With the 2023 rowing season drawing to a close the board of directors would like to provide BCR members with a brief overview of the club's financial position. While there are still some outstanding bills to be paid this year those costs are generally fixed or highly predictable.

All in all, it's a relief to say that the board of directors anticipates a very manageable ratio of revenues to expenses for the year. When the season began, BCR's board was wrestling with significant uncertainty about how to meet the City of Boulder's ever-rising fees for practice times, boat/equipment storage, and a host of other expenses — they refused to even tell us the rates we'd be charged for practice hours until after the season was underway! Also, the coaching staff had yet to coalesce and the numbers of members and practice participants was far from certain. We took our best guess at where to set the pricing for club membership, guest rower fees, compensation for coaches, and all of the other elements that underlie BCR's operations — thankfully, the final result should arrive at a nearly-balanced budget.

You will notice that a significant portion of the club's revenue is assigned to an "insurance claim." This came in the form of a $16,000 payment after several Peinert 1X boats were damaged by a runaway vehicle during a triathlon this summer. This money was received and reinvested in the club, including the purchase of a refurbished Vespoli 8+ and two new Vespoli 1X shells — great additions to the club's fleet of boats. The costs of these additions ("insurance boat purchases") balances with the settlement revenue ("insurance claim").

A few other numbers to consider:

• 40 participants in the Learn to Row program this year

• 16 novices continued to row in at least one club practice

• 323 members and guest rowers on the water since 2021

BCR's future looks bright. Notably, we recently received an assurance from the City of Boulder that the cost increase for reserving the reservoir to practice during non-public hours will be held to a 5-percent increase next year. That's encouraging news (although we still believe the base rates imposed on our club are far too high). Vitally, new rowers are entering our program and rapidly becoming accomplished oars-people. And, BCR veterans are even managing to make some headlines in the racing world.

Thanks for an excellent year, with more to come.

— BCR's Board of Directors

In a stunning and unprecedented victory, Boulder Community Rowing (BCR) defied odds to claim multiple accolades at the renowned Head of the Charles Regatta this past weekend in Boston.

The club’s achievements at this race have garnered attention and respect from local and broader rowing communities. The Head of the Charles Regatta — the world’s largest two-day rowing regatta — draws over 11,000 athletes from around the globe and attracts thousands more spectators. To say that the Boulder teams were underdogs in Boston is an understatement. And yet, with a 0.8-second edge over the second-place finisher, the 40+ Masters Women Fours crew, from a state known for its mountains instead of water, now claims a prestigious Head of the Charles gold medal.

The 1st-place victory, BCR’s first at this event, occurred on Saturday. Lauren Harrell (stroke seat), Melanie Hobart (3-seat), Susan Adams (2-seat), and Zoe Gentes (bow seat), steered by Wendy Gutcher (coxswain), passed half a dozen boats around both sharp and sweeping river curves to secure a win with time of 19:21.496.

Also on Saturday, Lauren Wilson and Adriane Turner represented BCR in the 30+ Women’s Masters Doubles, earning an impressive 3rd-place finish, Another Colorado rower and a founding member of BCR Cinda Graubard made headlines with team Endeavour in the Women’s Grand Master Eights (60+) category — her boat set a new course record by a whopping 25 seconds. Notably, this was Cinda’s second course record, having set one in 2017.

During the Sunday racing, yet another BCR member, Deanne Little, finished 2nd with a composite team in the Mixed Eights (both men and women rowing together), in a row that held particular significance as it honored the memory of his late wife, Susan Little.

“Achieving this level of success, particularly against robust competition from places and programs where rowing resources are abundant, is beyond our wildest dreams,” said Susan Adams, a BCR Board Member. “In the four, we aimed for a top-ten finish, but this result is far beyond what we’d imagined. There were definitely tears of joy when we found out we’d won.”

The accomplishments of Colorado rowers this weekend at the Head of the Charles Regatta is phenomenal. The victories of BCR competitors in particular send a powerful message: that a local, determined group of individuals can achieve greatness even in the face of significant challenges. BCR practices on the North Boulder Reservoir, where it has operated since 2000 and where it has weathered hardships, a pandemic, and significant resource limitations. Its membership has changed over the years, comprised of both seasoned and novice rowers, but the heart and mission remain the same, knowing when  people step into the boat together they will go that extra mile for their teammates.

Or maybe even all the way to Boston.

Top Photo: 40+ Women’s Masters 4+
Bottom Photo: 30+ Women’s Masters 2X

Rachel Marbaker is a BCR member and a movement scientist studying at University of Colorado, Boulder, at the graduate level. She coaches BCR’s winter training sessions and writes about training on her Medium blog account. This is an excerpt from Rachel’s post about ergometer training — visit her Medium blog for the full-length version.

I couldn’t find a satisfactory (read: technical with engineering and physics included) write up on rowing drag factor. So I wrote one with equations and included recommendations for drag factor values for erg training. Since a Concept 2 machine is state of the art for rowing athletes, I will focus primarily on that machine. I’ll address resistance on magnetic resistance ergs at the end.

Air resistance — How to view drag factor on a Concept 2: Menu > More Options > Display drag factor. After a few strokes, the drag factor will appear on the up on the screen and will be recalculated on each stroke, though it should remain fairly consistent. The number on the screen reflects the deceleration of the erg flywheel during the recovery of the stroke.

The damper (lever 1–10 on the right side of the fan) controls airflow into the fan cage. The relevance of airflow into the cage is best explained in the context of air resistance (F). (Warning: the inner engineering / math nerd is about to be unleashed)

Continue reading on Rachel’s blog …

It’s been a scorcher of a summer, but thanks to a recently completed Eagle Scout project Colorado Junior Crew and Boulder Community Rowing will get some relief with an impressive shade structure that attaches to the trailer that transports our rowing shells.

Pete Bacus, of Boy Scouts of America’s Troop 78, led the charge on designing and building this amazing structure. It’s a massive 37 feet in length, and at 6 feet wide when extended the rowers will have it “made in the shade” at summer regattas for years to come.

The structure debuted on a hot afternoon in July. “CJC Rowers were coming off the water after practice to help out and see their new shade sail,” reads a statement from CJC. “Coach Vee brought some chocolate milk to make a toast! The team was given instructions on how to take it down and make adjustments as needed. It all finished up before our beloved Coach Vee moves to Florida. It was an emotional day for all.”

Too cool! BCR sends hearty thanks to everyone that helped with the project.

It’s May, and BCR is on the water!

We had two eights and a quad circling the reservoir for Sunday morning practice on May 1. Coach Vee emphasized early arm and blade preparation, with lots of rowing by 6s in the eights, or by 3s in the quad. Conditions were good — cool but not cold, some wind but no real chop.

Okay, maybe we’re not quite ready to try rowing square blades at race pace yet … but it’s early days for the 2022 season. A couple of weeks devoted to spring cleaning for the rowing stroke and the BCR boats will be ready for bigger and better things.

In addition to the BCR boats there were a good number of CU crews on the water, and CJC headed out for their practice right after the conclusion of the BCR row.

If you’ve been waiting to return to on-water practices consider this your call for hands on … it’s time for a row!