from Spring Break where we were used to a nice wide river all to ourselves, the Charles seems a little crowded and narrow – but we lovingly call it home!

Practices have been going well this week and there has been a lot of focus in all of the boats. Lineups are being set for this weekend and I know everyone is super pumped to head to upstate New York. None of us have raced (collegiately at least) in Saratoga so it is going to be a new body of water for most of us! We are really excited to race against two of the top crews in the nation and to see what kind of speed we have so early on in the season.

Also, a quick shout out to Meg Roberts ‘16, Miss Chestertown 2013!  She killed it with her crazy outfit and ukulele version of the “Inches” video.

Dream fast!

Jessica Frey ‘13

C-town!

Seven days, fourteen practices, four class skits, and countless hours of team bonding culminate into the first sprint regatta of the season. Spring Break, a week that strikes lactic acid in every rower’s quadriceps is upon us.

Leaving our beloved Charles for the brackish waters of the Chester River, Blue Crew has been hard at work seat racing, learning new technical drills, and remembering old ones to prepare for a fast spring season. Armed with an arsenal of rain gear and multiple fleece layers, everyone has brought a hyper focus and commitment to each piece.

When I first came on my official to Wellesley, numerous people told me Spring Break was a productive, intense week, most importantly punctuated with amazing food from our lovely host, Washington College’s dining hall. After hearing so much hype about the food, I can now attest it’s well deserved. Not to downplay Wellesley’s fresh options, but I had (wait for it) actual artichoke hearts in my salad yesterday.

In addition to team bonding through planning class skits for the Blue Crew’s annual skit night, first years also received their Big Sisters through a heartfelt ceremony,taking place in Wellesley’s original boathouse, with eachfirst year fully becoming a member of the Blue Crew family.

​Now, as one fully united and excited team, Blue Crew is ready to take full advantage of Spring Break and really put the meters, miles and watts from winter training to good use.

-Sierra Luther ‘16

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FINALLY!

I am absolutely thrilled to be able to be the first one to say that . . . (drumroll, please . . .) we have FINALLY made it out on the water! 

On Friday of last week we wrapped up our three weeks of indoor winter training, knowing that come Saturday, we would load, rig, and ROW our boats (regardless of the weather we might face). 

Thus, although our boat loading was slightly postponed due to the snowstorm that swept through Boston on Friday afternoon, the inches of powder that coated the ground on Saturday morning did little to impede our efforts to get the shells back to our boathouse.  Once there, we persevered through the freezing temperatures to tighten bolts and secure riggers, we stomped through mudslush and kept from slipping with the boats on our shoulders, and we cautiously walked out on the iciest (but also the cleanest) dock that I had ever seen. 

Ultimately, we made it out onto the water, and I am excited to say that I believe my new favorite winter sport is rowing on the Charles River ;).  I have also decided that rowing while surrounded by a winter wonderland about as fabulous as rowing while surrounded by Northeastern fall foliage.   

I think that I can speak for everyone in saying that life is a lot better knowing that every morning I’ll be on the river, enjoying the company of the best teammates anyone could ever ask for, honing in on technical changes, and striving towards one of the greatest seasons Blue Crew has ever had.

It is crazy to think that there are less than four days before we depart for our spring break training trip to Chestertown, MD, and less than two weeks before our first race of the 2K13 season.  Based on the work and focus evident during these past few weeks from novice and varsity members alike, excited anticipation is my only sentiment towards the impending 2K13 racing season.

We are going to fly.

Loren Lock '15

Power Moves

Blue Crew was a force to be reckoned with this week. We executed several power workouts on the erg during practice with focus, drive and intention. These workouts involve rowing short, hard pieces that train the rowers to use their explosive drive without any inhibitions, pouring all their energy into every single piece and leaving nothing on the water (or in the erg loft, as the case may be). The best part of Blue Crew’s determination to take our winter training regimen by storm is that the high intensity could be seen not just during the power workouts, but also in other aspects of our practice schedule: during steady state pieces, stair runs, and even yoga. I have been ever impressed by the team’s collective determination and relentlessness.

            Another task the team tackled on recently was laying out a specific mission for the year, and detailing the steps and attitudes it’s achievement will require. Eric Hoffer, an American Philosopher, once said, “it is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny.” From our team discussions, it is clear that every member has unfulfilled desires, goals they feel a burning desire to achieve. Nonetheless, not a single teammate allows herself to feel dragged down by the fact that they remain unfulfilled, or by an overwhelming sense of apparent unattainability. Instead, these desires to achieve greatness fill us with a sense of purpose and fuel our thirst for success. We have united around our common goals and created a mission, our destiny, which we will stop at nothing to attain.

            Our mission structure consisted of three components: our goals for the season, their support system, consisting of several pillars that establish a mindset and purpose behind achieving our goals, and commitments each teammate makes to adhere to each pillar. We agreed on four goals to comprise our mission.  In addition, we selected eleven pillars to support to our mission: Tenacity, Unity, Trust, Motivation, Confidence, Intention, Accountability, Risk, Respect, Positivity and Fun. Finally, each teammate made eleven commitments to her teammates, each relating to one of the pillars. In making these commitments, we promise to honor the mission we have collectively agreed upon.

            Watching the team make such a direct statement of intent, agreed upon and reaffirmed by each individual teammate, really inspired me. As a newcomer to the team, I am floored by the passion and devotion each rower brings to the table. Starting out the season with unparalleled purpose has made me really optimistic to see how each rower and the team as a whole will improve over the course of this season.

Meg Roberts '16

And so it begins!

As Sierra mentioned last week, we’ve all been eager and anxious to get started with the Spring 2013 season. A week and a half ago we had our first official practice of the season, beginning at 12:01 am. We call this practice Midnight Madness, and even though we are practicing in the middle of the night we run on adrenaline and excitement for the coming season. Two days later we had our annual ergothon to fundraise for Partners in Health and for our spring break training trip to Chestertown, Maryland. We moved five ergs to the entrance of the campus center and we each took two one-hour shifts erging. Many stuck around to cheer on teammates and make posters! For the rest of our first week together we completed our fitness testing. Then, this week, we have been digging into our indoor training workouts and secondaries.

I stayed on campus over Wintersession, and even though I had a few friends on campus with me, the erg loft was pretty lonely. It made me so excited the first day back on campus when the erg loft was full--I couldn’t stop smiling!  Luckily one of our captains Jess Frey took a video, enhanced by some joyous comments. Now, during the past week and a half of winter training we have been pulling from each of our teammates’ energy and becoming inspired by each other’s drive. Even when we’re not in boats we still pull for each other. But speaking of boats, the countdown until we get on the water is getting shorter and shorter! 

Maggie West '14