Welcome Freshman and Novice Parents to
OLMA Crew !
Suggestions and Advice from Varsity Parents:
- Crew tends to run
late. CST stands for Crew Standard Time and it is not in sync with
EST.
- Your daughters will
be getting wet so they should wear layers, and have lots of spare clothes,
especially socks. (Keeping a towel in your car for seat protection is a good
idea.)
- The girls will go
through many pairs of flip-flops.
They float away, get embedded in the mud, or wind up in another girl's
crew bag. Go to Old Navy and buy a half dozen pairs.
- Label all clothing
items. The girls have the same bags.
They sometimes stuff their clothes in the wrong bag and occasionally even take
the wrong bag home.
- Be on time. (We use
EST for this). If your daughter cannot make practice or a regatta, the coaches
need to be notified ASAP. There is a lot
involved with making boat line-ups (i.e., experience, body weight/size, row
port/starboard) and one missing rower may
prevent a boat from going out, which can affect many other rowers.
Regattas: - We travel to regattas as
families. Travel arrangements
are up to the individual families and our Hotel Reservation Committee will try to reserve a block of rooms for all crew girls and their parents. A
girl may travel and stay with another family, but CANNOT stay in a room by
herself.
- Regatta venues vary from
location to location. Familiarize yourself with the location by going to the
regatta website. Links are on our website homepage in the Regatta Schedule.
Typically, the girls need to be there early, especially coxswains, regardless of
when the race is scheduled. They meet at the boat trailer, not the tent. Some
venues require offsite parking, then you need to take a shuttle to the
water. We generally drop the girls so
they can find the boat trailer, then the parents go find the tent. We never know
where our tents will be set up. Most
sites are first come, first served. A couple of venues have reserved spots, but
even those we will not know about until we get there and find them. The key here is to be early. Sometimes you
can even park close if you get there early enough. To avoid lugging what you are bringing, get
there early, find where the tent is being set up, drop your stuff and then go
park.
- The
Food Tent is parent run. The food tent is very important since regattas are
typically an all day event. It is a place for the girls and their families and
guest to get food, drinks and shelter from the elements, as well as a place for socializing. To be successful, it requires
full participation. Beginning Autumn 2015 parents will be asked to contribute a fixed fee per rower for food, snacks, and drinks during scheduled regattas. The OLMA Crew Tent has a food trailer ("chuck wagon" in crew parlance), which is equipped with crew tents, a grill, tables, and general cooking supplies. The Crew Tent is operated by all the parents with the organization of a crew tent committee. Assistance setting
up and breaking down the crew tent as well as packing and unpacking the chuck wagon is vital to our continued success.
- Suggested items to bring
are: chairs, binoculars, blanket, raingear, boots. Prepare for all weather conditions. Don't worry--- the "fashion police" are not
welcome at regattas. NOTE: Rain will NOT
stop the races unless there is lightening, high winds or floating debris in the
river.
- The girls usually load the boat trailer the day before the travel day. After the regatta and before departure from
the regatta, the coaches will inform us the time to be at the boathouse for the
girls to unload the boats. It is usually that night. All members of the team are required to
participate. Parents are NOT to carry
any equipment unless asked specifically by a coach.
- Being an outdoor water-based sport, crew is highly dependent on
the weather. While we will row in the rain, we do not row in the event
of lightening or winds that create choppy water (white caps). In the event of
questionable weather, the coaches make the final determination of whether or not
the girls will row. Many factors go into this decision: the girls rowing
experience, their previous experience with the venue, the coaches
knowledge/experience with the venue, temperture, wind and travel conditions.
Each venue responds differently with changes in weather. Weather prior to the
event also impacts a venue. A lake's water level may rise not creating much of
an issue but the same weather may cause a river to flow faster, having currents
that may be dangerous or even carrying debris, that can severely damage the
boats and/or injure the girls. While other teams may continue to row, safety is
our chief concern.
Crew Terminology: Your
daughters will start using words or terms that may not be familiar to you. The
following is an overview: - A boat is also referred to as a shell.
- There
are 2 types of boats: Sweep and
Sculling. In Sweep boats, each rower has one oar and
in Sculling they have two. OLMA boats are Sweep.
- We
have 8-boats and 4-boats. An 8-boat has
8 rowers plus a coxswain, a 4-boat has 4 plus a coxswain.
- The Coxswain is the one responsible for
steering and race course strategy. The coxswain either sits in the stern or lies
in the bow of the boat. They are the "Captain" of the boat. Also known as the
Cox.
- Cox Box - Portable
voice amplifier; may also optionally incorporate digital readouts displaying
stroke rate, boat speed and times.
- Blade
- The
spoon or hatchet shaped end of the oar. Also used to refer to the entire oar.
Each boat's blades have a unique design that identifies the team or club.
- Stroke
is the
rower closest to the stern of the boat, responsible for the stroke rate and
rhythm.
- Seat
number
- A rower's position in the boat counting up from the bow. In an eight, the
person closest to the bow of the boat is "bow," the next is 2, followed by 3, 4,
5, 6, 7 and finally 8 or "stroke."
- Lightweight -
A rower whose weight is 130 pounds or less. Lightweight rowers are required to
weigh-in before race events.
- Port
-
A sweep rower who rows with the oar on the port or left side of the boat.
- Starboard
- A sweep rower who rows with the oar on the starboard or right side of the
boat.
- A glossary of more rowing terms is attached below.
As a novice parent,
you will have many questions. The
varsity parents have all gone through the "novice stage" and will be happy to
answer any questions.
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 Updating... Ċ E Hughes, Aug 30, 2015, 5:06 PM
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