<p>I remembered that I had saved this link to an October 2004 story on the origins of Woman's Army Rugby, because a friend of our sons plays: <a href="http://www.usma.edu/publicaffairs/PV/041001/rugby2.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.usma.edu/publicaffairs/PV/041001/rugby2.htm</a></p>
<p>I don't know how their season went, but I do know that both their A and B sides scorched Navy!</p>
<p>cougar_62: its hard to say who will be "good at crew"...anyone can learn to row, but getting to the competetive level takes lots of work and lots of committment...things that are no strangers to the kids at the academies!</p>
<p>usually heavyweight rowing attracts girls 5"10 and above...good upper arm strength and good leg strength....and the coach's eyes certainly light up when they see a girl 6ft and long and lanky with a good reach! but that is not to say the sport is not full of shorter specimens...oour daughter is 5'5" (short by all standards) but her weight-to-strenght-to-reach ratio is good, and her erg times (which in most D-1 programs determines who rows where and in what boat) are really fast....in her program they "seat race" for every competetion...meaning the lower (faster) your erg time, the better boat (time wise) you make and what seat you will row....then factor in if you row starboard or port (or both)....but her room is full of first-place medals...</p>
<p>lightweights are under 135lbs....so 140 is right on the cusp...but therein lies the danger....can't tell you how many regattas we have been to over the years where kids have run MILES in FULL SWEATS to make weight...not good..in fact, someone our daughter knows who rowed lightweight for Boston College died this year....in the boat just as it crossed the finish line on the Skuykill river in PA.....one has to wonder if making weight had anything to do with it ( I pray not)....
so I guess the lesson here is that if you are not a "natural" lightweight better to row in open divisions....</p>
<p>in any event, even if rowing for recreation it is a great sport that just about anyone can do....so peaceful....our daughter's favorite time to row when she is home is in the early morning hours when the world (and the water) is dead-still...mist coming off the water as the sun rises...and its just her and her single leaving the trail of circles behind as he dips the oars inthe water....great sport....good luck and I hope she tries it!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info navy2010. Maybe crew won't be for the Cat, since I pledged years ago that no child of mine would ever cut weight for a sport. We've been to Taekwondo tournaments where boys were running around in 90 degree heat in sweats trying to get ready for weigh in, and little girls, 10-11 years old were weighing in bikinis trying to stay in lower weight divisions. I figure just run with what you brung and it works out, but some parents don't agree.</p>
<p>I can see where it could be a very relaxing hobby though. I used to run on Kelly Drive on the Schuylkill river near boat house row. It was fun to watch the early morning or late afternoon rowers sliding through the water.</p>
<p>Having said that, if the daughter keeps stressing over school and the extracurriculars she'll be down to 120 in a shot.</p>
<p>Cougar_62: couldn't agree with you more!
But it never hurts for your daughter to give it a try~ she will either love it or hate it....if she does "catch the bug" then watch out.....you will be traveling to regattas all over! (it's wonderful!)
envy your runs along Kelly Drive....many, many happy "crew" memories from there....
best of luck to your daugher!</p>
<p>Jamz was so excited about crew. What a cool sport. He told me that at his academy, they get up an hour before everyone else to practice, then they do weights after lunch, then after classes, more practice. The thing he seemed to like most about it is that they give these kids a two hour break during their busy day. The coach told them he wanted them to rest/nap. Are the programs at civilian colleges run typically in the same way? Its lots of training hours in a day for this tough sport it seems. I'm just green with envy navy2010. What a beautiful sport to watch! We live near the Savannah River & they have huge national competitions there. Boo Hoo - I really wanted a USMMA Crew sweatshirt in a bad way! I'll just have to get my own printed up for USMMA Ultimate Frisbee! :)</p>
<p>Jamzmom: in response to your question "are these programs at civilian colleges...run this way"...
it all depends on the level of rowing (Division I, II or III)
Division I is the most competetive and thus the most regulated by NCAA. The number of hours of practice are regulated, as is the time on the water, and the date when crews must be off the water (generally nov-march1)....otherwise sometimes i think our daughter's coach would have them rowing dodging snowflakes! She rows D-1 and her friend from high school rows for a D-3 program....there is a huge difference in the intensity and practices required, as well as the level of competetions they attend....
i could go on forever, but will end by saying that in-season (fall and spring) she is on the water at 5:30am-9am every morning, 6 days a week...weight training 5 days a week, aerobic/cardio training 5x week, and then there's the erg.....many many miles logged...
off season (winter and summer)its all about the erg....1-2 hours of workouts a day on the erg replaces the in-water training, the rest stays the same....add in running in the summer...
This will be her 4th and last year rowing at the collegiate level....i don't think the coach ever offered them nap time....they row constantly, and i have no doubt that if the NCAA didn't regulate practice time another session would be added in on sunday....as it is now SUnday's are "voluntary".....you would be amazed at how many actually volunteer! but again, this is the world of D-1 rowing....</p>
<p>somehow we've missed the Savannah river in our travels....but the kids did fly to san diego (from NY) to compete last year...so you never know!</p>
<p>good luck with Ultimate Frisbee....have absolutely NO knowledge of that, so you will have to share with the rest of us!
best of luck~</p>
<p>uh-oh. Seems that ultimate frisbee has been cancelled due to the lack of female participation. Girls didn't show up at the sign in so it's been dumped. Now what.... Jamz sport to be announced at a later date :)</p>
<p>A lot of you seem interested in crew; just in case anyone is considering sailing...USMMA beat Navy for The Kennedy Cup....</p>
<p>17 April 2005 - Kings Point Offshore Team Wins Kennedy Cup at USNA - The Kennedy Cup is the unofficial National Championship for Collegiate Offshore Sailing.* This first Kennedy Cup victory for KP since 1972 was hard-fought and well-earned.* KP led the regatta after the first day with a 1-1-2 score over Navy (5-3-1), relinquished the lead by two points to Navy after the second day only to sail a near-perfect 2-1 on the final day to capture the Kennedy Cup by 4 points over Navy.* The team that brought home the Kennedy Cup is: Coach Ralf Steitz, Austin Howell '05, Peet Must '05, Ed Hine '05, John Phelan '05, Rob Tolleson '05, Bob Greenling '07, Chad Ellis '07, Craig Gary '08, Ben Hilton '08.* Congratulations to all! CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS </p>
<p>And for the ladies, not to be outdone...see site below</p>
<p>Click here: United States Merchant Marine Academy Waterfront#women</p>
<p>Prayerful mom wrote, "A lot of you seem interested in crew; just in case anyone is considering sailing...USMMA beat Navy for The Kennedy Cup"</p>
<p>The Kennedy Cup is contested in the Naval Academy's 44-footers. the USMMA sailing team has always been fully competitive with Navy .. both are among the traditional powers of intercollegiate sailing.</p>
<p>Perhaps more shocking is that a West Point crew team ... fours without coxe ... won an Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship last spring. Army Rowing is only a club sport, but competes with varsity teams in IRA events. They are ineligible for NCAA events. Nevertheless, thanks to generous alumni, the Army rowing and sailing teams have a spectacular new facility down by the Hudson.</p>
<p>good for army! glad to see there's a little sailor in some of them!</p>
<p>Navy 2010 wrote, "good for army! glad to see there's a little sailor in some of them!"</p>
<p>Actually, I believe I read somewhere that the Army actually has more boats than the Navy. ;-)</p>
<p>ah, but can they navigate?<br>
hard to get lost on the Hudson...!!!
well, thank goodness they "trade" for a few midshippmen every year so they can learn starboard from port!</p>
<p>kidding aside, best of luck to all!</p>
<p>Navy2010 wrote, "ah, but can they navigate?
hard to get lost on the Hudson...!!!
well, thank goodness they "trade" for a few midshippmen every year so they can learn starboard from port!"</p>
<p>Cadets can too navigate! So there!! Every cadet has to pass individual LAND navigation, day and night. I spend a lot of time on boats and used celestial and coastal navigation to find my way before GPS. To me, finding a series of checkpoints against a clock in the vertical Hudson Highlands woods, at night, while blacked out, using only compass, terrain map, and watch (no GPS), sounds a lot tougher than what I used to do. USMA cadets probably sustain more injuries in night nav ... falling down ravines, etc., ... than in any other military training they do. But they do it for the same reason I'm sure Annapolis still teaches celestial, etc., any electronic device we depend on is sure to fail when we need it most. Actually, GPS has become so reliable that I keep up the old-fashioned manual navigational skills mostly out of nostalgia ... but you never know!</p>
<p>Also, it is the ARMY that has more boats than the NAVY. I'm sure, having been both places, that Annapolis has more boats than West Point. Of course, almost all of the Army's boats are very small, and most do operate on rivers, lakes, and estuaries. </p>
<p>Good luck to all cadets and midshipmen, especially the West Point Class of 2007 that will have its Affirmation Ceremony in a few hours.</p>
<p>Yeah, but USMMA has the biggest boat! ;) I can see where all these kids got their competitive natures! GO NAVY BEAT ARMY by the way! HA! HA!</p>
<p>just got back from Freeport where we saw about 8 44' USNA sailboats all lined up....even got to tour one!</p>
<p>Jazmom: I agree USMMA may have the biggest "Kings Pointer", but there's something about seeing all those navy blue 44's all lined up in a row....sails tucked away neat as a pin....may not be as big, but they certainly were impressive and warrented the attention of many!</p>
<p>by the way....if one of you are the parent of an "almost" 3rd class young lady from San Diego, who was a cox but is a rugby convert, thought i would let you know she was great in answering all our questions and giving us a tour of the boat....so confident!!!....she was in charge of the watch over all the boats while the rest were at the Yankee Game.... she said they had come from Newport 2 days ago and were heading back to Annapolis...think tomorrow....hopefully not tonight as the lightening has been most impressive...</p>
<p>Laxdad: the army may have more boats, but nothing like those navy 44's!! Have no doubt the cadets at WP are experts at land navigation...I hear it can get hard to find those breadcrumbs in the woods at night...but then again they can always mark the trees (only kidding!!!)
no trees on the water....while we did see that the 44's were equipped with GPS, we were assured they sailed by DR plots!
thank goodness they all have found their way to the academies!
lets hope none of them get lost along the way!
best of luck to all~</p>