Hello Westdale!
Dina Gadsdon has found a brand new Costco beach umbrella (see photo) and is wondering if it belongs to one of the Westdale Rowing families. If it’s your’s then please get in touch with Dina & she can ensure you’re reunited with your umbrella 🙂
Here’s the photo:
I hope you’re all having a great summer!
Alessandra
An information session and junior team sign up is taking place on Wednesday, June 10th between 5 and 7 pm.   You will be able to meet the various junior coaches and find out about the summer club racing season.
I encourage all Westdale athletes to consider rowing in the summer. It is an extremely valuable experience and will benefit your rowing career.
The junior coaches are:
Andrea Valois Junior A/B Men. (under the age of 19)
Mike Roche Junior A Women. (ages of 17 and 18)
Craig Pollock Junior B Women. (under the age of 17)
At the session you will find out about crew selection processes, regatta committment, training schedules and other various bits of information.
I hope to see you all on Wednesday evening.
Hello Westdale Rowers!
Hopefully rigging went well today with Mike. Also, congrats to Erik Heinbecker for completing his first June Trials selection event today in Welland (June Trials are one part of the tryout process for the Junior National Team). Erik has not proceeded to the matrix, but did achieve some personal goals for time-trials and Senior Gold Medal Standard percentages. Great job!
Tomorrow is the Westdale Athletics Awards Assembly for any athletes that have won an MVP title this year (Jocelyn, Madison, Katie, Sadie, Lucas, Harrison, JJ, Max). Please come to the Westdale auditorium for 2:20pm for the awards assembly, followed by a BBQ in the courtyard.
Your coaches will be there to hand you your awards, so please don’t leave us standing alone awkwardly on the podium… that would be sad (it happened last year… please come this time!).
Thanks,
Alessandra
Hi folks,
Just a friendly reminder that tonight is the year-end rowing party for all athletes, parents, and coaches. Please be there for 7pm at Kelsey’s (Main St. West, across from Westdale Secondary School) in the downstairs party room 🙂
We’ll be presenting City Champs medals, CSSRA pins, and MVP awards. PLUSÂ we’ll be celebrating the end of the season, so it’s just going to be fun all around. Come join before you head off for summer!
See you soon,
Alessandra
Dear Westdale Rowers,
Congratulations on finishing Day 2 of the CSSRA Canadian Rowing Championships. Today was a first day of racing (heats) for some, and a second day of racing (semifinals) for others, and the day came with a very strong headwind. Both Mike and I are really proud of what you have accomplished. We’ve seen you push hard in conditions that have caused others to falter, and your technique and power together are showing through. While not all of our crews were able to proceed to the finals, we saw very good racing from everyone on the water, and you should feel confident in what you’ve achieved so far this weekend.
Tomorrow’s finals include three Westdale crews: the Jr. Women’s 63kg 8+, the Sr. Men’s 1x, and the Sr. Men’s 4x, so we hope that everyone will join us in cheering on the crews as they compete in their final race(s). After the races, we’ll be heading to Kelsey’s on Main St. West at 7pm for the End-of-Year Party, where we’ll announce this year’s MVPs, Rookie of the Year, Spirit Award Winner, and will distribute City Champs Medals & CSSRA Pins to athletes.
Sunday Arrival Times & Finals Schedule:
-All athletes from the Jr. Women’s 63kg 8+ must arrive early to weigh-in with Mike at 6:30am.Â
-All OTHER athletes AND spectators must arrive at 11am.Â
A continental breakfast will be available immediately following the weigh-ins for the Jr. Women’s 63kg 8+ in the parents tent (yoghurt, muffins, etc.), and a hot breakfast/brunch will be provided at 11am, once the rest of the athletes and parents have also arrived.
Sunday Finals (Schedule):
Jr. Women’s 63kg 8+ @1:14pm (Lane 2)
Sr. Men’s 1x @1:56pm (Lane 3)
Sr. Men’s 4x @2:48pm (Lane 3)
For a full schedule, please see a copy of the final draw here.
Year-End Party – 7pm at Kelsey’s on Main St. West (across from WSS)
It’s that time of year again… all your bags are packed and you’re ready to go, BUT we’re still having a party and you’re invited. The end-of-year party will be held at 7pm at the Westdale Kelsey’s on Main St. West (across from the school) in the Party Room (downstairs – just ask for Westdale Rowing). ALL athletes and parents are invited – especially athletes whose season concluded with City Champs, because we’ll be handing out the City Champs medals.
We will be handing out the following awards at the party:
-Jr. Men’s & Women’s Indoor MVP
-Jr. Men’s & Women’s Outdoor MVP
-Sr. Men’s & Women’s Indoor MVP
-Sr. Men’s & Women’s Outdoor MVP
-Rookie of the Year
-Westdale Rowing Spirit Award
We’ll also be distributing City Champs medals, CSSRA pins (for those that raced this weekend), and a surprise something for those that have made their first CSSRA final.
Last of all…
I really hope to see you all at the race course AND at the party tomorrow, because this will likely be my final year coaching with Westdale and I will miss you all immensely and will be incredibly sad if I can’t say goodbye before you head off for the summer! So please do come. I would love it if you did 🙂
See you all tomorrow,
Alessandra
Dear Westdale Rowers & Parents,
Today was a tough day of racing: the first day is when we meet our competition (from across the continent!) and determine conditions for our heats. The changes in wind direction (from tail to cross to head) definitely tested our crews, but everyone pushed despite the weather.
We have two crews from today’s races that have proceeded to Saturday’s Semifinals: the Sr. Men’s 1x and the Sr. Men’s 4x. We had some close calls as well, with a few boats missing the semis by just 0.6 seconds or 2.6 seconds, but we pushed hard and we’ll now look forward to doing our best tomorrow and cheering hard for other crews that are just starting their competitions.
Without further ado, here are Saturday’s Racing Times:Â
Sr. Women 63kg 8+ – Heat 1 @9:52am
Jr. Men 1x – Heat 1 @10:55am
Jr. Women 63kg 8+ – Heat 2 @11:44am
Sr. Men’s 1x Semifinal – 12:40pm OR 12:47pm (TBD by draw)
Sr. Men’s 4x Semifinal – 2:04pm OR 2:11pm (TBD by draw)
Jr. Women’s 4x – Heat 1 @3:42pm
Sr. Women’s 8+ – Heat 2 @5:27pm
Women’s Arrival Times:
Mike has already spoken with crews about your arrival times. Coxswains and Midweight crews must arrive earlier to weigh-in with Mike. Women’s crews that race later in the day should either arrive in time for the first race (9:52am) or at least 3 hours before your race if you’re racing at the end of the day (Sr. Women’s 8+).
Men’s Arrival Times:
Jr. Men’s 1x (Erik) – 8:55am
Sr. Men’s 1x (Luke) – 9:40am
Sr. Men’s 4x (Max & Kieran *others already there) – 10:45am
Athletes that aren’t racing on Saturday should plan to arrive by 9:30am in order to cheer on the team in the first race of the day.
See you all in the morning,
Alessandra
Dear Westdale Rowers & Parents,
The time has come! It’s the day before the races. The boats are rigged, washed, and ready to go. The blades are set. You should all feel confident that you’ve done absolutely everything you can to prepare for the regatta – because you have. As coaches, we know that you’re ready for this.
As it is a Westdale tradition, I’d like to leave you all with two short clips to watch before your races. Remember: this is your time. Go out there, give it your best, and have fun. Anything is possible.
Versus:Â
Inches:
…bring your passion, bring your spirit, and bring your A-game. You CAN do this.
Now, for the arrival & race time information:
General Info:
-Weigh ins are open from 7-11am. You ONLY weigh-in on the day(s) that you are racing.
-Coxswains must weigh-in with their coach (or crew, if applicable)
-All athletes must bring current, valid student ID or photo ID (driver’s license, passport), team unisuit, sunscreen & water
-It is strongly recommended that athletes bring a tent or place to stay in the shade
-Additional information is listed here
Arrival Times for Athletes that ARE NOT racing on Friday = 9:30am
We ask that all athletes that have Friday “off” from racing arrive at the course by 9:30am. This is to support and cheer on the other crews racing, in time for the first race of the day (the Sr. Men’s Double). For the women’s team, this includes anyone racing in the eight races (Jr/Sr/Mid/Open) and in the quad
Arrival Times for Racing Athletes: *if you agreed to bring food, please ensure the food arrives for its deadline too
Sr. Men’s 2x (Max & Kieran) – 7am
Jr. Women’s 4+ (Stephanie, Tristan, Kate, Drew, Hannah) – 8am
Sr. Men’s 72kg 2x (JJ & Cooper) – 9:50am *in time to cheer on the Sr. Men’s 2x race
Sr. Men’s 1x (Luke) – 11am
Sr. Women’s 4+ (Arnaud*, Lauren, Allie, Victoria, Taylor) – 11am *Arnaud will arrive earlier to weigh-in with Mike
Sr. Men’s 4x (Erik *others have already arrived) – 12pm/noon
Sr. Women’s 1x (Madison) – 1pm
Jr. Men’s 2x (Harrison & Lucas) – 1:30pm
***times listed indicate the LATEST time by which you should arrive. Athletes are always welcome to arrive earlier to support and cheer on the other crews***
A reminder that food should be brought to the Parents’ Tent by the time indicated on the sign up sheet here.
Official Race Times:
Sr. Men’s 2x – Heat 5 @9:54am
Jr. Women’s 4+ – Heat 1 @10:03am
Sr. Men’s 72kg 2x – Heat 1 @12:02am
Sr. Men’s 1x – Heat 3 @1:19pm
Sr. Women’s 4+ – Heat 1 @1:33pm
Sr. Men’s 4x – Heat 3 @2:50pm
Sr. Women’s 1x – Heat 2 @3:11pm
Jr. Men’s 2x – Heat 5 @4:42pm
Final Notes: Jackets will be distributed tomorrow at the races. City Champs medals will be awarded at our year-end party (yes, the medals have arrived!), and the 70th Anniversary CSSRA pins will also be distributed at our year-end party to athletes competing at this year’s CSSRAs.
That’s all, folks. See you all tomorrow on the Island.
GOOD LUCK WESTDALE!
Alessandra
Dear Parents,
Our hard-working parent reps (Dina & Brock) have been coordinating the food signup & provision for the regatta, but we are still very short of meeting the requirements to offer all athletes (and families) meals, which means we’re still looking for people to sign up today by 7pm at the latest to assist in contributing food for the regatta (You can click here to sign up:Â https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19QGcBLPnAkXrf_mbyEYnfRKv3XYEnkdfTfHKK-9JvIA/edit?pli=1#gid=585143953)
We are particularly short on contributions for tomorrow (Friday) morning. If there’s any chance you can assist, we would greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance!
Please click here to sign up to contribute:Â https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19QGcBLPnAkXrf_mbyEYnfRKv3XYEnkdfTfHKK-9JvIA/edit?pli=1#gid=585143953Â
See you all at 11am this morning (athletes) and 8am tomorrow morning (parents),
Alessandra
Dear Parents,
I’m passing along a message from one of our parent reps who’s offered to bring up the BBQs for the regatta this weekend – if you can assist, please let Brock Gadsdon know before 12pm (noon) today (Wednesday, June 3rd).:
From Brock: Does anyone have access to a trailer or pickup truck to help get the BBQ to / from the Highschool to Henley Island? Unfortunately it will not fit into my trailer. I have a hitch on both of my vehicles if we need something to tow it with. We can take it down as earlier as Wednesday night but has to be back Monday morning (off island Sunday).
…please contact Brock or Dina if you can assist!
Thanks,
Alessandra
Dear Athletes & Parents,
More information will be given at our year-end party on Sunday, June 7th (7pm at Kelsey’s in Westdale), but here are a few quick links to help navigate the summer rowing opportunities and options for athletes of all ages:
1) Summer Rowing Information & Registration – Wednesday, June 10th, 5-7pm @LBC
Event Link:Â https://www.facebook.com/events/352936471571273/Â
This is for club competitive and bantam, as well as other programs you’d like to learn about (like Learn to Row (LTR) and Adult Recreational Rowing). Come meet the coaches, ask some questions, and see what works best for you and your availability/interests! Summer rowing is a great way to stay involved, fit, and on-top of your rowing technique before the school season starts again. You’ll also meet some great people!
2) Heart & Stroke “Row for Heart” – Signup Available
Contact: leanderrow4heart@gmail.com
Flyer:Â Heart and Stroke – Informational Flyer
Registration Form:Â Heart and Stroke – F15 Team Registration Form
LBC’s Row for Heart program still has a few spots remaining for teams, and the coordinators are hoping to have each highschool represented. You do NOT need any prior experience to compete in Row For Heart – the coaches will teach you everything you need to know, and the program accepts participants aged 16-years-old and up.
Row for Heart is a great way to try rowing, have a fun with friends, and meet new people. The Ancaster Royals already have a parents 8+ that’s keen to challenge parents at other schools (including Westdale!) to make a team and compete for fun during this summer session.  If teams are unable to find 8 crew members, then the coordinators are allowing teams to row in a 4+ instead, still competing in the final regatta on July 19th. Row for Heart is a keystone program that supports both highschool rowing programs and club rowing. Keen to try it? Contact Andrea Jansen for more information at leanderrow4heart@gmail.com.
3) Friends & Family “Learn to Row” Day – Saturday, June 27th, 9am-12pm @LBC
Event Link:Â https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/friends-family-learn-to-row-day-tickets-17158527618Â
Highschool rowers and club rowers are invited to bring a guest (friend or family member) to a fun “Learn to Row” day, where you get to row with your guest and coaches will be available to answer questions about the sport and/or summer rowing opportunities at all ages and levels of fitness.
Enjoy!
Alessandra
Westdale Rowing Community 