There will be seven Mercer boats, 1 boat each from Hun, Lawrenceville and Peddie racing at the Head of the Charles this weekend! 

Mercer boats racing at the Charles:

Men’s Youth 8

Men’s Youth 4

Women’s Youth 8

Women’s Senior Masters 4

Men’s Senior Masters 4

Men’s Alumni 4

Men’s Masters Single

Hun School - Women's Youth 4+

Lawrenceville School - Men's Youth 4+

Peddie School - Men's Youth 4+

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

CLICK HERE FOR A LIVESTREAM

Stop by the Stem to Stern and USRowing Tents this weekend to learn more about how you can donate to Rowers for Change!

Click Here for More Information!

Housatonic and Buffalo Regatta Updates

The past two weekends Mercer Junior and Masters rowers traveled to the Head of the Housatonic and several regattas Buffalo for to racing! 

Adam Leach, one of the Boy's Varsity Captain, shared his thoughts on both regattas.

Housatonic:

My race experience at the HOHR was a lot of fun. With only a small chunk of the varsity boys going to this regatta, I found that everyone was on their A-game. No one skipped a beat when asked to help out, gave their all when racing, and was an overall great bonding experience. Both of my 8 and 4 races were a massive success through the headwind, and it felt great to know each teammate had each other's backs. 

Buffalo:

The buffalo trip as a whole was a lot of fun. I found that both of the regattas were fun in their own right. Even though the Head of the Buffalo's races were cancelled, I was quite thankful to stay race-ready in not-so optimal weather, with the BSRA's ergs. The hospitality they provided was quite nice, and it allowed my friends and I to make the best of the race cancellation.  For the Head of the Niagara, I enjoyed it for the racing experience. The head-wind was harsh, but I was happy to get first-hand experience in keeping a head about yourself through the chop. On this trip, I also got to get a bit closer to my fellow teammates. It was interesting how the team got to know Jamie a bit better, both by meeting his family and seeing the places he learned to row. 

Save the Date: Fall Fundraiser 

SAVE THE DATE : SATURDAY, NOV 19th 12-2:30 pm at Conte's

Looking to get a start on your Holiday Shopping list and support a good cause at the same time?  The Mercer Fall Fundraising Auction is a great opportunity to accomplish both of these goals.

On-line Auction bidding starts Nov 4.

There are some great items lined up for the Auction but we are still looking for more items to add before it goes live. This is where we need your help. If you have any goods or services you'd like to donate, please contact Hilary or Kris.

In past years we have had some amazing items donated by parents from handmade quilts to gift cards to professional consultations! Please reach out if you've got ideas or items for the Auction!

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Items include rides along with coaches for practices and at the IRA Championship!

It is prime time for beautiful sunsets over Mercer Lake. 

Do you have a favorite Mercer Sunset picture?

Send it to krisgrudt@rowpnra.org for inclusion in a future issue of the Caspersen Rowing Center Happenings.

(Photo courtesy of Gudi Bigga)

Meet Yiting Qiu Mercer Varsity Girls Tri-Captain

Yiting has been rowing for 3 years with Mercer and was elected as one of the new captains for the Women's varsity team! Congratulations Yiting!

Below are some of the answers Yiting provided to questions about her rowing experience!

Biggest Achievements in Rowing: When we came 4th at Nationals in the 8+! The journey was just an incredible experience and my teammates really became like a second family.

What does rowing mean to you: Rowing is a chance to improve every day and just see where that takes you! There are so many aspects to it beyond just the hard physical work. I really love it like nothing else.

How has rowing impacted your life: I can't even imagine life without rowing anymore. It's shown me how much I can achieve through hard work, grit, and ambition. I've learned a lot about myself and it's also opened an irreplaceable community to me.

Click Here to Read More! 

USA Crews Medal At Rowing's "Wild Child" - The Beach Sprints

USA's Christopher Bak conquered the waves to bring home the Gold medal at the 2022 World Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in Saundersfoot, Wales, UK on October 16.  Bak also qualified for next year's World Beach Games in Bali. 

The USA JM2x took home the Silver medal.  USA's JW2x, JM1x and Senior C4x+ all earned Bronze Medals and the Championships.

The Beach Sprints involve one rower running across the beach, jumping into the boat racing a slalom course out 250-300 meters out, turning and rowing straight back to the beach where one rower must jump out and race across the beach to the finish line. (Sounds a bit like NJ lifeguard racing.).  Inital racing narrows the field to the final 8 crews and then it is quarter finals, semifinals and final in head-to-head knock out competition all completed within an hour. 

Here is the link for full row2k coverage.

Link for World Rowing videos.

(Photo courtesy of Row2k Media)

Upcoming Regattas

PNRA will be hosting the following regattas on Mercer Lake over the next month:

• Nov 2 Mercer Challenge
• Nov 6 Mercer Fall Classic Combined Head Race & 2000 Meter Race
• Nov 8-12 Panam Games Trials and USRowing speed order
• Nov 12 Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta
• Nov 13 Braxton Regatta

Watch for volunteer sign-ups coming soon.

Good Luck to everyone who is racing!

TCNJ RENT A ROWER

The TCNJ Crew team is a club rowing team that is completely self-funded and is looking for opportunities to fundraise. They are participating in Rent-a-Rower and can send their rowers to help with any tasks around the house. Some examples include moving furniture or yard work.

For any and all inquiries or questions please email tcnjcrew@tcnj.edu.

For more information, CLICK HERE FOR THE FLIER

Host A National Team Rower

Interested in hosting a National Team athlete and being a part of an athlete's Olympic journey? The Caspersen Rowing Center is the USRowing National Training Site and athletes who come here to train are often looking for low or no rent housing options as they pursue their Olympic dreams. Click HERE to learn more about this great opportunity. Please reach out to Hilary if you are interested.

Mercer Team gear is still available - face masks, hats, scarves, umbrellas, shirts . . .

Show your Mercer Spirit!

Contact Hilary Gehman