This week our Campus Celebrity, or should we say Campus Celebrities, are the team members of the UNH Crew team who came in first place in the Head of the Charles Regatta competiton! Read on to learn about rowing and what it takes to compete in huge race.
Alison Smith (captain)
Megan Mottola (captain)
Sydney Michalak
Emily Lane
David Desaulniers
Describe your teammates in three words.
Driven, passionate and …crazy. Yeah I think crazy is the best way to put it. We’re all a little crazy at times and you have to be the right amount of crazy to do this sport and be successful. When it comes to rowing, our team mindset is don’t ask, never assume and everything will work out in our favor in the end!
What role does crew play in your life as a student here at UNH?
A huge, huge role!! It helps to keep you on top academic wise because you have to prioritize your time between school work and post sets. When you join the crew team, you surround yourself with motivated individuals who help drive each other to do their best. Being in an environment of such a strong team and working with empowering coaches really drives you to do things that you would’ve never expected to do in your life. Like winning the Head of the Charles Regatta! With UNH Crew, it’s all about getting to your next goal and being the best you can be.
We heard that there was talk about installing a new dock for the team. Is this true?
The club is in the process of getting permits right now so it won’t be happening this year, but hopefully in the near future. A new dockwould be really beneficial to us. We are currently rowing in Dover with wetlaunching. We walk through the mud to get to the boat because it is in the water. It is FREEZING and wet and dirty. So yes, we will be looking foward to a new dock.
Explain the transition from being a novice to a varsity rower.
Usually we give new members six to ten weeks as novices to learn about rowing and our team routine and expectations. Then, if you stick with it, you are automatically considered to be a varsity player. We keep in mind that this is a club sport and its all about learning something new and having fun! At the end of the season, the captains will lead the novices in training workouts for a whole week. Then, anyone who decides that they want to stick with the team after that process is considered to be a varsity member.
What are some strategies that you use during winter break to stay fit?
During winter break have a shared Google Doc that shows all of our daily workouts. This strategy works for us because it helps us to hold each other accountable and set new fitness goals based on other peoples’ daily workouts. For example, say one person wrote that they ran ten miles in a week, I would want to top that by running 11 miles. In past years we have also done a winter training camp which is not required but highly encouraged. The winter training camp is when we all get together for workouts. The training camp really helps since we are all together and can encourage each other.
Explain UNH Crew Spring break training.
The whole team travels down to Gainsville, Georgia where we eat, sleep and row for a week. We actually get to train at the 1996 Olympic venue which is really cool! This week is dedicated to working out the rusty bits of our row and getting in the mind set of rowing competitively in the Spring season.
Is there a big difference between the Fall and Spring crew seasons?
Think of it as the Fall season being like cross country while spring season is like track. During the Fall, we train for long distance while the Spring is all about fast, short 2000 meter races. The Spring is our championship season. Our big event is the University of California Santa Barbara Grand Valley competition.
What schools do you consider to be your biggest competition?
Bates is a big one, Trinity, Colby, Williams, Umass and UVM too!