I don’t know if many of the participants in and spectators of the Chicago Junior Rowing Championships regatta stay overnight in Crystal Lake, but there surely were a lot of cars in the parking lot, plus the overflow flood plain behind the baseball diamond.
I had other things to do most of the morning, but I got a shot of some rowers getting ready to carry their skiff to the Main Beach.
The Loyola crew were at the crosswalk by the time I got back to the Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach.
About twelve I headed down to Gate 21 and, as luck would have it, a race was about to begin.
I learned later it was the second heat for Novice Boys 8. (That undoubtedly means something and maybe someone will enlighten us casual fans in the comment section.)
I took a couple of more photos form the edge of the Beach 21 pier and raced to my car.
Then it was race to the car and drive to Gate 13 Beach.
There were spectators there.
Down the beach a bit are benches at probably the highest points on the rim of Crystal Lake. An adjoining table with seats was empty.
And, it was off to the Beach at Gate 7.
A man with a video recorder was out on at the end of the boat pier. He brought his own chair.
At the other end of the beach there benches held rowing fans.
And off to see the finish of the race at Gate 3.
And the winning crew crosses the finish line.
The arms of the cockswain are thrown up in victory.
The faces on the young men who finished second are not so joyful.
I drove to the Main Beach and caught these young men carrying their skiff up the incline.
I’m not sure if these two crews are coming or going. Maybe one in and one out.
I found out the winner of the race was New Trier’s B Team.
Sweat suits, blankets and coats were the order of the day.
Tomorrow the Women’s 8 Varsity Race.
The novice 8 boys team on the left (wearing the red) in your picture with St. Ignatius is the Crystal Lake Rowing Club (CLRC) team.
The novice team is comprised of first year rowers.
The CLRC is a compilation of high school rowers in the Crystal Lake area, inlcuding Crystal Lake, Huntley, Barrrington, and Elgin.
Steve accurately described what a novice team is.
Due to the large number of teams competing (1-2 boats from 8 different teams), there were two novice 8 heats and one final composed of the first through third place boats of each race.
I was in the Camp Randall (Madison, WI) B boat shown here, which came in fifth in the final, with the New Trier (Chicago) B coming in fourth.