Good Start for Tulsa
Tulsa won the light four at the Head of the Oklahoma, besting Creighton and Oklahoma City by substantial margins. This win apparently put Tulsa into the nighttime 500m sprints, but I haven't seen results for that event.
It's interesting that night racing comes to us from Oklahoma. Oklahoma is hardly considered a hotbed of rowing, yet this regatta has garnered quite a bit of attention, nationally as well as locally. Tradition is one of the strengths of rowing, but innovations like this, that respect tradition, will keep the sport growing and vibrant. With new teams, programs, athletes, and coaches will come new ideas. Coaches and rowers outside traditional rowing areas recognize that they need to try new things to stir up interest. I expect this is where we'll see more innovations in the future.
[Update: Tulsa also won the sprint under the lights. See comments for more.]
2 comments:
Tulsa's LW4+ also won the sprint race over Creighton and OCU. The sprints under the lights were oh-so-exciting to watch! Wow! I hope next year the Head of the Oklahoma sees fit to include a light 8+. Two programs locally race lightweights (OCU and Tulsa), so why not include an 8+, instead of just a 4+? Who knows what programs might show up if there was an early-in-the-season race of light 8's in the central part of the country. Perhaps the axiom, "Build it, and they will come," will hold true.
I agree! Wouldn't it be great to see a Knecht Cup type of race in the center? Knecht came out of nowhere to become a big race, and only because the right crews decided to come. Teams make the trip to opposite coasts for races, why not split the difference and have that early race in the middle?
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