Tail of the Turkey Regatta 2020
Strokes Admin
The Oakland Strokes hosted its second race of the fall season, the Tail of the Turkey Regatta, on Saturday November 19. The regatta was held at the San Leandro Basin region of the Oakland Estuary on a 3000m out-and-back style race course in the shadows of the Oakland Coliseum.
All four high school squads, coxswains, and Under-23 athletes raced in singles: the one-person boats they have been training in all fall amid the pandemic’s restrictions on team boats. Many of these athletes had not sculled before this season, let alone raced in a single. Since state restrictions still prohibit cross-team competition for youth sports, the Strokes athletes were racing against their own teammates once again across 17 flights throughout the day. 128 athletes went down the racecourse on Saturday.
Lining the racecourse was the MLK Regional Shoreline Trail which allowed our athlete’s parents to cheer them on while “physically distancing” along the entire length of the course. After the pandemic cut the Spring 2020 season short parents were excited to be able to support their athletes and the team after nine months away from early mornings of rowing spectating. It was a fantastic spectacle of racing our athletes put on for them. The competition was hot and the improvement in boat handling, course, and skill from last month's Head of the Oak was clear!
While the athletes will never admit it, but we can see them pick up speed when they hear their names called out. And whoever brought the cowbell won the unofficial prize for fan of the day! It can’t be a real regatta without a cowbell.
Results can be found HERE
Thank you to our amazing paparazzi team parents. Their photo albums can be found linked below:
