..history..

joining the team
by Janet Kinard Green

After not doing anything my freshman year, the crew team helped me get myself together. Over the years, being on the team taught me all sorts of things to succeed in life. I met my closest friends on the crew team. That is probably why I still try to do so much for the team. I know how it affected me and I want to make everyone’s experience as positive.

In my years on the team, the lightweight women - my boat - went to Dad Vails 3 times. The second time - Spring 96 - was the most fun I ever had at Dad Vails. You might wonder how that can be since that was the year the van flipped taking most of our boats with it. Driving up on that accident was the very worst feeling in the world. But for most of us that went, that Dad Vails proved to be the most fun and rewarding. I remember going into the hospital to check on the novice lightweight men who had been in the flipped van while the novice heavyweight men went “sploring” to see what they could find. They ended up on top of the hospital throwing stones down on Chris Betz. Everyone was fine and after a long night, on we went to Philly.

Once we got to Philadelphia, the true spirit of the rowing community came through. All the officials and fellow rowers worked so hard to help us. They found boats for us to row and basically helped in any way possible. Word had already gotten out about the accident and everyone was lined up to offer support. The results of that Dad Vails was a medal for most boats that went, a third place overall finish for the team, and a suspension that kept us from rowing as Georgia Tech that fall.

The third Dad Vails that I went to was the best we had ever done, missing first place by so little that we weren’t sure whether to celebrate a silver medal or be upset for missing gold. That Dad Vails was the most rewarding to my boat—Kim Becker (Miller), Dana McAlhany, Shelly Holdren, Sara Willson, and myself—because we had worked so hard and knew that we would do well. The bronze we won in 96 was so unexpected that we were nothing but happy. But in 97 we knew we would do well. We thought we would win which made it so hard to settle for second. However, it is always satisfying to watch hard work pay off.

I could go on and on about the crew team. Like the time we got stuck out in a storm with Carol as coxswain. Or when the Dad Vails committee instituted a “no peeing over side of the boat rule” after Andrea did so while waiting for our race to start. Or firing Coach Bob at Spring Break and then setting off fireworks in celebration—Operation Trebor. Parties at the Townhouse. But then I would start sounding like a high school yearbook. So I’ll leave it at that.