Despite the hot, humid conditions and long drive down to Long Beach, Lightwave paddled their way to victory, bringing home hardware! The countless hours of practicing race pieces and focusing on timing definitely paid off this weekend.

1. Stellar timing and focus – With each of the 5 races paddled, the timing, focus, and stamina put Lightwave in contention each and every race. Great job everyone!
2. Coach Jackie paddles 3 races – Despite his lack of conditioning since he focuses on coaching the team, Coach Jackie managed to pull off 3 excellent race pieces with the team. Reach, rotate, and timing – they were all there.
3. Captain Ray makes his debut as the drummer – During this season, Lightwave has been known to have the tallest callers. Long Beach was no exception. Captain Ray held on and led Lightwave to the finish line in the final 250 meters sprint race.
4. Wendy steers her first actual race – With all the time spent steering during practice, Wendy steered Lightwave straight to the finish line in 3 races.
5. Jennie falls off the boat again – It has become a Lightwave tradition during these past 2 races to have the caller fall off the boat. Let’s end that tradition at Treasure Island.
6. LightRipple – The Lightwave women joined the Ripple Effect women in the gender races. Even though there was no hardware to bring home, the Lightwave women demonstrated focus and timing.

SPECIAL THANKS! This fun-filled weekend would not have been made possible without the following:

• Newport Aquatics Club (NAC) – NAC was the best host team. Not only did they give us a memento to hang our paddles, but they helped hydrate and nourish our bodies with cold drinks and food, lent us their lawn chairs at the race site, and most importantly, supported our team every minute of the way. Thank you NAC!
• Our drivers – Frank, Gary, Jackie, James, Preston, Ray, Wendy – Thanks to all of you for driving. We all know it was a long, tiring drive especially after the races.
• Our photographer – Gary – Thanks for taking and posting over a thousand pictures and capturing all our moments of sleepiness, excitement, and food!
• Our cheerleader – Sheetal – You were supportive every step of the way.
• Our gift purchasers – Alison, Ray, Shun – Thanks for picking up the gifts for NAC.
• Lightwave – Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the team. You made this experience a most fun and memorable one.

Great job everyone! Let’s paddle even harder at Treasure Island! GO WAVES!!!