Westdale Rowing Community

Information for the Westdale Rowing Community

Tag Archives: SNRC Regatta


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Important SNRC Info (Including Tomorrow’s Practice)

Good evening, Rowers!

I am happy to announce that the (preliminary) regatta schedule has been made available electronically on Regatta Central for the SNRC regatta, so you’ll be able to tell the general time at which you’ll be racing. Schedules are still tentative, so please note that these times are not set in stone. You can find the schedule here.

A few important notes about this weekend, starting with tomorrow’s (Friday) practice:

Practice & De-Rig/Trailer Loading (Friday, May 15th):
Please arrive at 5:15am sharp to set up coach boats and begin your practice. We only have until 6:30am on the water, so we need to maximize our time (let’s try to launch by 5:25AM if possible).

Men’s Team: There will be two practice sessions. The main session will be with the Sr. 4x (Luke, Lucas, Kieran, Max) and the Jr. 1x (Erik). Harrison has a dryland session, followed by the derig of the Justice. The second session will have Lucas/Kieran/Max/Erik/Harrison de-rigging the 4x (Ad Astra) and any other doubles required (Stocks 2x, BrockHud 2x), and Luke will be in the 1x. In total we need to derig & load four crew boats (this doesn’t include the 2 privately owned singles). Plan to be done by 7:45am (if you work fast, we’ll be done before then).

Arrival Times: 
Please arrive 3 hours before your race, but no earlier than 6am (whichever comes latest). If your race isn’t until the afternoon, then we’d still highly encourage and recommend that you arrive in time for the first Westdale race of the day (the Sr. Men’s 2x at 8:42am) so that teammates can cheer one another on. If you need to weigh-in, please see Mike’s post below for the time you need to weigh-in/arrive.

Men’s Team: Sr. Men’s 2x rowers (Luke/Max/Erik/Kieran) must arrive for 6am. Jr. Men’s 2x rowers (Harrison/Lucas/Will/James) should arrive by 8:20am. None of you are required to weigh-in.

What to Bring:
YOUR ID (Student or Driver’s License)
Unisuit
Long-sleeve racing top or similar to keep you warm
Shoes/Crocks/Boots
Change of clothes
Wrenches
SUNSCREEN LOTS OF SUNSCREEN
FOOD SO MUCH FOOD
WATER WATER WATER
Highly recommended = a tent and/or bicycle (talk with crewmates about pitching a tent to share)

Information – Including Directions – for Parents (and Athletes): SNRC Parent Information

Thanks to Dina Gadsdon for putting the info package together! Dina’s also created an overview of some crew-boat terminology that parents might find useful. See the overview here: Terminology

Thanks,
Alessandra


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Training Plan & Lost Items (We Found You!)

Dear Rowers,

Are you missing your favourite yellow-capped water bottle? (Featuring: water! included! FREE!)
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How about your beautiful blue water bottle? (Featuring: humid precipitation droplets! included! ALSO FREE!)
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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!)
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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.

In other news, TRAINING PLANS! YAY!
Please see the following PDF for an overview of the training schedule from now until CSSRAs: WSS Rowing 2015 Training Schedule (A. Gage – MAY & JUNE)

See you all in the morning *yawn*,
Alessandra


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Parents Meeting & Training (Jan 5-10th)

Dear Parents & Athletes,

We hope you’ve all had a great holiday break, and happy new year!

Monday will mark this year’s beginning of rowing practices at Westdale Secondary School. Please ensure that you arrive on time at 6:30am. Men will be doing a team meeting & erg session, and the women will be doing a weights and cardio circuit.

PARENTS:

An important meeting for ALL rowing parents (***parents of returning athletes and new athletes***) will be held this Wednesday, January 7th, at 7pm in the WSS Library (2nd floor of the school). Please ensure that at least one parent or guardian is in attendance. Athletes are also welcome to join. The meeting will last one hour (7-8pm).

Full Parent’s Meeting Details & Agenda:
Time & Location: Wed., Jan. 7th, 7-8pm in Westdale Secondary School Library
Agenda:
-Intro and Overview
-Indoor Regatta Dates
-Outdoor Regatta Dates
-Updated Rowing Fees (Indoor & Outdoor)
-Fundraising Events
-Westdale Rowing Blog
-QUESTION PERIOD
-Final Announcements

ATHLETES: 

Welcome back! We hope to see you all on Monday morning at 6:30am in the middle gym. The training plan for this week is as follows:

Monday:
Men – Team Meeting & Erg Session (Erg/Physio Core Circuit)
Women – Weights & Cardio Circuit

Tuesday:
Men – Weights & Cardio Circuit
Women – Erg Session (Erg/Run/Core)

Wednesday: 
Men – Erg Session (House of Pain/Erg/’Lactic Legs’ Lunge Circuit)
Women – Weights & Super Squat Circuit

Thursday:
Men – Weights & Super Squat Circuit
Women – Erg Session (House of Pain/Erg/’Lactic Legs’ Lunge Circuit)

Friday:
ALL – Fun Friday Relay & Race Planning

Saturday:
ALL – Team Stair Run or Tank Session at LBC (T.B.D. by Mike)

Please Note: There’s an opportunity to provide feedback on rowing at Leander Boat Club (as a highschool rower) if you click this link. All highschool athletes and parents are welcome to complete the survey. Mike has posted more detailed information about the survey in the post just before this, titled, “Leander Boat Club mission and vision statement survey”.

See you Monday,
Alessandra


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Welland Recap, City Champs, and Team Meeting @5:30am in LBC Weight Room

Hello Westdale Rowers,

To begin, CONGRATULATIONS!!! This weekend has been a very positive experience with all of you demonstrating great athletic skills with your crew(s). I’m SO proud of Westdale’s races. Crews from both the men’s and the women’s teams made the finals, and a big congratulations goes out to the Sr. Women’s Pair & Sr. Men’s Quad for their silver & bronze medals, respectively. The SNRC Regatta is a very competitive event, so it was great to see everyone performing so well.

Next weekend is the City Championships, taking place on Saturday, May 24th in Hamilton. More information can be found here: http://leandermanager.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/leander-boat-club-city-championships-2014/, and the full listing of event times can be found here: http://leandermanager.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/city-champs-schedule-2014.pdf. If you are unable to attend this regatta, please let me know by Tuesday, May 20th (tomorrow) at the latest so that Mike & I can enter the crews available for racing.

Team Meeting @5:30am in LBC Weight Room:

Following this weekend’s regatta, Mike & I will be holding an important team meeting tomorrow morning in the weight room, beginning at 5:30am sharp (after the coach-boats have been put together). Please try to attend, as it is a very important meeting. You should still plan to arrive at 5:15am to set up coach boats BEFORE the meeting.

Thank you,
Alessandra


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Saturday Racing Info – Men, Women’s 4x & Singles

Hey Athletes,

Some info for tonight & Saturday:

1) Single Rowers – please be ready to assist in the loading of your singles this afternoon at 4pm (at LBC), if this was requested by either me and/or Eben. Eben & Anise will be taking Jocelyn & Luke’s singles at 4:30pm. I will be taking Hudson’s single at 4pm.

2) Weigh Ins (Jocelyn & Hudson) – please be ready to weigh-in with unisuit & student card by 7am. If you prefer to weigh-in at 6:30am, let me know & I can bring you early.

3) Rigging – Please begin rigging the singles, Ad Astra (4x), Fazari (4+), and Jackson Stocks (2x) immediately upon arrival (each crew takes care of their own boat). The Justice is first being used by St. Mary’s as a double, so please do NOT rig the Justice.

4) Mud & Rain Warning – The ground at Welland is currently swamped, which means that everything will be muddy. Please bring appropriate footwear. A tent for shelter is also recommended, in order to stay warm. These can be pitched off to the side of the trailer, around the outskirts of the trailer grounds.

5) Saturday PM Practice – I am requesting that the following crew boats practice Saturday evening when the course is open post-racing (i.e.: at 5:30/6pm): Sr. Men’s 72kg 4+ (Kiri, JJ, Hudson, Philippe, Lucas), Sr. Women’s 2x (Haley, Breanne). Singles racing on Sunday are welcome to join (Jocelyn, Luke, Madison). Mike’s crews are also welcome. The Sr. Men’s 4x will not be practicing on Saturday PM; instead, they can practice on Sunday AM between 5:30-6:30am, if desired.

General Notes: Saturday should be calm water. Athletes that aren’t racing on Saturday are still advised to join in order to support the crews by cheering at the finish line (near the parents’ tent), or by assisting at the trailer & with hot-seating. For those racing, see the posts below for your race times (here: https://westdalerowing.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/rigging-info-race-times-weigh-ins-arrivals/). Give yourself about 75min to drive there (min. 60min).

See you all in the morning (remember to bring lots of food!),
Alessandra 🙂


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Rigging Info & Race Times (Weigh Ins, Arrivals)

Hi Westdale,

The heat draw has been posted with times: https://www.regattacentral.com/cms/uploads/south_niagara_rowing_club/files/SNRCInvite2014-Draw.pdf

I’ve also updated the list of Westdale entries & allocated boats to reflect changes made by Steffan (LBC Manager): SNRC Entries – ALL CREWS

A few important reminders:

1) Rigging:
Boat derig & trailer loading will happen tomorrow morning during practice. Mike & I will provide instructions on what goes where. Trailer loading POST-regatta will occur 1hr after the LAST race of the day. Please remain on-site until this time, as we need all help possible when loading the trailer. Rigging of the boats post-regatta will occur at LBC the same night, 60minutes after the trailer leaves Welland (unless indicated otherwise). Singles are responsible for their own transportation.

2) Must-Brings, Arrival Time(s), & Weigh-Ins:
All athletes must arrive 3h before your race (or earlier), unless you race between 8-8:59am. If you are in one of those first races, please arrive by 5:30am instead (2.5h before your race). Athletes that need to weigh-in must arrive before the weigh-ins close at 9:30am. Weigh ins are only open from 6:30-9:30am. Please bring your STUDENT CARDS – they are a necessity for racing & weighing in.

Please check the post below for full details on directions, parent information, other “must-bring” items, and any additional information not listed in this post.

Thanks,
Alessandra


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Entries & Information for SNRC Regatta (Plus Coxing & Bowing Materials)

Hello Westdale Rowers & Parents,

The SNRC Regatta is fast approaching, and there’s a lot of important information to keep track of before you head off to the regatta. In order to keep things clear, we’ve included the following key items in this blog posted:

1) Parent Information Package:

New to rowing? Not sure what the regatta’s about? Looking for directions to the course? Search no further – please click here for a parent information package, including the must-knows of heat-stroke and what to do to ensure your athlete is well hydrated & safe: SNRC 2014 – Parent Information Package

Heat stroke information: Heat Stroke & Heat Stress – Signs and Symptoms

2) Must Bring Items:
-Unisuit
-Change of clothes (hot & cold weather)
-Boots (it tends to get muddy!)
-WATER
-Food (LOTS OF FOOD)
-Student ID ***this is a requirement for racing – without it, your crew will be unable to race.
-Fold-up chair or tent (recommended)

3) Event List (with athlete names):

Please see here for a full list of events with athlete names: SNRC Entries – ALL CREWS

Times will be posted once the official draw has been listed online. Once the draw is finalized, you’ll be able to find the race times by clicking on this link: EVENT & RACE TIMES VIA REGATTA CENTRAL – CLICK HERE

Some of you are ONLY racing on Saturday or ONLY racing on Sunday. If you are only racing on one of the two days, your attendance at the non-racing day is optional, but I highly recommend coming to support the team & other rowers. Watching this regatta as a spectator is often a fun event, as you can settle in at the parents’ tent by the finish line and can enjoy some high-quality racing from crews around the province.

4) Coxing & Bowing Materials:

Coxing and bowing is INCREDIBLY important in rowing. You are the coach in the boat and are relied upon to guide a crew through practices and races until the finish line. Given this responsibility, it’s easy to become overwhelmed OR to feel as though your crew isn’t responding to your calls. The following booklet offers some advice to coxswains and bow-people with respect to making calls & motivating a boat: Coxing & Bowing Package – WSS 2014 Ammended

See you all in the morning (or this afternoon),
Alessandra