Feb. 24, 2002

Lauren Yoder is a junior from Charlotte and a member of the UNC rowing team. Throughout the year, she will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at her team and the experience of being a varsity athlete at North Carolina.

Being on a quirky roller coaster ride. That's what I imagine it would feel like to be a coxswain (the "driver" of the boat who sits in the stern, facing the rowers) during a "high-tech" workout. Catch. Drive. Catch. Drive. The stroke is twice as fast as a normal one, and very jerky. "High-tech" is technical work that we do on the water. Thursday afternoon was the first time this season that we have done it.

A "high-tech" stroke involves the rower coming only half-way up the slide (the track that the seats roll on) before dropping her blade in the water and driving back with the legs. It is meant to focus the attention on getting the blade in quickly, decisively and together as a boat. We do stretches of work for a period of time, then have an active rest for another interval. The active rest is called "paddling." Paddling is similar to walking it out after a running sprint, there is little pressure on the blade as you pull it through the water, but you are rowing nonetheless.

We have been out on the water every day this week, and it has been very nice. The warm, sunny weather has made it especially pleasant to be out there.

Monday afternoon we were in four-man boats doing some technical work, then Tuesday we focused on short, aggressive pieces. On Friday, we had some long, technical steady-state rowing. Saturday morning finished out the week with some 1,000 meter pieces in preparation for our race against Duke on Saturday, March 2. In the course of this short week, I've seen progress in putting together some great boat work.

Friday night was one of the great out-of-the-context-of-rowing bonding experiences for the team as we put together an amusing (and rhythmic) show for the annual UNC Dance Marathon athletic lip sync contest. The contest comprises varsity athletic teams from Carolina strutting their stuff in an effort to impress judges (including athletic director Dick Baddour) and, more importantly, to entertain the dancers who have volunteered to stand for 24 hours straight to raise money for the UNC children's hospital. We had a great time throwing the dance together (in less than two hours!). A big thanks to Ginger Jordan and Mary Miller, who were instrumental in choreographing. We came in third, behind men's soccer and gymnastics, but I'd say the outcome was debatable.

So what's next? DUKE! Mark your calendars and pack a picnic. We are racing at University Lake next Saturday, March 2. Racing begins around 9:00 a.m. We will have varsity, junior varsity, and novice eight-man boats competing. The men's club team will also compete against Duke's men's team. The more support we have, the better! This is the official kick-off to spring racing. Be there to see us off.

Your Tar Heel Pal,

Yoder
lyoder@email.unc.edu