The spring racing season came to a frustrating close on day two of the USRowing Central Youth Championships Sunday, May 7th. In the day one time trials held on Saturday the 6th, three of the five entries from Manhattan Junior Crew placed in the top six of their respective categories, earning them the privilege of competing for a bid to nationals in day two racing.
Sunday conditions started out with flat water but deteriorated by noon. Even large boats were struggling to line up evenly for a fair start at the top of the course, and the race officials were forced to make the difficult decision of canceling the rest of the day’s racing. The results of Saturday’s time trials were then used to determine which boats would represent the region at nationals.
The cancelation was particularly disheartening for the Manhattan Junior Crew women’s pair since their time on Saturday was a mere two seconds behind third place. Had they made up those two seconds and placed third in Sunday’s side-by-side racing, they would have been MJC’s first crew in the last decade to earn a spot at nationals.
This cancelation marks the second year in a row that wind conditions have prevented fair racing on day two of the Central Youth Championships held in Oklahoma City. Additionally, this year’s Prairie Sprints, held annually in Wichita in mid-April, were also canceled due to high winds.
Despite not getting to see her crews challenged to their fullest potential, Head Coach Grace Ure is generally pleased with the progress of the team as a whole. The team now has several weeks’ break from rowing to focus on graduation, finals, and rest before summer season starts on the 30th.
