Lakeside School (alma mater of both Paul Allen and Bill Gates) met Bainbridge Island Rowing’s Juniors for a scrimmage held simultaneously lakeside/harborside, and home/away on Saturday, April 21.
While the varsity teams squared off in our own Eagle Harbor, the novices raced in the Sammamish River at the northern tip of Lake Washington, near Kenmore.
In both places the weather ran the gamut: from sprinkles and blustery cold to springlike warmth. In other words, it was a typical Northwest April day. The waves were rough; one coach was blown into the water. Onlookers included mallards and a heron.
The races were scrimmages; unlike regattas, which count toward a team’s record, scrimmages are for the purpose of practice. And both teams have reason to practice: They’re coming up on the last part of the busiest season of the year, including the Brentwood Regatta in Mill Bay, BC, the Windermere Cup Opening Day in Seattle, the USRowing NW Youth Championships in Vancouver, WA, and the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sacramento, CA. Click to find out more about these upcoming regattas.
The novices had the treat of seeing the Lakeside Lions’ Ayrault Shellhouse. This state-of-the-art facility, which was built in 1986 and renovated in 2011, is named after Dan Ayrault who won Olympic gold in 1960 and 1964 and then became Lakeside Head of School. The shellhouse is a technological marvel featuring projectors, flat screen televisions, six-zone audio, tablets, and embedded USB hubs. A computer system provides interconnectivity among indoor rowing machines, video capture and review, and music playback.
Rachel Zachariah captured a great video of the women’s varsity 8 enjoying a commanding win over Lakeside in Eagle Harbor. The finish line was right off Pritchard Park.
Here is the BIR Gallery of images from today’s scrimmage:
Photos courtesy of Susan Brandzel, Jennifer Harwood Pells, Tracy Smyser Sublett, and Rachel Zachariah.
