Race Day Participants:

Ronan Bates Suliana Barrera Paredes
Christian Brown Vasquez Grace Breed
Daniel Coronado Catherine Brogan
Zach Hardy Emma Buckhorn
Luke Montfort Hena Ershadi
Ethan Sobol Olivia Findorff
Tim Wang Sofia Palacios
Kyle Wilson Valeria Peterson

The rowers listed above will be traveling to Charlottesville, VA this Saturday to race in the Rivanna Regatta. To make this happen, we need each family to help out to make this a successful event for the rowers!

Race Day Logistics:

This will be an exciting but VERY EARLY day of racing. Similar to the Mathews Regatta trip, rowers will need to leave JHS very early in the morning to arrive outside Charlottesville in time to prepare for racing. In preparation for your arrival, Coach Nate will be driving the trailer and boats down to Charlottesville on Friday night. Thanks, Coach Nate!

Travel:

If you are bringing food, please be at JHS by 3:45 AM so you can hand it off to/get it packed with one of the carpoolers.

Carpool: Cars will meet at Justice High School around 3:45 am; depart for the Rivanna Reservoir by 4:00 am; arrival time between 6 – 6:30 am in order to unload and rig boats

Carpool Drivers: We need seats for 16 rowers. Thanks for responding via email.

Agnetta – 6 seats

Matt – 5

Suliana – 3

Monica – 4

Steve B. – 4

Please be at JHS by 3:45 to get the rowers assembled into cars and all of the food handed off.

Racing starts at 9:00 am

All rowers are required to complete a field-trip form. Please get these to Coach Rob ASAP.

UPDATE! Address and Parking:

Once you get to the Rivanna and drop off rowers, I would recommend setting up the tent and tables (coming with Heidi) right below the boathouse towards the river. There are benches and an open area there. You can leave the food there and then once the rowers finish, you can meet them back at the tent/benches for lunch.

Boathouse address:
276 Woodlands Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901

From the north, approaching Charlottesville on US 29S (Seminole Trail):
·         Turn right onto W Rio Rd. Drive 1.1 mi.
·         Turn right onto Earlysville Rd. Drive 0.7 mi.
·         BEFORE the bridge, turn left onto Woodlands Rd. Drive 0.3 mi.
·         The turn into the boathouse driveway is on the right.

Parking:  After you turn right onto the driveway, you will go down a small, little hill.  Cars are to park in the gravel lot on the right immediately after the hill.  Trailers will turn right immediately after the little hill (as if you were going to park in the gravel lot) AND drive on the RIGHT side of the grass field towards the water.  Park the trailer PARALLEL to the water leaving enough space to u-turn to leave with the trailer.

Venue info from our host: There is a nice-sized dock and your trailer will be within 20 steps of the dock. There will be porta-potties in the grass field for athletes to use. After dropping off rowers and setting up, parents should park at the church (2001 Earlysville Rd., Earlysville, VA 22936) to watch the races. This viewing area is at the end of the 2k course. (There is no sitting area, just a bunch of shrubbery and the water’s edge—so parents bring chairs if they want). I would not advise standing on the bridge to watch the races. You won’t be able to see much of the end and it is dangerous.

Attached is the racecourse map—it shows where the boathouse is as well as the church viewing area (which is down the road and across the bridge from the boathouse)

Coach Nate and Coach Crotty will be at the Rivanna. Please reach out to them if you have any questions.

Food: 

Bagels and cream cheese are being provided by the host club, but not lunch, snacks, or drinks. We need families to provide these items for the team and coaches traveling (18 total). The easiest way to organize this is for a couple of families each to sign up to bring lunch, snacks, and drinks. Please respond “ALL” to justicerowing@gmail.com if you can provide one or more of the following: 

UPDATE Food:

Agetta – cooler/Gatorade/water/ice
Suliana – fruit/granola
Monica – granola/fruit
Wendy – sandwiches (IF YOU NEED A COOLER SEE MATT HARDY)
Sandra – chicken salad/water/granola/mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and cheese for the sandwiches (IS BRINGING COOLER)
Beth – sandwiches, lettuce and tomatoes
Christin – pita bread/hummus/carrots
Matt – some beverages
***WE COULD USE MORE DRINKS IF ANYONE IS ABLE TO BRING THEM.
***PB&J needs to be kept separate because of allergies

Return Journey:

Racing will wrap up at 11:00 am; derigging and trailer loading should take the team until about 12:30 or 1:00 pm. All cars should be able to be back to Falls Church by 4 – 4:30 pm at the latest.

I will not be traveling with the team so will need you all to coordinate together to pull this off. Please understand that these times are estimates. This is our first-ever trip to Rivanna and coaches, rowers, volunteers, and parents will need to work together and remain flexible. I have full faith that all involved will represent our team and school well. I regret that I can’t attend, but hopefully, I’ll have a new nephew and future rower in the family next week! Have FUN!

Rob Walker (he/him)
Special Ed. and English Teacher
Justice High School Rowing Team Head Coach
www.justicerowing.org
riwalker@fcps.edu
Twitter: @CoachWalker91

Photo courtesy: rivanna.org/reservoirs-and-recreation/

Rivanna Race Course aerial courtesy: Albemarle