2022/2023 Rowing Season...She's back!

After a devastating back injury last rowing season, Sage cautiously started back up at OARS for the 2022/2023 season, returning to the sport she loves.  While I was so nervous for her, knowing that back injuries are not things to mess with, I knew this was what she needed to feel back to her full self, improve her confidence, and it truly is her love so it's hard to tell someone to walk away from something they have come to love and has played such an important role in her life these last few years.

Once again she was able to prove she can overcome hard things!  Here is a sampling of how her junior year rowing season unfolded!  Of course capturing photos of her actually racing is pretty difficult considering the distance away from the shore they usually are, not to mention how hard it can be to even tell which seat she's in or if we are even cheering for the right boat since the girls all look the same with their cute caps, sunglasses, and hair pulled back in pony tails. haha! 

First Coast in Jacksonville (Oct 2022)

Head of the Hooch in Tennessee (Nov. 2022)

Fall Sprints in Tampa  (Dec. 2022)

America Youth Cup in Sarasota (Feb 2023)  

Crossing the finish line during finals.  

OARS Invitational in Orlando (March 2023)

Districts in Orlando (March 2023)

Skulling State Championships in Sarasota (April 2023)

Sweep State Championships in Sarasota (April 2023)

Regionals in Lake Lanier, Georgia  (May 2023)

Nationals in Sarasota (June 2023)

How proud we were of Sage and all her hard work.  And what a privilege it was to be invited to participate in Nationals in the women's 4+. While they didn't do as well as they had hoped, they held their heads high and were just thrilled to have been able to compete in such a big event. Here are Sage and Molly keeping their heads and spirits high! 

Of course it wouldn't be a complete year without the banquet to celebrate the team's accomplishments! They always do such an amazing job with this!  Cheers to another successful season for Sage!

A little behind the scenes look...

Occasionally at these regattas Jack and I find ourselves with a lot of time to fill in between races and no desire to go back to a hotel room especially with Nova.  So how nice it was to find this dog beach in Venice, just a short drive from Sarasota. It was so fun to see all these cute dogs playing out in the water.  Of course Nova was not one of them. He preferred to fight with us over a beach chair...haha!

Another place we stumbled upon this season was Bird Key Park just outside Sarasota.  It's so nice to have all these beautiful places to explore while Sage is resting between races.  On the overnight events, she spends the whole time with her team so it gives Jack and I...and Nova time to do some exploring.  

So that's the season!  Now she gets a two month break and it all begins again...