The White Rock Rowing men’s youth eight at the Waco Rowing Regatta on Nov. 6, 2022. Photo courtesy of White Rock Rowing.
Over the weekend, White Rock Rowing and Dallas United Crew sent a combined 26 boats to the Brazos River for the Waco Rowing Regatta.
White Rock Rowing won three gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals at the regatta. Their gold-winning boats included the men’s youth novice coxed four, the men’s youth novice coxed quad and the men’s under-17 eight.
(A quick explainer for the different types of boats at the regatta: Youth boats are comprised of anyone who doesn’t turn 19 in the current calendar year, while under-17 boats are comprised of rowers who don’t turn 17 in the current calendar year. Those who could qualify for a U17 may row in a youth boat if they wish. The novice classification means that the athletes are in their first season of rowing. Whether or not a boat is “coxed” depends on whether or not the boat includes a coxswain, who is in charge of steering the boat and yelling commands to the rowers, and eights are always coxed.)
Dallas United Crew won three medals at the event: two gold and one silver. Both gold medals came from the regatta’s marquee events for youth, the eights event. The men’s youth eight beat White Rock Rowing by only five seconds, a tight margin for a race of the Waco Rowing Regatta’s length. In the women’s youth eight, White Rock Lake was 14 seconds behind Dallas United Crew’s winning boat.
“As our last away race of the season, it was an opportunity for our junior athletes to get on the water and showcase what a robust program our coaches have built with the youth we have,” said Sue Ellen Chambers, the president of the nonprofit that operates White Rock Rowing.
Both crews recently competed at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachussetts. The Head of the Charles is the largest rowing regatta in the world, pulling a crowd of 200,000 spectators to watch over 11,000 athletes.
