DIY: Easy Team Gifts - Hair Ribbons

Our team doesn’t order team gear until January, so the biggest distinction between the members of the varsity team and members of the freshmen team is the lack of red Marist Crew clothing. The seniors on our team decided to help the freshmen out by making hair bows for them. Although hair ribbons are something usually reserved for volleyball or softball teams, they appreciated it! Here's how to do it:

Ingredients

·         rolls of 2 different colored hair ribbon ($12 at Michaels)

·         fabric paint ($4 at Michaels)

·         elastic hair ties ($3 at Rite Aid)

Procedure

1. Cut hair ribbon to a length that can be tied into a bow. We cut the ribbon to be about 14” long.

2. Write your team acronym or number on hair ribbon in fabric paint. 

MWC for Marist Women's Crew

3. Wait for fabric paint to dry. This usually takes a couple hours.

4. Tie two different colored ribbons onto a hair tie.

Angie put the hair tie on a bottle to make it easier to tie the ribbon on

5. Tie the ribbons into a bow. 

 6. Give to team members. Smile!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your food overindulgence and extra sleep. Don't forget to vote for your favorite nail polish name in the Poll section of the blog! 

Reader Contest: Win Nail Polish!

The Background
At practice last year, my team was talking (as usual) about nail polish. We were discussing how much we like the names of the colors. They might sound a little ridiculous at times, but they are just so damn catchy, it's hard not to smile when you hear names like "My Chihuahua Bites" or "Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window". However, there aren't many "athletic" sounding nail polish names (OPI's "Yo-Gotta Get This Blue" is probably the closest thing I've seen). This contest is to see who can come up with the most creative, athletic sounding nail polish name. It can be related to any sport or any activity as long as it's creative!

Contest Rules
Submit your name (and a way to contact you), your nail polish name, and what color you imagine it to be via email or the comment section below.
For example: Tory (trainingintransition@gmail.com),  "I'd Rather Row and Lose Than Be a Cheerleader", bright pink

In one week, readers will be able vote on their favorite nail polish name.

And the prize?
My two favorite nail polish colors. It's a surprise! =) And I will ship anywhere. Yes, even to England. So comment or email me  and WIN!

Marist Crew at Head of the Fish

Fall Race #2: Head of the Fish in Saratoga Springs, NY

Last weekend, our team traveled to Saratoga to race in Head of the Fish. It was our last weekend of fall racing and it was a big one. Our schedule had us at the Fish on Saturday and at the Fall Metro (a new race for our team on a 2k course in New Rochelle) on Sunday. Since all the varsity girls and some of the freshmen were racing multiple events each day, we went into it prepared for a lot of racing in a short amount of time.

Head of the Fish Course (courtesy of Saratoga Rowing Association)

We arrived in Saratoga around 8:30 am to windy and very cold conditions. For the women, the first races of the day were the varsity 8+s. The 1v8 raced the same line-up we had the previous weekend in our still unnamed new boat. The 2v8 raced a line-up they had never rowed before, composed of a senior, two juniors, a sophomore and four freshmen. 

1v8

 

Despite having a strong race in Delaware, our eight did not have a good race at the Fish. The Fish is a little bit shorter course than Delaware (3.7k vs. 4k) and it is a lot straighter. We were also racing in a field of 17 rather than 7. All of these factors meant that we needed to be aggressive right from the beginning and row at 32 spm to be competitive.  We ended up racing at 30 spm, which just wasn’t enough to hang with a stronger field. I think another contributing factor was the fragmented practice we had the Friday before the race.  I think that one of the reasons last spring’s 1v8 raced well (in the few races Mother Nature allowed us to have) is because we had been rowing together for a long time and we worked well with each other. I believe a team builds a certain kind of cohesion after going through years of training. I think our eight is still in the process of figuring each other out, as is expected with a transitioning team. As much as it was upsetting to have a disappointing race, I think it was a good learning experience. Now we know we have to work on keeping higher rates, and we have all of winter training to get stronger, tougher and become more of a team. I am very excited to see what we can do in the spring once we iron out the kinks.

2v8

The fours had much better races in a bigger field (28 boats). My four had the same lineup as Delaware but the 2v4 was composed of the stern 4 of the 1v8 and the 3v4 was composed of the upperclassmen from the 2v8. The 3^rd four had a good race, considering this was another line-up that had never practiced together. The 2v4 felt that they raced better than they had practiced, despite a broken cox box. My co-captain, Maggie, sat in bow seat and “coxed” the race. They placed 7^th, showing that they were not about to let adversity stop them from having a good race. 

My four had a great race. It was probably one of the best races I’ve had in my entire life. From the beginning, everything just seemed to go well. We built confidence early on by passing the boat in front of us and carried that mentality throughout the entire race. We kept the rate at 31 spm and just cranked on it the entire time. I was in flow state almost the entire time, which rarely happens to me in sweep races. I felt totally focused and in control. The only thing that made the race less than perfect was the last ten strokes. We got cut off going into the finish and our coxswain had to hit the rudder hard to avoid ramming them. But other than that it was a fabulous race and we placed 2^nd. 

Silver medals!

 Both freshmen 8+s did a great job too. They raced in their same line-ups from the previous weekend, something that I think contributed to their success. When I was a freshman, we didn’t have enough people to have a set lineup, which doesn’t allow the boat as a whole to learn from mistakes and get better together. These freshmen are also ambitious and competitive, whether they have rowing experience or not. The 1F placed first, snagging the coveted Fish Head trophy (yes, it’s a real fish) and the 2F placed 10^th, beating a bunch of first freshman crews. 

The actual Head of the Fish!

 We got on the bus to find out that Fall Metro had been canceled, due to the freak fall snowstorm. Although it was very disappointing to have yet ANOTHER race canceled (totaling half of our fall season and the fifth canceled race in 2011), I think we ended on a good note. Our eight race might not have been what we wanted, but we came back in the fours to end the day strong. The freshmen had another solid racing experience with great results.We got in a great day of racing before the snowstorm hit and then we got to go home and play in the eight inches of snow that fell while we were away. 

Post Race Snowsurfing

Marist’s coverage of the Head of the Fish can be found here.

Row2k results can be found here. 

Lineups 

1v8 cox: J Guzzardi 8: F. Siclovan 7. M. Kolb 6: T. Fillipini 5: M. Ladouceur 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta 2v8 cox: Z. Christopher 8: A. Devorak 7: S. Moriarty 6: K. Wilson 5: S. LaRose 4. M. Banks 3. E. Waskiewicz 2: M. Soprano 1: N. Washburn	1F8 cox: S. Cillo 8: A. Devorak 7: S. Moriarty 6: M. Romer 5: S. LaRose 4: K. Wilson 3: S. Blau 2: T. Mullaney 1: A. Khoury 2F8 cox: K. Perkins 8: B. Logue 7:  L. Hehir 6: K. Melendez 5: N. Culhane 4: K. Orzech 3: M. Perry 2: N. Washburn 1: K. Mahoney
1v4 cox: B. Rodriguez 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta	2v4 cox: Zoe Christopher 4: F. Siclovan 3: M. Ladouceur 2: T. Fillipini 1: M. Kolb	3v4 cox: J. Guzzardi 4: M. Banks 3: E. Waskiewicz 2: M. Soprano 1: N. Washburn