June_2011 - Newsletter

CTC Supporters,

The Spring Season has come to an end, summer racing is only a month away -- time for CTC kids to reflect on what has been a tremendous step forward for the rowing program.

We started our season planning to attend a dual race at Crystal Lake, but the weather was not kind and the event was canceled. Luckily, we could easily re-group and focus our time putting in more miles on the windy Chicago River. While cancellations are disappointing, rowers learn quickly that the vagaries of weather play a large role in our sport.

The lesson learned from the first race was tested at the following race in Culver, Indiana, two weeks later. Leaving at 4:00 A.M. is never easy, but the CTC kids all showed up on time - ready to hit the water in their first competitive event of the spring. Coaches Teddy Shreck and Newton Sears were on hand to help for an event that went from an initial disappointment to a pleasant surprise. Because of a slow and steady wind, the wave action on the lake made it impossible to row. Faced with a second successive cancellation, the coaches got together and decided to have the races on dry land with ergs. Deciding to make lemonade out of lemons, our kids raced hard and managed to come home with a slew of medals. 22 in total!

Following our second consecutive week on land, we were foaming at the mouth to compete on the water. Fortunately, the Greater Chicago Rowing Champs did not disappoint. CTC competitors entered in as many as three events each and had plenty of opportunity to test their skills and we were joined by coaches Maggie Luce and Ben Sholl. In their first race, our boys' varsity eight found out how fast the field was. They did not finish last, but looked forward to doing better during the rest of the day. Following the boys' eight, our girls and boys' coxed fours each finished 4th out of six and were both competitive, a nice improvement. In the quads, we fielded a CTC vs UNO throw down in both events. In the boys' event, the UNO lightweight boys beat the CTC heavyweight boys, with mass trash talking afterward. In the girls' event, UNO beat CTC in a closely fought race - with the CTC girls coming off the water promising to reverse the result on the following weekend. All told, we won 24 medals (we were the only quads entered) and enjoyed the day immensely. The most entertaining visual of the day was watching Daniel 'Junior' Izguerra steer his boys' quad. Deciding to tour the lake, he took his quad on an adventure around the docks and shoreline, before crossing the finish line. Imagine Junior's surprise when the rookie, who is just learning to steer, discovered that his travels still landed him a 3rd place medal!

Because of heavy flooding in Cincinnati, our two end-of-spring regattas were rescheduled, so we made arrangements with Culver and Crystal Lake to host two impromptu regattas to fill the void. First up, Culver, was our overnight event. We drove up on Friday after school and stayed on campus in Culver's cabins. The kids understandably loved the opportunity. On the other hand, the coaches and parents dreaded the potential for late night teenage hi-jinks. Luckily, the kids were too tired to cause much trouble and with coach Joe Byrd's added help were ready to race at 7:00 A.M. the following morning. This event gave our UNO boys' eight another chance to race and they acquitted themselves well by being much more competitive than in their previous race. The boys and girls' coxed fours finished 6th and 4th respectfully and made some improvements over the previous race. The most fun to watch were the boys and girls' quads. We were entered alongside Culver and Anthony Wayne (both eventual medalists at Midwest Championships), so there was competition across the field. Like the previous week, the lightweight boys retained bragging rights and finished 3rd, a length behind 2nd place. Our girls also finished 3rd - but this time it was the CTC girls who turned the table on the UNO girls! Their final race of the season settled the debate for the title of 'fastest quad in the boathouse'.

Our final regatta was a dual race in Crystal Lake. This race was the last opportunity for our boys' eight to produce a credible spring result. Prior to this race they were lucky to train with the Leander cox, Chrisy Fox, guiding their boat. A friend of ours from the UK, she was in town to give a paper and asked to help out on the river during a practice. The boys have never been so focused! With lessons learned, they sought to earn their first victory over a team of similar standard and size. The race was amusing, to say the least. Dubious line points and constant lane changing seemed to merge our sport with European Rally Car Racing! In the first 200 meters we caught a crab that allowed Crystal Lake to jump out to 1.5 length lead. But, as always, with junior rowing, the kids re-grouped and plucked away at the lead and started to climb back. To make things interesting, Crystal Lake also caught a crab, which allowed our squad to pull even. As we neared the finish line the boats were close but Crystal Lake held off the charge. The regatta was off with a bang. Following this we entered the girls' coxed four (2 races -- we finished 2nd of 3 in the first and 1st in the second), the boys' coxed four (1st and 3rd out of 4 boats), the girls' quad (here the UNO girls made a statement by winning by 2 lengths - we then finished in the top 3 positions out of 4 entered), and finally the boys' quad (UNO lightweight ruled the day again followed by CTC taking the top 4 spots out of 5 entered). By all measures, this was a very successful day -- one made possible by Crystal Lake. Many thanks to them for allowing us to come by and race on their course.

All told we traveled 628 miles and came away with 46 medals - targets we are looking to put to shame next spring season!

We are now turning our focus in the off month between Spring and Summer Sessions with back office work with Lumity and Executive Service Corps of Chicago while also regrouping with our funders and planning budgets for the upcoming fiscal year! The work is never done.

***** Mark Your Calendars *****

AWARD BANQUET
Our end of season spring award banquet will be June 11th at noon at Gage Park (2411 W. 55th). All alumni and current member families are invited to attend. We plan to give out awards, recognize the team's hard work and lay the foundation for a successful summer rowing season.

SUMMER CAMP
We are currently taking in names to participate in our learn-to-row and advanced rowing sessions. You can find all the needed information HERE. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact CTC. Our sessions start in late June and run through August.

NEW MEMBERSHIP LEARN TO ROW CLASSES (FREE!)
Please see our Summer Camp information for specifics. Click HERE.
We specifically look forward to the involvement of numerous Youth Guidance Schools in the CPS system - namely Harper, Marshall, Clemente, Crane, Tilden, Dyett, and Young Woman's Leadership.

SAT
The Ivy Bound Test Prep work is nearing a conclusion and soon our kids will test. This will provide us with invaluable information on their current testing abilities and we will then formulate a plan of attack to improve scores.

***** Website Changes *****

We have now updated our Calendar of events page, created a parents support page that will include all meeting minutes from our monthly meetings, a board membership page, and are currently addressing some color scheme issues so that information is more easily found. I've made the new pages as hotlinks so please feel free to look at the new updated pages.

****** Special Offer *****

As you know, we are a sponsored sports organization by Rudy Project. These high end sunglasses are fantastic for sports and our kids are very lucky to have access to them. As a special offer to supporters, we have been able to give you a support code to purchase glasses at a vastly discounted rate while directly helping our team. Please use the code chicagotc at this website (www.e-rudy.com) and hopefully you will find something you like! A portion of the proceeds makes it way back to CTC by way of merchandise our kids can use everyday!

That is all for now from CTC. We look forward to leaving soon for Exeter to witness Charielle's and Abigail's graduation! Congrat's to the graduates!!!