By Kristen Loszewski and Cathy Mizgerd
The Ann Arbor Pioneer High School rowing team launched its spring season on Saturday, April 8, with a scrimmage against Huron High School on the Argo Pond section of Bandemer Park in Ann Arbor. Nearly 50 boats hit the water and competed in the day’s 21 races. Varsity boats competed in both the 4- and 8-seat categories, while novice athletes competed solely in 8-seat boats.
“The focus of this event is development,” said Pioneer Crew Head Coach Scott Menoch. “It’s why we have so many lineups. The novice athletes are learning how to take a serious approach to making a boat go fast. All in all, we are looking for the athletes to take ownership of the program and start taking personal responsibility for how they are doing on the water.”
While the day was full of great racing, Coach Menoch cited the women’s varsity eight-seat boat as an example of a crew that has demonstrated significant development since the fall season in their performance against Huron, which has “a deeper team,” he noted. “They’ve come together really well as a group and I’m excited to see where they go,” he said.
The sprint races took place on a course of approximately 1,000 meters (1 km) for novice and varsity athletes, alike. Times were not recorded, and medals were not awarded.
It was a great day on the water, with temperatures in the mid-40s and bright and sunny blue skies. Winds from the southeast at around 7 mph made the water a little choppy early in the day when the first races went off at around 10:15 a.m. but settled down some by the time the final boats of the day launched at around 1:52 p.m.
While this marked the first of many competitive events coming up for Pioneer this spring, the team’s next event will be a community fundraiser, the 16th annual Row Along, scheduled for Saturday, April 22, 10am-3pm, at Bandemer Park (1352 Lake Shore Drive) in Ann Arbor. At the Row Along, the community is invited to learn the fundamentals of rowing from Pioneer coaches and rowers, followed by a chance to row in a racing shell on the Argo Pond section of the Huron River. Refreshments will be provided. The 90-minute outdoor workshop experience costs $50 for adults (ages 15 and up) and $35 for middle school youth (ages 13-14), with proceeds to benefit the nonprofit Pioneer Rowing Club. Advance registration is required; register here.
Main Photo: Pioneer Women’s 2V8 Prevails – Photo by David Fulkerson
