For most crew teams, spring break marks the end of the long, arduous process of winter training. Rowers get to dust off their boats and polish their skills when their bodies finally feel the warmth of the sun.
The Dartmouth Crew team was no exception this year, with squads heading to such exotic southern paradises as Augusta, Ga. and Oak Ridge, Tenn. to hit the water in preparation for sprint racing season.
And while none of the teams saw much sunshine, rather rain and even snow, they were glad to be taking strokes outdoors.
Many Dartmouth students spent their breaks sitting on the beaches of Cancun or Jamaica and staying out all night, but Dartmouth oarsmen passed their time rowing twice a day and going to bed before most grandparents do.
After a two week sabbatical from the winter wonderland of Hanover, the team returned north to continue its rowing and academic commitments.
In most years, this means a long-awaited rendezvous with the ice-cold waters of the Connecticut River. This year the water was colder than usual; in fact, it was still frozen solid. Yet the rowing must go on.
The conclusion of winter training for rowing is the type of thing that seniors celebrate. More of the same training was a bleak proposition, even in a repetition-based sport.
Rowing requires technical precision as well as rigorous physical conditioning, so with great reluctance the teams headed back indoors to make sure they were at least in top physical shape.
As the week turned into the weekend without any breaks in the ice, the team looked for alternative rowing venues. Instead of racing, as their schedules had shown, the squads again headed south, this time to Massachusetts.
Rowers took advantage of their water time by again practicing twice a day on what should have been their days off. In what seemed to be an episode of "The Twilight Zone," another week came and went with only slight improvements in icy conditions.
Luckily with temperatures rising above freezing and rain causing the river to swell, the crew team got back Sunday evening from another southerly expedition to find flowing water. Monday afternoon rowers and coaches alike rejoiced as oarsmen took the first strokes of the season on home waters.
Preseason polls indicate that Dartmouth is at a disadvantage with such limited practice time, but history indicates otherwise. 2001 has certainly proved to be a long winter, but this is not the latest that Dartmouth crew has hit the water.
In 1992 and 1993, the river didn't break until April 10th or later. Yet in those seasons, the men's heavyweight and lightweight teams, respectively, won Eastern Sprints titles.
This season may follow suit as the men's teams look to have incredibly strong squads. This spring, Dartmouth crew hopes to again find a place on the awards dock and go down in history as another squad that battled the ice and left their competitors in a cold sweat.
