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Community Corner

Ridgefield Rower Chad Ballard Ends Fall Season With Medal Collection

Ridgefield rower and high school senior Chad Ballard ended his fall season with Norwalk River Rowing last weekend in Philadelphia by adding another medal to his collection. Ballard and his teammates move indoors next week to train for the spring season, when they will return to the water in March. 


Ballard and Norwalk River started their fall season on September 29 at the Head of the Merrimack in Methuen, Massachusetts, a regatta with 148 entries from 27 clubs in seven states. It was a warm, sunny day, and Norwalk’s youth teams came home with 6 first-place finishes, 5 second-place finishes and one third. Ballard rowed in a boys lightweight four plus coxswain that took a gold. Ballard also rowed a first varsity eight that took a second-place finish that was particularly sweet because the boys overheard an oarsman in another boat explain to a teammate who was unfamiliar with Norwalk River’s colors that the boat was from Norwalk River and was likely to come in last. Ballard’s Norwalk River boat beat that boat handily on its way to its second-place finish.

On October 6 Norwalk River braved the cold and rain at the Head of the Riverfront on the Connecticut River in Hartford, a regatta with over 3,000 rowers and 608 boats in competition. The youth team came back with the DiscoverRe Cup for its first place finish in the boys varsity four plus coxswain, along with two silvers and three bronzes in other events. Not to be outdone, the masters team (adults) came back with a gold in the mixed eight plus coxswain. Ballard added two medals to his collection, helping to power the varsity four to its DiscoverRe Cup first-place win and the first varsity eight to its bronze.

October 12 Norwalk River spent a gorgeous fall day in Shelton, Connecticut atthe Head of the Housatonic, one of the largest single-day head races in the country with approximately 700 boats competing. The youth team brought back two golds and a bronze, and the masters had two boats finish fourth, just seconds behind the medal winners. Chad Ballard was in the boys first varsity four that took a gold.

On October 20 Norwalk River Rowing sent select boats up to Boston for the Head of the Charles, one of the premier “head” regattas in the world, attracting over 9,000 athletes and 300,000 spectators. Norwalk’s top finishing boat was the boys first varsity four, which came in an impressive tenth in a field of 84. The girls first varsity four also earned an automatic bid to return next year with a finish of 37 out of a strong field of 85. Ballard helped power the boys first varsity four to its impressive tenth-place finish.

Ballard and Norwalk River Rowing youth closed their fall season at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in Philadelphia with 1,543 boats entered from 230 clubs and schools from 24 states and 6 countries. Norwalk River Rowing boys’ 3 golds and 3 bronzes gave them the first place point total for boys high school teams at the Head of Schuylkill, and with the girls’ silver gave them second in the overall high school team total (boys and girls) behind Saugatuck, another local club based in Westport. Ballard helped pull the four plus coxswain (under 19) to its bronze in a race with 55 competitors.

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