This summer, the Dartmouth rowing program will host the men's national under-23 training and selection camp. The camp will begin on the tail end of finals on Tuesday, June 5, and could run as late as Saturday, July 21.
The selection camp is a great opportunity for the Dartmouth rowing program to gain more positive publicity in the rowing community. Notably, the camp will showcase the rowing facilities Dartmouth has to offer, such as the beautiful Connecticut River.
"It will give us incredible visibility and a chance to show off The Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse," Athletic Director Josie Harper said.
America's best U-23 heavyweights will be training throughout the summer in hopes of being selected for the national U-23 boat that will challenge other international teams in July at the 2007 U-23 world championships in Scotland.
The U-23 team is one tier below the men's senior national team that competes at the Olympic level.
The camp will also bring national attention to Dartmouth that could potentially help in recruiting new talent.
"I think that when high school students see that the national team chooses to train in Hanover, it says really good things about the training in Hanover," men's varsity heavyweight coach Topher Bordeau said. "I think it is nice for students to know that they can train at a very high level at Dartmouth College."
Bordeau will be the host as well as an assistant coach of the selection camp this summer, coaching alongside an old colleague, Princeton varsity lightweight coach Greg Hughes. Before coming to Dartmouth, Bordeau coached the men's freshman lightweight team, while Hughes was Princeton's freshman heavyweight coach.
Mike Callahan, the freshman heavyweight coach at the University of Washington, will also serve as a coach at the camp.
For Bordeau, it was an honor to be selected as a coach and host for such an important event for the U.S. rowing program.
"I will have to admit, it was quite a surprise to be asked. Personally, I am honored and flattered," Bordeau said. "I will become a better coach for riding with the other two coaches."
Bordeau is also excited about the prospects of the positive influence that the U-23 men will have on the sophomores in the boathouse as the Class of 2009 trains in Hanover this summer.
"It will be great for the sophomores to be able to be around athletes that are training at such a high level," Bordeau said.
Hanover is an ideal place for hosting high-level training. The river provides miles of rowing on glass condition water that is rarely disturbed by speedboats or wind. The college town of Hanover also provides a quiet place where the athletes can focus.
The Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse was completed in 1986. The 11,400 square foot facility has two stories. The upper floor has a workout area, kitchen, office and a big deck overlooking the Connecticut.
The ground floor houses 30 racing shells used by the rowing program, along with several dozen ergometer machines. There is also a secondary boathouse that holds all of the singles, doubles and pairs shells, a repair shop and weight lifting equipment.
The Dartmouth community and Upper Valley rowers will help to provide housing to rowers at this summer's camp. For instance, Lesley Stander, a faculty advisor to the women's rowing program, will be hosting a rower. Also, a meal plan is being developed with Ramunto's Brick and Brew for the rowers at the camp.
"U.S. Rowing likes to strengthen the community and national team ties by putting teams with residents," Bordeau said.
The Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing program did not have a rower selected for the camp in Hanover. Two women's rowers, Anne Kennedy '07 and Kate Davison '07, have been invited to this year's women's U-23 selection camp that will be held in Charlottesville, Va., beginning on Monday, June 4.
The two seniors will compete for a spot in the women's eight that will race in the U-23 world championships in Strathclyde, Scotland, in July.
The 2007 men's U-23 world championships will take place on the waters of the Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanakshire, Scotland, from Thursday, July 26, to Sunday, July 29. The park is a man-made loch that has been recently developed as Britain's first Olympic-standard eight-lane, 2000-meter course.
