AJRA Novice Rowers returned from Oak Ridge, Tennessee with some awesome results and had a lot of fun. The Novice Men impressed with their focus and enthusiasm. The guys did a great job and as Coach Adrian said “had to work for it-one of the best races they have had in a long time.”  The 8+ boats came in 2nd, 5th, and 13th with our A boat finishing 32 seconds ahead of 3rd place! Everyone worked really well together at Secret City, which was twice as competitive as their last race and excellent preparation for Head of the Hooch. The 8+ B boat came in ahead of 4 other teams’ A boat.  And finishing strong in the 4+: Novice Men B boat beat 7 A boats and AJRA C boat beat both of A and B boats of SA.Well done, VM!

Overall the Novice Women had a great day. They came in 1st, 4th and 8th in the Novice Women’s 8+ event. Coach Anna commented on how solid the 4’s looked bringing home 2nd, 4th, and 8th in the Novice Women’s 4+event. The highlights of the day were coming in first place in 8+ and beating SA by 12 seconds after trailing them by 16 seconds in our previous competition. The C boat can also be proud of beating 3 A boats in the 8+.

Secret City was instrumental in bringing everyone together and getting serious for the upcoming weekend in Chattanooga!

Get ready for the Secret City Head Race — AJRA’s second regatta of the fall season and first overnight trip for Novice rowers only. Rowers will travel to Oak Ridge, TN on Fri., Oct. 29, for the regatta to be held on Sat., Oct. 30. Oak Ridge is an awesome place to view a race because spectators are so close they can often see the rowers’ faces. Come get a preview of this venue, which was recently named as the site of US Rowing’s Youth National Championships for 2011 and 2012. All the details of the trip are in the REGATTA INFO  section.

AJRA rowers just returned from Boston this weekend where we were represented by 3 Varsity boats for our 2nd time!  It is an honor to compete in the Head of the Charles — the largest and one of the most prestigious regattas in the world. The event features more than 9,000 rowers from 19 counties competing over a two-day period along a course lined with spectators.

Varsity Men 8+ placed 52nd out of 75 boats.

Varsity Women 8+placed 12th out of 74 boats.

Varsity Women 4+ placed 34th out of 76 boats.

Congratulations to Varsity Women Coach, Julie McQueen, and Novice Women Coach, Katie Ross, who raced in the alumni eight event at Head of the Charles.  Coach Julie, University of Virginia alumni, placed 2nd and Coach Katie, University of Tennessee alumni, placed 4th out of 30 boats.

The weather was beautiful in Chattanooga this past Saturday. A perfect day to bring home 4 golds! AJRA Varsity Women 8+, Varsity Women 4+, Novice Men 8+, and Novice Women 4+ boats all won gold!   Congratulations also to the Varsity Men and Women 8+ who each won bronze.

The greatest accomplishment of the race was AJRA winning the overall points trophy for the Junior teams racing in the Chattanooga Head Race.  In the words of Coach Sam Greenblatt  “While there were certainly some great individual boat performances, especially for this early in the season, the accomplishment that stands out to me the most is winning the Team Points Trophy. Everyone is involved in winning that. No one specific team can carry the load and I believe
our results reflect that.”

Congratulations, everyone- on a great start to the season!

NM 8+  1st, 3rd, 5th

See more results of all the competitors.

Everyone is welcome to come join in the fun this Saturday, October 8th  in Chattanooga.  The Chattanooga Head Race will hold their 19th regatta this Saturday and this is a fabulous venue for rowers and spectators, so don’t miss out!  It is an easy drive to Chattanooga and the town has great dining and attractions.

Check out the website for race details:

http://www.chattanoogaheadrace.com/