ARA Erg Champs
In February of 2016 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 150+ athletes registered for the event it was agreed that he would compete in the relay with a team of coaches. With 150+ athletes registered at time of printing, the Provincial Technical Director is now evaluating coaches across the province in putting together his team.
This year’s event is slated to take place on Saturday March 12 2016 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 2016 season, are reminded that attendance at the ARA Erg Championships is a requirement in qualifying for ARA Henley Funding.
CSG Update
As the calendar turns to March and the ice starts to melt for the start of the 2016 season, the ARA has officially commenced its countdown to the start of the 2017 CSG in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With the games now only 17 months away the ARA continues to take steps to prepare our athletes for the Games.
In February of 2016 the ARA hosted a Winter Camp for 20+ athletes across our province in Calgary, Alberta. Athletes who attended the camp were put through a variety of workouts that were intended to build camaraderie amongst each of the athletes, educate individuals about the games, all the while developing one’s own skill set.
In April of 2016 the ARA will be hosting the second of a series of CSG Camps this year. The April camp will be held in Invermere, British-Columbia on April 15, 16 and 17, 2016. Athletes will note that this date differs from the one outlined in the CSG Calendar wherein it was published that the camp would be on April 23 and 24.
The camp itself is by invitation only and will be based on the results from the 2016 ARA Erg championships in Blackfalds, Alberta. 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***
Athletes who cannot attend the ARA Erg Championships but wish to be considered eligible for the April camp must submit a 2K erg score to the ARA no later than March 20, 2016.
Athletes garnering invites to the camp will be provided with a full itinerary detailing travel and accommodation arrangements no later than April 4, 2016.
Calgary Booster Club
The Calgary Booster Club has been supporting and celebrating sport in Calgary for over sixty years, but up until 2016 had not nominated a single individual from the sport of rowing. In 2016 the Calgary Booster Club named Carol Hermansen as one of its seven Honoured Athletic Leaders. The Honoured Athletic Leader Award recognizes individuals who have spent countless hours contributing to sport in the City of Calgary. Carol as President of the Calgary Rowing Club, later President of the Alberta Rowing Association and now Para-Coach at the CRC has no doubt furthered sport both in Calgary and Alberta and is well deserving of this award. Congratulations Carol for this long outstanding recognition.
ARA Coaching Conference
While it is impossible to thank everyone who assisted in making the 2016 ARA Coaching Conference a success, the ARA would like to acknowledge Alex Marchuk for all her efforts behind the scenes. The ARA also wants to thank our speakers Mark Laidlaw, Roma Oleksyn, Tessa VanDerVeeken, Audra Vair and Neela MacDonald for their passionate presentations and the UART for arranging use of the facilities. We look forward to seeing everyone at our next conference in 2017.
Coaching Opportunity
The Edmonton Rowing Club is offering a year-round full time coaching and management position. The employed will support the current head coach in competitive athlete development and oversee club managerial tasks. Interested individuals are to submit a cover letter, CV and three references to sportrowingerc@gmail.com quoting the position title: Assistant Coach & Club Manager Position in the subject line. Details on this and other job openings can also be found on their club page.
Last Laugh
This past month the ARA was perusing rowing headlines and came across an article in the Vermillion Standard profiling the sport of rowing at Lakeland College. A great read on the efforts made by ARA President Peter Walsh to further the sport in our province. However, as I read further I noticed something wrong with the caption below the picture of Alberta MLA Richard Starke. Everyone should know that a rowing shell is not a canoe.
http://www.vermilionstandard.com/2015/09/21/rustlers-rowing-expecting-to-make-waves
Upcoming Events
ARA Erg Championships – March 12, 2016 Blackfalds, Alberta