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Happy Significant Birthday to our Receptionist and
Registration Wizard Wilma Breiland

Be sure to say or
sing Happy Birthday to Wilma Breiland at check-in...
She is celebrating a milestone birthday on September 30th
and has devoted countless hours in the past weeks to assure
you a smooth check-in process at the TRR.
Wilma
was born in Friesland
and came by boat (of course) to
America
with her family when she was 13 months old to start a
better life. Settling
originally in
Minnesota
, her family first moved to
California
, then
New York
, and finally settled on a farm in
Addison
,
VT.
After earning
her BS degree in Mathematics at the
University
of
Vermont
, she got a job with AT&T at its Western Electric
location in
North Andover
,
MA
where she met John Breiland. They
were married in 1972 and have two sons Erik and Mark.
It
wasn’t until August 2000 that Wilma tried rowing in a
double with Erik on a weekend in
Vermont
. After 30 years of employment with AT&T and Lucent,
Wilma retired in 2001 to pursue travel, family, hobbies and
charitable work. Erik
encouraged Wilma to learn to scull, and her rowing career
was launched for good after a week-long Craftsbury Sculling
Camp. Soon after her camp in 2002, Wilma bought a used Red
Van Dusen from a woman at the Cambridge Boat Club. Wilma
still rows and races that boat today.
She
has won medals in the mixed events at the Master’s
Nationals in
Worcester
,
MA
, including gold in the parent/child with her son Erik.
They beat all the combinations, including the
father/son entrants.
At the Lake Lanier Sprints in March of ’05,
in which she flipped out of her boat, got back in, and
finished the race – a true sign of the spirit of a
dedicated athlete. This
past year she medaled in the same event on the prestigious
’96 Olympic course.
Wilma
also enjoys the head race season and she will be competing
at the TRR ’07 in an MRRA Women’s quad.
This is the first time the MRRA has entered a
master’s quad at the event they host.
Also look for Wilma in the Veteran’s 1x at
the Head of the Charles this October.
Why
does Wilma row? We think it’s a combination of things.
Maybe it’s for health, or maybe it helps her relate
to her two sons, maybe it’s to be an inspiration to
others, or maybe it’s just for the love of the sport and
those early morning moments of rowing zen and spirituality.
What ever the reason, we know she’s special, and we
are lucky to benefit from her dedication to rowing, and her
attention to regatta registration detail.
Thank
you, Wilma…and a very Happy Birthday to you.
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Welcome to the 28th Annual
Textile River Regatta
RESULTS >> Results have
been revised for Masters 1x events (#12 through #18)...
We apologize for this late adjustment, but it was clear that we
should have applied the handicaps on these events as we did in 2006
and as we stated in our own rules. There was some confusion
early on because we had set up the events by decade, HOCR-style, but
in the final analysis that wasn't a good enough reason to eliminate
the more exact age handicap. The change affected the order in
only two events; #12 MM1x and #16 WM1x. If you already
received the incorrect medal, we are not asking for them to be
returned; if you are due a higher place medal, it will be mailed to
you.
>> Revised
results.
T-SHIRTS >> SECOND
RUN. T-Shirts sold out early; If we get a minimum order
quantity, we will run a second printing of the t-shirts that were on
sale at the regatta.
>> More Info / Place your order.
FOUND >> We have a few
items in the lost and found department, write
to us if you are missing:
- A boat seat.
- If you wrote to us about something you are missing and it's
not mentioned above, then it hasn't turned up yet or else it
fits me.
If you wrote to us about something you are missing and it's
not mentioned above, then it hasn't turned up yet or else it
fits me.
UPDATE >> PICTURES.
Candid photos from the regatta.
UPDATE >> MEDALS.
If you didn't pick up your medals, send an email to Paula
the Medal Lady -- include your mailing address and the event(s)
you rowed.
UPDATE >> RESULTS are
at Powerhouse
Timing's web site, we hope to get a PDF on our web site sometime
today.
To all coaches, competitors, referees and staff -- thanks for
making this 28th annual TRR a success. Feedback has been very
positive, especially over the great job we did securing the perfect
weather. As always, we had a very positive debriefing
with Amanda and the referees, and we've already got a few
improvements lined up for next year. If you have something to
add - positive or negative - please drop us a note at info@merrimackrowing.org.
We're especially interested to hear from folks who launched down at
the beach and what they thought of the improvements we made this
year.
Thanks again for your participation, and we hope to see you at
our Festival Regatta on July 12th 2008, and of course the TRR on
October 5th 2008.
Textile River Regatta Co-Chairs,
Jay Feenan &
Carl Popolo
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UPDATES
| 01-OCT
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-
The Regatta, she is done. Pictures
have been uploaded to Shutterfly.com...
Results are at PHT, we hope to have a PDF here on our
site and up at RC by the end of today.
- MEDALS. If you didn't pick up your
medals, send an email to Paula
the Medal Lady -- include your mailing address
and the event(s) you rowed.
- RESULTS are
at Powerhouse
Timing's web site, we hope to get a PDF on our web site sometime
today.
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| 27-SEP
19:30
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MAPS. Course
Map and Boathouse/Launch/Finish Area maps have been
updated on the Course Map
page.
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| 27-SEP
11:30
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NO MORE BOATS. Bow numbers are being
assigned. No more boats please. If you
have made a request prior to 11am this morning, it is
in play -- wait for a response from us before assuming
you are in or out. Latest boat tally is
383 from 69 clubs.
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| 25-SEP

Download
the Coaches Certification Form
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- COACHES CERTIFICATION.
In the interest of a smooth check-in process and a
double-check on safety items, we will be asking
all coaches to certify that they are compliant
with waivers and the safety of their
equipment. Download the Coaches
Certification form (one page PDF) and sign all
sections that apply. Blank forms will be
available at check-in.
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24-SEP
20:30

Download latest Event Schedule
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- EVENT SCHEDULE
is further slightly revised. Version 4.0 has
just been published. In this near-final
version, we have moved RC#29 and RC#30 to after
RC#41. This allows for better re-use of
athletes of the lightweight species to row the
Men's and Women's 4+ and 8+ events. But
they'll still need to hurry to make both.
The only anticipated changes at this point may be
race-day calls by referees or small combinations
of lightly subscribed events with others in a
similar class. As always, we strive to keep
start times constant. Check
the new schedule online or download the
schedule to Excel using the link at the left.
- C&C Meeting
Reminder: Sunday morning, 7:15a
at the boathouse.
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| 24-SEP

Download latest Event Schedule
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- REGISTRATION
IS CLOSED. Write to info@textileriverregatta.org
before Wednesday to check on availability for late
registration. Clearly state your name or RC
userid so that we avoid back/forth emails if we
are able to assign you late entry status.
- EVENT SCHEDULE
is slightly revised. START TIMES have been
modified to account for subscription rates in each
event. Visit the Event
Schedule page for more details.
Summary: No event moves more than 45' later
or 15' earlier than shown on the originally
posted schedule.
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| 23-SEP

Download
the USRA
Waiver
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- REGISTRATION CLOSES TONIGHT.
- WAIVERS. If
you need paper waivers to sign, we have the USRA
Waiver here on our site (PDF format).
Print as many as you need. Hopefully you
were able to waiver through RC when you registered
and the paper forms won't be
necessary. Read last
year's FAQ on waivers if you need
clarification; we believe the same rules are in
place this year.
- WAIVERS, the sequel.
Yes, you can bring your waivers to check-in on
Saturday or Sunday. If you have already
mailed them, that's fine we will catch them at the
PO box, but at this point forward, do not mail any
waivers, just bring them to check-in.
Coaches will be asked to sign a "waiver
waiver", certifying that you are supplying
the correct and complete waivers for all of your
athletes. We simply don't have time at
check-in to match waivers to your rosters.
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| 21-SEP |
- After some discussion at our timing meeting, and
with feedback from our head referee, the following
language was added to the Start rules:
"Crews late to the start may start at the
discretion of the referees at the start line. If a
late crew is allowed to start a time will be
recorded, however the publication of this time
within the results of the original event and/or
the boat's standing in the event are not
guaranteed."
The point of this rule is that Powerhouse
timing technology technically allows for boats to
row in any order at any time. But it may be
unfair or unsafe for a boat to run so far removed
from the event in which they were
registered. Discretion of the referees is
final.
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| 20-SEP |
- The Mixed 8+ event has been switched from
Masters to Open. This is RC #22.
- Registration rate is on pace to crack 400 boats;
REMINDER -- DEADLINE FOR
REGISTRATION IS SUNDAY NIGHT.
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| 14-SEP |
- T-SHIRTS.
The T-Shirt order has been placed -- thanks to
Tricon Sports in Lexington, MA. Shirts will
be on sale for $15 at the regatta. We
sold out by 1pm last year, so we've ordered more
for this year. Check out the artists
rendition of what they will look like.
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| 12-SEP |
- HOTELS.
Mention "TRR" at the Fairfield Inn --
$79/night. Mention "Textile Regatta" to Hawthorn
Suites to get the preferred TRR room rate of $89/nite,
a few bucks lower than last year. More hotel
information on the Directions
page.
- MEDALS.
Yes, Medals for first, second and third place in
all events.
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| 11-SEP |
- C&C MEETING.
Yes, there will be a Coaches and Coxswains
meeting on Sunday morning at 7:00pm
sharp. Heed the words of Amanda or incur the
Wrath of Mal. Your choice.
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| 05-SEP |
- CHARITY.
Today is my mother's birthday, and she would
guilt you into supporting the TRR Charities much
better than I can, but I'll try my best.
When you complete your registration at Regatta
Central, consider making a small donation to this
year's TRR Charities -- the American Stroke
Association and the Lowell House of Hope. If
you take a moment to read about the good works
performed by these two worthy groups, you'll
quickly see that the leverage of our small
contributions can go a long way.
Or as my mother would say; "make the
donation, you don't want to burn in hell for
eternity, do you?"
For more information, visit the TRR
Charities web page.
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| 04-SEP |
- REGISTER NOW.
Registration is open at Regatta
Central. RC says that registration
closes on 9/29, but for the sanity of our
registration folks, this is going to change to
Sunday night, 9/23. Late fees apply after
that date, $10
per entry.
- NEW EVENT MIXED 8+.
Note that we are testing the waters with a new
event - the Mixed 8+ which we think might be
popular with crews coming to race the masters 8
events later in the day. Event #8 at
11:30...
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02-SEP
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- Event Schedule
has been posted. Order of events will likely
not
change; start times may change slightly depending
on the level of subscription for each event.
Check the web site after registration is closed
and a final schedule is posted.
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More about the TRR
The
Textile River Regatta is an extremely popular 3.5 mile head race held
on the Merrimack River in the fall. The event is organized by the
Merrimack River Rowing Association (MRRA) in coordination with the
UMass-Lowell and Lowell High School Rowing programs.
A
full range of sculling and sweeps events are included, with
competition provided by large entries from many local and regional
clubs and colleges. The event occurs a few weeks prior to the Head
of the Charles and hence provides athletes with ideal competitive
training on a great course with a convenient location.
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