Andover Crew

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Year of the Dragon


Happy New Year

2011 - USRowing Youth National Championships Boys: Silver Medals

2011 - New England Championships Boys: Team Trophy 1st., B1 Gold, B2 Bronze, B3 Gold,

2011 - New England Championships Girls: Team Trophy 4th., G1 Bronze, G2 5th, G3 Bronze

2010 - New England Championships Boys: Team Trophy 2nd., B1 Bronze, B2 Gold, B3 4th,

2010 - New England Championships Girls: Team Trophy 1st., G1 Gold, G2 Silver, G3 Silver

Charter

To provide information and news for the Parents, Friends, and Alumni of Andover Crew.
Email andovercrew@andovercrew.net to be added to the list for our email newsletters.

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Rowing has been a strong program at Andover since the 1950s. We owe our program to the Coach Brown and the first intrepid souls who dared to master the Merrimack. Every generation since then has done their bit to support and grow the program to the amazing experience available to today's young rowers and coxswains. As parents, friends and alumni we should give thanks for the passion shared. Now it is our turn to plan forward for the students not yet infected with the rowing passion. We must build for their future.

Keep the passion alive for another 55 years!

News January 20th 2012

We are now in the depths of winter although this winter is not as "deep" as usual for New England. It is the time that hibernating rowers start loving relationships with erg machines. Together they build the rower's strength and stamina so they will be ready for speed when the river is clear of ice. Andover does not have winter crew training so it is up to the rowers to take a winter sport that helps prepare them for spring. Rowers need to gently ease into erging. A gradual build up is the best. Winter is also the time to make sure they are eating a good balanced diet so that it will be a habit by the time racing starts.
Other schools such as Kent take their rowing teams to warmer climates to help them prepare for racing. Andover has never indulged themselves. Instead a group of mostly first and second boat rowers return to school a few days early to crack the ice on the Merrimack take the first boats out for a run on the icy water. This year we will be doing this with both boys and girls.
Parents to should start to think about the spring season. Check your schedules and pencil in spending Saturdays basking in the sunshine by the river with your favorite rower. Think also of what you cn do to help the support organization. This year we will be looking to volunteers to sign up to manage the food tables for one each of the weeks as well as volunteer photogrpahers for some of the events. Parents interestd and willing to help plan the support for the spring season should email Rosy at andovercrew@andovercrew.net.

As you will see below we hope and expect this to be our last spring at the current boathouse. For many there will be some emotion attached to leaving the boathouse that has held many happy memories. The spring schedule has been added.

Boathouse News

A HUGE thank you to the Andover Crew family of Alumni, past parents and present parents. We started out 2011 with approval for a boathouse project. The goal of raising $6.5 million in the prevailing economic climate seemed daunting. Oscar Tang took the lead in the campaign assisted by the fund raising staff of the school and a group of volunteers. The campaign included mailed information, emails, phone calls and personal visits.

The building season in New England is spring to fall. The building program is projected to take 6 months. We needed to have most of the 6.5 million in hand to start the project. Thanks to the fund raising efforts and the generosity of the Andover Crew family we have raised $5.5 million as of January 20th and the school has agreed to allow the program to go ahead.
We still need to reach the final goal of $6.5 million for completion. Ideally we would like to close on this goal before we start building in March. If you need help or assistance in making a donation please contact Ann Harris at 978-749-4312 and aharris@andover.edu or Sam Darby at 978-975-4152 and andovercrew@andovercrew.net. There are still some naming opportunities.

The Boathouse will be named for the founder of the program Coach Bill Brown.
There are three major parts of the project. The building, the site and the docks. The building has operated as a truck dealership. The shell will be stripped down, cleaned and refurbished to house a workshop, boat bays, coach facilities, changing rooms for visiting crews and a large multi-function room that could host an erg practice or training course or an alumni dinner. The site is in sad shape and needs extensive work including re-creation of wetlands, re-grading and tarmac. Last but not least we have to build docks out into the Merrimack to launch our racing boats.

We hope to have all this completed by the fall. If all of our gods smile on us we should be able to throw a party in early October to officially open the boathouse. Mark your calendars now! Email us if you have suggestions for how we might celebrate the over 50 years of rowing tradition at Andover when we dedicate the new boathouse. Also email if you have suggestions on how to decorate the great room in the boathouse. The boathouse will be a utilitarian racing facility but we want to wrap it in the rowing tradition of Andover. The great room seems to be the best place to do this. We might have team pictures, oars from great races or audio of coxswains’ calls. All suggestions welcome!

It has been a long 5 years since the idea of a new boathouse was first broached. When Coach Brown was asked for his advice he said "just start the program and don't worry about when it will finish". We are sad that we lost him before we managed to finish but it will be a fitting home for his active positive spirit that is embodied in Andover Crew.

Other Fall information

We have posted some fall pictures at Fall pictures 1 and Fall pictures 2.

Andover Crew is featured in an article in the October edition of Rowing News. Coach Washburn is quoted by author Alessandra Bianchi explaining the fall rowing program. If anyone would like a free copy mailed to them then simply send you name and address to Andovercrew@andovercrew.com.

For the fall Coach Washburn will lead the boys and Coach Hurley the girls. Becca Waldo '07 and Michelle Darby '07 are returning to PA as crew coaches. Becca rowed these past four years for Bates College and Michelle coxed for the University of Washington. It seems only yesterday when these two were racing for Andover.

Alumni boat in the Head of the Charles

This fall the Friends of Andover Crew aka BIG BLUE will be racing in the Head of the Charles Regatta. Chris Maietta '74 and Maggie Klarberg Kennedy '96 applied for Men’s and Women’s racing entries for the Alumni event at the HoCR. In the lottery we were not awarded a place for the women but we do have an entry for the men.
Our BIG BLUE boat of alumni will race on Saturday 22nd at 10.55 am. We will celebrate with lunch at the Andover tent in the Reunion Village afterwards. We will start a page on this website for the Alumni team.
The team so far is Tom Boyle '74, Forty Conklin '79, Dave Lippold '74, John Pawlowski '74, Carl Taeusch '63, Randy Tagg '73, Hunter Washburn '00, Vincent Broderick '71 and Sarah Sherman '04. We are hoping the team will join us for a practice during Parent's day at the boathouse and everyone is invited to the Andover Crew tent at the HoCR to cheer the boat on Saturday morning.
All traditions have to start somewhere and we hope this will be the start of a new tradition of entering both men’s and women’s boats in the alumni event. Click on the picture for the HoCR team page.

New Boathouse

We have made good progress on the boathouse funding but we still have a ways to go. We need help from people who are willing to organize groups of donors from their year or their boat or their geographical region or in honor of a special individual or cause. We can help with contact information and boathouse material. If you can help us please contact Ann Harris at aharris@andover.edu and 978-749- 4312 or Sam Darby at anovercrew@andovercrew.net and 978-975-4152. If anyone would like to visit the proposed site for the new boathouse, please contact us and we will arrange a guided tour.
If we are successful at raising the funds, this may be the last year in our current home. Those of you who might want to make a sentimental visit to the current boathouse or the previous boathouse that is a short walk downriver should plan on coming down this fall or the coming spring. Click on the picture for the Boathouse page.

Andover Crew Community

Some of us still use ink and paper while others use Blackberries and iPhones to communicate. You can participate with Andover crew via this web page and the links at the top of this page to our Guest book, our Facebook group, our Twitter feed and our LinkedIn group. You can also sign-up for our email newsletter by contacting us at andovercrew@andovercrew.net. We welcome participation, comments, suggestions and especially stories and pictures of Andover rowers young and old. We are happy to help people reconnect with old boatmates.
Our LinkedIn group is our latest addition. We hope our LinkedIn group will provide the opportunity for the Andover Crew family to provide support for our younger rowers as they move into the world. Our young men and women who have maintained good grades while spending 25 to 30 hours a week on competitive rowing at the countries top colleges have already proved that would be valuable additions to any organization that wants to be successful. Membership is only open to rowers, alumni and parents. Click on the picture to join the LinkedIn group..

2011 USRowing Junior National Championship

Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fastest of them all. Well in rowing there is only one way to know. A race over 1500 m. The B1 boat won Interschols to prove they were the fasted boat in New England. For years other rowers questioned whether or not New England schools were as fast as they claimed. In the very recent years Andover and Kent have put their reputations on the line and entered in the USRowing Junior National Championships. Andover has entered in 2009 and again this year. In 2009 the B1 boat won Silver.

This year B1 again went up against the very best rowing teams from all over the USA. They continued to train every day after Interschols. Early morning rowing in June on a glass-like Merrimack with their boat will be a memory they will cherish for years to come.
Our B1 won their Heat and came second in the Semi Final and again raced in the Final to win the Silver medal. Of all the junior rowing schools and clubs from Florida to Washington State, from California to Maine there is only one single team that can manage to row 1500 m faster than Andover. Not bad for medium sized high school in the suburbs of Boston. Pretty good for the 8 rowers and coxswain who manage to train while also surviving the demanding academic rigor of Andover. Not a bad story for these rowers to tell their grand children 50 years from now when they are the same age as the students who founded Andover Crew.
Click here for some photos of B1 in action and on the podium picture hard row

This year Phillips academy recognized Tom Pollack, a 1961 rower, who went on to row in the Olympics by inducting him into the Athletic Hall of Honor. 50 years on our B1 boat is continuing and expanding on the tradition started all those years ago. These young rowers honored Tom Pollack by showing that the spirit of the ’61 rowers is alive and growing at Andover.
Our thanks also to all the parents, especially Stewart MacDonald and Margery Kennelly, who organized and financed the trip to Oak Ridge Tennessee. There were flights, hotels, food, transportation and uniforms to be organized in a very short period of time. Coach Washburn assisted by Walker Washburn drove the trailer all the way to Oak Ridge. Our thanks to the school for supporting the team training after school had finished and Bob the bus driver and enthusiastic supporter who made sure they were on time for training and their flight to Tennessee. A great effort by all.
What a way to end our season. Congratulations to our coaches on their incredible success this year.

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Interschols '11 races

For pictures from the Interschol's races click
Interschol 2011 by Stacee Bell
Interschol pictures

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NMH '11 races

May 21st: We had a bad weather day again. The day started and ended with sunshine.
It poured just when we need it to shine. We won all the races that we managed to schedule.

For pictures from the NMH's races click
NMH pictures
NMH pictures 2

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Exeter-Tabor '11 races

May 14th is a big day for Andover Crew. We will host Exeter and Tabor for races. It is also Grandparents' Weekend so it is always a little bit special for the families and the rowers. Last year we appealed for help to refurbish our equipment. Through generous donations we have new equipment including boats and oars. We usually reserve Grandparents' Weekend to dedicate our boats. Like all water people we give our boats names. This year we will be dedicating Melrose, Mytilene and Dauntless. We will be asking everyone to join us a little earlier for the ceremony.

For pictures from the Exeter's races click
Boat Dedication pictures
Exeter-Tabor's pictures 1
Exeter-Tabor's pictures 2
Exeter-Tabor's pictures 3 by Gina Sigal
Exeter-Tabor's pictures 4 by Gina Sigal

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St. Paul's '11 races

The races with St. Paul's and CRI had to be abandoned because the New England weather brought lightning. Andover boats will row in rain, hail or snow but we draw the line at lightning for safety reasons. Although very disappointing everyone, especially the tallest rowers, agreed we had to be safe. The remaining schedule probably precludes a later date for CRI but we hope to invite St. Paul's for Wednesday 18th.

For pictures from the St.Paul's Day click
St.Paul's pictures 1

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Salisbury and Brunswick '11 races

We had a great day at the lake in Salisbury. A big thank you to all the parents and grandparent who made the trip.
It is normally sunny at Salisbury but this year there was also a strong wind. Salisbury is also special because the finish line is only a few strokes from the edge of the lake so every boat has to stop hard as soon as they cross the line.

Coach Washburn took 7, yes 7, boats of boys to race against Salisbury and Brunswick. He returned with 7 winners!! Congratulations.
See link to results in Race Schedule below.
Salisbury had 5 boats, Brunswick had 6 and Andover had 7 so the last race was Andover’s 6th and 7th boats with Brunswick’s 6th boat. Last year the Salisbury races were close. This year every Andover boat won by open water. For the lower boats this was their first competitive race and all performed very well.

On a bus
Parent's boat

We have uploaded some pictures from Salisbury.
Salisbury pictures 1
Salisbury pictures 2 by Gina Sigal

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Andover Exeter Invitational at Lake Quinsigamond '11

All photos have been uploaded.

We raced four boats f boys and girls. The weather was very wet with a strong head wind moving a little to the port side in the last 500 meters. The wind made the floating more like trying to catch two butterflies with one net. Floating starts mean that the starter tries to get the boats to line up for the start. No mean feat with 4 or 5 boats on a calm day but with a strong head wind the chances of all boats staying in line for more than a few seconds are pretty small.
All of boats did very well. The early races, G4, B3 and G3, had the worst of the weather. On the girls side we beat everyone except the big red monster, Exeter. G4 did well in the conditions and outraced Boston Latin and Brookline but fell to a stronger Exeter boat. G3 won their race in style. G2 had a rough start and had to fight back after the first 500 meters. They took care of business with Boston Latin and Brookline but could not hunt down Exeter. G1 had a clean fast start and took the lead but Exeter caught up with them and for the middle of the race they matched move for move. Coming into the last section Exeter took an early sprint and grabbed almost a length of lead to claim victory. We still have some weeks to work on a last 500 meter sprint.
On the boys’ side the competition was Exeter, St. John’s, Simsbury and Brookline. Our B4 came in second in a 6 boat race behind St. John’s. Our B3 came in third after St. John’s and Exeter but ahead of Simsbury. There will be tough competition in these boats for the places in B3 at Interschols. Our B2 had a tough race. The starting judge used a flag instead of the standard calls and Exeter jump into a lead off the start. Andover dug deep and ground down the lead leaving St. John’s, Simsbury and Brookline in their wake while they caught up with Exeter at around the half way mark. The two boats then duked it out with Andover taking a couple of seats lead and holding onto it to the finish to claim victory. Our B1 took off with a fast start and raced down the lake. Exeter and St. John’s stayed with them to make it a three way race for the finish but B1 pulled well ahead to win with open water.

Wet and cold..
Coach is well suited

We have uploaded some pictures from from Lake Q.
Lake Quinsigamond pictures 1
Lake Quinsigamond pictures 2

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Kent '11 races

Good job
A Cold day !!

The Dent Oars are coming home!.
Click here for pictures_1.
Click here for more pictures_2.
Click here for more pictures_3.

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Racing April 9th

Well we have had our first day of spring racing. We were blessed with a crisp sunny New England spring day and almost ideal rowing condition with a light tailwind and a strong current. Normally we have "Away" or "Home" races but today was a betwixt and between day. Technically it was an "Away" day. The races were run by Essex Rowing Club on their race course upriver from the I-93 bridge but we launched and landed our boats from our boathouse. Supporters had to travel to a point upriver to see the races. It was a little frustrating in that the best viewing place was about the 750m mark so the finish was too far away to know who won. This was a first taste of racing for some of our lower boat rowers and a first race for the boat configurations.

Essex offered very competent competition today. Our G1 made a little slow start and did not settle into a good rhythm until the second 500m. Once they found their stride they moved out in front and finished with a boat length of open water. They will need to work on their starts next week.
All of our G2, G3 and G4 won their races with 4.5, 3.7 and 2.7 seconds respectively. A solid performance for a first day out but still room for improvement over the coming week before we travel to meet Kent.
Our B1 and B2 combined to race the Essex B1. Our B1 took the lead from the start and gradually moved further ahead. The Essex boat moved out ahead of B2. B2 settled into a steady rating of about 34 and held onto the Essex boat but could not take them. The race finished with B1 ahead by 9 seconds of open water and B2 about a length behind Essex. Our B3 and B4 raced the Essex B2. This was a tough challenge against an Essex B2 who looked very good. It was a first serious race for some of our rowers. B3 edge out Essex by 1 second or about 3 seats and Essex had open water over B4.

Juice box comfort
Sleek white

Dropping the hammer
Distance 10, Style 2

Click here for more pictures_1.
Click here for more pictures_2.

Early Spring Crew

Andover Crew is back! The river ice has melted. The boathouse snow has receded and a tribe of about 120 shivering rowers attacked the Merrimack. The sun was shining but a blustery wind chopped the water. It was tough rowing until the boats made it upriver from the bridge.

Thanks to very generous donations we have acquired new boats, oars and cox boxes over the winter. The new equipment is already on the river. We race Vespoli V1s for competition and we now have our first Vespoli Advantages. The Advantage is very similar to the V1 but with a hull a little more U shaped for stability for the younger rowers. The kids love the new boats.

On the boys side this spring Coach Washburn and Coach Hurley are joined by Coach Jen Bauer '93 who is coaching B5, B6 & B7. On the girls side we welcome Coach Sallie Batchelor coaching G1 and G2. Coach Peter Saltsman '78 returns to coach G3 & G4 and they are joined Coach Ruth Doherty with G5 & G6. Everyone is excited by the strength and depth of the program this year.

We are hoping there will be one addition to the racing schedule, Essex Rowing Club on April 9th. The coaches are still working on which boats and exactly where we will race. The race course might be above the bridge. Watch this space and facebook for updates.
We are looking forward to meeting new and old friends by the river. Although they might not always express it openly we know the athletes love to have their family and friends supporting them at the races. So come on down to the river bank!!

Dragging the launch through the snow
Hunters for early spring

Boys on the water
Andover Crew is back!

Click here for more pictures.

The Mighty Merrimack is free of ice. The river is calling the rowers to free their boats from the frozen snow covered boathouse. The rowers must prepare. In a few short weeks they will be expected to race their hearts out over 1500 meter of water. They must prepare their bodies for this huge effort. This past week the beloved erg machines have been brought out of storage to the Smith building. Three rows of eight torture machines. Rowing is not a genteel sport. There is no physical contact with your opponent but rowing is a very physical sport. Erging is just you and a machine against the world. Just take a seat, attach the foot straps, grab the pull bar and then push with your feet, pull with your arms as hard as you can for 2000 meters. A 7:00 minute 2k takes about 300 watts so the 24 rowers all doing 2ks generate about 7.2 KW of energy.

Girls at the catch
Guys at the finish

Click here for more Erg pictures.

They will push their lungs, heart and muscles to the limit. They will feel the pain in their muscles thanks to the lactic acid. The effort and motion makes them want to throw up. There is a reason erg rooms have large plastic buckets. All this for a few metaphorical inches. The inches that make the difference between winning and losing. When a rower needs that extra strength in the last 500m meters to eek out those extra few inches they will be glad for the effort spent on the erg.

A rower is not a typical teenager. To output 300 watts in a few minute means they have to eat more than your average teenager. The training means extra muscles where some may not have had them before. And then there are the rower’s hands. Most school kids have soft delicate hands that have never known hard labor. A rower’s handshake tends to illicit an involuntary look of surprise on the recipient. People do not expect high school students to have the hands of a manual laborer. Calluses and blisters are a price the rower has to pay for all the work done.

Jump to

All you didn't want to know about crew

Training & Fun

How parents help the passion

Spring Schedule, Results and Directions

Rowing links - Including tips for spring training.

Henley '06

Alumni Page - Andover Crew, the last 54 years

Alumni Corner - Sample pictures

Rowing Stories '10

Rowing Stories '09

Rowing Stories '08

Rowing Stories '07

Rowing Stories '06

Rowing Stories '05

Food signup NOT ACTIVE

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If your are a rower, please take the time to show your parents how to access this page.

The Spirit of Andover Crew

Crew is a little different from other sports. All the students, boys and girls, everyone from varsity first boat to the sixth boat, train together, practice together, race together. Everyone jumps on the same bus for the bone-rattling trip to the boathouse. Everyone helps with the launches. Everyone shares the same cold wet days on the Merrimack. Everyone shares the same pain, the same pleasure. Everyone will have the same joy as the boat starts to sync and the speed increases. There is no individual effort. There is no individual glory. Only one boat, eight rowers, one coxswain, one shell. A racing boat.
Below is a multimedia section including a video of this year's (07) interschols, Michelle's call and video from Henley '06 and a documentary video about Andover crew made by Katherine Adams '06. Recently we have noticed people referring to Andover crew as a world class program. The shallow reason for such an accolade is probably the recent racing performance such as B1 with two silvers and a gold and G1 with three silvers in the last three New England Championships. We think the program is world class because of the spirit of Andover crew down through all 12 boats. We hope the videos below will help you visit again with the spirit of Andover crew.

Interschols '07 Video

Click the links below for Interschol video thanks to Jim Moroney.
Click here for Interschol video part 1
Click here for Interschol video part 2
Click here for Interschol video part 3

Abingdon Race Henley '06 - Michelle's Coxswain's Call: You can feel the spirit as you listen to this race from Henley '06. Abingdon, one of the top English schools, used their fantastic start to take an early lead of over a boat length. Lesser crews would have crumbled. Andover clawed back into the race and then pulled off a tremendous sprint to take the victory.

Click the CONE for a video combination of the coxswain's recording and the TV recording of the Abingdon-Andover race. The video will start with a photograph of the team racing at Henley. The TV footage from www.rowtv.co.uk will appear for the last 500 meters.

Andover Crew video: Katherine Adams created this Andover crew video in the Spring of '04. As you watch this movie I think you will appreciate that Andover Crew is something very special. We have split the movie into four parts to make it easier to play and download. Please click on the link and it will play using Media Player. You may also right click on each part to download the four files and then use the 'open' command under 'file' to select all four to play as a group.
Andover Crew Video Part 1
Andover Crew Video Part 2
Andover Crew Video Part 3
Andover Crew Video Part 4
Courtesy of Katherine Adams '06

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General Information

Head Coaches:

Girls' Head Coach: Sallie Batchelor
Boys' Head Coach: Pete Washburn
Fall Crew:
Boys: Coach Washburn assisted by Becca Waldo and Michelle Darby Girls: Coach Hurley assitied by Kathleen Pryde, Sallie Batchelor, and Joe Bouscaren
Coach Profile

Girls' Team Captain '11: Katie Fanikos
Boys' Team Captain '11: Dan Larson

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Walt Whitman

This Website is run by Parents, Friends and Alums of Andover Crew to inform and involve parents and alums in the Andover Crew program

The FALL crew season is the time for fun. Many new students have never been in a rowing boat. The experienced and novice students are mixed together in a process that starts with lots of splashing and little speed through the water. The teams progress with advice and encouragement from the coaches as well as laughter and hard work from the students. Eventually every boat is powering through the water with every oar moving as though the rowers were part of one being. Students who used to run inside at the first drop of rain will soon be happily braving even snow showers for the opportunity to spend the afternoon on the river. Hard to believe? Come and see!

Your students will soon be speaking a new language. You too can learn a little more or understand their new vocabulary

Rowing requires great skill and co-ordination. Here are some extra challenges that a student can try during the school vacation. What about Sculling ?

The program has about 100 girls and boys. They row mostly 'eights' and a few 'fours'

Everyday they are bused to and from the boathouse on the Merrimack River. There is an incredible camaraderie amongst the crew students. Maybe it is the daily bus journey, maybe the shared battle with the elements, maybe the fact that crew is a true team effort? Maybe it is just the shared experience of a few hours together away from the pressure of schoolwork? It is a pleasure to see this happy relaxed group working hard and having fun together.

Spring term is racing season. The competitive spirit kicks in as they start training for races. Andover competes against schools from all over the North East such as Exeter, Kent, NMH, St Paul's, St. John's, Tabor and others. Andover also competes at the New England Interscholastic Regatta (NEIRA) in May.

Spring is also the time for parents and friends to join in with practical help and support. The Saturday races are almost full day events with Andover fielding from 6 to 10 boats against the competition. Supporters travel to the races and provide our teams with food and drink throughout the day. If you have been to any of the races, you will know the extraordinary amount of nourishment required to support a hard racing team. The support and encouragement of the parents and fellow racers contributes greatly to the team. The races are also fun events for students and parents together. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come, even if you can only make it to one of the races. If you live far away you can make a contribution that will be used to provide the food for the races and the end of season barbecue.

Over the years parents and friends have also supported the program with donations of equipment. In the past few years donations have paid for trips overseas, new ergs, new docks, launches and of course new racing boats. With up to 6 racing boats for each of the boys and girls, the hand-me-down boats are pretty old and battered by the time they reach the lower boats even if they are passed on every couple of years. The process needs new boats every 2 to 3 years. In recent years we have added a number of new boats for the girls. This coming spring we will be bringing new boats to the boys program thanks to very generous donations from parents of both boys and girls.

At the very least, crew will allow your student to have fun, exercise, make new friends and learn a new skill. It may also be the start of a life long passion.

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Training and Fun

Some guidance for the art of erging with skill and style. Read and inwardly digest this guidance and then do the complete opposite and you will have perfection!

Now that the crews are on the water, some people will be catching crabs. If you are going to do something, you might as well excel at it. Here are instructions for catching a really good crab!

For a video of a real-life ejector crab from the MIT website, thanks to Kit H. Click here You will need a mp4 player such as QuickTime or DIV/X.

Catching a crab can be a race stopping event. Check out the youtube video from San Diego at 1 min 24 secs. Click Ejection crab

Diet is very important for all of us. Strenuous sports such as Crew add an extra dimension to diet planning. Eating properly is essential for good health. Some useful advice for rowers and parents bringing food to races can be found in this Training diet guide link. Staying healthy should be the first priority.

Crew first day on the water

Crew after a week with the coaches - see technique instruction

bb_83

Strokes thru' the ages

I know we have many alumni who go weepy eyed at the sight of an old wooden boat and cannot believe that the feather light modern oars can propel a boat at speed. Michael Callahan of the Universiy of Washington has written an interesting article comparing the stroke used in 1949 with that of today. To see this article Click here

The 1949 boat merged with the 2009 boat.

If all this exertion is too much for you and you would rather some very light training , then try simulated crew with this game for your family. interesting board games.

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Parental Support

In the Fall our duty as parents is to make supporting, understanding nods at the comments that crew is "awesome", "tough", "exhilarating" and of course pretend that we understand the new language. We must not comment on the new found appetites, tendency to dress in layers and almost complete immunity to the weather. In Spring the racing season offers a direct opportunity for parents to participate. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the race meetings and yell "GO BLUE". The students really appreciate the loyal band of supporters to cheer them to victory. The races are exhilarating, exhausting and appetite creating and that is just for the supporters. Over the duration of the race meeting, the parents provide a hospitality table for our athletes to quench their thirst and quell their hunger after a hard race.

We can have up to 120 hungry students to feed. You would be amazed at the amount of food consumed. Our athletes are very serious about what they eat before and after a race. It appears they really did listen to all the comments about healthy eating that you thought had fallen on deaf ears.
Check out what rowers should and should not eat and when
In Spring we publish a sample menu for the food table. Everyone can join in by bringing food or making a donation to purchase food.
Click here for a sample food menu. If your child has any special food requirements or preferences please have them inform us before the races.

The most important thing parents can do is provide encouragement and, if possible, come to support the students at Parents Weekend in the Fall and the races in the Spring. A crew program needs good equipment to be competitive. The Andover crew program has also benefited over the past 50 years from parent and alumni donations. Much of our equipment has been acquired with these donations. Hence the funny names on the boats -- "Pete & Jerry", Cashin. Lone Star and Coach Moss. When crews have won the right to attend the Henley Regatta in London, it has only been possible with the generous donations of parents and alumni to pay for a trip that will be remembered for a lifetime.

If you would like to be on our email list please email us at andovercrew@andovercrew.net.
Top 7 Reasons To Be A Crew Mom/Dad
1. Cooking lunch for the kids on the team is like cooking for a small village.
2. The people from the Child Abuse Prevention Center keep calling about the cuts and bruises on the backs of your child's legs.
3. Standing in the rain and mud on Saturdays in April is much better than relaxing at home.
4. What the hell is a unisuit?
5. Your kids haven't gone to bed this early since they were two years old.
6. You can personally keep Johnson & Johnson in business by buying Band-Aids, gauze, and Neosporin for all their blisters.
7. After all these years they finally eat everything on their plate.

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Spring Schedule

By popular demand a best guess at the 2012 Spring Race Schedule.
To live is to row, to row is to race, to race is to test the limits. NEIRA beckons.

A Call to Oars:
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To the full height. On, on, you noblest rowers.
Whose limbs were made in New England show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'Go for myself, my family and Andover Crew!'
(Mostly from Henry V Act 3 Scene 1)
- Apologies to Will Shakespeare.

Proposed Andover Spring Racing Schedule 2012
Date Day Team Opponent Site Time

14-Apr-2010 Sat Boys B1-B3 Kent Home 1.00 PM
14-Apr-2010 Sat Girls G1-G3 Kent Home 1.00 PM
21-Apr-2010 Sat Boys B1-B4 St. Johns,Simsbury,Exeter Away TBD

21-Apr-2010 Sat Girls G1-G4 Simsbury,Exeter Away TBD

28-Apr-2010 Sat Boys B1-B? Salisbury & Brunswick Away TBD

28-April-2010 Sat Girls G1-G? No Schedule Away TBD

5-April-2010 Sat Boys B1-B? St. Pauls Away TBD

5-April-2010 Sat Girls G1-G? St. Pauls Away TBD

12-May-2010 Sat Boys B1-B? Tabor-Exeter Home TBD

12-May-2010 Sat Girls G1-G? Tabor-Exeter Home TBD

19-May-2010 Sat Boys B1-B? N.M.H. Home TBD

19-May-2010 Sat Girls G1-G? N.M.H Home TBD

26-May-2010 Sat Boys B1-B3 Interscholastics (NEIRA) Away TBD

26-May-2010 Sat Girls G1-G3 Interscholastics (NEIRA) Away TBD

How many boats depends the other school.
For past years' results go to http://www.row2k.com/results/

The time listed are approximate times for the first racing boat to go on the water. The teams and supporters arrive about an hour earlier to setup for the races.
GO BLUE!!

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Proposed Andover Spring Racing Schedule 2012
Date	Day	Team	Opponent	Site	Time

14-Apr-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B3	Kent	Home	1.00 PM
14-Apr-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G3	Kent	Home	1.00 PM
21-Apr-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B4	St. Johns,Simsbury,Exeter	Away	TBD
21-Apr-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G4	Simsbury,Exeter	Away	TBD
28-Apr-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B?	Salisbury & Brunswick	Away	TBD
28-April-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G?	No Schedule	Away	TBD
5-April-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B?	St. Pauls	Away	TBD
5-April-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G?	St. Pauls	Away	TBD
12-May-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B?	Tabor-Exeter	Home	TBD
12-May-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G?	Tabor-Exeter	Home	TBD
19-May-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B?	N.M.H.	Home	TBD
19-May-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G?	N.M.H	Home	TBD
26-May-2010	Sat	Boys B1-B3	Interscholastics (NEIRA)	Away	TBD
26-May-2010	Sat	Girls G1-G3	Interscholastics (NEIRA)	Away	TBD

Directions:

For direction to all of our racing venues click here
Directions to racing venues

Directions to the boathouse (from Andover) for the Andover crew races.:

Directions to parking for the Andover Boathouse

Alternate NEIRA regatta directions to Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester

Alumni Corner

New Alum Stories

Here are some yearbook pictures. Please see if you can guess the year and name any of the people. These are also posted on Facebook. You can email your answers to andovercrew@andovercrew.net or post them in the guest book. See the "guestbook" icon on the top of this page.

1960s?
1970s?

Year?
Year?

Early 1980s?
Year?

A day at the office with big sister.

In recent times it has become popular to bring sons and daughter to work for a day. Well Olivia Coffey '07 had the opportunity to spend a day with her big sister Lt. Cmdr. Laurie Coffey '95. There is only room for two in her office but at least she isn't interrupted by the phone. The "office" in questions is a US Navy F18. It is about the same length as a Vespoli V1 but it weighs a little more and you definitely do not want to be anywhere near the wake. We all sleep safe in our beds at night because of people such as Laurie Coffey exchange launching a racing shell off a dock on the Charles for launching an F18 off the deck of a carrier.

New Old Stuff: And now for a couple of pictures, one from 2007, another from around 1959 and three more from around 1983 taken from an out of print book about Andover.

Caroline Lind and the US boat with their Gold medals - Lucerne 2007

We think this is from 1959 with Coach Brown, Tom Pollock, Fritz Dulles, Renny Maier, Jerry Secundi, John Allen, John Bissel, Mike Drooker, Bill Anderson, David Stone and Ned Cabot (seated). Thanks to Simon Hyde, Paul Neshamkin, Mike Drooker, Will Taylor, Tom Pollock, Renny Maier and Sam Bach who sent in their best ideas for the names.

Sent in by Rick Nuckolls. We think this is from 1969 with Jay Watkins (bow), Vic Kiarsis, Rick Nuckolls, Bill Jones, Roger Steinert, Carl Willaims, Tony Romano, Jim Cunningham and John Ford as coxswain. Fred Drake also rowed in B1 in 1969.

From Lissy Abraham '74
Lissy wrote and asked why I only posted the 1974 boys' picture. I answered that we didn't care about the girls (only joking!) and besides they only merged in '74 and didn't do crew until '75. Oh no she said. Prove I said. And she did. Here is the 1974 girls from Lissy's yearbook. More to come from her 1973 yearbook showing girls infiltrated Crew before the merger!.

The first Official girls crew at Andover - Lissy on the RHS.

Girls crew circa 1983. Please email andovercrew@andovercrew.net if you know the names.

Boys circa 1983. I think the first time we won the Dent Oars. Our B1 brought them home this year too!

The dedication of the Christina Cabot showing both the King shell and the real Christina. She, the shell, is still in use today.

The boys crew on the water. 1: Eamon Roche, 2: Jeb Dogget, 3: Bruce Trask, 4: Steve Hochman, 5: Chris Thompson, 6: Alec Hugo, 7: Pat Tipton, 8: Max Drake and Cox: Jeff Tuller in the Christina Cabot. Thanks to Bruce Trask and Alec Hugo for their best memories of the names. The boat is still on the water. Please email andovercrew@andovercrew.net with any corrections.

From Reuben Perin '89
The two photos labeled ‘B1 Class of 89’ and ‘Reading Winners’ were taken in England the week before Henley when we had won the Reading Town Regatta. The other photo, ‘Coach Row at Henley’, is unique because it is of our boat rowing the Henley course, but if you look closely you will see that the stroke seat is our beloved coach Peter Washburn. We rowed the course and even did a few pieces with Mr. Washburn after we were eliminated. He could at that point still put out a decent puddle and not crab in the process. Can’t wait to see everyone at the reunion.
Our B1 boat line-up was:
Bow: Eric Hawn, 2: Nick Lehman, 3: Peter Austin, 4: Ethan Ayer, 5: Cadir Lee, 6: Reuben Perin, 7: John McDougall, Stroke: Chris Schulten,Cox: Cristina Spencer (Olivetti)

Reading Winners

Coach Row at Henley

B1 Class of 89

Several people have expressed a nostalgic connection with the old boathouse that we had to abandon because of vandalism. We took a stroll along the river bank and found the building in remarkably good condition after 25 years. Here are some photographs

The Old Boathouse

The view from the Old Boathouse

The view from the Old Boathouse

For many more Alumni news and memory lane click here.

Who is the handsome young man leading the Andover crew at the 1983 Neira championships? Bob Moss suggested that it might be a young Tom Selleck (aka Magnum P.I.) but the first correct answer was from Ryan Marcelo. Of course this is a slightly younger Coach Washburn. This photo was sent in by Alec Hugo '83.

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