Check out this video made by Canadian lightweight rower Cam Sylvester. The video sheds light on how much time and work it really takes to get to that Olympic level.
Rowing, it's more than just your day job - it's your life.
Awesome!
Monday 27 June 2011
#23 - 396 days until 2012 Summer Olympics
It's the dream of many rowers to go to the Olympics and win Gold. How will you prepare?
Check out this video made by Canadian lightweight rower Cam Sylvester. The video sheds light on how much time and work it really takes to get to that Olympic level.
Rowing, it's more than just your day job - it's your life.
Awesome!
Check out this video made by Canadian lightweight rower Cam Sylvester. The video sheds light on how much time and work it really takes to get to that Olympic level.
Rowing, it's more than just your day job - it's your life.
Awesome!
Thursday 23 June 2011
#22 Having someone else load the trailer for you
Getting boats to a regatta is a process. The driving there is the easy part, getting your equipment and boats properly loaded on the trailer is the tricky part. When taking a lot of boats, it's like a puzzle and possibly the most annoying puzzle you've ever done.
You would think by making a map of where the boats will go on the tailer would make things go smoothly. But, as we know, people aren't perfect and boats get left out of the map, boats end up being wider than anticipated or there's always that one crew that realizes they've forgotten to load their riggers on a fully loaded trailer.
What should be about a 1 hour job can easily turn into a 2 hour struggle. However, there are those times when you are one of the last races of the day. The last thing you want to do is load all the boats after a hard race. As you approach the trailer, you see all the boats are already loaded and yours is the last one that needs to go on. Thanks to your team mates everything is all set to go and your boat is last piece needed for the puzzle.
Awesome!
You would think by making a map of where the boats will go on the tailer would make things go smoothly. But, as we know, people aren't perfect and boats get left out of the map, boats end up being wider than anticipated or there's always that one crew that realizes they've forgotten to load their riggers on a fully loaded trailer.
What should be about a 1 hour job can easily turn into a 2 hour struggle. However, there are those times when you are one of the last races of the day. The last thing you want to do is load all the boats after a hard race. As you approach the trailer, you see all the boats are already loaded and yours is the last one that needs to go on. Thanks to your team mates everything is all set to go and your boat is last piece needed for the puzzle.
Awesome!
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| It's a team effort! |
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| Don't forget to strap...There's a reason why this boat is named Road Rash! |
Monday 20 June 2011
#21 Waking up before your alarm and getting to go back to sleep
Despite the fact we often tell others "Oh, it's not that bad! You get used to waking up that early in the morning", as rowers we know that's somewhat of a bluff. The reality of the situation is if we had the option to wake up later we would. We'd take anything, even an extra 15 minutes!
The standard practice time for competitive Canadian rowers is 5:30am. The reasons being, water conditions are often better and there are zero scheduling conflicts.
Your typical wake up time is something around 4:40am plus a 5 minute snooze window. And for those nights when you wake up in the middle of your sleep and look over at your clock to realize that it's only 3:40am and you have ONE more whole hour of sleep, you put your head back down on your pillow and think...
Awesome!
The standard practice time for competitive Canadian rowers is 5:30am. The reasons being, water conditions are often better and there are zero scheduling conflicts.
Your typical wake up time is something around 4:40am plus a 5 minute snooze window. And for those nights when you wake up in the middle of your sleep and look over at your clock to realize that it's only 3:40am and you have ONE more whole hour of sleep, you put your head back down on your pillow and think...
Awesome!
Early morning practices - you never miss a sunrise!
Fall Rowing - 7am and the sun has just risen.
Monday 13 June 2011
#20 You miss hitting a buoy by an inch
At every club there are always obstacles on the water. Sometimes you see them, sometimes you don't.
Once you get comfortable with the course, it's typical to get a little lazy with your bowing. Being the overconfident person that you are you "forget" to check your surroundings and allow yourself to get caught up focusing on your stroke. Recipe for disaster.
You take one half-hearted look over your port shoulder - nothing. You continue rowing and call in your power piece. 3 strokes in and whoosh the buoy appears out of nowhere just skimming the end of your blade. Your heart skips a beat at the thought of almost disaster. Thankfully the rowing gods were on your side this time, and you managed to miss destroying your boat by an oar length.
AWESOME.
Once you get comfortable with the course, it's typical to get a little lazy with your bowing. Being the overconfident person that you are you "forget" to check your surroundings and allow yourself to get caught up focusing on your stroke. Recipe for disaster.
You take one half-hearted look over your port shoulder - nothing. You continue rowing and call in your power piece. 3 strokes in and whoosh the buoy appears out of nowhere just skimming the end of your blade. Your heart skips a beat at the thought of almost disaster. Thankfully the rowing gods were on your side this time, and you managed to miss destroying your boat by an oar length.
AWESOME.
In the moment, sometimes you just forget to check your course...
Friday 10 June 2011
#19 - Row New York
For those that know rowing, it's expensive and often not the most accessible of sports, especially for youth. We came across Row New York and were inspired by what they do and how they help improve the lives of inner-city youth who would otherwise never be exposed to rowing.
Row New York is a unique non-profit organization that empowers youth from New York City's under-resourced communities to pursue excellence in all facets of their lives by combining competitive rowing and individualized academic support.
It was founded in 2002 on the belief that a sport improves physical and mental health and teaches the invaluable lessons of teamwork, tenacity, and commitment to self and others; all things that should be available to the youth of New York City.
So far, 100% of all graduates have gone on to college, with half of them on rowing scholarships. Pretty impressive!
Row New York is about competitive rowing, academics and having fun, making this non-profit organization the definition of AWESOME.
Row New York is a unique non-profit organization that empowers youth from New York City's under-resourced communities to pursue excellence in all facets of their lives by combining competitive rowing and individualized academic support.
It was founded in 2002 on the belief that a sport improves physical and mental health and teaches the invaluable lessons of teamwork, tenacity, and commitment to self and others; all things that should be available to the youth of New York City.
So far, 100% of all graduates have gone on to college, with half of them on rowing scholarships. Pretty impressive!
Row New York is about competitive rowing, academics and having fun, making this non-profit organization the definition of AWESOME.
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Next time you are in NY go and check them out!
To find out more information on how you can help or become a part of RNY, see their website: http://www.rownewyork.org/
To find out more information on how you can help or become a part of RNY, see their website: http://www.rownewyork.org/
Wednesday 8 June 2011
#18 Finally being able to row after an injury
Getting injured sucks. It's the same in any sport, not having ability train, perform and do what you love to do is the last place any athlete wants to be. All goals are put on hold, while your competition is out there getting better and faster. Pete Sampras puts it perfectly in his book A Champion's Mind; "It's a very depressing experience, and it takes all your willpower and faith not to sink into that bad place, mentally and physically."
Just like training, while injured you need to set goals for recovery. How long do you allow yourself to do nothing and recover? When do you plan on being back doing your sport?, etc. You need something to keep occupied and to keep your mind focused on something other than the unfortunate situation you are in.
The one thing you MUST remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Often coming out of an injury you know more about where you went wrong and where you can improve. Not everything is lost and you can come back stronger. The best example is of Silken Laumann, coming back from her horrific leg injury to winning an Olympic Bronze medal 10 weeks later. It's about perseverance, determination and never giving up on your goals despite any adversity. In the inspirational words of Justin Bieber...Never Say Never!
Awesome!
Just like training, while injured you need to set goals for recovery. How long do you allow yourself to do nothing and recover? When do you plan on being back doing your sport?, etc. You need something to keep occupied and to keep your mind focused on something other than the unfortunate situation you are in.
The one thing you MUST remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Often coming out of an injury you know more about where you went wrong and where you can improve. Not everything is lost and you can come back stronger. The best example is of Silken Laumann, coming back from her horrific leg injury to winning an Olympic Bronze medal 10 weeks later. It's about perseverance, determination and never giving up on your goals despite any adversity. In the inspirational words of Justin Bieber...Never Say Never!
Awesome!
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| Boat strapping gone wrong....sooo wrong! 3 weeks after CK's injury she went on to win a Silver medal at the Ontario University Championship's! |
Tuesday 7 June 2011
#17 Teammates
These are the people you wake up for in the early hours of the morning. The people who challenge you, support you and inspire you to be faster. They are with you through the good and bad, thick and thin. They are your second family.
It all starts with having a common goal. Day after day, you train together in hopes of achieving that goal. You get to know who your teammates truly are and who they are as athletes. You build an unshakeable trust amongst one another and when it comes to that point where you have to go above and beyond there isn't a doubt in your mind because you know everyone will take it to that next level. Your teammates are the people you fight for when you feel like you have nothing left to give.
When you finally reach that goal, success is that much sweeter when you have someone to share it with. And you wouldn't want to share it with any other people in the world. The fact that you will fight and die for these people makes teammates...
Awesome!
It all starts with having a common goal. Day after day, you train together in hopes of achieving that goal. You get to know who your teammates truly are and who they are as athletes. You build an unshakeable trust amongst one another and when it comes to that point where you have to go above and beyond there isn't a doubt in your mind because you know everyone will take it to that next level. Your teammates are the people you fight for when you feel like you have nothing left to give.
When you finally reach that goal, success is that much sweeter when you have someone to share it with. And you wouldn't want to share it with any other people in the world. The fact that you will fight and die for these people makes teammates...
Awesome!
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| Go Team(mates)! |
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