The Long Island Frostbite Regatta on Saturday, Nov. 11, was the culminating event for the scholastic fall rowing season. High school crew teams compete in as many as six regattas between the months of September and November, most of which are held off Long Island. To prepare for these regattas a crew will practice on the water each day after school. During practice, crews row thousands of meters daily. The fall races are long distance races (up to three miles), so practices focus on maximizing endurance and mastering the techniques that allow crews to maintain speed over the entire race course. Many of the drills performed during practice require the crews to work on improving their technical form. The more efficient a crew is able to control their bodies and movement of the oars during each stroke, the more effective the crew will be at building and maintaining boat speed. For instance a crew that is off balance, does not have strong body position, and does not square its blades early will cause the boat to slow down. When races are determined by mere seconds, good form on every stroke makes the difference. _

Rowers must stay in sync with one another to effectively propel the boat. One person catching the water with his or her blade too early, or moving his or her hands out of time can compromise the speed and stability for the entire crew. Total cooperation is required to coordinate the effort of each rower moving together on every stroke. Victory on a race course is won by the crew that possesses the greatest precision, strength, endurance, and flexibility from each of its rowers. During a race crews employ many different strategies such as increasing the stroke rate, which is the number of strokes taken per minute, and calling power tens. Power tens act to galvanize rowers in a boat because each rower is expected to pull as hard as he or she can over the duration of ten strokes.

The race course for the Frostbite Regatta was laid out in the West Harbor of Oyster Bay and was roughly 4000 meters long. Crews launched from Beekman Beach, followed a series of buoys toward the Bayville Bridge; there they made a sharp turn and headed back to Beekman Beach along the west shore.

Sagamore Rowing Association, who hosted the regatta, designated Beekman Beach the main staging area as it provided a clear view of the start and finish lines. The proximity of the race course to Beekman Beach meant that crews did not have to wait long before the start of their race. This made the overall regatta run much more smoothly and helped minimize the stress and anxieties that build in anticipation of a race.

The warm weather made the regatta more enjoyable. With the temperature in the mid-60s, one could have almost mistaken this Saturday in the middle of November for a summer day. The benefit of the pleasant weather was slightly offset by the formidable waves crews faced on the race course. Waves pounding against the boats compromised the balance and momentum of each crew. This posed a difficult challenge to the rowers. As they headed around the half-way point in the middle of the harbor, crews had to work hard to minimize the effect of the waves.

Spectators at the Frostbite Regatta could witness the races and watch each crew implement their race plan. Cheers from teammates, friends, parents and family members who lined the shore could be heard by crews as they raced by. It is advantageous for crews to have the most competitive parts of the race visible to those on shore. Some races had close finishing times between crews. For a complete list of Frostbite Regatta results please visit www.sagamorerowing.org

Overall, a memorable day was had by the crews and spectators in Oyster Bay.