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BHS Crew Fall 2011 Recap
Even though the official rowing season was yet to kick in, Fall 2011 brought plenty of activity for the Berkeley High Crew Team. Team members number about 115 rowers and coxswains, a record by anyone’s count. Fall activities included recruitment at the Solano Stroll, the Team assisting with the Coastal Cleanup and the yard and bake sale. Racing excitement brewed early with two pre-season rowing events in Sacramento (Head of the Port) and JLAC (Head of the Estuary). Then the Erg-a-thon followed with letter writing and an “erg occupation” of Berkeley’s Civic Center Park, resulting in successful fundraising. Fall concluded with the Team’s Holiday Sprints at JLAC (battling with the alumni!) and a party for rowers and parents alike.
As you can see, the Fall was busy with fun, but also plenty of hard training getting ready for the “real deal”, the Spring rowing season! Let’s hope for another appearance at National Youth Rowing Championships this June!
So you ask, what’s next? Follow the emails, but be aware of the All Parent meeting on January 26th, followed by the first race of the year, the Pacific Invitational Regatta at Lake Merced on March 3rd. Go Jackets!!!
2011 Erg-a-thon A Success!
Video by Mike Gill.
See more photos at smugmug. Thanks, Eric!
After a sunny and brisk early morning practice on the estuary, the women's varsity and novice teams headed back to BHS Saturday morning to gather the erg machines and set up for the team's annual Ergathon fundraiser, held this year in downtown Berkeley. Parent volunteer Jim Clara had organized an efficient cadre of parents to raise the team canopies that shelter the team food and merchandise for sale.
"I am really impressed with how our Crew families stepped up to help stage this event. We had 20 people working the food table, merchandise, signage, delivering supplies, keeping an eye out for safety. Special thanks to Cindy Phillips-Romick for organizing the food table and John Godin, Jim Meador and Tres Fontaine worked the entire day until the last item was packed in the truck," he said.
Following the women, the men's varsity and novice teams arrived from practice a little after noon and did their part to keep the ergs humming.
Nearby were the tents that shelter the Occupy Berkeley movement, as well as farmers market and holiday craft fair canopies. All coexisted peacefully as the women's teams set up their ergs in a semicircle around the erstwhile fountain in Civic Center park, and started in on their erg pieces. Coxswains stood nearby shouting instructions, and teammates shouted encouragement as they huddled around the fountain awaiting their turn on the ergs. Parents and supporters drifted by, admired the mock-up of the latest BHS Crew Calendar (coming soon!), and tried not to get on their kids' nerves.
Don't forget to keep the Holiday Sprints on your calendar! Come on down and cheer for both the current team and the BHS alumni rowers. That'll be happening on Sunday, December 18th at JLAC.
2011 Ergathon This Weekend!
Let the rowing begin. On land, that is! The Berkeley High Crew Team's annual ergathon is days away with the event happening this Saturday, December 3rd. Set up starts at 9am at MLK Civic Center Park, near the north side of the fountain. The park is adjacent to BHS. The women's team will arrive around 10 and the men's around noon. We expect to be done by 3pm. Come on down and support the Team!
If you are wondering what all of this is about, check out this short video clip from the 2010 ergathon. And we'll see you there!
Here's another from 2009. Thanks, Mike!
Head of the Estuary, JLAC - November 12, 2011
After a couple of months of training and anticipation, the BHS Crew Team competed in their first home course race of the school year, the Head of the Estuary, held on Saturday, November 12th. While it was the second race for BHS crew this year, this head race (racing against the clock) offered our novice rowers their first opportunity to compete.
Butterflies in their bellies were replaced with very respectable results! Their results included a 2nd place for the Women’s Novice 8 (out of 13 boats) and a 4th place for the Men’s Novice 8 (out of 12 boats). The BHS team now numbers 120 rowers (up almost 50% from last year) and many of them are new (novice) rowers. So the future sure is bright!Congrats to the novices, but more great news came from three of our varsity boats who placed FIRST in their races! These winners included the Women’s Lightweight 8, the Men’s Lightweight 8 and the Men’s Varsity 4 boats.
Wow! Three first places out of the 12 races we competed in! The day’s results were posted in a congratulatory email from the coaches and these are repeated below. As the coaches said, it looks like we'll have a promising spring race season! The results can also be found here: http://www.oaklandstrokes.org/news/
BHS Crew Team Results:
- Men's Novice 8A- 4th place
- Men's Novice 8B- 7th place
- Men's Novice 8C- 9th place
- Women's Novice 8A- 2nd place
- Women's Novice 8B- 10th place
- Women's Novice 8C- 13th place
- Men's Varsity 4A- 1st place
- Men's Varsity 4B- 4th place
- Women's Lightweight 8- 1st place
- Men's Lightweight 8- 1st place
- Women's Varsity 8A- 2nd place
- Women's Varsity 8B- 5th place
Don’t forget our next big event, the Ergathon on December 3rd!
More pictures (courtesy of John Godin and Mike Gill)
Parents watching for boats to come into view!
BHS Men's 8 approaching finish line with SF skyline in the background.
BHS Men's 8 approaching the finish line.
BHS Crew Team poses for 2011-2012 team picture.
The traditional "cox toss".
Erg-A-Thon Letter Writing, November 5, 2011
On November 5th, 98 members of the BHS Mens’ and Womens’ Crew Teams put their pens to paper (and bagels to mouth) and wrote literally thousands of letters requesting support for the 2011 fundraising Erg-A-Thon. This is one of the most important Crew Team fundraisers of the year, so if you receive one in the mail, be sure to pay attention….it’s not junk mail! The funds go towards many important needs such as scholarships, equipment, as well as boathouse rent. Remember, crew at Berkeley High is self supporting. Rowers, congrats for all of your efforts
Thanks go to Jim Clara for leading the effort and Franca Cioria for supplying the menu and food “stats” for the event. Did someone say stats? Here are some that were compiled:
• Nearly 3000 letters addressed and in the mail
• 677 letters went to Berkeley residents
• 30 were sent to international addresses
• 39 iTunes cards qualifiers (30 letters or over. Good job!)
• 15 parent volunteers (Thank you!)
• This “aerobic” letter-writing effort caused the team to consume 13 dozen bagels, 12 tubs of schmear, 36 small turkey and cheese sandwiches and 2 lbs of peanut butter, uncounted pieces of fruit.
Don’t forget to come out to JLAC next Sunday, November 12th for the “Head of the Estuary” at JLAC. This event will be our novices first chance to compete! And we'll be taking our team photo after the races. Of course, don’t forget the Erg-A-Thon, which will be held on December 3rd, north of the old fountain across from BHS. Come on out and support BHS Crew!
Crew Yard (and Bake) Sale!
The yard (and bake) sale held on Sunday, October 23rd was very successful in adding to the Team's fundraising goals! For most of the day, the sale was quite busy, with cars double-parked and patrons looking for those "treasures" before the next person got them.
Thanks to all those involved, including the families who donated goods for sale, to the host family (Carrie and Daniel) for letting the Team turn your property into Urban Ore for a day (!), to the rowers for helping out, and to you if you purchased some goods.
Remember, Ergathon Letter Writing is set for Saturday, November 5th and the next race is the following weekend (November 12th) at JLAC - the Head of the Estuary. See you there!
2011 Erg-a-thon is Coming!
Hello Crew Families,
The Erg-a-thon is our team's major fundraising event of the year. Last year it provided about 37% of the annual budget and financial support for 30% of the team. This year's goal is $75,000.
The first part, the erg-a-thon letter writing is Saturday, November 5. It is time to complete your mailing list. Remember, 30 letters is rewarded with an iTunes gift card. We expect all rowers to send out a minimum of 20 letters. If you are a varsity or inspired novice rower, prepare a personal insert of "crew appreciations" and/or photo.
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Volunteer opportunities:
Please let me know now if you are interested in or curious about working on the erg-a-thon, and if you have a preference for a task, which day (or both) and your phone number. You do not have to commit now.
Pre-letter writing volunteers:
•Print labels of rowers addresses
Day-of volunteers (letter writing, Nov 5 and erg-a-thon Dec 3):
•Food service
•Set up/material prep/monitoring
Ongoing (Nov 15-Jan 15):
•Donation data entry in excel at your home
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This week:
1. Email your addressed label sheets (Avery 5160 template) to me by Wednesday night (Nov 2) and I will distribute to volunteers to print them. They will be delivered to the library for the letter writing.
2. Letter-writing (Saturday, Nov 5) Rowers assemble at the BHS library directly after practice at JLAC. Envelopes, stamps, letters, pens, lunch/snack provided. Rowers brings their inserts. Volunteers help prepare mailing materials and supplies.
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Here's to a successful erg-a-thon,
--Jim Clara
527-6099 (call anytime)
jimclara@gmail.com
Head of the Port, Sacramento – October 9, 2011
On Sunday, October 9, the Berkeley High School Crew Team started their 2011-2012 season, participating in the “Head of the Port” event in Sacramento. The start time was delayed by a bit of fog, but that didn’t mean it was disappointing. We’ll get to that in a moment!
This race was unique in a couple of ways. For our rowers, normal season races consist of mass starts, where the first boat across the line is the winner. But in a “head” race (often held in the Fall), the boats race against the clock. Boats in each category rowed to the start line and did a rolling start, crossing the line at 10 second intervals. At the end of the 5K course, the time for each boat was recorded.
The other unique thing about this race was that it was not limited to Juniors. In fact, we were able to cheer on boats with BHS parents, coaches, former coaches and collegiate level rowers (including recent BHS grads!) who were out there participating as well. It was a great day for a reunion as well!
So, what about the Berkeley High team, you ask??? After an hour delay waiting for the “cotton candy” fog to dissipate (as one person put it), racing commenced. Limited to varsity rowers, BHS entered 3 races on the day, two boats in the Mens Jr. 8+ race, three boats in the Womens Jr. 8+ race, and one boat in the Mens Jr. 4+ boat.
It was our first race of the year and results were mixed. Recall that these are 5K length races, so the kids are at 95% for a lot longer than the standard 2K races. (Of course, the coaches expect them to be on the verge of going anaerobic for the last sprint!!). The first race was a bit disappointing with the men bringing up the rear with 10th and 12th places out of 13 boats. In our next race, the women’s 8+ showed great promise for the year with 3rd, 6th and 11th places in their field of 14 boats! Finally, the men’s 4+ placed very respectfully with 3rd out of 6 boats. It’s great to be back in competition!
The next race for Berkeley High is set for November 12th at JLAC (the Fall Regatta in the Estuary). Stay tuned to the website for more details. With a record number of novices on the team this year, this will give them a chance to perform for the first time. We’re looking forward to many BHS entries on the race leader board!
Complete results from the “Head of the Port” race are posted online…..
http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage.cfm?UID=2190098&cat=6
(Photo credits - John Grodin, Mike Gill)
BHS Crew at Coastal Cleanup + Team Picnic! (September 17)
Over a hundred Berkeley High rowers scoured the shores around JLAC after practice on Saturday, September 17th as part of the statewide California Coastal/Creek Cleanup Day.
Outfitted in neon yellow vests and protective gloves, the team gathered cigarette butts, bottle caps, styrofoam, fast food packaging, cardboard, and newspapers, filling dozens of trash bags with wet, dirty trash. About 20 of the 100 trash collector-rowers were spared the need to bend down thanks to a set of deluxe trash grabbers provided by the City of Oakland. (One parent pondered, "If they had these at home would they be more likely to pick their clothes up off the floor?")
The annual Back-to-Crew picnic ensued as family members, including Ginger the dog, joined rowers and coaches for a colorful and healthy potluck lunch under sunny skies. Once again, the merchandise table was at times mobbed with novice and returning rowers updating their BHS Crew wardrobes and adorning the family car(s) with bright yellow team stickers.
(Photo credits: Eric Carlson [1,2] and Rosa Luevano [3], clothing from website)
