Word: regatta
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...against mechanically generated currents, pull against the weighted flywheel of a rowing machine and sprint up and down the steps of Harvard Stadium. Such rigorous training has produced some of the best freshman crews in the world, as evidenced by first-place honors in England's Henley Thames Challenge regatta...
This psychological intensity, combined with top-level coaching and seven months of unrelieved practice, comes to a head during racing season. Beginning this weekend, when the crew competes in the San Diego Classic regatta, all the emotion cascades in a series of six-minute races that seem to suspend time. The concentrated pre-race tension is just the beginning. "It's hell on the starting line," grimaces Doug Wood, "The idea of the agony you're going to go through for six minutes is enough to make you quit. And there's always the extra pressure of a Harvard tradition...
...these camp hijinks, however, are only a means to stay relaxed before the Yale race, a grueling four-mile, half-hour spectacle attended by thousands of alumni and students each June. The longest crew race in the world, the Harvard-Yale regatta is the culmination of nine months of practice and six weeks of racing experience; everybody "goes for broke." At the end of last year's race, senior George Aitken fainted, while Gordie Gardiner was bent double with cramps. One oarsman recalls the agony: "I was just hurting. I didn't feel anything, any emotion. I've never hurt...
Coach Harry Parker said yesterday that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, which co-sponsors the regatta with the Egyptian Rowing Federation, failed to notify the federation that Harvard had been invited to take part. As a result, federation officials did not make arrangements for the Harvard team's visit...
Harvard has appeared in the regatta five times since the Egyptian government first sponsored the event in 1970, and has won three times. This year the University of Washington crew captured first place in the nine-day event...