January 2016 Monthly Bulletin

Happy New Year!
A Happy New Year to all of our coaches, officials and athletes. We at the ARA hope that we can build upon our successes that our clubs and university programs witnessed in 2015 and make 2016 even memorable than the past

CSG WINTER CAMP
The 2017 Canada Summer Games is a multi sport inter-provincial competition that will see the nations best young athletes compete against one another across 30 different sports in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ARA recognises the significance of these games and with the opening ceremonies now only 19 months is beginning to take steps to prepare our U19 athletes (As at December 31, 2015) for these games.   With this in mind the ARA will be hosting the first of several camps in the lead-up to the games on February 19th and 20th in Calgary, Alberta.

The camp itself is by invitation only and will be based on the results from RCA RADAR Submission*. Athletes looking to garner an invite to the camp should look at the following 2K Standard as a baseline requirement.

Open Women –     7:55 – 2,000m                  Lightweight Women 8:05 – 2,000m

Open Men   –       6:55 – 2,000m                   Lightweight Men 7:05 – 2,000m

Novice Men** –   3:25 – 1,000m***             Novice Women** 3:55 – 1,000m***

Further details on the camp including details on what classifies a Novice athlete have been distributed to your coaches.

19+ Athletes
2016 is an Olympic year and while many of the athletes who will be competing in Rio have already been identified, upon the conclusion of the games a new crop of athletes will be identified in the lead up to 2020. For those athletes who have aspirations of competing at the 2020 Olympics this year represents an opportunity for you to get a foot into the front door. For others 2016 may represent a year to achieve success at a national level regatta or alternatively win a medal on the Prairie Rowing Circuit. What ever your goals are this summer, some of the regatta’s that Alberta athletes should consider attending are:

  • The 2016 Canadian University Rowing Championships in Welland, Ontario
  • 2016 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Ontario
  • U23 National Teams Trails (Spring Trials in B.C and Ontario)
  • Non-Olympic World Trials (Spring Trials in B.C and Ontario)
  • Junior National Trials (Spring Trials in B.C and Ontario)
  • Prairie Regatta Circuit
  • Alberta Erg Championships

We at the ARA are hopeful that our athletes can achieve considerable success in 2016, but know that it won’t be easy. It takes plenty of hard work, which begins in January. As the saying goes,

“Medals are won in the summer but earned in the winter.”

RCA Coaches Conference
Rowing Canada will be hosting its annual coaches conference January 28-31 in Ottawa, Ontario.   The conference serves as an excellent opportunity for coaches to learn about many of the latest training methods in our sport, hear from experts and socialize with your peers. We at the ARA encourage all of our coaches to attend.

Upcoming Events
RCA Coaches Conference January 28-31 in Ottawa, Ontario.