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.