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LLOV News
Lake Lanier Olympic Venue
Calendar
Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club
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March 17 - Lula Bridge Race
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March 19 - BBI Spring League Parents Meeting
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March 26-May 12 - BBI Spring Season
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April 28 - BBI Spring Race
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May
4-6 (tentative) - Canadian Olympic Trials
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May
12 - BBI Spring Championship Fungatta
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May
12 - Rubber Duck Derby
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May
19-20 - USACK Marathon Trials
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May 15, 17, 22, 24 - Adult Learn to Kayak Class
Lake Lanier Rowing Club
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Feb.-March - Collegiate Crew Spring Training
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March 24 - John Hunter Regatta
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March 25 - Lanier Sprints Regatta
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May 26-27 - ACRA National Championship
Collegiate crews head to Lanier
University of Virginia crew first to get oars wet
By Jane Harrison
 The
University of Virginia crew brought its largest contingent ever to
Lake Lanier in January for winter break practice. The 65-member
squad was the first of about 15 collegiate crews heading for Lake
Lanier for pre-season conditioning.
Crews coming in February and March hail from “from as
far away as Lucan, Ontario, Canada and Maine, and many places in
between, bringing over 750 rowers,” said Lake Lanier Rowing Club
Vice-President John Ferriss. Collegiate crews from icy northern
waters have flocked to the Georgia lake for winter and spring season
training since 1996 when Olympic rowing events drew international
attention to Lanier.
LLRC touts Lake Lanier and its Olympic Venue as the
perfect training destination for rowing teams due to miles of
rowable waters on the sprawling North Georgia lake and the
facilities at the Olympic venue boathouse.
But those are not the only qualities that attract
collegiate teams back to Lanier year after year. University of
Virginia director of rowing and men’s head coach Frank Biller said
that the “magic of an Olympic venue is key” to alluring athletes to
Lanier. “You can sense it when you enter the (boathouse),” he said.
But there are other factors, including food and hospitality, that
keep crews coming back.
During their January 6-15 trip to Gainesville,
Biller’s staff and rowers stayed at a local hotel and dined at
Brenau University. Athletes crosstrained at the Francis Meadows
Aquatic Center and shopped in local stores.
“As usual we had a great time in Gainesville and
training was very productive, Biller said in an email after
returning to Charlottesville, Va. “Unlike in the past two years, it
was quite warm and the absence of ice and snow was not missed. As
usual we stayed at the Guesthouse Inn & Suites (formerly Days Inn)
where the owner Jay Singh has again been an outstanding host. Jay’s
hotel is also our headquarters when we roll back into town in May
for our national championship regatta.”
“Of course, food is very important as you can imagine
as the guys need to refuel around 4,000 calories per day. The dining
hall at Brenau University has been our place of choice for years as
their team does an outstanding job tending to all our needs,” he
said.
He added, “Lake Lanier Rowing Club and of course John
Ferriss are very hospitable to us. They don’t make us feel at home,
they make it our home. The town and community are also very
welcoming. Meghan Hill the director at the Aquatic Center always
makes sure we get our swimming crosstraining in. People in local
stores sometimes recognize us and make us feel welcome; it’s really
a great experience.”
“All these things add up to us wanting to come back
every year, despite having other options and invitations, we just
know what we get in Gainesville. So we play it safe,” Biller said.
Ferriss, who went out on the lake with the Virginia
athletes for a practice, observed “they had a much better time this
year. No ice on the water, plenty of days with little or no wind.
There was one windy rough day but they took advantage of it to do
some indoor activities,” he said.
Ferris reported in late January that the next crews
scheduled are from Brandeis University, in Massachusetts, and the
University of Western Ontario, arriving Feb. 18 and 19.
Rowing regattas in March and May are expected to draw
thousands of athletes and spectators to the Olympic venue. The John
Hunter Regatta, a large scholastic regatta hosted by St. Andrews
Rowing Club and Georgia Tech on March 24, will show the outcome of
pre-season and early season practices. Some teams will stay over for
a second day of competition in the Lanier Sprints Regatta, hosted by
LLRC March 25.
The collegiate season finale, the American Collegiate
Rowing Association National Championship, is set for May 26-27. The
University of Virginia Varsity 8 Men’s crew will be looking to
repeat their victory over last year’s favorite, the University of
Michigan in the last race of the championship.
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