In general absences from practice in rowing are highly detrimental to the individual and especially to the team. There may be someone who can take your place for that practice but there may not be which means the boat cannot launch. In any case, practicing together in set lineups is of paramount importance to developing speed. Spring is our prime racing season. Rowing is a time-consuming sport, but there are three seasons during the year other than spring in which to schedule activities that might otherwise conflict with rowing.
One weekday will always be off from practice all year; you are HIGHLY encouraged to schedule all possible appointments for that day.
Excused absences include but are not necessarily limited to: sickness, family emergencies, unavoidable school conflicts, and unavoidable college visits for seniors only. If it would be an excused absence from school, it would be the same for rowing. If you must miss practice for any other reason a parent must contact the coach in advance and the coach has to give their approval for the absence. Parental contact or early notification does not guarantee the absence will be considered excused.
IN GENERAL: If you miss practice, for any reason, you put your seat in jeopardy. This is not punishment - it’s the facts of life. If someone is there when you’re not and steps up, they have the right for a shot at your seat. Everything below follows from that principle.
Spring Season
College Visits
Juniors should schedule all college visits so that they do not conflict with practice in the spring season. Seniors should make every effort to schedule college visits so that they do not conflict; the only excused college visits for seniors are on-campus interviews for scholarships or similar that cannot be re-scheduled or campus visits for accepted students where an athlete has not already had the chance to visit that school. Recruiting trips should be taken in the normal fall recruiting season; a late recruiting visit by a senior may be excused with advanced permission in the spring.
Evening School Activities
We are not on campus for practice and cannot easily finish early; we are only somewhat able to accommodate attendance for evening activities at school. If it is not possible to get from practice to school in time to participate in a mandatory school activity in the evening, that absence from practice may be excused with parental contact and early notification.
Any unexcused absence during the week may result in the loss of your seat for that weekend’s race. Two absences in a week, regardless of whether they are excused or unexcused, may result in the loss of your seat for the next race.
Competition Absence
No rower beyond their first season should miss a race in the spring for any reason other than illness or a family emergency. For rowers in their first season, there is a small amount of latitude for missing a race. The calendar is posted well in advance; failure to be available for a race for any reason other than illness or family emergency may result in the loss of a varsity letter and/or loss of your permanent spot on the team.
Fall Season
The rules for absence in the Fall season follow the Spring with the exception of the following areas: college visits, recruiting visits, school activities.
College visits should be scheduled in the fall so as to minimize missing practice time, but are excused absences. No competitions should be missed in the fall for college visits.
Recruiting visits in the fall are always excused. They should be scheduled if at all possible to avoid missing competitions.
Evening activities in the fall at school may be excused if there is parental contact, early notification, and the coach’s approval. There should never be a regular absence from practice in the fall for any reason (e.g. every Wednesday for some other extracurricular activity).
We will try to be flexible for standardized test administration dates; but please try to schedule those so they do not conflict with practice. A standardized test is not an excuse for missing a race.
Winter Season (Indoors)
From the start of our winter season (after Thanksgiving) through winter break, rowers just finishing their first season who are not playing a winter sport are encouraged, but not required, to attend practices in the weight room or erg room. All returning rowers not playing a winter sport should attend practice. Of course, anyone playing a winter sport at Shaker or elsewhere is welcome to visit and, with the permission of the rowing coach and the coach of their other sport, work out with the team.
From winter Break until the start of our spring season (March), rowers who have finished their first season of rowing and who are not playing a winter sport should attend practice as often as possible. The rules for absences follow those for the Fall season, with the exception that rowers may regularly miss practice for another scheduled extracurricular activity.
Excessive absences in the winter will result not only in significant lost fitness as compared to the rest of the team but will be taken into account in boat selection and the awarding varsity letters for the spring.