Masters Rowing Bulletin Board

Saturday Masters Programme: 2013

Q: What are your hopes and expectations for your rowing this season?

            -Mull this over and we will come back to it…

2013 regatta’s that we will attend:

1. Head of the Fort – Langley – Mar. 9^th

2. Head up the creek – Vancouver – Mar. 10^th

3. Cascadia – Burnaby Lake – Jul. 20+21^st

4. Head of the river/reach – Nicomekl river – Sep. 14+15^th

5. Deep Cove classic – Vancouver. Sep. 29^th

6. HOG/HOE – Victoria. Oct. 26+27^th

7. MEMBERS INPUT - Head of the Lake - Nov 3rd

8. MEMBERS INPUT - Burnaby Small Boat Regatta - Oct. 5th

9. MEMBERS INPUT - Tail of the Lake - Sep. 30th

2013 regatta’s to be focused on:

1. North West Master’s – Vancouver, WA – Jun. 21-23^rd

2. World Master’s Games - Turin, Italy – Aug. 7-10^th

? > Canadian Henley – St. Catherines, ON – Aug. 4+5^th

             - Opportunity to train in Ontario at DRC 1 week prior to competition.

-*Further discussion is required.

3. Head of the Charles – Boston, Mass – Oct. 19+20^th

Saturday Masters (SM) membership, have indicated their desire to train for and race at the afore mentioned regattas with special emphasis being placed on World Masters Games in Turin, Italy.  The majority of the SM will not compete at this international regatta but instead follow the west coast summer circuit and complete a minimum of three days of training/week leading up to these regattas.  For those wishing to attend North West Master’s, Turin, and Head of the Charles, additional training will be required and undertaken on the athlete’s personal time.  An “add-on” style workout programme has been written for ALL SM participants (P¹) with the expectation that those slated to compete will complete all workouts in their entirety (P¹⁺²), more on this is provided below.  For those looking for “extra work” (P³)will cover this on certain workouts. It goes without saying that all of the workouts are open and available for participation by any SM rower.  *Those competing at the focus regattas should be completing P¹²³ every week.

Training example:                                                                        Missed workout, workout:

                                                                                                45’ SS B+6 @ 22spm

Mon:                                                                                               

OFF

Tues:

P¹ 12k SS – square blade drill + square/feather drill.

               -alternate every 20 strokes

P²  15 on 15 off every other km

P³  5 starts + 20 strokes at race pace

Wed:

P² 30’ SS row, erg, run or cross train

P³ Weights #1

Thurs:

P¹ 12k Rate Pyramid (RP). Focus on slide control.

P² Pressure 20 every 500m

P³ Starts at every 1k. Focus on clean blade work.

Fri:

P^2/3 45’ cardio session

Sat:

P¹ 12k row (8:00am)

P^2/3 8kTT (7:45 erg w-up) - *specified below

*8:00 crew briefing

*8:30 start – DO NOT BE LATE!

(8+/-,4x,4+/-,2x,2-,1x)

Sun:

OFF

*W-up for erg and on water sessions

2’ paddle

4’ stroke progression

4’ of 30” on 30” off

2’ paddle for sequencing and length

Coach boat crew for Saturday mornings

2x,4x,4+,8+ revolving weekends > Sculler's are “EVEN’s” and Sweeper's “ODD’s”.

-You will be responsible to set up the coach boat by 8:15am

-Penance for forgetting is coffee for the coaches!

Crew sign up

-Simply use the sign up sheets

-Indicate your crew for our major regattas (NWM, WM, HOTC)

-Coaches reserve the right to dissuade/prevent entry into "major regattas" if they feel the crew(s) is “unprepared” for racing. A plan will be written and put into place for this particular rower(s) to ensure that he/she/they will be successful the following season. 

Coxie sign up

Coxie’s are essential to rowing. A well-rounded coxie is valued equivalent to their weight in gold. The health of any rowing programme can be measured by the depth of its “coxswain pool”.  If you are slightly smaller in size and feel that you would like the opportunity to learn this essential craft your coaches will ensure that you have the learning required.  It is also tons of fun to yell at a crew and have them respond by working harder! Please throw your hat in the ring!

¼ Million Metre Erg Club sign up

This exclusive club will be a VRC masters first.  The challenge set out by the coaches is for you to complete 250 000 metres on the erg by Nov. 1^st 2013.  Simply put, if you lose contact with the erg over the “on the water months”, you will lose out on continued strength/conditioning.  Here is the breakdown:

(250 000m/8 months = 7800m/wk)

-Email me to state your intention and I will plug you into a spreadsheet along with fellow rowers

-Those who complete this challenge will receive the admiration of their peers and greatly improved/powerful rowing!

Burnaby Lake Training Camp – April or May, 1 Saturday

Dates: TBD

As of today we plan to conduct a training camp at Burnaby Lake for one Saturday in April.  If participation is high enough and there is additional interest we will hold a second camp in May.

-The benefits of a training camp are no secret and so the coaches plan to spend time focused on crews’ errors and clear them up by following them the length of the course.  This is somewhat difficult on our own waterway with the inherent traffic.

-Time will be spent evenly between crews

Below you will find the outline for the day: 40km goal

07:00 – arrive at site, unload and rig up

07:30 – coaches meeting

08:00 – briefing: expectations, boating, traffic patterns, description of workout #1

08:30 – launch

10:30 – off the water

11:00 - debriefing

REST  - fuel up

12:30 – briefing: workout #2

14:30 – off the water

REST  - fuel up

16:00 – briefing: workout #3

17:00 – off the water

17:30 – debriefing

De-rig, load up and leave site.

Richmond Oval tank sessions – March and April

 – Evening sessions and Sunday morning

·         Tank Availability – free with Oval entry pass any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening in March. It is available all nights the first week of April, after that, Wednesday nights.

·         Spin/Erg Room Availability – it is free prior to 6:15pm or after 8:00pm (there are fitness classes every night from 6:30-7:45pm).

·         Cost is $80/hour each for exclusivity of Tank and Spin Room. If we book more than six sessions the cost is $60/hour for each room.

>Our intentions (based upon our collective decision) will be to book both the tank and erg room at 06:00 Sunday morning(s) for 2hrs.  Groups of 8 can rotate through an erg workout and tank instruction.

*We need to book these sessions ASAP.

Bi-Annual Rigging clinic

Saturday March 2^nd  and June 1^st  @ 12:00–13:30pm - on the dock.

For all those interested in learning how to rig a boat properly, what to look over each time you take a boat out, “gearing choices” for racing and, of course, maintenance.

Deep Cove Row-athons – “options”

1. Row from Deep Cove up Indian Arm to Twin Island (rest, refuel, row back) = 5.5k x 2

>Early morning start + experienced rowers

2. Deep Cove to Port Moody (rest, refuel, row back) = 8k x 2

>Early morning start + experience rowers

3. Deep Cove to Thwaytes Landing (rest, refuel, row back) = 10k x 2

>Early morning + experienced rowers

*All trips are merely ideas at this point and will require extensive planning to ensure safety concerns are met.

Setting expectations for our 2013 season

2011 was a transitional year for our programme.

2012 was a building year fostering commitment, crew cohesion, training principles, and basic technical improvements. Individual’s that were newer to rowing benefited most from this season.

> 2013 now that we have a full-time assistant coach and now that our members are physically and technically stronger and, socially we have better balance, we now have a unified programme.

>This season our focus will shift towards the competitive aspects of masters rowing including making the shift from a “training to participate” mindset to a “training to win” approach.  This is a complex subject and may need clarification (read: Carver Bar) but by and large our members are ready to take the next big steps towards “training to win”.  Committing to yourself and your crew is the first step in this process.

*I would like to stress that ALL members of our programme are welcome and do not NEED to be a part of this shift. Everyone is welcome to participate in as much or as little as they wish (Roberto’s Harbour Cruises and the weekend warrior racers) and will OF COURSE continue to receive coaching and high five’s along the way.  This will always be a foundational part of our programme.

Coaches/Programme Expectations:

• Commit! To yourself and your crew.
• Complete all required practices whether you fall into P^{12 3}

            -If life intervenes, complete the {B+6 45’ SS} workout.

• Be here on time, healthy and ready to work.

*Leave the excuses on shore…Let’s look at what is acceptable (and laugh about it).

1. Sorry I missed practice…I had a work related meeting that I had to be present at, my crew was informed = þ
2. Text message…Dave, please pass on to my crew that I am stuck at work, apologies = þ
3. Dave, I am stuck in Whistler, hwy is out, I will complete the B+6 workout as required and take a photo of the score as proof, crew has been informed = þ
4. Jesse made me a terrible Americano today and I have soiled my pants and my boss’s chair. On my way home to change. Will be terribly late = þ
5. Hey coach, sorry I missed practice, was at the penthouse last night for a girlfriend’s b-day, my head was pounding in the morning and blah, blah, blah = ý  EPIC FAIL
6. Text message…Jesse, can you let Dave know that I can’t make it this morning it’s super rainy over here at my place and I can’t find my tights = ý
7. Coach, I gotta’ take this practice easy, Thursday’s workout kicked my butt and I haven’t recovered fully…(are you sure it wasn’t the ½ dozen bevi’s you had after the workout???) = ý 
8. Jesse, can you let Carolyn know that I have to miss maintenance this morning (even though I just got off the water) cuz I am meeting a friend in Coquitlam for lunch = ý
9. Scene: NWM regatta…Coach, coach!!!  What time is my race and can you help me rig my 1x? I think they called my race = ý
10. Dave, I’m gonna shower and change (after flipping the 1x) and be out in 10 min. Can you help me drain my boat so I can finish the workout? = þ  AWESOME.

As a programme we have the opportunity to be the BIG RED MACHINCE this year and individually you have an incredible opportunity to become great at this sport.  You have the equipment at hand, the physical tools, camaraderie, the upcoming training and racing events and the coaching all available to you, so why not be great?!

                                                               Regatta Intentions/Goals