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Parents, Fans, and Spectators
Should your parents or friends be able to attend a regatta, they will likely come away from it
telling you how unique, exciting, and beautiful a sport rowing is to watch. Along with this
distinction, however, is the fact that regattas are not your typical baseball or football
game experience in ways which they should anticipate. This is where you come in, and your
informing your friends and family of the below key points should help them to maximize their
time spent cheering on the UChicago Crew.
Though they will hopefully find a satisfying few moments cheering UChicago onto victory, the actual
time which your parents or friends will spend watching you row is not going to be great in
quantity, even for a five kilometer race. Spectating is usually limited to the finishes, with
only the last five hundred meters or so easily observed. If the course’s layout permits, binoculars
can help a lot, and some find launching and docking almost as interesting as the actual racing.
Nonetheless, depending on how many races you happen to be in, this means that your parents may be
traveling substantial distances to see you racing for less than two minutes. But it’s still worth
it.
Race day is long. Be sure that your parents or friends know which races you’re in and their start
times, or are prepared for being around from the early morning to the late afternoon.
Races may not always start on time. Though your parents or friends probably shouldn’t plan to
show up late because of this, as every regatta is different in its exact organization, they
should realize this when it’s an hour after you should’ve crossed the line and your boat hasn’t
showed. Our sport is affected by rapidly changing weather conditions, some of which cause race
times to be delayed in an exponential fashion as race day goes on.
Although major races usually have bleachers, smaller races tend to have nothing for spectators
to sit on besides the ground. Most of our races have open fields that hold spectators, crews,
coaches, and trailers. Bringing folding chairs is a good idea.
At larger regattas usually over-priced food will be available, but more often than not your
parents will either have to bring their own food or leave the regatta to find a place to eat.
The former in most cases is recommended.
Regattas are hardly ever called off, no matter the weather conditions—high winds and hurricanes
being the only exceptions. Dressing appropriately for cold, rain, and the sun is probably
more important than anything else.
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Previous:
The rowing stroke
Next:
Rowing term glossary
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