“Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream,” the classical rhyme goes.
But in this case, “gently” is an inaccurate way to describe the WJ Crew team. That of which trains long and hard and competes against both local opponents as well as teams across the country.
This spring marked another successful season for the team, which ended in the team attending the SRAA National Championship in Camden, NJ on May 23. There were a lot of good crew teams from across the country, forming a competitive and intense atmosphere. Among the highlights of the championship, the girls’ varsity 4 boat scored a third place finish out of all of the boats competing.
“[The National Championship] has a lot more high stakes than the other ones, so it’s really fun to be in an atmosphere of competition and dedication and see really good rowers from around the area,” junior Marianne Carr said.
While SRAA only had a select number of rowers who qualified, earlier regattas throughout the season had the full roster in attendance. The last of which was the WMIRA (Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association) Metropolitan Championships on May 5.
“It’s one of the last races in the season where everyone races. You get towards the end of May and start of June and it’s more selective and you have to qualify for races. That’s what I like about WMIRA in early May, everyone’s out on the water together,” senior Lara Pauw said.
The team had great success at WMIRA with spots in SRAAs on the line. The boys’ varsity 8 had a great race, and improved from their first place finish last year. Likewise, the girls’ varsity 4 also scored a first place victory in metros.
With the season in the rearview mirror, the team reflects on a successful season.
“I think the season has gone very well, a lot of the girls really pushed themselves. We’ve had great performances from all of our boats,” senior Ursula Brueggeman said.
Like any other sport, the Crew team works hard and long to build team chemistry and team performance, and the hardwork and dedication to the sport can’t be overlooked.
“Going to Crew everyday, that’s three hours out of your day. It was a lot, and just to have that community always there to support me and to have something to focus on after a rough day of school is really helpful. The time it takes to dedicate yourself to this sport is what I like about it,” Carr said.
As well as the dedication, the Crew team builds connections and friendships.
“I think we’ve definitely become a lot closer over the past four years. When I first started out, there was a lot more division between freshman and upperclassmen. Now it’s all very integrated, and I think it’s nice to be connected to the people you look up to,” Pauw said.
