Westdale Rowing Community

Information for the Westdale Rowing Community

Tag Archives: race


by Leave a comment

Saturday – CSSRA Times & Recap

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: 
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


by Leave a comment

Friday – CSSRA times

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: 

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


by Leave a comment

City Championships – Congratulations!

Dear Westdale Rowers,

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You all did a phenomenal job today in pushing yourselves to your limits and achieving some great racing successes. A quick recap so that everyone knows what transpired:

First and foremost: WE WON THE CITY INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS! This means we have the honour of keeping the City Championships trophy until next year. I’ll bring the trophy in on Monday morning so that you all have a chance to see it for yourselves (you earned it, together!).

Winning the City Championships demonstrates how, although we race individually during the indoor season, our individual successes influence one another as a team and work together to create success on a team-level. The City Championships was not won by any one particular athlete. You cannot win the City Championships on your own. It was won through the hard work of ALL of you. Well done, Westdale 🙂

Westdale also set 3 new record times:
Harrison McCann set a new record best for the Jr. HS 165 Men’s race with a time of 7:02.
Erik Heinbecker set a new record best for the Jr. HS Men’s race with a time of 6:48.
Luke Gadsdon set a new record best for the Sr. HS Men’s race with a time of 6:22.

Westdale secured a solid SEVEN gold medals in the following categories:
-Jr. HS 165 Men (Harrison McCann)
-Jr. HS Men (Erik Heinbecker)
-Jr. HS 135 Women (Sadie Boyter)
-Jr. HS 145 Women (Katie Yungblut)
-Jr. HS Women (Lauren Gadsdon)
-Sr. HS Women (Breanne Hyslop)
-Sr. HS Men (Luke Gadsdon)

WOMEN’S TEAM: Congratulations! Your team placed FIRST in the City Champs for overall points on a women’s highschool rowing team. Mike and I are both very proud of you.

MEN’S TEAM: I’d like to send a BIG shout-out to the Men’s team for getting an all-time high of personal bests. 10 of the 11 athletes racing all achieved PBs, and the remaining athlete was very close to their PB (only 4 seconds off), still securing a gold medal. Achieving a personal best is important (even more important than winning medals) because it indicates personal improvement and demonstrates how your training is impacting your racing abilities. As a team, you can never guarantee a medal because you can never tell how strong your competition will be – the competition is always changing and is external to your personal race. Medals are byproducts of working hard. What you CAN guarantee is your own personal improvement through training and, through that, you increase your chances of placing and/or succeeding as a crew by pushing yourself to your own personal limits. I’m MORE proud of the personal bests achieved than of any of the medals won today, so to ALL of you: a big congratulations and job well done. We also placed second overall to St. Mary’s – by only 1 point – at the City Championships for overall points on a men’s highschool rowing team. 🙂

PHOTO ALBUM FOR CITY CHAMPS: Please click here for a public album that can be viewed if you’d like photos from today’s races. To view the photos on a regular Facebook album, please click here (this only works if you have a Facebook account). If you have photos you’ve taken, please send them to me (Alessandra) and I can add them to the album so that everyone can see their athletes’ & teammates’ races. Peter was away today, but I’ve tried to compile a group of photos given that we missed his expertise this time around.

Super proud of all of you.

See you all on Monday morning @6:30am at Westdale,
Alessandra