Good afternoon Justice Rowing Family!
We have a great day of racing to recap and a busy week to look ahead to! It’s the last week, so please read your emails, talk to your captains and coaches, and let’s finish strong!
Today we launched the men’s novice eight for the last time this season. Once again, in a packed field, our boys took fourth in their heat while putting down their best time all season. The boys had a long talk about their performance and future with Coach Peter and I afterwards, and we’re very excited for this class of rising rowers. A few hours later, our women’s junior doubles launched into the same race taking second and fourth place. Both boats were calm and collected in a full 6-boat final. The girls were proud and excited on the return docks and were in high spirits leaving the park. Special shoutout to Valeria Peterson who, a true novice with only a few weeks of sculling training, threw down with junior Liv Findorff against serious competition. Lastly, our women’s quad took third in their final, improving on their time and performance from last week. Coach Maggie and Coach Hannah are very proud of everyone’s progress!
As always, thank you to our reliable volunteers and parents who keep our team and VASRA running and to my awesome assistant coaches.
Now let’s look ahead again to next week. We have entered the following boats and lineups for next week’s championship regatta. We will not have the exact schedule until sometime on Monday, but I wanted everyone to be aware of which boats need to attend practice this week.
| Men’s Double (M2x) | Jason Palacios, Alberto Mendez |
| Men’s Quad (M4x) | Elisha Watson, Lincoln Trissell, Christian Brown Vasquez, Liam Fitzgerald |
| Men’s Junior Quad (MJr4x) | Tim Wang, Ethan Sobol, TBD*, Daniel Coronado Cortes |
| Women’s Junior Double (WJr2x) | Emma Buckhorn, Suliana Barrera Paredes |
| Women’s Quad (W4x) | Sofia Palacios, Jordan Taylor, Catherine Brogan, Grace Breed |
*Please note: 2-seat in the men’s junior quad is TBD at the moment. We entered this boat in order to give some of our novice boys a chance to race one more time. Coach Peter and I will be evaluating and finalizing the lineup early in the week.
All novice boys who will be available to race at States should attend practice on Monday as Coach Peter and I finalize the lineup for the junior quad. Any other rowers not in a states lineup or in contention for that seat should stay home on Monday.
On Monday (6/14), we anticipate only having 3 coaches at practice as Coach Peter recovers from his second vaccine dose. So, ONLY rowers who are in a states lineup should attend Monday’s practice. Tuesday through Thursday, ALL rowers are welcome to attend practice to gain experience and go out on the water for the last time this season. I have copied more information about this week’s practices and schedule below from an earlier email.
Schedule:
- Practice days will be Monday through Thursday (6/14 – 6/17)
Races will likely start on Friday and continue on Saturday- UPDATE FROM VASRA: Races are all on Saturday. Heatsheet for times and lanes.
Transportation:
- We do not have a bus chartered for next week’s practices
- Carpools will need to be coordinated
- Preferably carpooling by boat
- If you are a parent willing to drive a carpool, please let us know and reach out to other parents
- Rowers should travel directly to Sandy Run
Practice Times:
- With no school, we have the option to adjust practice times to accommodate schedules and rowers’ needs.
- For example, it may work better for the Men’s Quad to practice in the mornings, while the Women’s Double needs to practice in the afternoon.
- Please communicate with your teammates, captains, and coaches ASAP about what time your boat will practice.
- If no adjustment is needed, practices will remain at their normal times (4:15pm at the Occoquan) Talk to your coaches!!!
Wow that’s a lot of information! Please reach out if you have questions, especially if you need a ride or can provide one!
Be sure to check out pictures from the week’s practice at our photo/video gallery [press the arrow to play the videos; videos will not auto play].
Be well, be safe, and row strong,
Rob Walker (he/him)
Special Ed. and English Teacher
Justice High School Rowing Team Head Coach
www.justicerowing.org
riwalker@fcps.edu
Twitter: @CoachWalker91
Proud of our rowers! Coach Maggie and Coach Hannah beaming with pride at the grandstands following today’s races. Photo courtesy: Alumni Parent Sheri Crotty
Click photo below for more images in our photo/video gallery
