1. Directions to the Ridley College Field House: Ridley College is in St. Catharines, Ontario – with easy access from the QEW or Highway 406.

Coming from the west on the QEW, take the 406 exit, and then exit at Fourth Avenue, and turn right at the top of the ramp. Move to the left lanes and turn left at the 2nd traffic light, onto Louth Street. (Small shopping malls on either side). Ridley College is on your left after the 2nd traffic light. Turn left just before the train tracks, onto Ridley Road. Entrance to the school is on the left.
Parking can be on campus (please not on the grass) or in the local neighborhood.

2. Please be there at least 45 minutes to 1 hour prior to your race time, especially for those who have to weigh in.

3. BRING YOUR ID!!!!

4. Know your warm up, please. It will be:
–5′ light
–3 x 10 strokes on, 10 off
–:30″ paddle
–3 x 20 on, 20 off
–:30″ paddle
–3 x 30 on, 30 off

5. Race times are as follows:

JR HS MEN
8:00AM: Davin (Lane 14)
8:15AM: Max (Lane 21)

JR HS 150 MEN
9:00AM: Lachlan (Lane 14)
Jack (Lane 26)
9:15AM: Quin (Lane 3)
Owen (Lane 7)
Johnson (Lane 9)
Baoza (Lane 123)

JR HS 165 MEN
9:50am: Rochan (Lane 7)
Liam (Lane 12)
Alex (Lane 18)
Geon (Lane 26)
Jerron (Lane 28)

JR HS 135 WOMEN
10:05AM: Liv (Lane 5)
Maddy D (Lane 27)
10:55am: Ryann (Lane 4)
Celina (Lane 19)
Emma (Lane 28
11:10AM: Seta (Lane 9)
11:25AM: Maggie (Lane 5)

JR HS 145 WOMEN
11:40AM: Grace (Lane 13)

SR HS 135 WOMEN
1:35PM: Gillian (Lane 4)
Charlotte (Lane 6)
Becca (Lane 27)

SR HS 145 WOMEN
2:05PM: Fiora (Lane 14)
Sequoia (Lane 23)

SR HS WOMEN
2:25PM: Chloe (Lane 14)
2:40PM: Vaishala (Lane 13)

SR HS MEN
2:50PM: Matt (Lane 7)

I have listed the top mileages for four categories-Experienced Men and Women and Novice men and Women. This takes every erg into consideration, for which we recorded or for which you took a picture of your monitor. If your name is not on here and you would like to know where you’re at, fire me a text.

NOVICE WOMEN
1. Emma: 84,341 metres
2. Seta: 69,582 metres
3. Grace: 65,738 metres

NOVICE MEN
1. Baoza: 123,392 metres
2. Lachlan: 107,914 metres
3. Jerron: 87,863 metres
4. Jack: 80,589 metres
5. Quin: 71,274 metres

EXPERIENCED WOMEN
1. Chloe: 342,332 metres (this is not a misprint)
2. Maggie: 176,014 metres
3. Becca: 173,030 metres
4. Sequoia: 167,611 metres
5. Celina: 161,745 metres
6. Ryann: 151,517 metres

EXPERIENCED MEN
1. Geon: 169,960 metres
2. Alex B: 155,135 metres
3. Liam: 141,362 metres
4. Max: 138,610 metres
5. Ethan: 134,810 metres

School cancelled. Please pass the word.

Y’all know the drill if that happens. There likely won’t be anything on the ground in the morning…if anything, the board would be concerned about the afternoon commute home. I’ll update shortly after 6am.

Those of you who ordered clothing from RegattaSport (unisuits/other items)…they will be available at the indoor regatta on Saturday.

Speaking of Regatta Sport, I had an e-mail from them today about an event shirt they are selling that has to be pre-ordered by Thursday. You can have a look at them online. Instructions on how to do so are below:

iTeam order instructions
http://www.regattasport.com
1. http://www.regattasport.com
2. Click ‘iTEAMS’ link in the header
3. Click “Register” then proceed to create your
personal account.
4. Once step 3 is complete, click the “iTeams”
link again.
5. Select Ontario Ergometer Championships from the drop box
6. Password: OEC2019
7. Place order!

For the swim test, please wear leggings and a long sleeve shirt. Note: Do NOT wear track pants–they get extremely heavy when water logged and are NOT recommended!

I will be publishing the latest round of erg mileages after Thursday’s practice. If you did any ergs on your own at home or at a gym, please e-mail me a picture of the monitor.

For Ontario’s, keep your eyes on this space for race times and directions on how to get there. There are about three times the number of athletes competing this weekend, than there were last weekend….so those of you in Grimsby can imagine what it will be like!

A couple of tips/suggestions for novices racing this weekend:
1. You will be nervous. If you aren’t nervous, you aren’t human! That is natural. The key is to NOT let the nerves eat you up.
2. Set your pre-race routine. Everyone does it differently. Some zone out and listen to music. Some like to watch races. Some like to sit in a corner alone with their thoughts. Personally, I went and found a quiet corner, sat down, closed my eyes, and mentally focused on what I wanted to do and the effort it was going to take.
3. Focus on YOUR race and YOUR monitor. You can’t control what the person beside you is doing. And if you look at someone else’s monitor, or the screen, you lose focus on yours, and chances are your split will drop.
4. Use the huge amount of energy and enthusiasm from the crowd to your advantage. Pretend in your mind that every single spectator is cheering for you.
5. Know that events like this build character. In the hours and minutes before your race, you will question WHY you ever decided to row and put yourself through this stress. We have all been there, trust me. Once the race is finished, if you had a good one and maybe set a PB, there is no greater feeling in the world. Partly because you did better than you ever did before, but also because you stood up to your fear and stared it down. It takes a lot of courage to do that. Facing and dealing with fears is the number one character-building lesson we have in life.

All novices need to attend this UNLESS you have a bronze cross/bronze medallion or lifesaving certificate. In that case, you need to take a picture of it and text it to me at 289-527-5800.

Novices from LAST YEAR do not need to do the test.

The following experienced rowers need to do the test (unless you have certification, in which case, please send me a picture of it. You probably sent me one a couple of years ago, but I would have sent that to Aubrey and deleted it)

Ethan
Charlotte
Gillian
Fiora
Sequoia
Serena
Chloe
Maura
Molly
Ella
Vicky

Remember.
ALL rowers who need to take the swim test must take it….and pass it. Our rowing program will not put anybody on the water who is not able to swim. This is non-negotiable.

If you haven’t done so and you’re planning on entering the regatta on Saturday in St. Catharines, let’s get it done! Most of you are in….just waiting for the final few.

16 PBs this past weekend which include the Grimsby Regatta today, and Friday morning’s practice. SIXTEEN!!!! That is an outstanding effort and sets us up really well for next weekend in St. Catharines. As with next Saturday, today’s regatta saw us face off against some of the fastest kids in the country. Both EL Crossley and Grimsby do very well when it comes to the spring on-water season. We stood up well against them today, and you should be proud of your efforts!

PBs are as follows:

DAVIN: PB by 5.1 seconds
ROCHAN: PB by 4.7 seconds
SETA: PB by 7.7 seconds
LACHLAN: PB by 8.4 seconds
JACK: PB by 8.7 seconds
JERRON: PB by 7.2 seconds
BAOZA: PB by 0.3 seconds
EMMA: PB by 10.5 seconds
MAX: PB by 1.5 seconds
ALEX B: PB by 10.8 seconds (and went under 7:00 for the first time)
GEON: PB by 3.0 seconds
SERENA: PB by 0.6 seconds
MADDY D: PB by 0.3 seconds
RYANN: PB by 6.9 seconds
CELINA: PB by 9.5 seconds (and is within 7.7 seconds of breaking 8:00!!)
MAGGIE: PB by 8.5 seconds

ONE DAY LEFT TO ENTER ONTARIO’S IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO! Please get your entries in!

With a PA Day on Friday, we have opted to use Wednesday as a speedwork day instead of yoga. Next week will be ALL speedwork leading into Ontario’s. Those not competing at Ontario’s will do a 2K test either on Thursday morning, or Monday–we haven’t decided yet, but will put our heads together on Monday morning. Let’s keep this upward trend going, shall we?

This seems to be the best way to get to the regatta, although Google Maps might have different ideas.

QEW to Casablanca. Take South Service Rd to Kerman. Right on Kerman to Livingston. Left on Livingston to St. Andrews Ave. Right on St. Andrews to Boulton. Right on Boulton.

8AM-JW 135-HEAT 1
Ryann-Lane 4
Maddy T-Lane 11-SCRATCH

8:15-JW-135-HEAT 2
Celina-Lane 6
Maggie-Lane 10

8:30-JW-135-HEAT 3
Liv-Lane 1
Emma-Lane 10

8:45-JW-135-HEAT 4
Maddy D-Lane 5
Seta-Lane 10

9:00-JM-150-HEAT 1
Jack-Lane 8
Owen-Lane 10

9:15-JM-150-HEAT 2
Quin-Lane 3
Lachlan-Lane 16

9:30-SW-145
Sequoia-Lane 14

9:45-JM 165
Rochan-Lane 1
Liam-Lane 4
Geon-Lane 11

10:30-JM
Davin-Lane 10
Max-Lane 2

10:45-SW-135
Gillian-Lane 1
Becca-Lane 7
Charlotte-Lane 14

11:15AM-SM 165
Ethan-Lane 14

11:45-SW
Serena-Lane 5
Chloe-Lane 9

12 NOON-SM
Matt-Lane 1