March 2k Results

[Adam William Swetlik]

Team,

Here are the full results.  I pretty good job overall with only 6 people missing their goals and several people well under.  If any of those 6 would like to retest I'll accept them for consideration until Wednesday evening.

I'll do analysis based on what boats we intend on racing.  There is some chance of switching but for SIRA we must row a Varsity 8 to row any other boat as per their rules, so that is what's happening. We'll reassess our options after SIRA. Remember all this racing is just a way to get a good seeding for ACRA. ACRA is our goal, everything else is a step toward it.

Varsity 8:

Same as last year the top Novice 8 will be prioritized with the fastest 8 novices.  That means the next 4 fastest novices will join the 4 varsity to make the Varsity 8. Going by speed alone (some people may be in different boats based on rowing ability) the Varsity 8 average is 7:06.8 at a 1:46.7.  This is 9 total seconds or about 2.25 splits slower then last year at this time.  This is not a surprise as it's filled with 4 novices.  It's my hope that this group will work harder than all the others to close that gap.

I loved the intensity of competition from last year's varsity group. I hated the rift that was created throughout the team.  I think that has put us where we are today, filling the boat with novices.  Now is the opportunity to teach these novices the intensity of last year while making the idea of a unified team a priority.  This will be the most intense boat out of any as novices will be trying their hardest to make the top novice 8 from this boat and other novices will be trying to make it in to this boat from the novice 4.  All along the way they'll get varsity level experience, making next year's transition that much easier.  While this boat is in a unique position it has potential to be even better than last year. But only if whoever is in the boat each days gives their full effort without question.

Novice 8:

As I said last time this boat is slightly slower than last year's novice 8 and that trend continued this time. The boat average is 6:49.0 at a 1:42.2 split.  This is 2.5 total seconds slower then last year at this time.  Again I'm not surprised as you were a bit slower last month as well.  This is promising as you're still in position to be a grands level crew, but you still need more speed to be medal eligible.  If you continue doing extra work and change quickly based on the coaching you are given you still have that opportunity.  There are several guys who could be in this boat which means you'll have to compete daily if you want to make it.

Again all of this is just speculation. You aren't a winner until you win.

Novice 4:

h average for this 4 is currently 7:29.7 at a 1:52.4 split.  While I don't have any real context to give you as we've never had a novice 4 I can say this is slower than the end result will be.  Everyone currently projected to be in this boat is either very new or I think has a lot of potential to gain more speed.  This nice this about novice 4's are they are usually very competitive and fun races.  The field is often very big and there's usually no single crew that dominates.  We'll have a much clearer view of what this boat will look like after spring break and SIRA's.  Keep in mind this crew still needs a coxswain just to race, otherwise we'll have 4 spares for most regattas which won't be much fun for anyone.

There will be another 2k in April so you'll have a chance to change your numbers.  This is the time that extra work and full effort at practice separates you from the group.  If you have any questions or would like to know more feel free to email me.

Adam Swetlik

Men's Head Coach
Colorado Crew