By Gene Kininmonth
“It is the horses, not the chariot that win races,” is a saying probably every High Point rower has heard me say at least once since our Club was formed less than three years ago. This is an old line used often by rowing coaches when preparing their crew to race against a team with vastly superior equipment.
And while generally true, it never hurts to have better equipment. Thanks to a generous gift from Caren and Greg York, this spring we purchased the black Vespoli M2 eight for the boys team. This shell was also raced by the girls youth eight at SE Regionals, where they improved their previous best time by 17 seconds. Both our squads were grateful for the chance to race in this boat.
So, I am pleased to announce that we are now commencing our annual Fleet Fundraiser Campaign. The goal is to raise $25,000 by late June to purchase two fours that can also be rowed as quad sculls. Sculling oars would also be purchased as part of the fundraising campaign and we have identified a university that has these boats for sale.
Four-man shells that interchange as quad sculls have a unique value to the club at this point in our history. As identical fours, the boats are perfect for evaluating the rowers in our eights by breaking the eight into two crews of four to race each other in practice. Rowers could then be switched between the two boats one at a time between races to evaluate each rower on an individual basis against their peers. This is called seat racing.
Seat racing assists coaches to determine who the best boat movers are on the squad and who needs more work technically. It also establishes a fair system of selection that is less reliant on subjective judgment.
A benefit of the fours converting into quad sculls is the doors that open to more racing opportunities for the team. Sculling races are increasing in popularity among both the Junior and Masters ranks across the country. And with the rise of our history making youth squad, why not consider sending our best to the world’s most prestigious rowing event, the Henley Royal Regatta in England next summer. The junior events at Henley are raced in quad sculls.
The junior women compete for the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup and the junior men race for the Fawley Challenge Cup. Over 200,000 rowing fans from across the globe flock to the Thames over 5 days to watch Henley. What a venue to showcase our rising talent!
Did I mention that Masters race at Henley too? In England, Masters are called Veterans!
We have an exciting vision for the future of High Point Rowing Club and I hope you will consider supporting the team with a gift at this time. We are fortunate to have such a talented squad of rowers of all ages representing High Point with such passion and I am grateful to all who have supported the team to get it to this point. We still haven’t scratched the surface!
High Point Rowing Club is a 501(C)3 non-profit. Gifts are fully tax-deductible and should be made payable by check to “High Point Rowing Club” and mailed to 1107 Johnson Street, High Point, NC 27262.
CHEERS!
Gene
