Planning for Next Season Begins
Planning for next season begins
What will next season look like for Beach Crew?
The coaches and team leaders are planning for all options. The season may begin late August or may not start until January. Smaller races may be the norm next year with a focus on dual races among local teams.
The next few weeks will give us a clearer idea of how the return to normal will be accomplished. Our current plans call for the season to begin with a boat dedication and recruiting BBQ on Saturday, August 22. Put the date on your calendar, and we'll provide updates as we near the event.
What to do during this extended stay at home?
For those of you who rowed at LBSU, one activity you can do while sitting at home safe is to go through your picture albums, call your old teammates, and think about the best race you rowed for LBSU.
Send me your story!
Ken Glenn – BCA President
My Favorite race – Ron Long ‘90
Posted on Facebook (Beach Crew Alumni), 4/3/2020 commemorating the 30th anniversary of LBSU’s Cal Cup victory at SDCC.
Beach Crew Alumni has called for us to recall our best race ever. In my career that has extended from college to Olympic Trials to dozens of races decades into masters rowing, that best race is so easy to recall - for it happened 30 years ago this weekend and it seems like only yesterday.
San Diego Crew Classic 1990. Under the inspiring and dynamic leadership of Scott Charette, my group of brothers of the blade had merged from an awesome novice year where we had bonded so tight and grown to love pushing ourselves and each other, into an even more fun and challenging group with rowers from the previous year's heavy Varsity 4+ and lightweight Varsity 8+.
I remember sitting in Tom O'Toole's jacuzzi with him and Chuck Stender in February. We were talking about how we could try to unite our team even closer on race days. We decided to invite the 9 into a meditative breathing-in-unison pre-race visualization to allow each of us to get into the zone of unity well before we took oars to boat for the warm-up.
By the 3 races we did this before Crew Classic, the ritual had been named The Circle. And it had become more intense each race, and to us more needed in order to realign our minds and spirits with our physical efforts to pursue our common goals.
Scott had little to no hand in the evolution of The Circle, but, of course, was fine in letting us do it. And the morning of the finals of Crew Classic was no different. We had done our pre- circle jogs, trips to the bathroom, and all other pre-race rituals before the 9 of us sat down in our circle.
Each of us said a few inspiring words to the group in order from bowman Blair Biddle, Rob Friedman, Ken Wong, Chuck Stender, Bernard Welsch, Ron Long, Pat Ferrand, stroke Tom O'Toole, and coxswain Kristen Thielen. We then joined hands, closed our eyes, began our breathing in unison, and Kris led us through our race.
But today was different. With each breath, the tingling in our hands spread to the two next to us. We could feel each other. Time stopped. Through closed eyes, we could see each other. We called on each other's strength. Each other's fire. Each other's will to win.
Apparently, we were there for longer than usual. I later learned that Scott was worried that we would be late to the water, but he wasn't willing to disrupt The Circle.
He sent Michelle Brown to tell us to get going. She said as she approached the Circle, she sensed an energy field surrounding us, stopped, then turned back and told Scott she couldn't do it.
Shortly after, we opened our eyes, stood up, and walked our boat to the water. Scott said nothing as we pushed off and had the race of our lives. We were both calm and excited.
Our start was perfect. The first 1000 was perfect. We did whatever Kris called us to do. It felt effortless to accelerate the boat off the water using each other's power. We were thinking, breathing, and pulling as one.
We upset the field, led from the start, and shot the last 500 never looking back.
It is a race I have not and never will forget. I have since raced at Washington, at Sports Festivals, and Olympic training camps with much bigger, much better rowers and no crews have ever pulled together with that much heart, soul, and unity.
Here's to Scott Charette. Here's to Beach Crew. Here's to the 1990 Crew Classic Cal Cup, 30 years ago today. Here's to The Circle.
-Ron Long
Beach Crew, 1988-1990
