NOTE: Special schedule for Woman on Thursday: 12:45-3pm. Men meet at their regular time (3:30-5:15pm).

2. UPDATE: USRowing Membership: If you have received an email from USRowing regarding your membership expiring and the need to renew your membership, please don’t renew or purchase your USRowing Membership as WTW Crew Boosters will be paying for team memberships this week and will send further information once complete. Memberships will be paid in time for the Erg Sprints.

3. REMINDER: Parent Social. We will hold a Parent Social on Tuesday, January 30th at Dolce Vita restaurant in Fairfax from 7-9pm. This is an opportunity to get to know each other, meet the coaches, and learn more about the sport and the season. We will provide heavy appetizers, individuals will be responsible for covering their own beverage purchases. We hope you can save the date and join us!

4. HELP NEEDED: Parent Volunteer Positions. We have a few board and committee positions that are currently vacant and we are looking for parent/guardians to fill. The positions are:

• Fundraising Chair - Most of the responsibilities for this job are wrapping up for this season, but we would like to train someone who will be able to lead fundraising next year. Credit will be given for this season as well. 

• Membership Chair - Most of the responsibilities for this job are wrapping up for this season, but we would like to train someone who will be able to lead membership next year. Credit will be given for this season as well. 

• Craft Show Vendor Coordinator - The responsibilities for this job are complete for this season, but vendor coordination begins in the spring for next year’s event. The Craft Show is held in early November every year, so this is a great volunteer position for someone who wants to complete their volunteer duties early. 

• River Rat - This is a VASRA local organizing committee (LOC) position that our team MUST fill during the home regattas. River Rats are the parent volunteers who make sure that VASRA has one of the best, fully buoyed, race courses in America. No special skills are required other than a love of water and a desire to see our kids rowing under the best conditions possible.
  Pre- and Post-season, river rats set-up and take-down the course (VASRA will have parent volunteers to assist) and equipment maintenance as needed.
  During Home Regattas, river rats: 
• Arrive early to ensure a safe course for the regatta– i.e. remove any debris and setup odds and ends for use during the regatta
  NOTE: Since you are expected to arrive early and be at the home regattas, you will receive a parking pass for the regattas (so you don’t have to pay for parking or ride the bus) and you will have a VASRA badge which gives you free lunch and coffee/water during the regatta 
• Putting into place the start docks, start tower as well as the aligner’s platform 
• Depart once all equipment has been stowed away which means you have time to watch your child race 
• Course maintenance and safety patrol as required 

• Dock Master - This is a VASRA local organizing committee (LOC) position that our team MUST fill during all home regattas. This is a position that we split between two people (both get full credit) and we are currently looking for someone to fill the second position.
  No rowing experience or special skills are required other than a desire to see our kids rowing under the best conditions possible. A dock master must be on the launch dock at all times during a regatta when crews are launching to ensure the crews are launched safely and in a timely manner. (we have parent volunteers to assist). Since we split the regatta day between two dock masters, you have time to watch your child race and as dock master, you will also get to see your child as they launch for the race.
  NOTE: Since you are expected to arrive early and be at the home regattas, you will receive a parking pass for the regattas (so you don’t have to pay for parking or ride the bus) and you will have a VASRA badge which gives you free lunch and coffee/water during the regatta 

If you are interested in any of these positions or want more information on them, please contact our President, Brian Boyle, at wtw.crew.president@gmail.com.

5. NEW: Save the Date! Naval Academy Rowing Field Trip will be Saturday, February 10th. More information and sign-ups will be coming soon.

6. REMINDER: Great weather and a bunch of motivated athletes meant the January 20th Tag Day was a great success. We raised more than 1/5th of our annual Tag Day goal in one day. Coach Tylander and the Captains have the current athletes volunteer status, so if you still need to do Tag Days, sign up and let’s meet our goal! We have two more Tag Days. Sign-up for Tag Days here! Returning rowers/coxswains are reminded that they are required to do four (4) Tag Day shifts this year and new rowers/coxswains are required to do three (3). There are still slots available for the shifts on February 3rd. The last Tag Day date will be scheduled after a Saturday practice once we get on the water and the date is to be determined. We will schedule it with Coach Tylander soon. We are also exploring another fundraising event which could allow our athletes to fulfill their requirements.

7. REMINDER: Last Swim Test. The last swim test of the season will be held on February 4th at the Audrey Moore Pool from 2-3pm. All rowers and coxswains must complete a one-time swim test. We will reach out to those still requiring the swim test directly.

8. REMINDER: World Indoor Rowing Championships. An opportunity for our rowers (and their families) to participate in the World Indoor Rowing Championships! Usually held in Boston, this year TC Williams High School in Alexandria, VA is hosting it in place of the Mid–Atlantic Ergs on February 17th and 18th. Those that have participated in the Mid–Atlantic Ergs in the past know it is a tremendous, upbeat event that provides a great opportunity for our rowers. The World Indoor Rowing Championship this year promises to be even better. Go to Regatta Central Erg Sprints site to get all the details and register by January 31, 2018.
NOTE: Signing up for the championship can be confusing. If you have any questions, email the WTW Crew Booster President at wtw.crew.president@gmail.com and he will walk you through it. Your age category is your age as of 31 December 2018. Many seniors will have to participate in the 19-23 category.

9. NEW: College Rowing Interest Meeting at George Mason University (GMU). GMU Women’s Rowing will be hosting an event targeted at juniors who are interested in rowing in college on Saturday, March 3rd. The main program will run from 10am to 1pm with an optional lunch after the event. A lot of the information presented will be Mason-specific, but we will also be talking about the recruiting and admissions process in general, as well as NCAA eligibility requirements so there may be some benefit to attending even if you aren’t sure if you are interested in Mason. Although the event is primarily directed at juniors, we have also had sophomores and even admitted seniors attend in the past. GMU will be directly contacting any juniors that have filled out their recruiting questionnaire. Anyone who is interested should RSVP by February 26th.

NOTES:

• If you would like to share a student-athlete accomplishment/achievement, no matter what it is, please send them to wtwcrewcommunications@gmail.com. Send your submissions by Friday of each week. We will publish them in the following Monday issue of the WTW Crew Update. 
• Please see the WTW Crew Helpful Training and Conditioning Resources Page. This is an excellent page of references for technique, references, and nutrition. 
• Don’t forget to visit the awesome WTW Crew web site! 
• 2017-18 WTW Crew Key Dates
• 2018 Regatta Schedule