Proud Papa Rowing Update

I wasn't sure I could be any more proud of my daughters than I was a couple of weeks ago in Boston, at the Head of the Charles regatta.

But this weekend, I might just beat that record.

A year ago at this time, we were in Montreal, watching Jaime compete in the Canadian University Rowing Championships, where her UVIC varsity 4 took the gold medal.

Now, here we are one year later, and Jaime and her crew are defending their championship at the CU's in Victoria this weekend. I don't think there are any live feeds of results, but I'll be sure to post something when I know how she did. They're feeling very good about their chances of repeating, after the great showing they had in Boston.

Last week, the senior member of Jaime's boat, who is a former World's Doubles Champion in the Under 23 Lightweight Women, told Jaime that she has never been in a faster boat. Needless to add, Jaime is "over the moon" about how well things are going, as are Heather and I. (And while I'm waiting anxiously by the phone this weekend, Heather will be watching the event live! She's out in Victoria this weekend, "on business," she claims, although the timing worked out really well. I'm quite jealous.)

But that's only Part 1 of the Proud Papa update this weekend. As I mentioned a couple of posts back, Kelly is off this weekend in Washington, visiting the University of Washington and Washington State. We sent her off yesterday, and I have to admit it's all starting to seem very real to me all of a sudden. In just a few months, Kelly will have made a decision about where she's going next year, and then she'll be gone! And we'll be true empty-nesters! I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Anyway, this weekend's trip will be followed by next weekend's visit to Louisville and the week after that Kelly is heading back out west to Sacramento, California. Then she has to settle down and figure out just where she wants to be for the next four years. It's a tough decision and I really don't know what she's going to do. Louisville has a great program, and she knows some of the other rowers there, so they are probably the front runners. But of course, we're going to be out on the west coast, with Jaime, and we'd all like her to be closer. And Seattle is just a short ferry ride from Victoria.

No matter what she decides, I know she'll do well. To have four top US Universities competing to have you join their program (and offering her full scholarships, no less!) is a great honour and a real credit to Kelly and all the hard work she's put into the sport. It almost makes up for all the hassles she's putting up with on her basketball team -- but that's another story.