Mike, Tom, and Peter have kindly allowed me to write a post to all of you in light of the upcoming CSSRA races this weekend, so here it goes 🙂 :
Throughout this past year I’ve had the privilege of seeing the blog updates from Mike and Tom in regards to your hard work, training, and racing results. It’s been incredibly awesome (in the true “awe inspiring” sense of the word) to see how much you’ve all developed athletically and progressed.
I’ve missed coaching you at Westdale, but I know that this year’s team has been doing a great job – both the athletes and the coaches. As you move into your final regatta of the school year, I want to leave you with this:
You’ve worked so hard for this. For many of you, you’ve been training multiple years for this. “Good luck” is something that I could say, but I reckon that “luck” is not as important as executing what you already know and have been trained for. You KNOW what to do. Go do it. Make it yours. And have fun. 😉 Knowing that you’ve left everything you could on the water after rowing to the best of your capabilities as a team is the most important thing. Yes, even more than your final numerical placement on a scoreboard.
I’ll be cheering for you, across a different kind of pond, in a slightly different continent. My heart is at the regatta this weekend.
Miss you all… and sure, I’ll still say it: GOOD LUCK!!! Alessandra
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+).
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.
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.
Our hard-working parent reps (Dina & Brock) have been coordinating the food signup & provision for the regatta, but we are still very short of meeting the requirements to offer all athletes (and families) meals, which means we’re still looking for people to sign up today by 7pm at the latest to assist in contributing food for the regatta (You can click here to sign up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19QGcBLPnAkXrf_mbyEYnfRKv3XYEnkdfTfHKK-9JvIA/edit?pli=1#gid=585143953)
We are particularly short on contributions for tomorrow (Friday) morning.If there’s any chance you can assist, we would greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance!
Now that you’ve had a weekend to get over the adrenaline rush (and potential fangirling) of being free from school for a whole entire week, we thought it’d be super fun to post a wicked awesome list of workouts you should totally do 😉
…but seriously. These workouts will help you maintain your aerobic base & general fitness required for when we come back and complete erg testing (#lolwut). Yes. Erg testing upon return.
To our credit, we’re giving you lots of workout options so that you can manage this training with your schedule/location(s). If you’ve already spoken to me about attending a rowing-specific training camp (e.g.: SCRC/BrockU March-Break Training Camp), then please just keep me posted on your progress & be sure to train smart (no injuries).
Now that we feel all warm & fuzzy inside, here’s the workout plan (including an overview for tomorrow’s supervised practice at LBC):
_______________________ MARCH BREAK TRAINING:
Monday, March 16th – 6am @LBC (Leander Boat Club)
All athletes should arrive at 6am for a 2hr practice at Leander Boat Club (6-8am). We will rotate through ergs, tank, and core, with a strong emphasis on tank-work. This will be your only supervised practice this week, so please attend. It will give us a chance to check-in and ensure you’re set for the rest of the week with the unsupervised training.
Tuesday, March 17th: *ST. PATRICK‘S DAY* Option 1: warmup; 40min erg castles (Cat 6 = 6km split + 14s); 1×300 circuit; stretching (at least 10min) Option 2: 60min steady-state run OR 90min cross-country skiing; stretching (at least 10min) Option 3: >4hrs alpine skiing (as an alpine skier I’m sad to report that it’s just not as good of a workout as cross-country, so you need to get more hours in); stretching (10min at least)
Wednesday, March 18th: Option 1: warmup; 3x12min ski ladders (22/24/26/28/30/32 -> should be Cat 4) with 8min rest in between; stretching (10min at least) Option 2: 30min run + 5 stair runs (total of about 45-60min) OR 60min cross-country skiing; stretching (at least 10min) Option 3: 3hrs alpine skiing PLUS home circuit (jump squat pyramid 25/50/75/50/25; 3×20 pushups; 3×20 crunches; 3×10 glute contractions each leg (this is the physio exercise we normally do)); stretching (at least 10min)
Thursday, March 19th: Option 1: 20min run; 300 circuit (1.5m rest between sets); stretching Option 2: 20min erg (5min castles @22/24spm, CAT 5 pace – 6km split + 8s); 300 circuit (1.5m rest between sets); stretching Option 3: 90min cross-country ski OR 4hrs alpine skiing; stretching
Friday, March 20th: Option 1: dynamic warmup; 2x30min erg with 3min rest in between (Cat 6 pace = 6km split +14s); stretching (at least 10min) Option 2: 60min run (or 10-12km distance) OR 90min cross country ski; stretching Option 3: alpine-ski your butt off for at least 5hrs
Saturday March 21st/Sunday March 22nd: OFF
_______________________
…that’s it, folks!
See you all tomorrow morning @6am at Leander Boat Club,
Alessandra
It’s hard to adequately express how proud Mike & I are with all of your races today. You all worked SO hard (just as you did yesterday), with two of our crews advancing into the finals & all other crews completing very hard and well rowed semifinals & heats. Racing at CSSRAs is a big deal, and you’ve all tasted what it’s like now. I hope you’ve enjoyed every minute of it – even if you do feel that things are bittersweet after a race! That’s completely normal – we’ve all been there 🙂
A few things for tomorrow’s SUPER EXCITING finals & party:
1) Arrival Time for all Athletes/Parents (crew brunch)
Arrival time for all athletes & parents will be 11:30am. Enjoy the sleep in, it’s rare in this sport! The Gadsdon’s & helpers will be cooking up a lovely brunch for all our athletes & parents once you’ve arrived.
“Finals” Races on Sunday are as follows:
-Sr. Men’s 1x (Luke G.) @1:56pm
-Jr. Women’s 8+ (Tristan W., Maddy M., Claire G., Lauren G., Victoria C., Taylor B., Rachel S., Sophia S., Astara T.) @ 3:18pm
***Please note that weigh-ins close at 8:30am, so you must weigh in with Mike before that time (TristanThisMeansYou!)***
2) End-of-Year Party (ALL athletes & parents are welcome!)
The end-of-year party will be held at 7pm at the Westdale Kelsey’s on Main St. West (across from the school) in the Party Room (downstairs – just ask for Westdale Rowing). ALL athletes and parents are invited. This includes athletes that practiced in afternoons, injured athletes, and/or rowers that completed their season with the City Champs.
We will be handing out the following awards (***oooooh, ahhhh, awards!***) at the party:
-Jr. Men’s & Women’s Indoor MVP
-Jr. Men’s & Women’s Outdoor MVP
-Sr. Men’s & Women’s Indoor MVP
-Sr. Men’s & Women’s Outdoor MVP
-Most Improved Player (Rower) “MIP”
-Men’s Rookie of the Year
-Women’s Rookie of the Year
Aubrey will also be continuing the tradition of handing out westdale toques for those that made CSSRA finals.
I really hope to see you all there tomorrow at CSSRAs AND at the party, because I will miss you all immensly and will be incredibly sad if I can’t say goodbye before you flee off for the summer!
Congratulations on a day well raced! Many of you had great races, regardless of whether you placed for the semifinals, and you should ALL be proud of yourselves. Making it to CSSRAs is a HUGE accomplishment, and you are racing against the best of the best from around the country (and continent, more often than not)!
Saturday’s Races & Arrival Times (Weigh-Ins too!):
All athletes (and parents) should arrive at the course for 9:30am & head directly to the Parents’ Tent with any food for the crew breakfast. The Gadsdons (and helpers) will be preparing a crew breakfast for all athletes while the lightweights weigh-in shortly after arriving at 9:30am and stopping by the parents’ tent.
Weigh-ins close at 10:30am, so arriving at 9:30am gives you time to stop by the Parents’ Tent, drop off your food, head to weigh-in, and return for the crew breakfast 🙂 Athletes that ARE NOT weighing in should still arrive at 9:30am to join in the crew breakfast (please bring your scheduled food contributions, as per the google document), and we can have a quick team-prep discussion for the races.
Three of our men’s crews have made it on to the semifinals and will be racing tomorrow. These crews are the Sr. Men’s 1x (Luke), the Sr. Men’s 4x (Luke, Lucas, Erik, Max), and the Jr. Men’s 2x (Erik, Max).
Two of our Jr. Women’s crews will also be racing tomorrow, for their respective heats (first time racing at CSSRAs). These crews are the Jr. Women’s 59kg 4+ (Will, Katie, Sadie, Louise, Stephanie), and the Jr/Sr. Women’s 8+ (Tristan/Kiri, Maddy, Claire, Lauren, Victoria, Taylor, Rachel, Sophia, Astara).
Please be sure to arrive at 9:30am (with the food contributions) and come prepared to cheer these crews on 🙂
GOOD LUCK WARRIORS!
To those of you at prom tonight, have an AMAZING evening 🙂
This is it! CSSRAs are here. Thank you to everybody at today’s St. Kitt’s practice for unloading the trailer, rigging the boats, and assisting with blade & pin measurements. We had an effective 2 hours on-water and all crews should be ready for tomorrow’s (or Saturday’s) races (depending on your crew). Please find the information you need for tomorrow’s races, including arrival times, racing times, and important road directions.
1) NEW Directions due to construction:
-From the QEW Niagara: Drive PAST 7th Street Exit (the exit normally used) and take the Ontario St. Exit instead (due to construction).
-Turn LEFT at Ontario St. and continue until you hit Lakeport Road.
-Turn LEFT onto Lakeport Rd. and follow it through the town of Port Dalhousie (it’s a bit windy & you’ll see the race course to your left-hand side).
-Turn LEFT at stoplights (near the Tim Horton’s & Regatta Sport store) onto Lock St., and turn LEFT at the first stop-sign onto Main St. (shortly after the stoplights).
-Turn LEFT onto Henley Island Drive
…or just click this google link for directions from WSS to the island: https://goo.gl/maps/689dY
2) Arrival Times (including Weigh-Ins for coxswains & rowers):
Please arrive 2-3h before your race, unless told otherwise by your coach. Please remember your PHOTO ID STUDENT CARD. Failure to bring the student card photo ID will result in your race being scratched. Coxswains & rowers weighing in (Jr. Women’s 4+ coxswain & Sr. Men’s 72kg 2x) must weigh in BEFORE 11am, because weigh-ins close at 11am. Weigh-ins must occur in full unisuit & racing gear (no extra clothing) and you must have your student card/Photo ID. Weigh-in rules can be found here: http://www.cssra.ca/#/weigh-in-rules/4564679539
***YOU MUST COLLECT A WRIST-BAND FROM ME OR MIKE IN ORDER TO RACE, AS SOON AS YOU ARRIVE***
In order to make things easy for everyone, I’ve included arrival times beside the boats racing on Friday. For those of you with TWO races (i.e.: Jr. Men’s 2x, Sr. Women’s 1x, Sr. Women’s 2x), I’ve only listed your earliest race because that’s the earliest time you need to arrive by. Here are your arrival times, by the (earliest) boat you race:
Jr. Women’s 4+: arrive at 8am (race at 10am) Sr. Women’s 63kg 1x: arrive at 8:45am (race at 10:45am) Sr. Women’s 4x: arrive at 9am (race at 11:06am) Sr. Men’s 72kg 2x: arrive at 9:55am (race at 10:55am) – UNLESS you want to weigh-in early, in which case arrive earlier Sr. Men’s 1x: arrive at 10:51am (race at 12:51pm) Sr. Men’s 4x: arrive at 12pm (race at 2:08pm)
***Please note: The Jr. Women’s 59kg 4+ and the Jr./Sr. Women’s 8+ will race their first race on SATURDAY, not on Friday.
3) Must-Bring Items:
-YOU, UNINJURED & READY 🙂
-Student ID (with photo – must be photo ID)
-Unisuit & racing gear (socks, sandals/shoes, etc.)
-Extra clothes to stay appropriately warm OR cool
-Food (the Parents’ Tent will have food, but please bring some extra HEALTHY food for snacking between races or before a race)
-Water bottle (the Parents’ Tent will have water, courtesy of Mr. Castellana, but you should bring a water bottle to fill up & some extra just in case)
-SUNSCREEN (please wear it…)
4) A little message before your CSSRA race(s), and some homework…
As a Westdale coach, but more importantly as a former Westdale rower, I’d like to share two videos that have become ‘tradition’ to a certain extent in the rowing community (particularly at Westdale and Leander Boat Club). Before I share these videos, I’d like to start by saying that I realize I’ve only coached some of you on-water. Despite that fact, I’ve had the priviledge of seeing both those that I coach regularly AND those that I don’t normally coach improve SO much this season. You’ve all come so far from where we were during the indoor season. It’s been thrilling to see you learn and push together as athletes. Now’s your time to “drain the tank” and “leave it all on the race-course”. We’re at our final race(s) of the season. Enjoy every minute of this weekend. Every minute of your race(s). Have fun. Row hard. Leave everything on the water. And, of course, take a moment to watch these two videos tonight before you arrive at Henley Island tomorrow.
I will miss coaching you all so much, but I know that it’s time for you folks to take this season & make it your own on the water this weekend. You CAN do it. Just believe.
CONGRATULATIONS! We’ve made it to the pinnacle of our outdoor rowing season: SCHOOLBOYS. Or, more correctly known as the “Canadian Secondary School Championships” by the “Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association” (CSSRA).
Now that those races are just two days away, I’m posting (and reposting) some very important information. To begin, here are a few things for the parents:
1) Food Signup:
Dina Gadsdon has been coordinating the food signup for the Parents’ Tent, but we still require more families to sign up. She’s created a document giving an overview of how things work for food & the parents’ tent (along with some other tidbits of information), so please click here to check it out: CSSRA Food Signup & Other Info
2) Driving & Parking Info, Spectator Info, Year-End Party Info:
Lori Prevec has arranged a document that covers everything you need to know concerning driving & construction notices (when getting to CSSRAs), parking costs, general regatta (and spectator) details, and information on the year-end party. Please click here to view the document and to obtain full details: All the CSSRA info needed (parking costs, spectators info) PLUS year-end party info from Lori Prevec
3) Parent Committee Lead
Lori Prevec has been a long-time leader of the Parents’ Committee, but this will be her final year as her athletes are finishing (or have finished) their time as students & rowers at Westdale. As such, we will be looking for a new Head of the Parents’ Committee. More information will follow – including a description of the main responsibilities – but please keep this in mind & contact me (Alessandra) if you are interested in getting involved in this capacity. Lori has done a FANTASTIC job over the years & we will all miss her, but I’m certain that this will also be a great opportunity for some of the new parents to get involved & see what it’s all about.
Now, for the parents AND the rowers:
1) Preliminary Race Draw:
The preliminary race draw has now been posted. For a copy, please click here: 2014 Preliminary Draw – CSSRAs
This draw WILL change before CSSRAs begins on Friday, so check the main website for any updates:http://www.cssra.ca/
3) Thursday Practice:
All athletes racing CSSRAs are expected to attend Thursday’s practice, unless otherwise discussed with a coach due to availability. All athletes should meet me (Alessandra) at 9:45/9:50am at the entrance to the football field at the back of Westdale Secondary School. We will then take attendance & board the bus. I’ll be supervising the bus ride, and the other coaches will meet us there.
You must bring:
-water
-food (bring a lunch & snacks, please!)
-change of clothes
-workout/training clothes (ideally NOT showing Westdale colours – it’s a tradition to wear non-school clothing so that other crews can’t tell which school you’re from until the day you race 😉 )
-yourself, on time (9:45/9:50am)
***Note: if you are missing any swag OR if you’ve ordered a hat, please speak with Jocelyn or me & we can obtain the swag/hats/etc. from Holly***
4) LAST BUT NOT LEAST… Rigging Details!
The earliest day we can derig is Wednesday morning (tomorrow!). Please discuss with your coach which day you will be derigging.
For my crews (Men & Sr. Women): (names listed indicate the last people to practice in that boat) The following boats can be derigged & loaded on Wednesday AM:
-Chucks (Erik & Max)
-Gadsdon (Eben) 1x (Luke)
-Monaco 1x (Jocelyn)
The following boats can be derigged & loaded on Wednesday PM (after practice):
-Vamosi 1x (Madison)
The following boats can be derigged on Thursday AM (from 6:30-7:30am):
-Ad Astra (Haley, Breanne, Brenna, Madison)
-Justice (Haley, Breanne)
If you’d rather derig all the boats on Thursday morning between 6:30-7:30am, then that’s a-okay with me, but the times above list the EARLIEST time that you can derig & load those boats. All singles have been accommodated on the trailer (thank goodness!).
Cheers, folks!
Alessandra
PS – OMG it’s almost Schoolboys THIS IS SO EXCITING!!! 😀
I’ve already spoken with the crews racing for me at CSSRAs, but Mike has been away and hasn’t had the opportunity to speak with all of the Junior Women yet, so he’s provided a list of crews (with names) for the blog so that everyone knows their races. To answer the first question most people have been asking: yes, all the Jr. Women have a race 🙂
Mike’s Crews for CSSRAs:
Jr. Lightweight 4+:
William Stavropoulos (coxswain), Katie M., Sadie B., Louise M., Stephanie C.
Jr. Openweight 4+:
William Stavropoulos (coxswain), Katie Y., Kyra C., Kate S., Sophie B.
Jr. Women’s 8+ & Sr. Women’s 8+ (same crew racing both events):
Tristan Waye (coxswain), Maddy M., Claire G., Lauren G., Victoria C., Rachel S., Taylor B., Sophia S., Astara T.
Alessandra’s Crews for CSSRAs:
Sr. Men’s 72kg 2x:
Nimeash D., Philippe B.
Sr. Women’s 63kg 1x:
Jocelyn M.
Sr. Men’s 1x:
Luke G.
Sr. Men’s 4x:
Luke G., Erik H., Lucas A., Max M.
Jr. Men’s 2x:
Erik H., Max M.
Sr. Women’s 4x:
Haley H., Breanne H., Brenna L., Madison V.
The document lists everything important for Thursday’s practice, but more will come via practice debriefs (pay attention to Mike & I for updates) and via the blog.
FRIENDLY REMINDER: Eben Prevec is taking crews out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after school (3:45-5:30pm). The Jr. Women (esp. the coxed fours) should especially take advantage of this opportunity. The Sr. Men’s 4x should also look to train Tuesday after school. Any singles are recommended to train after school if you were not in your 1x during the morning practice.
Cheers,
Alessandra
PS – We’ll soon have a tally for the Ergathon this weekend! WHOOT!
Westdale Rowing Community 