DIARY OF A MAD SPORTSWRITER

Dear Diary,
It seems like its been forever since my last entry, well more than a month.
The good news is that I’ve never been busier, but I have neglected you my friend, breaking several blogging rules along the way.
While not an excuse, here are a few explanations.

First, crew has consumed my life for the past 45 days in a good way. I covered the Saratoga Invitational on Fish Creek followed by the NYSSRA championships two weeks later, both on Fish Creek.
A joy, being on the water, the shore and more among great rowers and amazing people.
To avoid rowing overload to the blog, all of my social media focus was on www.NYSRowing.org and @NYSRowing on Twitter and creating the NYSRowing You Tube page.
It all paid off in spades with huge growth, positive comments and a bright future.
That also led me to one of my proudest video moments, Mother’s Day 2012.
Each Saturday of the NYSSRA championship regatta I would come up with ideas for Mother’s Day, but the window would be too short.
This year, thanks to my wife, Reda pushing my factual time line, I set out 10 days prior to create a series of rower’s Thank You’s to their own moms.
250 athletes later, 16 videos later among the Shenendehowa, Burnt Hills and Saratoga Rowing teams later, 44 minutes of videos launched prior to 6 a.m. Mother’s Day! I made my deadline!
It was a hit on the shores of Fish Creek and all the mom’s richly deserved it.
As for the office, well 1,000 views wasn’t sneezed at, but they didn’t have the same type of joy I had about the project. Oh well.
Along with that on Twitter, @NYSRowing has grown to 700 followers in a month, quite a feat. I found that this audience craves information and the Saratoga Invite along with the state championship was the perfect venue to provide them with that information.
All the mom’s day videos went on the NYSRowing You Tube page, along with day of videos and several signings from SRA.
Fast forward to this morning, here in Camden, NJ I am once again with the SEA who once again provided me with a lift and a place to stay for the SRAA national championship regatta on the Cooper River.
I’m here covering our three local teams and their 22 entries, the 34 Capital Region boats and supporting the 100+ entries from NYSRowing.
I’ll post the Saratoga County results on my Twitter @StanHudy while finding the best way to post or link the NYSRowing entries too.
It could be 200 tweets, it could be linked through @ContactSRAA, linked into Cover It Live, I’m not sure.
The day is young, it’s 5 a.m. on SRAA Day 1 in New Jersey and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else with any other group of people in the world right now…(sporting life that is).
Good luck to all the rowers and I promise to keep you in the loop, or at least what loop I’m writing in.
Stan

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