AJRA headed downtown to compete at the 2018 Atlanta Erg Sprints, and returned back to Roswell with the club’s 7th-consecutive Golden Hammer! This team title was earned with impressive results and medal placements across all junior categories throughout the day. (more…)
The first on-the-water competition for the Atlanta Juniors’ spring season took place on Saturday, March 18th, on Lake McIntosh in Peachtree City. AJRA hosted the event, and competed against Capital City Rowing, St. Andrew Rowing Club, and Peachtree City Rowing Club. Approximately 145 rowers represented AJRA in races for 8+’s and 4+’s, with 15 rowers making their debut as a part of the organization. (more…)
Saturday, March 18th, Atlanta Juniors competitive squads will launch their spring racing season by heading down to Peachtree City, Georgia, and matching up against Capital City Rowing, St. Andrew Rowing Club, and Peachtree City Rowing Club. Racing is scheduled for 11:00am through 2:00pm. Check out more details on the event Facebook page, and head down to Peachtree City to cheer on AJRA!
For the sixth year running, Atlanta Juniors went down to the Atlanta Erg Sprints, and returned home with a golden hammer trophy for overall Junior Team Points!
The day was filled with individual highlights, huge personal records, and great support between all teammates during tough competitions. AJRA athletes competed in nine different events, coming home with 18 total medals. Ada Dildar and Clara Warmath also set new records in their respective events, bringing home an individual golden hammer in addition to their gold medal. AJRA parents and alumni also were out in force, bringing home several medals of their own!
Individual Results
Gold Medalists: Duke Brady (Junior Men), Paige Cohen (Junior Women), Ada Dildar (Junior Lightweight Men), Clara Warmath (Junior Lightweight Women), Will Holt (Junior Novice Men), Connor Slawin (Junior Coxswain Men), Sally Weltner (Junior Coxswain Women)
Silver Medalists: Oliver Babb (Junior Men), Dylan Paul (Junior Lightweight Men), Amanda Mitchell (Junior Novice Women)
Bronze Medalists: Oscar Lee (Junior Men), Sarah Stacks (Junior Lightweight Women), Chris Halliwell (Junior Novice Men), Jasmine Lewis (Junior Novice Women), Caitlin Raad (Junior Coxswain Women)
Team Results
Gold Team Relay: Duke Brady, Allie Filan, Kunal Vohra, Jasmine Lewis
Silver Team Relay: Oscar Lee, Paige Cohen, Chris Halliwell, Kaitlin Porter
Bronze Team Relay: Dylan Paul, Riley Anderson, Ben Tallant, Amanda Mitchell
Results are available online, as well as several photo galleries of the event from Row2k and from AJRA photographers.
This Saturday, AJRA athletes will attend the Atlanta Erg Sprints, held at Georgia Tech’s Campus Recreation Center. Approximately 135 Atlanta Juniors will compete in nine different events, and will be looking to defend the Youth Team Points trophy for 2017. Several AJRA parents and alumni will be competing throughout the day as well! Find the full racing schedule on the Atlanta Erg Sprints website. Go AJRA!
For the first time in AJRA history, rowers went to USRowing Youth Nationals and returned with a medal. Atlanta Juniors placed third in the Men’s Lightweight Four after a great weekend of racing through heats, semifinals, and finals. 
Not to be outdone, the Women’s Varsity Eight also finished 9th, which is the highest placement for any men’s or women’s AJRA boat in the premier Varsity 8+ event.
Find out more by reading our press release, reviewing all weekend results, and catching up on our photos (posted when available!) as well as photos from Row2k.
With a rowing club almost 30 years old, any time you are 
“making
history”, the stakes must be huge. Last weekend, AJRA rowers traveled to Sarasota, Florida to compete in the 2016 USRowing Southeast Regional Championship regatta, and brought home results that are worthy of that historical classification.
Atlanta Juniors finished second in the team points competition, out of almost 40 clubs from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Of 13 AJRA boats competing, 12 made it into the final round of racing on Sunday, and 8 
boats earned a top-3 podium finish. Additionally, four boats qualified for the USRowing Youth National Championship, and three boats brought regional titles back to Atlanta.
The highlight of the regatta was the Atlanta Junior Women’s Varsity 8+, winning the premier event of the regional championship for the first time in the history of the club. The varsity women progressed through heats, posting the fastest time on Saturday, and followed up with an open water win in the final on Sunday.
Executive Director Sarah Low was pleased with the club’s showing, saying, “I can’t say enough about how proud I am of this team. Every single rower and coxswain who raced on Sunday contributed to our second place points finish, which ties our highest performance ever. Any time you line up against the fastest crews in the Southeast, and then can bring medals home, that is a huge accomplishment. Congratulations to our three Regional Champion crews, and our four Nationals-qualifying crews. I can’t wait to see how we do in New Jersey at Nationals, and am excited for the future of Atlanta Juniors.”
Full results can be found here, full press release here, and pictures will be posted on the AJRA photo site when available.
Regional Champions: Women’s Varsity 8+, Men’s Lightweight 4+, Women’s 2nd Varsity 8+
Silver Medalists: Men’s Novice 8+
Bronze Medalists: Men’s Varsity 8+, Women’s Lightweight 8+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 8+, Women’s 3rd Varsity 8+
AJRA rowers are in their final phase of preparation for the USRowing Southeast Youth Championships this coming weekend. The team will head down to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, for a full schedule of racing on Saturday and Sunday. All boats entered will be competing for a regional title against crews from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Atlanta Juniors will be racing in thirteen events: Men’s and Women’s Varsity 8+’s, Men’s and Women’s 2nd Varsity 8+’s, Women’s 3rd Varsity 8+, Men’s and Women’s Lightweight 8+’s, Men’s and Women’s Novice 8+’s, Men’s Varsity 4+, Men’s Lightweight 4+, Women’s Varsity 4x, and Men’s Varsity 2x. Crews rowing in varsity events are eligible to qualify for USRowing Youth Nationals with a top 3 finish at this regatta (V8+, Light8+, V4+, Light4+, V4x, V2x).
The coaching staff is excited to see rowers perform this weekend, building from a strong year of training and racing locally. Coach Jordan has the women’s program in a strong position, saying, “The team is ready and wants to take the next step as a program. We’ve been talking about putting all the pieces together, and I’m eager to see them let the animal out of the cage.” Coach Rob is equally as excited about the men’s racing this weekend, adding, “We look forward to our 
championship race, and the state-of-the-art race site will make this regatta special. Our athletes have been preparing for this race all season, and I think we are primed for our best race. It makes me wish I were still racing!”
There will be a full contingent of friends, families, and AJRA supporters in Sarasota, and many more cheering on the team from home. For the heat sheet and live results, please click here to follow along.
Good luck, fast water, and fair winds to all crews racing! GO AJRA!
Saturday, April 23rd, Nashville Juniors hosted both AJRA and Chicago Rowing Foundation for a full day of racing, giving many AJRA rowers the chance to race two or even three times down the course. The tri-meet provided great opportunities for competitive races, for gaining valuable experience, and for a sun-filled day at the lake!
With some of the strongest teams from the Southeast and Midwest regions in action, each program took a few wins and traded pieces back and forth. A big highlight for AJRA was a win in the Men’s Varsity 8+ by less than two seconds over Chicago, continuing to build on a strong spring season for the whole program.
Winning crews: Men’s Varsity 8+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 8+, Women’s 3rd Varsity 8+, Men’s Lightweight 8+, Men’s 1st Novice 8+, Men’s 2nd Novice 8+, Men’s Varsity 4+, Women’s 2nd Varsity 4+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 4+, Women’s Lightweight 4+, Men’s 2nd Novice 4+, Men’s Varsity 2x
Full regatta results can be found here, and photos will be posted on the AJRA photo page when available!
Saturday, April 16th, AJRA traveled to Clermont, Florida to race in the Florida Sprint League Championship regatta. This race is a unique opportunity to race some of the fastest junior rowing teams in Florida, using a three-round race progression to provide intense one-on-one match ups. This year, however, strong winds and thunderstorms were threatening the whole weekend, so the regatta was condensed to a finals-only schedule, racing up to 8 boats across in a winner-takes-all format.
Battling strong winds, whitecapping waves, and very tough conditions, AJRA boats competed at the highest level and posted excellent results. For the first time in club history, the women’s varsity 8+ won their event at FSL with an open water victory. The men’s varsity 8+ finished second to Winter Park by less than 2 seconds, and both the men’s and women’s 2nd Varsity 8+’s won their events as well. AJRA also raced 9 other events, posting top 3 results in every category, along with wins in the men’s 4th and 5th Varsity 8+’s.
AJRA Executive Director Sarah Low was proud of the team performance, both on and off the water. “It was a hard regatta for all teams involved, with challenging weather and last minute schedule changes, and all AJRA rowers really stepped up ready to compete. Our novice squads held composure and learned a lot about racing through tough situations, and our varsity squads posted the strongest FSL results in years. Additionally, it was great to see the camaraderie on the dock as boats were coming back in from racing — rowers from all teams helping get boats safely out of the water and working together to move quickly.”
Results can be found on Row2k. You can also check out photos from the event on AJRA’s photo page!
On Saturday, April 2nd, AJRA traveled to Tallahassee to race Capital City Rowing and Stanton Riverbank in a tri-meet. In just the second racing opportunity of the spring season, both varsity and novice crews stepped up to a strong challenge and gained valuable racing experience.
Due to the size of all teams, most races had two AJRA entries, providing for strong intrasquad competition and some familiar faces at the starting line. Additionally, the varsity crews went out for a second round of racing, providing a similar racing experience to larger regattas with heats and finals on a quick turnaround.
Women’s Head Coach Jordan Smith was pleased with his team’s results, saying, “On the women’s side, we saw some dramatic improvement on the novice squad, showing clear progress from where they were two weeks ago. For the varsity crews, we saw them begin to put more of the pieces together. Overall, I’m really happy with where we are for early April, and am looking forward to see us continue to develop speed and consistency.”
The men’s team had a very successful day, defeating CCR in a sprint race for the first time in several seasons. Men’s Head Coach Rob Canavan added, “The varsity men overcame adversity today, and swept the men’s events to win the three-team regatta. They fought through multiple injuries and illnesses to perform well today, demonstrating depth on the team. We will look to increase the stroke rate over the next few weeks to find additional speed at the Florida Sprint League Championship.”
Keep an eye on AJRA’s Facebook page and Twitter account for photos and results as they are available. Many thanks to CCR coaches, rowers, and parents for hosting the regatta in Tallahassee, and providing opportunities for great racing for all crews. Go AJRA!
Event Winners: Men’s Varsity 8+, Women’s Varsity 8+, Men’s Varsity 4+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 8+, Men’s 3rd Varsity 8+, Men’s 4th Varsity 8+, Women’s Open 4+
Sunday, March 20th, AJRA competed at the 30th annual John Hunter Regatta, held on the 1996 Olympic rowing course in Gainesville, Georgia. AJRA rowers jumped into the spring racing season with style, with 31 top-3 medal finishers of a possible 37 entries, including 19 gold medals.
Unlike many previous years at John Hunter, the weather was great for the first spring regatta, with lots of sun, cool temperatures, and low winds, providing great racing conditions for all squads. Many AJRA families and friends also made the trek to Gainesville, making for an extra-loud cheering section.
Both head coaches expressed pride in not only race results, but in the attitudes of their athletes. “I was very happy with how our men and women conducted themselves this weekend,” said Rob Canavan, Men’s Head Coach. “They executed the race plan, pulled hard, and gave a great effort.”
Jordan Smith, Women’s Head Coach, added, “The junior women showed some early speed and depth at this year’s John Hunter. Early discussions of making every rower count and making sure that the tone of the program factors into each boat are becoming a reality.”
Full JHR results can be found here, as well as photos courtesy of Row2k.
Medal Finishing Boats
Gold: Men’s Varsity 8+, Women’s Varsity 8+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 8+, Women’s 2nd Varsity 8+ A, Men’s 3rd Varsity 8+ A, Men’s Novice 8+ A, Men’s Varsity 4+, Women’s Varsity 4+, Men’s Varsity 4+, Women’s Varsity 4+, Men’s 2nd Varsity 4+ A, Women’s 2nd Varsity 4+, Women’s 3rd Varsity 4+ A, Men’s Lightweight 4+ A, Women’s Lightweight 4+ A, Men’s Novice 4+ A, Men’s Novice 4+ B, Women’s Novice 4+ B, Men’s Varsity 2x A, Men’s Varsity 2x B, Men’s Varsity 2x D
Silver: Women’s 2nd Varsity 8+ B, Men’s 3rd Varsity 8+ B, Women’s Novice 8+ A, Men’s 2nd Varsity 4+ B, Men’s Lightweight 4+ B, Women’s Novice 4+ A, Men’s Varsity 2x C, Women’s Varsity 2x A
Bronze: Women’s 3rd Varsity 8+ A, Women’s 3rd Varsity 4+ B, Women’s Varsity 2x B
