Westdale Rowing Community

Information for the Westdale Rowing Community

Tag Archives: SNRCs


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SNRC Recap, Training Plan, and City Champs

Dear Westdale Rowers,

Great job this weekend at the SNRC Highschool Invitational Regatta. The regatta has given us some much needed racing experience for all crews, and I’m happy to report that we’ve broken a new record in the history of the Westdale Rowing Team: 

Records broken:
-Highest total number of events (both men’s & women’s) where we’ve achieved medals, with 2 golds, 3 silvers, and 1 bronze (medals in 6 events total).
-First time in Westdale Rowing history where the Men’s Team has achieved medals in every event they entered (5 events total: 2 golds, 3 silvers).

Results Recap (for those that were unable to attend):
-Westdale entered a total of 15 events (5 events for the Men’s team, 10 for the women’s team).
-7 crews raced in 5 events on the Men’s Team, one crew from each event made the final (5 crews, 5 events)
-11 crews raced in 10 events on the Women’s Team, 6 crews made it to the finals in 6 different events.
Women’s Team Finals & Medals:
-Jr. Women’s 2x & Sr. Women’s 63kg 1x both placed 5th in their final
-Jr. Women’s 59kg 4+, Sr. Women’s 8+, and Sr. Women’s 1x all placed 4th in their finals
-Sr. Women’s 63kg 8+ placed 3rd in their final, securing bronze medals for the crew
Men’s Team Finals & Medals:
-Sr. Men’s 4x, Sr. Men’s 1x, and Jr. Men’s 1x all placed second in their finals, securing silver medals for their crews
-Jr. Men’s 2x & Sr. Men’s 2x both placed first in their finals, securing gold medals in their crews

…Congrats, rowers! SNRCs is a great indicator for CSSRAs, as it’s a larger regatta and provides everyone with race experience against a broader (and deeper) field of competition. We still have three weeks until CSSRAs, so there’s still lots that we can work on to better prepare us for our national races.

Training Plan for this Week:
See training plan PDF here – WSS Rowing 2015 Training Schedule (A. Gage – MAY & JUNE)
Men’s Team – you’ll be in the Sr. Men’s 8+ with Arnaud as coxswain on Friday in order to prep for City Champs.

City Champs:
City Champs is this Saturday. Please expect to remain from early morning until mid/late afternoon. We’ll be holding a crew dinner following the regatta (and following the ice-cream devouring) to celebrate the end of City Champs & the start of the final two weeks leading to CSSRAs. Also, because food. When is food ever wrong? Answer: never.

See you all tomorrow morning, bright and early, at 5:15am.

Cheers,
Alessandra


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Arrival Times & Checking for Ticks (IMPORTANT)

Dear Westdale Rowers,

CONGRATULATIONS on a FANTASTIC day of racing. Mike and I are very proud of all of you. Regardless of whether you made a final, there was a lot of good rowing today and a lot of goals that were reached in terms of technique and comfort level in the boats.

First and most importantly: 
All parents and athletes should check themselves thoroughly for ticks. One of our athletes had ticks on their body after the regatta, and they can carry Lyme disease.
WHERE TO CHECK (everywhere, but especially these spots):
-neck
-hair
-back of knees & ears
-armpits
-toes/feet
-groin (that region in general)
WARNING – BEFORE YOU REMOVE:
The tick’s heads buries under the skin, so do not pull a tick off your body directly – you need to secure the tick between your skin & it’s body (do NOT squeeze the tick’s body) and then pull the tick out of your skin. If you have regular tweezers, you need to pull slowly and directly upwards. You should only twist to remove IF you have a specially designed tool to remove ticks that requires twisting to facilitate the process, as seen here.
WARNING ABOUT SOAP/ETC.: Although covering the tick with soap/shampoo/chemicals will cause the tick to suffocate and remove itself from your body of its own accord without any pulling, it CAN cause the tick to vomit into your blood, and if the tick carries Lyme disease then this can result in the disease being passed on. This is the same reason why you should not press/pull a tick from its body (it will likely vomit).
MORE INFO ON TICK REMOVAL HERE.


Second, but also very important… ARRIVAL TIMES:
Coxswains: 6:30am
Women’s Jr. 59kg 4+: 6:30am (for weigh-ins)
Women’s Jr. 8+: 6:30am (these girls will later race in their Jr. Women’s 4x)
Men’s Sr. 4x: Arrive at 7:00am
Men’s Jr. 1x: Arrive at 7:30am
Women’s Jr. 2x: Arrive at 7:30am
Women’s Sr. 8+: Arrive at 8:40am (in time for first race of the day) (11am at the very latest)

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!)
IMG_7030
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!)
IMG_7031
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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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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Sunday Racing – Reminder & Rigging

Hi Athletes & Parents,

A few quick reminders, since I’ve been receiving a lot of texts & emails about tomorrow’s racing:

1) Sunday races can be found on the draw at http://www.regattacentral.com or by clicking on the weekend event list in my previous posts. All athletes should arrive THREE hours before their race, UNLESS they race between 8-9am. If you race within that first hour, then please arrive at 6am.

2) Directions can be found in the posts below, along with parent information.

3) You MUST bring your Student ID (photo ID from the school) in order to weigh in AND in order to race.

4) All coxswains & lightweight/midweight rowers MUST weigh in with their crew & photo ID. Weigh Ins open at 6:30am and close at 9:30am.

5) All athletes must remain 1h after the final race of the day in order to help load the trailer. We will then re-rig the boats that same day (Sunday) at Leander Boat Club. Monday will be completely off for all Westdale crews.

Last but not least, there’s a parents’ tent at the grandstand/finish line area. Parents & family (and rowers) are welcome to stay there to watch races if they’re not required at the trailer or in-water.

Please remember: due to the high number of races this weekend, I will only be coordinating the men’s team & women’s 4x/singles. Mike is responsible for all the women’s eights, so please ask Mike if you have a question regarding those races.

Thanks!

Cheers,
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