Let's Get This Party Started!

UPDATE: MAR WILL RACE IN THE FIRST HEAT AT 2:10 EASTERN TODAY (TUESDAY).


Tomorrow is the first day of competition in the second National Selection Regatta which includes the selection regatta for non-qualified boats, including the double sculls event that Margot will be rowing with Sarah Trowbridge. They are both ready to get out on the water and do what they have been training so hard with coach Matt Madigan to do together = win!

In this post I've included the Schedule, how to find Results, and some photos and info from Margot's week in San Diego.

Schedule

There's a team meeting this evening, after which the details of the heat sheets will be posted. The schedule for the double sculls -- W2X -- is as follows at this point:

Monday	5:30 pm	8:30 pm Eastern
	Team Meeting
Tuesday	11:10 am	2:10 pm Eastern
	W2X Heat #1
	1 to Final A: 2 - 3 to Repechage
	11:20 am	2:20 Eastern
	W2X Heat #2
	1 to Final A: 2 - 3 to Repechage
Wednesday	9:40 am	12:40 pm Eastern
	W2X Repechage
	1 - 2 to Final A; 3 - 4 to Final B
Thursday	9:20 am	12:20 pm Eastern
	W2X Final A
	10:00 am	1:00 pm Eastern
	W2X Final B

A bit of clarification. There will be two heats for the W2X. The winners of these heats go directly to the Final A on Thursday. Second and Third place in each race go to the Wednesday Repechage. Repechage means another chance or a final chance. In this case, the doubles that place 1 and 2 in the Rep will go to the A final, the others to the B Final.

Results

The results of the heats are somewhat hard to access immediately. Since Powerhouse Timing went kaput, I have been following from the US Rowing site and they publish heats in a pdf format. Beware if you are trying to access using an Android/4G phone or Kindle Fire. I cannot get the links to download, so I will have my computer in hand. Visit this link tomorrow: http://www.usrowing.org/NationalTeams/OlympicSeniorNationalTeam/SrNTSelectionEvents/2012NSR2/2012NSR2Results.aspx

Remember there will be no info posted until after the team meeting tonight.

I'll update the blog asap after each of her races.

San Diego Rowing

Margot and Sarah had a very good week practicing at the San Diego boathouse on Mission Bay before they were permitted to practice at the Chula Vista course. They arrived late April 2. Mar and I called and texted, and these are some excerpts from her emails and messages.

San Diego Rowing Club

"This is going to be short because I have to leave for practice, but I will send a better one when I get back. We have practice at 7 this morning. We are rowing at the San Diego Rowing Club. Its a great boathouse in Mission Bay.

Its been really beautiful there so far. Sometimes overcast, but then the sun will come out and its just so pretty. People everywhere. Boats. Dogs. Sand. Cool beach houses. Its a great place to row. If I rowed here full time I would never EVER erg. EVER. Anyway, we are rowing twice this morning and heading back to Chula Vista, which is about a 35' drive from the rowing club. The house we are staying in is huge and very comfortable. Last night we all cooked fajitas together and had dinner at the dining table like a family! It was great.

This is the view from the boat bays at San Diego Rowing Club. This is just one view directly across, but the bay goes all around and is so pretty. It was a calm morning too so the water was flat.

Mission Bay

I think you are in Columbus now. I hope that everything is going ok and everyone is doing well. I wish I could be there with all of you to celebrate Gramma, but I'm so glad that I was able to see her when I did. Also, I really hope everything goes well for Tom's award ceremony today. I'm going to call him later, but I'm not sure when a good time would be? Anyway, I love you guys very much. 

I'm going to send this update in two batches today. Mostly because I don't have any pictures to show you. Since I gave my memory card to Adam at Christmas my camera has been out of commission, so I'm going to take some pics with my blackberry. It takes some pretty good pictures so hopefully they will turn out. I am forwarding one picture of Scott Gault's cat, Toro. Scott was in the quad with Sam in 2008 and is a nice guy. 

I'll take some pictures of the house, the boathouse in Mission Bay, as well as the mountains. It’s really beautiful here and the weather has been awesome. It was a little windy yesterday morning, but we had a couple good rows.

The first day we were here Matt said "Sarah, point on the pelican" which made us laugh. What that means is that Sarah turns and looks behind her and then aims the boat off of the bow ball at some point in the distance. Typically then the stroke seat will have to "hold" the point off where it ends up being off of the stern. Does that make sense? Its not something you have to worry about when you are on a buoyed course, but when you are in a wide open bay, or a lake, or larger meandering bodies of water, its more important to have a point so you don't just zig zag all over the place. 

Sarah and Matt enjoying breakfast at the Mission Bay Cafe

We are practicing at San Diego Rowing Club this morning and then we are loading up our double and taking it over to the Chula Vista course at the training center. We'll have a short row there this afternoon and then be there for the remainder of the trip. It will be nice to be there in terms of proximity to where we are staying, but it is nice to get out into the city a little bit in the mornings and have things to do and see. I haven't been in the ocean yet, but there are bigger fish to fry for right now.

Well, I love you momma. I'm feeling good. There is a kitty around that is playful and sweet and that makes everything better. He looks so much like Coco it kind of freaks me out. The faces are a little bit different, but the resemblance is really freaky at times.

I will send more pictures later. I love you. Say hi to everyone for me.

Kind of amusing that two large (in a good way : ) rowers are tooling about Southern Cal in a Toyota Yaris. 

Mar said you can fit two of these in one parking spot