August_2011 - Newsletter

CTC Supporters,

Summer's over and CTC stepped up to the plate in areas of competition, instruction, and recruitment. Always a fun time - no school, long warm days, and Sunday BBQ's -- this summer moved CTC in the right direction as our team won its first competitive gold medal (Junior Men's 4x at Chicago Sprints), brought in a recruitment class that will grow our team by at least 30%, and raised the overall standard of rowing to a competitive model, rather than a glorified pastime activity. As always, we thank you, the supporters, for making this all possible. Below you can find stories we hope will keep you engaged and involved with what we are doing.

***** Summer Camp *****

Six training days a week took over the kids' lives for three weeks and the Sunday post-row hotdogs disappeared at a remarkable rate! Special coaches Ali Williams, Tiff Wood, and Susan Parkman brought invaluable insight to the sport and the kids really warmed up to their approaches. Learning new aspects of the sport, in particular seat racing and race preparation laid a great foundation for the 2011 Chicago Sprints. The hard work paid off and we boated our largest team yet.

Special mention goes out to men's and woman's junior 2x who finished 2nd and 3rd respectfully (in their first ever 2x race!). Our men's junior 4x won CTC's first ever competitive gold medal! Their 5-second victory over Chicago rival St. Ignatius was a great accomplishment which has set a standard that we plan on reaching at every race from now on. The line-up of Jonathan Vega, Argel Herrera, Isaac Sanchez, and Alex Esquivel trained together for a large portion of the summer camp. Their focus and hard work paid off handsomely. We plan on more success from the top end of our squad in the upcoming fall racing season.

In addition to the medal-winning crews, we also boated a number of other quads and eights, and even managed to race a coaches boat (with teenage CTC Participant Angel Vargas in 2 seat). This event gave everyone a chance to feel race nerves and put into practice lessons learned on the Chicago River. Also accompanying us on that day were many of our new recruits. Although they were not given the chance to race, the recruits saw firsthand what can be accomplished on the water and whet their appetites for more. In total we saw over 30 new kids this summer and we plan on at least half of them sticking in the fall. This addition would move us to more than forty-five consistent daily participants. Fall season looks good as we continue in a positive direction for team development.

Since the regatta, we have shifted to a more leisurely pace, while still hosting the Sunday post row hot dog competitions. It could be argued that hot dogs are not the most nutritious post workout meal, but don't tell that to a bunch of teenagers! Our programming will conclude on the 21st of August and we start the fall season with a fitness test at Gage Park on the 13th of September. 4/5k's for all!!!

Special Mention: Chicago Works TV took footage of our Chicago Sprints experience and plan to air a follow-up story on us later this summer. Once I have an air-date and time I'll make sure to mention it to the group. In addition, I'll also find the internet link and send that on.

***** CTC Outlook *****

Beyond the immediate programming needs and requirements, I have been working with the board to publish our first Annual Report mailer. We shall be going to print at the end of the month and send it out to our contact list soon thereafter. If you would like to make sure you receive a copy, please reply with your contact information and I'll put you on the list. In addition, we will also put this report up on the website as a downloadable pdf.

With the downshifting of the summer, anticipation is building for the upcoming fall racing season. It looks like we will be competing in the Quad Cities Classic (10/8), Head of the Rock (10/9), and Head of the Eagle (10/29). This will triple the number of head racing opportunities for our kids from last year - a direct result of the added mobility our trailer affords us. Please come out and cheer us on! If you would like specific information on any respective regatta please do not hesitate to let me know.

***** CTC Mentoring *****

CTC is also undergoing an education /mentoring re-calibration that addresses how we mentor the kids, how we pre and post test their academic standing, and how we support their improvement in test preparation. All of this is focused to set up each graduate with a solid road map of goals, expectations, and timelines. We were excited when nine of the ten incoming seniors attended the initial kick off meeting - a discussion that lasted late into the night. Their outlook is promising and it is our goal to make their dreams a reality.

***** CTC Gala *****

Upcoming special item of note is our 5th Annual Gala Celebration -- now set for November 11th (11/11/11!) We will host this event at the University Club of Downtown Chicago and we hope to see you there. We will have more kids involved than in years past and demand has led to a move to the larger upstairs room! We hope that you enjoy this event as much as we do and if you would like specific information on the Gala please contact Gala@chicagotrainingcenter.org