Below is a personal message from your SatM coaches because we miss all of you and wanted to reach out to connect.
Message from Coach Carolyn
I have been holding my breath for a week now. As some of you know, Dimas fell ill a week ago and we weren't sure what it was. We believe it was a seasonal cold caught when he went into the Carver Bar on Saturday to retrieve his stroke coach. WHEW! So this has put a very fine edge to my already heightened cautious instinct. As such, we've been living and working from home since March 16. I believe we can be stronger as a people, as a nation when we've seen this world event through. Caring for each other in the way we Canadians tend to do, I think we will rebound and be a stronger, unified and cohesive country coming out of this global event. I know I'm never taking hand-washing for granted again!
I haven't known what to say to you, my VRC SatM athletes. The directives have been evolving and I've left the messaging to come from the health professionals we should be listening to. Also, my focus has naturally been on family and vulnerable friends, some of whom are also rowers. Vulnerable not only because of health but also because livelihoods are threatened and if I've missed calling on you, it is because I am ignorant of your circumstances.
To that end, Coach Elizabeth and I want to create a living, social community to support ALL of you to at least a small extent. To start with, we are sending you an invitation to work out together as a group (see link below in Coach Elizabeth’s message). While we are stuck working/living at home, what do you have to lose?
We are also cognizant of some people having a harder time than others. While we don't have a snap solution for this, we do want to be able to facilitate support for those of you who may be worrying about finances, etc. We may not have the answers but I feel with the breadth of our community, we can come up with support, and maybe some practical solutions. Sharing is caring but we will do it in a confidential way! This is your community, your family. Let me know what you think and give me ideas as to how we can develop a (closed and safe) online group where people can post self-isolation hacks, job postings or employment needed, exercise workouts, social dialogue groups, etc.
Message from Coach Elizabeth
Hi everyone, like Carolyn and Dimas, Jordan and I are currently in self quarantine but are doing very well and want to support everyone however we can. The reason for our quarantine is that I have just returned from the UK where I had to attend to a family emergency- for those who do not know, my father was hit by a car a few weeks back and it was touch and go for awhile there. But all is really good on that front, there will be no long term effects from his accident and he is home safe with my mom and the dogs and is healing well. Thank you to everyone for the kind words and thoughts during this hard time for my family, it really worked because my dad is still with us and going to be fine. And a huge shout-out to the amazing emergency responders, nurses, hospital techs, and doctors (many of whom are our fellow crew) for their amazing work in saving people like my dad and in particular, for their tireless work during this time of need. They are truly the heroes here and we need to support them anyway we can, even if it is simply staying home!
Anyway, I am really excited about these possible virtual training sessions. Jordan is going to figure out the tech side and I hope it will help keep everyone motivated and connected during this time. I for one am jumping at the bit to do some group workouts and it would be wonderful to see everyone even if it is through the computer! We will probably do a beta test with a small group first, just to see how it runs, and then grow it if we can. If you are interested in this sign up here and we will get it done!
On another note, once our quarantine is up on April 2nd, Jordan and I would like offer our help to anyone who is in need of groceries or other such errands but are unable to do them due to quarantine, have a compromised immune system, or are just overwhelmed with work/kids and can't make it out. We live in the Westend and can easily get around on foot and bike. Just send me an email or message me on Slack! As Carolyn said, we are all part of this community/family and are here for each other.
