June 1, 2011
Live Video | Live Audio | Results | Race Schedule
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy heavyweight rowing team will wrap up its 2011 season this week with the IRA National Championships on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. The 109th annual event will begin on Thursday and run through Saturday.
The first heats of the 2011 IRA Championships will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Live audio and video for all three days of the championships will be available, for more information, click here .
About the IRA National Championships
The IRA Championships consists of heats, repechage (second chance races), semifinals and finals. In the varsity eight, freshman eight and varsity four heats, the two fastest crews advance to the semifinal races. The top three crews in the second varsity eight and open eight heats advance to the semifinals. The remaining boats are drop to the repechage race, where the top three boats will gain entry back into the semifinals. The crews outside the top three Will Race in the third final. In the semis, the top three crews advance to the six-boat grand final, while the remaining boats will compete in the petite final.
Last Year at the IRA National Championships
Navy's varsity boat won the third level final at last year's IRA National Championships, finishing 13th overall. The second varsity boat took 14th overall. The Mids' freshman boat had the best finish at the championships as it advanced to the petite final where it placed fourth, taking 10th overall.
The varsity four boat placed fifth in the third level final and the open four boat, consisting of members of both the heavyweight and lightweight teams, took fourth in the third level final.
Quoting the Coach
Head coach Rick Clothier's take on this weekend's IRA National Championship...
"We're all excited to be here at the IRA Championships and look forward to racing. We might face some tough weather conditions, but we'll see what happens."
