It’s the end of the spring rowing season. For those of you annoyed by my frequent boating blogs can rest assured there will be no more…until it all starts again in the fall!
The teen loves the sport. He loves the friendship, teamwork and I’m pretty sure the “rowing physique” he quickly acquired. 😉 This mom, annoyed by all things teen and tech-related, can’t complain!
So as an ending to our spring rowing season, we traveled with the Asheville Youth Rowing Association last weekend to Sarasota, Florida for the 2018 Southeast Youth Rowing Championship. The teen’s “Under 17,” 8-man boat qualified to compete along with seven other boats from our group in the regional competition. By the end of the weekend, two Asheville varsity 4-person boats (one male boat, one female) had taken gold AND qualified to compete in nationals in June! (Our son’s U17 boat came in fourth behind three very large, Florida-based programs. Impressive.) And by the end of the weekend, our mountain rowers stood out, competing with and often beating well-known rowing clubs. Go Asheville!
The regionals were held at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota on its 400-acre lake designed for rowing. I assumed it would be a venue like all the others we’ve visited this spring. Then I saw the alligator. And then I saw the second alligator. Yes, I was sending my son out, aboard a skinny, long, thin “shell of a boat,” into gator-infested waters. (The gator was swimming calmly at the finish line. See photo below.)
After spotting the gators and telling the other first-year rowing parents that the gator myth was real, we quietly moved our kids away from the shoreline. Then I said a silent prayer that the “giant, murderous, sewer” creature featured in the 1980 horror movie “Alligator” wasn’t lurking somewhere beneath. At least the rowers had 12-foot long oars to retaliate with if necessary.
I once again spent most of the weekend exploring the venue with my youngest on his Ripstik. (The Razor company really should pay me royalties.) The weather was great, cloudy with rain moving in on Sunday. It was a bit muggy for this Mississippi/Arkansas girl who’s become accustomed to the mountain air. But the steamy temps were tolerable since the sun wasn’t out.
And then you have the love bugs. Good golly! It was mating season and these little black, fly-like insects were doing their “thing!” It’s always a fun conversation to have with the kids when 20 bugs with rear-ends attached fly by.
So here we are at the end of our rowing season. We’ll cheer on the varsity boats from home as they head to nationals next month. And the teen will continue to row over the summer, even when it’s not required. That’s a good sign! And I’ll take it!
Exploring the venue by Ripstik
First sighting of a gator swimming by the finish line
Excited, proud dads watching our boat launch on the JumboTron
After the race, rowing back to the dock
A playground break for the little brother
A view of the rowers on the 1.24-mile course and then…right after they crossed the finish line.
