Written By Special Contributor - Mike Lauterborn

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Got up with the worms, around 4:30a.m., Sunday, Oct. 27th, and was on the road 45 minutes later bound from my home in Fairfield, Conn. to Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. Nearby the school, on Lake Cayuga, my son Evan was competing in a co-ed crew regatta. The majority of competitors had donned Halloween-oriented or related themed costumes to add some fun to the competition, which has been run annually since 1973. There were lumberjacks, "Despicable Me" Minions, reindeer and "Risky Business" themes represented. Parents and friends of the students, braving chilly temps and gusty wind, had gathered at the College's boathouse to witness the spectacle.

In an orderly fashion, each of the teams extracted their eight-man sculls from the boathouse, carried them overhead down to an adjacent dock and gingerly flipped them over and placed them in the water.

A minute later, they had all climbed aboard and set off up the lake to warm up. Spectators crossed to the other side of a narrow channel in the meantime and, soon, the teams were in contention, dipping, feathering and stroking their way at us. While the heat was a serious one, it was hard not to crack a smile given their kooky get-ups. It's not often one sees a scull full of goggled Minions gliding past!

Unable to see the finish line from their vantage point, bystanders had to patiently wait until all the crafts were back on dry land, dried down and stowed and the competitors were again amongst them before results were revealed.

Associated with crew since enrolling at Ithaca College in 1975, Dan Robinson, who celebrated his 25th year as head coach in 2011, called off finishing times, starting from last place to first. He was joined by Becky Robinson, head women's crew & sculling coach and a member of the 1991 U.S. National Rowing Team. Teams cheered each other in good spirits, and especially the winning group. Amazingly, there were participants in each group who had never picked up an oar before the 2013 fall term, Dan noted, and their achievement was not only astounding but showed great promise for the overall year the Bombers might have.

The names of the members of the winning team will be etched into a small plaque and added to a trophy display that is kept at the boathouse. It's truly an honor and there were past winning crew members onsite who excitedly spoke of their feat.

Still in costume and spent from their weekend of practice and racing, a good majority of the group, their families and supporters in tow, headed to Ithaca Bakery on North Meadow Street, to resuscitate and warm up with sandwichy goodness and piping hot beverages.

*Mike Lauterborn is the father of men's crew member Evan Lauterborn.