The Dog Days of Winter:
March is undoubtedly the hardest month of training here in the prairies. After sitting on the erg for the better part of 4 months and the on-water season still some seven weeks away the desire to get up each morning wanes. Those athletes however, who are able to push through this barrier and stay motivated for the final 7 week push to fresh water are the one’s who reap the greatest rewards come summer time; regardless of age, experience or know how within our sport.
Most of us within our sport have read the book the “Boys in the Boat, a story of the University of Washington Huskies winning Olympic Gold in 1936 but a lesser known story about the “Dirty Dozen” demonstrates that with hard work anything is possible within our sport. Stay focused on your goal!
For a link to a remarkable story within the sport of rowing please follow the link.
The story tracks the pursuit of a dozen middle aged rugby players who decided in 1983 that they could win Olympic Gold in the sport of rowing at the 1984 Olympic Games.
In a separate but equally inspiring story did you hear about the 77 year old women who erged 100,000m per day for 30 straight days to break the 3,000,000 metre mark in the month of January. And we thought that a 60minute steady state erg was difficult. Here is the link to the story.
ARA Coaching Conference Confirmed
After flip flopping on dates, the ARA has settled on holding the 2015 Conference on April 25, 2015 in Red Deer, Alberta. The ARA recognises that the end of April is a busy time for clubs as they prepare for the summer season, which is why this year’s conference will be much abbreviated from years past. In the past the conference has run from Friday evening through to late Saturday afternoon. This year’s conference will be a ½ day affair running from 1:00pm through to 5:00pm on the Saturday only.
While the format of this year’s conference is different, the conference itself continues to be an excellent opportunity for Alberta coaches to socialize with one-another and provides an educational opportunity for young and old alike. The conference is open to all– athletes, coaches, officials and even parents who wish to not only gain insight into our sport but perhaps even see themselves sitting in the coach boat in the future.
More information will be distributed on the conference in the coming weeks.
ARA Erg Champs
In February of 2015 the ARA Provincial Technical Director challenged rowers from across the province to register for the ARA Erg Championships. If athletes rose to the challenge and 125+ athletes registered for the event it was agreed that he would compete in the championships. With 165+ athletes registered at time of printing, it is confirmed that Mr. Simonson will don a pair of shorts and pull a 2K.
This year’s event is slated to take place on Saturday March 14, 2015 at the Abbey Field House in Blackfalds, Alberta just north of Red Deer. If you haven’t already registered, but wish to participate you can register at the door for $25.
Those who need one last piece of motivation to get off the couch and start training for the 2015 season, are reminded that attendance at the ARA Erg Championships is a requirement in qualifying for ARA Henley Funding.
WCSG Spring Camp
The 2015 Western Canada Summer Games (WCSG) is a multi sport event featuring athletes from the four western provinces and three territories. The Games provide development opportunities and serve to broaden the exposure of talented amateur athletes. The ARA recognises the significance of these games and with the opening ceremonies now only 6 months away we continue to take steps to prepare our U19 athletes (As at December 31, 2015) for these games. With this in mind the ARA is looking to host a spring camp at the end of April.
While the details of the camp won’t be finalized until the end of February 2015, athletes wishing to participate in the camp must better the ARA 2K Erg Qualifying Standard for the WCSG at the 2015 ARA Erg Championships (To be held on March 14, 2015). As was communicated in the November 10, 2014 ARA Report (Bulletin #10) the erg qualifying standards for the 2015 WCSG Games are as follows:
Men 7:05
Women 8:05
It is the opinion of the ARA that the erg standards required to attend this camp are reflective of the erg standards needed to participate at the 2015 WCSG. Please note that athletes who do not meet the erg standard at the 2015 ARA Erg Championships will not be eligible for the camp, but may still qualify for the 2015 WCSG. Athletes will have until May 24, 2015 to better the standard to be deemed eligible for the Games themselves.