Ready to Row: FHS Crew 2020-2021!

June 19, 2021 VSRC (State Championship)

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This is what the team have been preparing for over the past two years!  A very long, but rewarding, day of racing.  This is where we put all our skills, understanding, explosive power, heart and soul into being the fastest boat on the river.

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The Women’s Novice 4+ started the day with a tough 3rd place finish, just getting bumped out of finals.  They had the sixth fastest time overall in the heats.  Despite that, they were so incredibly happy with their race and felt that was the best they’ve rowed all season!

Our Women’s 2X (ranked 3rd) came to race today after illness kept them off the water for several weeks.  They knew they were the underdogs but gave it their all in their final high school race.  Lila Stern and Allie Romero are graduating seniors and four-year rowers.  They fell short in their race with a time of 6:49 but should feel proud of their efforts!

The Men’s Jr. 4+ knew their nemesis, Stonebridge, would be hard to beat but they were totally determined to best them.  They’ve developed much focus and composure through competitive racing and had their chance to put it to the test.  In the end they finished 2nd to Stonebridge (5:43) with a time of 5:53.  They were very proud to receive their Silver medals.

The Men’s Novice 8+ came in 1st in their heat with a time of 5:07. The final was another close and exciting race with Fairfax finishing 3rd (5:15) to Wakefield 2nd (5:11) and Riverside 1st (5:05).  Very happy to meet them on the awards dock to give them their bronze medals. 

VSRC was a great day of seeing friends and watching some amazing racing.  We are all so grateful for a really special season!  Congratulations to all our team members.

June 12, 2021 Al Urquia Regatta

This week’s racing allowed our rowers to experience heats and finals – another educational opportunity! And our team did not disappoint!

The Women’s Novice 4+ started off the day by finishing 2nd in their heat – moving on to finals.  They finished 5th in finals with a very respectable time of 7:42.

The Men’s Jr. 4+ had an excellent race finishing 1st with a time of 6:07.  Getting faster and stronger each week with the coxswain developing good calls and race strategy.

The Men’s Novice 8+ had a great race in heats, finishing 2nd with a time of 5:29 and moving on to finals. Finals race was very exciting with Riverside coming in 1st (5:20), Wakefield 2nd (5:28) and Fairfax 3rd with a time of 5:30. 

Our focus now is explosive power and speed in preparation for our championship regatta.

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June 5, 2021 Ted Phoenix Regatta Report

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Another great day at the races for Fairfax Crew!

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Congrats to everyone for their excellent race results today.  All the hard work and determination is paying off.  All the blood, sweat and tears (and blisters) are now worth it!  All the uncertainties of this past year are gone!  We know where we stand and we know, without a doubt, where we are headed.

The Men's Jr 4+ is rowing as well as ever and looked great in their sprint!  Again finishing second to Stonebridge but nibbling away at that lead every week.  A video taken of their race will be uploaded to drive and link shared.

The Women's Novice 4+ had another stunning sprint in their race today, finishing second behind Battlefield.  They fought off Langley in the sprint to hold on to second place.

Finishing the day off was our Novice Men's 8 in a very strong race finishing second to a very fast Riverside.  

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THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS WE MUST PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS AND GET EVEN FASTER!  TREMENDOUS FOCUS AND DEDICATION TO EXCELLENCE IN ROWING IS NECESSARY!  REMOVE THE DISTRACTIONS AND COME TO PRACTICE WITH YOUR GAME FACE ON!

 EAT, SLEEP, DRINK CREW!

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May 29, 2021 Darrell Winslow Regatta

Another great (but soggy) Saturday of racing!  Congrats to all our crews that continue to improve technically and become faster as a result.

The Women's 2X had a great race this week - getting the stroke ratings up and increasing speed.  Note that Albemarle and Western Albemarle are serious sculling teams and are coming to Northern VA to "own" the sculling events.  Very happy with our women's performance.

The Men's Jr. 4+ closed the "Stonebridge" gap from 27 seconds to 11 seconds, finishing second again this week.  It's hard to compare heat to heat and week to week but they had a significantly faster race this week - going sub 6 to finish with a time of 5:51.9.

The Women's Novice 8+ was rowing well this week - much longer strokes - to come in with a second place finish and the third fastest time of all boats in both flights.  The goal will be to get their race time to sub 7.

Men's Novice 8 had fairly good conditions in the afternoon for a very tight 8's race. Congratulations to the men for fighting to the finish - coming in a very close 4th - within 1 second of the 3rd place time.

May 22, 2021 Walter Mess Regatta Report

We've got another exciting and successful week of racing under our belts!  Everyone should feel very proud of their accomplishments.  Our boats will continue to get faster each week - more composed - rowing well at higher stroke ratings.  Our coxswains are finding their voice and executing race plans quite well.

Today the Women's 2X kicked off racing in the first event - shaving 10 seconds off last weeks time. We will continue to see the double progress in both technique and speed. 

The Men's Jr 4+ finished 2nd in their flight with a time of 6:07.  There is a real bro-mance forming between our Men's 4 and the Stonebridge 4 that finishes just ahead of us each week! Next time save me a cupcake!

The W Novice 4+ duked it out on the water again this week in a tight race - great sprint in order to finish 3rd in their flight with a time of 7:57. 

The Men's Novice 8+ capped off the day, finishing 3rd in their flight with a time of 6:02.  They have consistently been in the fastest heat of the day and finishing with a very respectable time.  Out of 26 novice men's 8's, Fairfax finished overall 4th fastest time.  While you can't compare race to race or even heat to heat I feel confident in saying we have a talented men's novice boat.  In the 5 flights for this event we had several boat stopping crabs within meters of the finish line - heartbreaking.

Congratulations to everyone for a great race day!

May 15, 2021 Regional Park Regatta Report

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WOWZERS!

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What a day for Fairfax Crew and rowing/racing in general for Northern Virginia.  It feels great to be back to regattas, seeing friends and watching some good (and not so good) racing!

The Women's 2X kicked off today with the first event at 9 am.  Our women's 2X of Allie Romero and Lila Stern get stronger and faster each week - going head-to-head with more experienced scullers.

Our Men's Jr 4+ had a very strong race finishing second in their flight.  They are beginning to "gel" as a more cohesive crew - now we focus on getting faster each week while still rowing long and strong.

Our Women's Novice 4+ had a beautiful race today - the sprint was particularly inspiring!  Very happy to see them fight for the first place win!  And it was a fight!

Our Men's Novice 8+ capped off the day with some very exciting racing that was definitely worth waiting for!  They maintained contact with the top two boats throughout the race, finishing 3rd in their flight.  They are finding their rhythm and ratio! 

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Congratulations to our athletes and coaches for a very successful race day!

May 8, 2021 Polar Bear Regatta Report

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Fairfax Crew kicked off the spring racing season in Event #1 in the 1st regatta of the year!  Women's double put to the test first thing!  Lila and Allie are new to sculling and they rowed well, keeping a straight course!  This was their first race in a sculling event.

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The Men's Jr. 4+ also had an early morning race - rowing against a Men's 2nd 4+ and Justice Crew's 4X (quad).   Congrats to the Jr. 4+ for rowing well, with power AND composure!  Finishing 2nd in their flight to the Justice men's quad (eight oars) with a time of 6:23.

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We appreciate VASRA giving our boats a race! Typically there must be 3 entries in the event for the event to be raced.  Expect much more competition in the weeks to come - teams were mostly racing their eights this weekend.  I spent some time marshalling boats on to the course and can tell you that there were few boats really prepared to race.  This was a tremendous learning experience for all teams.

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For those of you new to crew, please note that 1X, 2X or 4X represents sculling event while 4+, 8+ represents a sweep event, four with cox or eight with cox.  A 4- represents a four without cox.

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• Team registration is open and we welcome everyone interested in learning about our rowing program to attend the Student Interest Meeting to be held March 4th from 4 to 5 pm. Please complete the interest form here. A zoom meeting link will be sent.

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• We will follow up the student interest meeting with a parent informational meeting on March 25th to be held virtually. Register for this meeting by completing the interest form here. The Zoom link will be sent to all registered rowers and their families.

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• We will hold our first boathouse workday at Sandy Run on March 27th (9 am – 12 pm) and, at the same time, hold a Regatta 101 for parents.

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• All Fairfax Crew registrations and forms must be submitted along with VHSL Physical and Emergency Care Form prior to participating in Winter Conditioning. Additional requirements will be completed as we approach on-the-water training.

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• The deadline for all requirements is April 10th.

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• On-water training expected to begin April 12th with racing to begin early May.

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• Fairfax Crew Winter Conditioning continues with a mix of in-person and virtual training sessions that began January 11th. Sessions are held weekdays 3:30 to 5:30 pm and Saturdays at FHS 9 to 11 am.

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• We expect Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday to be in-person conditioning based on students’ school schedules and when they can attend. Covid 19 protocols will be followed with temp check in, masks, distancing and 9 to 1 rower to coach ratio.

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• The training program (although mostly virtual through February) has been extremely successful. Our student athletes are progressing well and very well prepared to go forward with Spring rowing and racing.

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• The large part of training will be using ergometer (rowing machine) to learn and understand the mechanics of the rowing stroke and to develop aerobic endurance. Running and aerobic and strength circuits will be utilized to improve strength and aerobic fitness.

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• Fairfax Crew Winter Conditioning will be a mix of in-person and virtual training sessions that begins January 11th - 3:30 to 5:30 pm and Saturdays at FHS 9 to 11 am.

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• Large part of training will be using ergometer (rowing machine) to learn and understand the mechanics of the rowing stroke and to develop aerobic endurance.

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• January 7th we will hold a virtual Intro to Winter Conditioning via Zoom – 4 to 6 pm.

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• All Fairfax Crew registrations and forms must be submitted along with VHSL Physical and Emergency Care Form.

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• On-water training expected to begin April 12th with the possibility of Green Days water practices early March.

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• First Regatta expected May 1st.

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• Fairfax Crew invites all current crew team members to a Crew Kick Off meeting on Thursday, October 8th at 4 pm.  This meeting will be held via ZOOM.

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• Fairfax Crew invites all current and future team members to the Crew Informational Meeting scheduled for Thursday October 15th at 4 pm via ZOOM. 

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• Fairfax Crew invites all current and future team members to our Annual Fall Picnic to be held at the lower pavilion at Van Dyck Park in Fairfax on Saturday October 17th from 3 to 5pm.

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• Fairfax Crew will hold it's fall Informational and Registration Meeting on Thursday, October 29th at 7 pm via ZOOM.  An email invitation with meeting link will be sent prior to the meeting. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions we have very important material to cover at this meeting which includes the Season Calendar, Fundraising, Rower Requirements, etc. Specific registration information will be covered at this meeting.

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Students new to Fairfax Crew can register to attend meetings and receive updates using the interest form on the Contact Us page. Current team members will use Team Snap to register. The Zoom meeting invitations and picnic invitations will be sent in an email.

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Fairfax Crew is excited to start planning for the 2020-2021 Crew season! The team has dedicated coaches, a team of athletes ready to row when it’s safe, and a board of parents providing excellent support.

While many of the details for the coming year are still being determined at the State and local levels, here’s what we expect:

• September/October: Team kickoff; new athlete and parent interest meetings

• October-December: Team Social and possible fundraising opportunities

• January - March: Winter Conditioning (virtual and/or in-person)

• Winter: Team Social and possible fundraising opportunities

• April - June: On-the-water practice begins at Sandy Run Park

• May - June: Regattas most Saturdays at Sandy Run Rowing Facility

Crew is an amazing opportunity to get in, and maintain, great physical shape and to learn how to work as a team to excel. Even more, FHS Crew gives athletes a chance to be part of a team that is more like family through practices, pasta parties, and more.  Please review our “Welcome” informational slides and look at the videos (see below) for some exciting videos of team rowing.

Fortunately for rowing, we can continue to train virtually and socially distanced.

We’ll continue to provide updates regarding dates, dues, and other decisions here and through email. Interested parents, click on the Learn More link to sign up and connect with our team.