As the sun rose last Saturday morning, burning off a thick fog, middle, junior and high school rowing teams from along the East Coast began prepping for the day’s races at the 2017 Florida Scholastic Rowing Association East District Championship. Hosted for the first time by Space Coast Crew, the regatta was held at Parrish Park in Titusville, within sight of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
By 7:30 a.m., after finishing well-balanced breakfasts provided by parents and supporters, the student athletes fell into deep discussions with friends and fellow competitors while skimming the shoreline looking for jellyfish and horseshoe crabs. They had already set out their oars, hoisted the long, expensive racing shells off the trailers and onto racks and attached the outriggers, and would soon launch into the Indian River Lagoon for pre-race warmups. At that point, the coaching had been done and all that awaited were the results of their intense training.
At 8:30 a.m., the first of 28 races began with the men’s varsity single, won by Vero Beach Rowing. Every 10 minutes until the end of the day, a new race started and a new winner was declared. The teams will advance to the April 29-30 statewide FSRA Sweep Championship in Sarasota.
Concurrently, the Brevard Cup was being contested, with Space Coast Crew emerging as the winner for an unprecedented fifth year in a row; more than twice the consecutive victories of any other team in history.
Melbourne High, the only school in Brevard with a crew program, fielded a team of 40 athletes under the guidance of longtime coach Jon Lothian. The team, which trains out of Ballard Park, came loaded with family, friends and fans.
The course on this day was being run from east to west and into a 10-mph headwind with light chop. Rowers had to traverse the 1,500-meter course with smooth, synchronous movement if they hoped to power across the finish line first. Each race took between 4 1/2 minutes to 6 1/2 minutes, depending on the size and type of the shell and the conditioning level of the team, said SCC head coach Ethan Shoemaker.
It’s an all-out act of physical exertion that he likened to running a sprint for a full six minutes. His teams, which train two hours a day, six days a week at Paddles and Oars Club in Indian Harbour Beach, are used to winning. His program has grown from 52 kids in 2012 to about 110 today.
SCC is a multi-school team, comprised of Holy Trinity Academy, Melbourne Central Catholic, Edgewood Jr./Sr., Palm Bay, Satellite, Florida Preparatory Academy, West Shore Jr./Sr., Merritt Island, Viera, Bayside, Brevard Academy of Excellence and Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr.
The other competitors were Halifax Rowing Association of Daytona Beach, Treasure Coast and Intrepid Rowing Clubs from Martin County, St. Edward’s School in Vero Beach and Sebastian River High School.
In all, about 200 young people competed amid the cheers, cowbells and horns of hundreds of supporters lining the shore.
For a full list of results, visit row2k.com.