SARATOGA SPRINGS — As part of one of the shortest, fastest seasons of record, the first Section II championship of the season gets underway this weekend when the Capital Region rowers converge once again on Fish Creek in Saratoga.
BURNT HILLS BOYS
The Spartan boys have changed direction, rowing both larger and small boats, a change within the boathouse for Coach Mike Meier.
Burnt Hills will again have a presence in the big boat category, the eights, with junior, second varsity and freshman entries to go along with a senior four and three doubles.
“Our goal has always been to put out the most competitive boats we can and this is how it worked out,” Meier said.
The Burnt Hills seniors aren’t neglected, as coxswain Jeremy Krupa, Ben VanPatten, Ben Kruppenbacher and Shawn Primett are together as part of the senior four on Saturday before jumping into the second varsity eight on Sunday. They are the core of the entry, rowing with teammates who have not had a chance to row in a premier race yet this year.
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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Every sport, whether it is at the high school varsity level or at the club, recreational level, is always looking to grow. Rowing isn’t any different, but it is one of the few sports to offer a national championship for middle schoolers.
This weekend, Fish Creek and the Saratoga Rowing Association will host the Junior B/C North American Championships to crown the fastest youngsters on the water.
“The idea was 12 years ago, this area decided collectively that we rowed middle schoolers and we would continue to row middle schoolers and that we needed to be proactive with their health and longevity,” Saratoga Rowing Association regatta director Christopher Chase said. “We decided that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders would all scull (singles, doubles, quad boats). The next part of that is where do they race because so few have events regattas for middle schoolers? We host races all the time around here, every race will now have middle school races added to it.”
Middle schoolers then had a chance to compete on the same water as their upper classman teammates, often using the same equipment and everyone on the shore saw the future.
“At the time there is no end of the year measurement for these kids, so we just made one,” Chase said. “We call it the North American Junior B/C because several Canadians come down. I didn’t want it to have a title that would limit who would sign up.”
This year’s event will span Saturday and Sunday with more than 250 entries rowing with 1,000-meter races for the lower age group and expand to 1,500-meters on Sunday for the freshman and junior B (athletes who will not reach the age of 17 during 2013).
This year’s event will include visitors from Ontario with Don Rowing Club including 14 entries from Mississauga, Ontario, Lenox Memorial Crew from Lenox, Massachusetts and the Water Sports Center from East Norwalk, Connecticut.
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