October 23rd, 2018

What an incredibly exciting weekend for SRA. Our rowing community sent a small army of athletes to the Head of the Charles Regatta this past weekend and it was one to remember. With challenging competitors, penalty overturns, and tough racing conditions- our rowers battled through it all to earn top spots among some of the best athletes in the world. 

As Tom Woodman said in an email this past week, "it is the depth of rowers and how they all support the team that makes our group so successful at all levels, especially at big regattas like HOCR." Woodman went on to say that the head of the Charles is the most competitive regatta in the world for masters rowers. He had a special shoutout for the coxswains as he believed SRA sent the best group it ever has.

Our rowers overcame struggles both on and off the water. The Men's 4+ 40+ boat handled a boat collision mid course that was not their fault. They were given a minute penalty, but showed great determination and teamwork with Scott leading an appeal. Using Lia's GPS information, they achieved what Woodman thought was the first successful overturning of a penalty that he has ever heard of.

The Women's 8+ came together for this event and really showed us all that SRA is one big team. Women from different masters programs throughout the club did an incredible job of working out when to do extra practices and how to make the two team cultures mesh nicely together. Their hard work paid off in the end after placing top fourth of the boats in event 7.

Our Women’s 8+ 50+ placed 11th, our Men’s 4+ 50+ made the top ten with a 9th place finish, our Men’s 4+ 40+ also wedged into a top ten finished by placing 7th, our Men’s 8+ 50+ finished top five with a solid 5th place, and our incredible Women’s 4+ 50+ took home 2nd Place! Just incredible... our Men’s 8+ 50+ is believed to have been the first ever medal that an SRA 8+ has ever gotten in a Masters Event and the Women’s 4+ 50+ tied for the highest placing by a masters women’s SRA boat. Next year maybe they’ll even break that record... 

​What makes Sammamish such a strong and competitive team is our ability to come together with positive attitude, hard work ethic, no drama, and strong friendships among teammates. The fact that we practice at different times and days throughout the week is the only thing that actually separates us as rowers of the Sammamish Rowing Association. 

A huge congratulations is in order for our athletes. It’s incredible what you can accomplish when you discover your unbounded potential. Now it's time to get back to the boathouse and practice to make next year's Head of the Charles Regatta even better!