Are you missing your favourite yellow-capped water bottle? (Featuring: water! included! FREE!)
How about your beautiful blue water bottle? (Featuring: humid precipitation droplets! included! ALSO FREE!)
Or even your lovely green Thinsulate Woods “Lite-Loft” insulation bag to carry your crucial camping gear? (Featuring: NOTHING ELSE, JUST THE GEAR! what a win! TOTALLY FREE!) BECAUSE THEY ARE MISSING YOU SO MUCH.
They want to go home. Please, give them a home. They don’t like living with me. Seriously. I’m cruel and leave them alone in the den gathering dust. This is no life for a water bottle or air-mattress carrier.
So, if these are your items OR if you think you know the items’ owners (even if they’re from another school), please contact me so I can return these sad, lonely items to your possession.
It’s been a while since our last post, so we’re happy to say that we’ve got all sorts of fun info for you in this one!
INFORMATION!!! YAY!!!
Info for Mom!
First off, THANK YOU to all athletes for being so patient while we addressed equipment changes/availability and boating changes these past two weeks, including changes to race entries. We appreciate that you’ve all been very understanding.
Next here’s everything you need to know for the next two days:
Saturday, May 9th – Practice & Trailer Loading @5:45am at LBC
All athletes should arrive at 5:45am for a final practice before trailer loading. Practice will run from 5:45am-7:30am. Trailer loading will begin at 7:30am, and ALL boats must be fully derigged and loaded by 8:45am. The trailer will leave the LBC compound at 9am.
Sunday, May 10th – Mother’s Day Regatta (THANK YOUR MOM’S)
The Mother’s Day Regatta will be held on Henley Island in St. Catharine’s, Ontario (close to the Port Dalhousie area). Full information about event times and directions can be found here at Regatta Central.
Directions can also be found here on the Westdale Rowing blog, or here on Google Maps. *Directions say 45 min (approx.), but plan for 60-75min just in case you get lost or encounter traffic. This has happened to at least one athlete every year that we’ve coached.*
The Final Race Draw hasn’t been posted yet, but will likely be made available tomorrow on Regatta Central. Based on the Regatta Central preliminary schedule, these are the race times:
Event 6 – Sr. Women’s 63kg 1x – 9:10am (finals at 2:25pm) Event 7 – Jr. Men’s 72kg 4+ – 9:24am (finals at 2:32pm) Event 14 – Jr. Women 63kg 8+ – 10:20am (finals at 3:21pm) Event 15 – Sr. Men’s 72kg 2x – 10:34am (finals at 3:28pm) Event 18 – Sr. Men’s 1x – 11:09am (finals at 3:49pm *HOTSEAT REQUIRED) Event 19 – Sr. Women’s 4+ – 11:30am (finals at 3:56pm) Event 23 – Sr. Men’s 4x – 12:12pm (finals at 4:24pm) Event 24 – Sr. Women’s 1x – 12:19pm (finals at 4:31pm) Event 29 – Jr. Women’s 4x – 1:15pm (finals at 5:06pm) Event 12 – Jr. Men’s 1x – 3:07pm (straight final *QUICK CHANGE REQUIRED) Event 35 – Sr. Women’s 8+ – 5:48pm (straight final)
“Hotseating” is when an athlete goes straight from one race into the next race, and the boating change is made on the dock. “Quick change” is when an athlete has a tight turnaround time after their first race, but still has enough time to return the boat before launching in their next race.
Weigh-Ins: There are NO weigh-ins at this regatta. Instead, the regatta runs on an honour system.
A Message for Moms: If your athlete’s crew makes their final and finishes top three, then moms are invited to give the medals to their athletes. Please stick around if you can 🙂
Arrival Times: Athletes in the Sr. Women’s 63kg 1x & Jr. Men’s 72kg 4+ should arrive by 6:30am. All other athletes should arrive AT LEAST 3 hours before your race (or in time for the first Westdale race of the day, which is at 9:10am).
Supervising Coaches: Alessandra will coordinating/supervising the Men’s Team, Eben Prevec & Anise Truman will be supervising the Women’s Eights/Singles/Fours, and Peter DeNew will be supervising the Jr. Women’s Quads. Tom Beshoff will be assisting in the morning.
Rigging Post-Regatta: Please plan to rig boats on Sunday evening when we return to Hamilton. There MIGHT be an option to rig on Monday morning, but this will be dictated by the Club Manager (Steffan Wagner). We’ll let you know as soon as we have information.
What to Bring:
-Unisuit
-Long-sleeve top to race in UNDER your unisuit (often requested by race officials if weather is cold, windy, or rainy *the forecast is thunderstorms, so please bring this just in case!)
-Change of clothes (and extra socks – trust me!)
-Student ID
-Water (lots of water)
-Healthy snacks (trail mix, nuts, apples, granola bars, cliff bars, etc.)
-Lunch (and breakfast if needed)
-Rain gear/weather appropriate clothing (*BOOTS ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
-Sunscreen (*HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) *CHECK THE WEATHER – BRING BOOTS FOR THUNDERSTORMS*
What We Expect of You: You are expected to rig your boat, bring your blades down (when required), and ensure your crew is together. You should also know your race plan & be prepared with water/race-gear/food. Please be & remain with your crew once there’s 1.5h left to go until your race. If you have any questions, please find me (Alessandra), Eben, or Peter and we can assist you. Generally speaking, you should go to your primary coach if you have a question.
Resources for Parents: Our lovely parent reps, Dina & Brock Gadsdon, have kindly put together some informational material for parents planning to attend their athletes (what to expect, how to get there, Henley Island rules, how to avoid heat stroke, etc.). Please see the following documents for useful parent information:
1) Mothers Day Parent Information
2) Heat Stress Awareness Guide
The men’s team will be training in the following crews this week (please note: the Sr. Men’s 4x (B) will be training AM & PM on Thursday/Friday):
Thursday, May 8th:*REVIEW OF WEIGHT-ADJUSTED ERG SCORES & TEAM RANKINGS FROM MAY 7th TEST AM CREWS:
-Sr. Men’s 4x (Luke/Erik/Max/Hudson) – Baker
-Sr. Men’s 8+ (Kiri/JJ/Nimeash/Lucas/Philippe/Bogdan/Toby/Evan/David) – Roche
-Sr. Women’s 4x (Haley/Breanne/Brenna/Kiija) – Ad Astra
10am BOAT DERIGGING:
-ALL athletes racing at Mother’s Day (mandatory)
Sunday, May 11th: Please arrive 3h before your race. Times will be posted when the draw is posted & I will upate the blog at that time. I will also indicate your arrival time during Saturday morning’s practice, so please listen carefully. The men’s team and the Sr. Women’s 4x crew have been entered into the following events:
Event 11 – Senior Women’s 4x (Ad Astra) Event 18 – Sr. Men’s 1x (Prevec) Event 23 – Sr. Men’s 4x (Ad Astra) **potential hotseat into Jr. 2x** Event 25 – Sr. Men’s 72kg 4+ (Poppi) **Steffan has allocated this boat, rather than Chester, for racing purposes** Event 27 – Jr. Men’s 2x (Andreychucks) Event 30 – Sr. Men’s 72kg 1x (Strba) Event 33 – Sr. Women’s 2x (Justice) Event 36 – Sr. Men’s 8+ (Roche)
There is an opportunity to practice on the race course on Sunday (May 11th) between 5:30-6:30am. If you would like to practice in your crew, please let me know and I will ensure you’re able to practice that morning. Any decision to practice at the race course on Sunday morning must be a crew decision.
I am very pleased to announce that we have four new assistant coaches joining us for the outdoor season. Please see below for an overview of the assistant coaches & their coach pairings (days they’ll be helping out); information on training; and specifics concerning trailer loading and the Mother’s Day Regatta this weekend.
Assistant Coaches:
Eben Prevec: Eben is an experienced varsity heavyweight rower at UBC and a Westdale Rowing Alumnus. He has competed in numerous sweep competitions & has also sculled throughout his rowing career. Eben will be assisting Mike on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and will be assisting me on Thursdays/Fridays/Sundays. He will also be attending the after-school practices & will assist Peter on Monday/Wed PM.
Anise Truman: Anise has been rowing as a varsity lightweight rower at Queens University. Also a graduate of Westdale, Anise has experience in both sweep & sculling, but will be assisting predominantly with the sculling boats. Anise will assist Peter on Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Saturdays/Sundays (AM) and during afternoon sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays. She will assist Mike with the women’s sweep crews on Thursday & Friday mornings (coxing a women’s 8+).
Mary Rao: Mary is an experienced coxswain, rower, and coach who has coxed many varsity boats for McMaster University. She has previously coached at LBC as a Learn-To-Row instructor, and has coached the Bishop Tonnes highschool team. In addition to assisting with Westdale Secondary School’s outdoor season this year, she is also coaching in the Sails & Shells programme conducted by RowOntario. Mary will be assisting Peter on Thursday & Friday mornings, in addition to coaching Tuesday-Thursday in the afternoon.
Lexi Ross: Lexi began rowing in the 2012/2013 Westdale Rowing season during her final year of highschool (another Westdale alumnus!), and has since been a rower on the Queen’s University varsity rowing team. Lexi is currently set to assist Mike on Thursday & Friday mornings, and will also be assisting at other practices depending on availability.
The completed training schedule – including all regatta dates, holidays, crew dinners, and ergathons – can be found here: WSS Rowing 2014 Training Schedule (A. Gage – MAY & JUNE). Please click on the link to enlarge the program & feel free to print and post it to your fridge (a helpful reminder of important dates!).
A mandatory full team meeting will also be held tomorrow (Tuesday, May 6th) after practice to discuss new coaching, the Mother’s Day Regatta entries, and an important notice about arrival times to practice. All boats will return to the docks earlier than normal so that we can meet at 7:15am.
Trailer Loading & Mother’s Day Entries:
Trailer loading for Mother’s Day will be held at 10am on Saturday morning. Due to the LBC club schedule, the loading cannot be held earlier. This break provides enough time for athletes to clean their boats & grab a crew breakfast before derigging and trailer-loading at 10am.
The boats racing at the Mother’s Day Regatta are as follows (listed with bow or coxswain name):
-Event 6: Sr. Women’s 63kg 1x (Jocelyn)
-Event 11: Sr. Women’s 4x (Kiija)
-Event 18: Sr. Men’s 1x (Luke)
-Event 23: Sr. Men’s 4x (Hudson)
-Event 24: Sr. Women’s 1x (Madison)
-Event 25: Sr. Men’s 72kg 4+ (Kiri)
-Event 26: Jr. Women’s 8+ (Tristan)
-Event 27: Jr. Men’s 2x (Max)
-Event 30: Sr. Men’s 72kg 1x (Hudson)
-Event 33: Sr. Women’s 2x (Kiija) (Jocelyn)
-Event 35: Sr. Women’s 8+ (Will)
-Event 36: Sr. Men’s 8+ (Kiri)
As per my discussion with the Sr. Men’s 4x (David/Evan/Toby/Bogdan) and the Jr. Men’s FWT 4+ (Tanner/Jake/Will/Talal), the PM crews will not be racing at Mother’s Day in the SH4x and JF4+. The SH4x will join the Sr. 72kg 4+ for the Sr. Men’s 8+ at Mother’s Day, and the JF4+ will be focusing on their upcoming race at City Champs. This was mutually agreed upon by all crew members.
Westdale Rowing Community 