Regatta News & ReSults

On Saturday, March 18th, BIAC participated in the Pacific Invitational Regatta at Lake Merced, San Francisco. BIAC had crews participating in the W Adaptive 1x, the Women's Masters 8+, 4x and 4+, and the Men's Master's 8+ and 4x with 37 athletes in total! With mild temperatures and a light tailwind, this was a great season opener with a chance to test some early speed. The regatta was a total success with BIAC earning golds in the in W8+, W4x, W4+, and M4x and a silver in the M8+! See photos here and results are linked here.

Another successful Corkscrew Regatta was held on Sunday, Dec. 4. Leading into the weekend the weather had everyone worried but the sun shone down on this annual tradition of costumes and charity in and around Bair Island. There were 83 rowers 28 Shells, and racers who traveled from clubs around the bay to take part. Most importantly, the entry fees, plus two large donations in honor of the regatta, meant a $4,847 contribution to Second Harvest Food Bank. That's amazing! Results are posted online here for anyone curious on times and here is a photo album to view pictures and add your own.

With many boats still on a trailer coming cross-country from Boston, BIAC did not take a trailer to Head of the American or organize crews. However, novices Marty Udisches and Angie Tinson were determined to participate and they cartopped a boat to the race at Lake Natoma in Sacramento to take part in the Mixed 2x race. For a full narrative of the experience and a joyful look at racing from bow seat, read Marty's article here.

The jewel of the Fall rowing regatta calendar is Head of the Charles. This year’s regatta from Oct. 21-23 marked the 57th edition of the world's largest competitive rowing event. 29 athletes competed across 7 entries under the BIAC banner. In the 1x categories, BIAC members Wallace Mufit (senior veteran II), Renata Perry (veteran I), and Sharon Wienbar (veteran I) raced singles with Renata earning a third place medal! Other BIAC entries included the: Men’s Club 4+ (Ryan Coulson, Evan West, Kevin Bender, Alex Zeigle, c: Bella Schiros) 9th overall, 5th for non-collegiate clubs; the Women's Club 8+ (Natalia Bonavila, Iska Saric, Ariella Webb, Liz Dzeng, Brooke O’Brien, Emily Marcacci, Justine Olshan, Alyssa Meyers, c: Mike Dietz) 26th overall, 5th for clubs; and the Women’s Senior Masters 8+ (Nadia Cooper, Nadine Aarsheim, Jana Comstock, Athena Bradley, Diane Krakora, Amanda Hawkins, Fiona Ashley, Frances Rubenstein, c: Marjorie Setchko). The WSM 8+ lineup was largely a returning crew from the previous year looking to step up in the standings and to earn a top 5 finishing spot. Despite having the speed down the course and on track to achieve their goal, a late race equipment breakage dashed the lineup’s hope. It turned out the boat lost its skeg and rudder just past Eliot Bridge (a quarter mile to the finish line). Finally, representing BIAC in a composite crew in the Director's Challenge Mixed 8+were Jim Hopp, Athena Bradley and Amanda Hawkins. Racing photos are all from ScullingFool. For photos from HOCR, there are more sites with photos including Row2k and SportGraphics.

River City Rowing Club’s Head of the Port Regatta was held Oct. 9th 2022. The regatta has become a fixture for local SF Bay Area rowing clubs looking to test their race readiness. This year’s regatta did not disappoint. With 30 clubs competing across 257 entries, this year’s edition marked the regatta’s largest participation yet and racers were greeted with near-perfect race conditions. Twenty-two members of BIAC’s Comp Team traveled to the regatta and competed across 6 events. BIAC’s results were as follows: women’s masters 4x 1st place, women’s masters 4+ 4th place, men’s open 4+ 1st place, men’s masters 2x 1st place, men’s master’s 8+ first place, women’s masters 8+ 3rd place.

For the 4th year in a row (excluding 2020), BIAC was represented at the World Rowing Coastal Championships. This year the event was held on Oct. 7-9 in Saundersfoot, Wales, UK. WRCC attracts competitors from around the world, including many current Olympians, and has no masters events. Athena Bradley and Amanda Hawkins represented BIAC and the USA in the Women's Coastal 2x on a challenging course around 7 buoys, including a 4-buoy slalom, in incredibly challenging conditions. The heats & B finals are 4k meters and the A finals are 6k meters. However, after Athena and Amanda's B final (the first of Sunday morning), officials shortened the B finals to 3k and the A finals to 4k due to water conditions. A strong outgoing tide directly against 30mph winds created overhead waves which tested even the most experienced coastal rowers.

The SF Bay Area is a great place to row and train for coastals and BIAC boasts several coastal hulls. Athena & Amanda trained in a BIAC Swift C2x at home and in San Francisco, though Wales presented the toughest conditions they'd experienced. After some waves sent them swimming, they safely & successfully finished their final and learned even more about what success means in coastal rowing. Check out more great photos from the event on Ben Rodford's website.

BIAC wrapped up the sprint racing calendar by competing in the newly introduced Boats Without Barriers Regatta hosted by East Bay Rowing Club on Aug. 20. East Bay hosted the regatta as part of a protest statement and boycott of the USRowing Masters National Championships in Florida and the state's “Don’t Say Gay” law.

In total, 37 BIAC athletes competed with 24 entries across 16 events, second only to East Bay in the total number of entries. BIAC results were fantastic. Fourteen 1st place finishes, four 2nd place finishes, and two 3rd place and 4th place finishes. Click here for full results.

On August 7, five BIAC rowers took part in the 22nd North Tahoe Regatta in Kings Beach, CA. They cartopped their boats and headed to Tahoe, not quite knowing what to expect racing at 6,225ft of elevation. Laura Lind and Angie Tinson raced the 6k short course in a flat water 2x and came from behind to win the event with a better course to the finish line. Athena Bradley and Amanda Hawkins raced the 16k long course in a coastal 2x and set a course record for their event. Marty Udisches raced the long course in an Aero and finished 3rd. The scenery could not be beat and the RowTahoe club hosted a fun and friendly event. Click here to read Laura's account of the event and think about joining next year!

Congratulations to all the BIAC rowers who competed at the 15th annual River City Rebellion in West Sacramento on July 24th. There were 65 boats competing including 8 BIAC entries in this unique small boats tournament. BIAC was well-represented across the field with great performances including Gui Lins (M1x) finishing 8th overall and Evan West and Warren Morningstar (M2x) having the fastest raw time in their boat class. Full results are here. Click here to view photos from the event.

On May 15, a full trailer of BIAC boats competed at Lake Natoma in Sacramento. It was a successful return to the 1k masters sprint format with BIAC fielding 23 entries across 20 events. Masters men and women competed in every boat category and spanned age groups from AA to I. Coming home with gold were the crews in the: W4xA-C, M2xA, W2xF and M4xAA-B. Full results can be found here.