This weekend, Illini Rowing returned to Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships. ACRA is our most competitive regatta of the year and is what we base our goals around each season, so the team was very excited to be back.
After a week of final exams, rowers packed up their bags and left Champaign early morning on Thursday, May 15th. We reached Oak Ridge during the afternoon and rowers began setting up our team tent and rigging boats for the weekend. Crews began their swing row soon after, and got a good feel of the course. Afterwards, cars stocked up on groceries and headed to the hotel, ready to get a good night’s rest before their first race.
The men’s novice four, along with both our varsity women and varsity men’s fours were the first to wake on Friday morning. They drove out to the lake where they were greeted by a substantial amount of fog covering the entire course. Due to these conditions, racing was delayed by over an hour.
This spring season was full of memories for Illini Rowing, both of perseverance through hardship and endless joy in achievement. Ever since the team returned from spring break, athletes from all parts of the team have been motivated to train hard, bond with their teammates, and give it everything they can during racing.
During the last weekend of March, the team continued our new tradition of volunteering in Farmer City as a way to give back to the community that supports us so much when we are on the water. After practice, athletes worked hard raking leaves, cleaning, and lifting heavy objects for local residents. We truly enjoyed providing help to these lovely citizens and could not be more grateful for their love to our team…
Last Saturday, Illinois Rowing headed down to Gainesville, Georgia, for our annual spring break training trip. The week was full of intense workouts, team bonding events, and preparation for the upcoming racing season.
On March 14th, the team drove up to Clinton Lake to load boats, oars, and other equipment on the trailer for the week ahead. That night, athletes went to bed, ready to get some well-needed sleep for the ten hour drive next day. However, just a few hours later, at midnight, a tornado hit Champaign. Local officials sent out emergency warnings and triggered the siren, waking up most team members, who headed to the closest basement or first floor for safety. By 1 AM, the tornado had passed through, and the team could safely go back to sleep.
As we enter winter training, we have many stories to share about our Fall season. With some varsity athletes racing four back-to-back weekends, it was a hectic few weeks full of memories and competition. This season was one of growth and learning for novices and varsity alike. This fall, we’ve been lucky enough to welcome Peter Filice to our coaching staff as our new head coach.
Starting back in August, we had one of the best recruitment periods in recent years, bringing in a large novice class. Novice Introductory Period, as always, was full of challenges, but we ultimately ended with a great batch of novices who were both passionate about the sport and motivated to put in the work for their teammates.
