BY ANDY ANDERSON
PHOTOS PROVIDED

I’ve had the great fortune to have known some outstanding oarsmen and oarswomen. As often happens when a group of rowers are together, you get to talking about great races and what made them great. Sometimes the conversation turns to the shell itself. As these athletes are justifiably proud of themselves, it’s rare to hear anyone say, “Yeah, the boat won for us. Anyone could’ve been in there and it would have won.” Nevertheless, credit is often given to one great magical boat.

It was at a session like this that I heard about the Martini Achter, an Empacher that guys a year behind me in college rowed at Henley and in which they won the Ladies Challenge Plate. Accustomed to rowing Schoenbrods in the mid-’70s on the East Coast, they described the Martini Achter as the perfect shell.

 The late Hart Perry, former head of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen (which morphed into USRowing), had arranged for Trinity (my college) to use it at Henley in 1976 because one of his Kent School oarsmen, Charlie Poole, was co-captain and stroke of the crew. When I began to write my column for Rowing News in 1994, Hart told me that I ought to write about the M.A. because it had been the same shell in which the U.S. national team had won the Worlds in 1974 and that the University of Washington had won Henley’s Grand Challenge Cup in 1977. I filed that information away and vowed that someday I would write about mid-’70s rowing, with the focus being the shell itself.

1973–Heidelberg

The year 1973 hadn’t been a good one for the U.S men’s national team eight. Only one oarsman and the coxswain from the silver-medal 1972 Olympic boat had chosen to return. The group that formed the eight for 1973’s European championships in Moscow were not all newcomers to international competition, but blending eight talented rowers into one unit is never a sure thing. The ’73 crew hadn’t worked together well in Moscow.

“We had some really good pieces in practice,” recalls Paul Hoffman, the cox. “We definitely had speed. But on race day we just didn’t race.”

The Moscow course had strong crosswinds, and USA was  in lane six, the worst. The boat didn’t seem to row together; they didn’t seem to be on the same page mentally, and they finished 22 seconds behind the winning East Germans.

 Dietrich Rose, the Vesper coach who had emigrated from Germany to Philadelphia and who helped head coach Al Rosenberg with the eight while Rose coached the straight four in the 1964 Olympics, had accompanied the team to Moscow and worked with the smaller boats. Rose salvaged the disappointing trip by suggesting that an eight and four enter the Heidelberg Regatta the next week.

Some of the eight had school or work commitments and had to fly home right away, but a crew was put together with guys mostly from the eight, a couple from small boats, and an oarsman from the British eight, Hugh Matheson. Moscow had been so un-fun, with such a lousy result, that they felt, “Hey, let’s go to Heidelberg and have at least one good row this summer.” They knew that the regatta was awarding a new Empacher eight to the winning crew, but the real motivation was just to go fast and have a good time.

They raced a Czech eight that had most of the crew that had won silver in Moscow, a couple of West German eights, and a Norwegian boat with the famous Hansen brothers aboard. It was a battle for 2,000 meters, but “this Yankee crew was pissed off about our debacle in Moscow,” says Hugh Stevenson, eventual seven man. “I think we ground our axes all the way. I know I did. There were crews banging away, but we wanted that race.”

The motley USA eight won the race and the shell and a new set of Empacher oars. They hadn’t really focused on the prize, but having won it, and having had a really good race, it was a great way to finish the 1973 season. 

Why Martini Achter? Why Empacher?

It wasn’t unprecedented for a regatta to offer such a handsome prize, but almost everyone is surprised when they hear the story of the Martini Achter. The Italian Vermouth manufacturer, which had sponsored auto racing since 1958, branched out and sponsored some rowing regattas in the early ’70s. The bow of this prize boat featured the Martini name and logo. Empacher boatworks was founded in 1923 in East Prussia by Willy Empacher and his partner, Wilhelm Karlisch, and moved to its present location in Eberbach, 33 kilometers from Heidelberg, in 1945. The partners split up, and for many years Karlisch eights were the boat of choice. (Germany had won the 1968 Olympics in a Karlisch.) Empacher was making a name for itself by being offered as a prize.

1974

The National Rowing Foundation took ownership of the newly won M.A. and moved it to Henley, where it was stored for American crews to use. In late May, Vesper sent a crew over to race in Europe. It was a solid crew with a bunch of national-team veterans. They were the first crew to row the boat and they had unexpected success, finishing second to the West Germans at Mannheim while beating the British, and second to the British at Ratzeburg, and second to the East Germans at Nottingham while beating the Brits. At Henley in the semifinals, they looked over at their opponents and eventual winners, Trud Moscow, and saw that they were in an identical shell, Martini Achter ’72. It was a summer of surprising second-place finishes. They loved the boat.

Back in the United States, coach Al Rosenberg pulled together a selection camp in Connecticut for the eight. Collegiate rowing in the ’70s was dominated by Harvard, and although no one could knock the success of Harry Parker’s crews, Rosenberg had a much different training philosophy.

As Ken Brown, a Cornell oarsman who rowed in the 1973-1976 national eights, puts it, “Although I never rowed for Parker, I did observe his style and heard a lot about him from our Harvard friends. Fiercely competitive, he seemed to focus on results, not process. Seat racing reigned supreme. 

“Rosenberg was an entirely different animal. We focused on technique, science–OK, sometimes pseudoscience–and precision. Fitness came almost naturally as a secondary aspect of precision training. Workouts consisted of innovative skill drills, long rows, and intervals. There was almost no traditional seat racing. Rosenberg selected for a sum of parts that would be greater than the whole, instead of a sum of parts that simply equaled the whole.”

Al Shealy, Harvard stroke and stroke of the national-team 1973-’76 eights, says, “Parker instilled competitiveness at the core as a righteous force that demanded the highest physical and mental output. As such, Harvard’s program attracted and rewarded those who were able to transcend pain to defend the ideals he stressed every day. It wasn’t creativity, but hard work that did the trick.

“Rosenberg, on the other hand, was all about the kinesthetics of the sport, how body movements created speed. He broke us down like wild stallions in a corral. He made it clear from the start that we would soon forget how we were taught to row or be sent packing. For me, I almost didn’t get it and thought I might have to hitchhike out of South Kent. Eventually, we all adapted to his style, which was predicated on the horizontal movement of bodies in the boat. Vertical movement would result in the boat checking, robbing it of speed and efficiency. Quick, but not violent. Quiet, but forceful through the stroke. No wasted motion.”

Rosenberg coached the eight through the 1976 Olympics. His influence on American rowing did not last–just as it had not lasted after his Vesper eight won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics–but for the summer of 1974, everything worked perfectly. John Everett, three seat in the ’74 eight, says, “Rosenberg was all about efficiency. Many coaches were preaching getting the power on early in the drive with a hard catch, which led to shoulders lifting and all the vertical motion others have mentioned. Al demanded a quick catch, but not a hard catch. He used analogies such as picking up a rolling orange or a rolled-up ball of socks. He also said, ‘It’s like peeling a banana,’ ‘It’s like opening a door,’ or ‘It’s like pulling up your trousers.’”

His passion for drills was famous. Ken Brown, two seat in ’74, recalls two: blind rowing, and body-motionless rowing. “Rowing with your eyes closed was a surreal experience. You don’t realize how much you rely on sight to monitor your timing and blade work, but with your eyes closed, you are forced to feel for rhythm and trust your own body, the bodies in front and back of you, and the movement of the boat in absolute terms. We logged a lot of hours rowing with the bodies fixed in the finish position with arms-only strokes. This was Al’s way of emphasizing the calm, clean and rock-steady way of rowing that he knew moved the boat forward most efficiently.” 

Workouts, even the toughest ones, always centered on technique. Dick Cashin, six man, says, “It was all about getting the hands out, softening the shoulders, picking off the catch and keeping everything horizontal. All his comments were technical.”

 Accustomed to dealing with more mature athletes, Rosenberg separated the wheat from the chaff by seeing who could make technical changes and row his vision of the perfect stroke. It was a more mental process than most guys were used to.

“One of the main reasons Rosenberg’s approach to winning succeeded was the sheer brainpower, concentration and discipline of the people in the boat,” says David Weinberg, coxswain of the ’74 boat. “All of us came to believe that if we rowed the boat better than everyone else, we would win. We could do things in a racing shell that no crew I have ever seen can do. We had complete control over the boat. It was, obviously, the fastest boat I ever coxed but also the best crew I have ever seen.”

Rosenberg, who was the American rep for Donoratico boats, had ordered a new one to be delivered in Lucerne. He had wanted a shell like the East German boats that were known for being shorter than most Western designs. The boatbuilder, however, had taken the length out of the tracks and the Americans could not get their legs down at the finish. Despite numerous attempts to make changes to it, the crew was unhappy and could not get their new Don to move well.

Bill Miller, who had rowed in the ’73 crew and had been in the Vesper boat that was the Martini Achter’s first crew earlier in the summer, was standing with a couple of the disgruntled oarsmen looking at the U.S. boat trailer. He saw the M.A. on the top rack and called it to their attention. “You’ve gotta try it,” he told them. “It’s incredible.” They took it out for a row and, as Al Shealy says, “Never before had I experienced such pure joy of movement and speed.”

It had been designated for the USA lightweights, but a swap was made, and with the lightweights happy in the smaller Donoratico, both crews won the world championships. On the awards dock, Mike Vespoli, who had been on the U.S. team since 1969, turned to John Everett, the youngest in the boat, and said, “I can’t believe it. I finally beat the East Germans!” Everett replied, “I’ve never lost to them.”

1975

Union Boat Club rowed the M.A. at Henley with most of the national team–minus Shealy, Cashin and Weinberg, who had all just graduated from Harvard and had also arrived at Henley with their undefeated crew known as “The Rude and Smooth.” Earlier in the summer, Harvard had raced Union for the right to row a Stämpfli. Union had won that race and now faced Harvard in the semifinals of the Grand Challenge Cup. Harvard was in a Karlisch. It was a fantastic race, with Harvard edging Union and setting a new course record. Unfortunately, the next day, the British national team beat Harvard in the finals. Later that summer at Nottingham, the USA team (with one difference–five man Mark Norelius was away in the Air Force), had a mediocre row, finishing fifth in windy conditions. This wasn’t the Achter’s year; it tasted defeat twice.

1976

With the Olympics in Montreal in July, the decision was made to leave the Martini Achter at Henley. A new Empacher was ordered for the USA; when Herr Empacher announced to his shop workers that a wooden eight had been ordered, cheers went up. The era of wooden boats was coming to an end. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an exact copy of the boat that everyone loved so much. There were some subtle differences; it had a shorter stern deck, for one. Meanwhile, Rosenberg was traveling around the country with his team, moving training camps. Organizational details had never been his strong suit, and the oarsmen were tired and literally sick. They finished ninth.

But the Martini Achter had a great summer. Trinity College was looking forward to using the boat that Hart Perry described as “one of the most beautiful and best boats ever made.” He warned them that it had a deeper hull than the Schoenbrod they’d been using, so they borrowed a deeper-hulled boat from the Coast Guard Academy.

 When the M.A. was delivered to the tents a couple of weeks before racing began on the Thames, the foot stretchers were missing. Perry had told Norm Graf, the Trinity coach, that they would not be in the boat (which didn’t mean they didn’t exist). Graf, misinterpreting what Perry meant, brought over Schoenbrod parts to install new foot stretchers and sneakers.

 “As soon as we turned the boat over and saw there were no tracks or foot stretchers, Norman T. Graf looked like the Millennium Falcon blasting off,” recalls Curtis Jordan, who was along as an assistant coach. “He made a call to Hart explaining that the parts were nowhere to be found and that something had to be done NOW! ‘Yes, I looked everywhere!’ NTG said. I thought ‘Everywhere? You might want to….’”

But NTG was in no mood for suggestions. He got the inside of the boat rebuilt in short order with help from a local boatman. (Graf was Doctor Rowing’s college coach, and he was famous for his short fuse. If his crew had missed only one practice on the water, he would have ripped his friend Perry up one side and down the other.)

When the boys finally got on the water in the Martini Achter, they had a terrible row. On the paddle or light pressure, it flopped around like an ungainly albatross. But as they were finishing practice, they took a couple of 10s at race cadence, and the boat picked up and moved. As Charlie Poole says, “It just flew. The albatross became a soaring eagle.” 

The Trinity guys were aware of the boat’s mystique, and it motivated them. Two man Paul Wendler says, “I felt it had the power to win any race if we could just figure out how to make it go fast. We were told the boat had a hull that required a minimum cruising speed to make the boat rise out of the water. We had to maintain that speed or the boat would be harder to row.”

Other oarsmen in the boat noticed that at speed it made a humming vibration, and once it took off, that sound was a sign they were really moving. Coxswain David Greenspan says, “The feel of the thing was something special. Every cox gets to know how the boat ‘talks’ under the seat and in the feet at catch, drive, finish. This boat seemed to just ‘scream’ once I got used to it. Others had noted how responsive the hull was; it just spoke loudly and clearly to a swain. Perhaps sitting right down on the keel [the M.A. was never built for a coxswain’s comfort] was part of it?”

 Seven man Steve Berghausen says, “What about the sound? My last memory as we rowed and that hull lifted out of the water, there was no sound, no sound of rushing water, no sound of resistance, nothing, only the rhythm of synchronized bodies.”

Trinity set a course record for the Ladies Plate in the semifinals, lowering the old mark by six seconds.

 “I’ve never felt a boat accelerate the way the M.A. could.” says Charlie Poole. “And it just felt like it could go on forever. We were faster in the second half of the course, and the boat felt faster.” On July 4, they celebrated by becoming the only D3 college program ever to win an event at Henley. They all feel that the Martini Achter made the difference.

(In an interesting footnote, Larry Gluckman, who rowed bow in the Heidelberg race that won the M.A., went to Trinity to coach their heavyweight men in 2003. When he stepped into the boathouse for the first time, he saw a Vespoli eight named “Martini Achter.” Harry Graves, four man in the Trinity ’76 boat, had obtained the boat and named it for the best boat he had ever rowed in. After a few years, it was a bit worn, and Gluckman sold it. The program then purchased a new Empacher and named it the Norman T. Graf. That boat, with Gluckman coaching and two of Graves’s sons, Tom and Peter, at bow and stroke, won the Temple Challenge Cup for Trinity in 2005. “Isn’t it strange how things come around?” says Gluckman.)

 After the Sunday finals and victory, Curtis and Norm were left to de-rig the boat as the team went off celebrating. After the riggers were off, they started pulling the Schoenbrod tracks and foot stretchers and grumbling about the process. Curtis did a final check for any items they might be leaving behind. He saw two big wooden boxes stashed at the end of their boat bay sitting all alone. Opening the boxes marked “Martini Achter,” he found eight sets of tracks and eight foot stretchers all neatly packed. There’s a lesson there.

1977

The University of Washington hadn’t had a great spring season but had beaten the University of California, Berkeley.  So, they set off for Henley anyway, convinced they had good athletes who just needed to row more. It was a decision they would not regret. Stan Pocock accompanied the three Washington boats (heavyweight and lightweight eights and a four) as coach Dick Erickson’s assistant. For the trip, he had built a new Cedar Speeder, Pocock’s answer to the new composite boats. It was very light, but cedar isn’t appropriate for 100 percent of a boat, and the boat lacked stiffness.

Mike Hess, captain, stroke and Olympic eight veteran, said they just didn’t feel like they were moving in the Pocock. He had heard plenty about the Martini Achter from his Olympic teammates, the bulk of them members of the ’74 crew. He went to Hart Perry and asked if they could try the M.A. Stan Pocock was insulted and let Hess know it, but the oarsman had a great deal of credibility, having rowed in the Olympic eight the year before. Perry agreed to let them give it a try.

Like Trinity, the Huskies had a devil of a time in it at first. “Being UW, we weren’t pretty and we were all over the place,” Hess recalls. “But when we started to pull, it just got better and better and then one day–magic! It just all clicked. We went up to Nottingham and finished half a length behind the British national team and beat Harvard, the Eastern Sprint champs. Stan began to smile.”

Back at Henley, the crew kept improving and beat Garda Siochana, the Irish national team, by a half-length in a barn burner. In the final, they took revenge on the British national team, beating them by a length. Stan Pocock was very happy as he opined, “It’s fast horses, not fast carriages.”

Seven members of the squad made national teams that summer. They certainly had the horses.

The University of Washington Conibear Shellhouse honored the famous “Boys in the Boat” of 1936 by hanging its eight-oared shell, the Husky Clipper, from the ceiling of the dining hall. In 2017, to honor the 40th anniversary of Washington’s first victory at Henley, a new Empacher was christened “Grand Challenger.” If you’ve paid attention to collegiate rowing in the past few years, you know that the Huskies are right at the top of their game, having won the Intercollegiate Rowing Association team title 12 of the last 13 years.

The boat

So what was it about the Martini Achter? Is there such a thing as a magical boat? Members of all three of those crews certainly thought so and continue to think so today. What made it so fast? A lot of rowers are under the impression that the stiffer the boat–both longitudinally and across the gunwales–the better the boat. The great Stan Pocock, who built boats and had as keen an eye as anyone who has ever coached, said, “Ever seen a stiff fish?”

 The maestro of wooden boatbuilding today, Graeme King, told me that longitudinal stiffness in an eight is overrated.

 “It is far more important in a single, where the weight of the rower is at a single point close to the middle of the boat, whereas in an eight the weight of the crew is distributed over nearly 40 feet, so there is a far better balance between the load distribution and displacement curve, except, of course, if the eight gets hung up on a couple of wave crests spaced about 30 feet apart.”

 If there is a magical boat, why aren’t all boats built like it? The answer may be that the Martini Achter’s fantastic results resulted from a rare combination of the right crew, the right technique, and the right moment.

Bill Miller, the renowned rowing historian who rowed in the M.A. the summer of 1974 with Vesper, said, “I had never believed that a boat made a difference. But the Martini Achter changed my mind. It just never slowed down.”

I asked Graeme why he thought that both Trinity and Washington had so much trouble paddling or rowing at lower cadences. Was there something about the hull shape that would explain this?

 Most likely, it was because these college crews rowed with less skill and precision than a national team, he surmised. But he also thought it could have been the oars. Wooden oars twisted and warped a lot. King remembers hours and hours spent when he was Harvard’s boatman making sure that all eight in a set had the same pitch. The work required taking off the leather and planning down the wood beneath to true them. Trinity had taken delivery at Henley of brand-new Collar oars; Washington brought their Pocock blades with them. The national team had used Karlisch oars. Could that have contributed to the difficulties the college crews faced?

The always quotable Al Shealy, stroke of the 1974 world- championship crew, said, “From the first stroke we took, I thought, ‘This is a magic boat.’ It was like a Ferrari, the greasiest boat I’ve ever been in.

“By ‘greasy,’ I refer to how the boat glided through the water. Going from a Donoratico that was clearly built for the Seven Dwarfs to this stunning piece of craftsmanship was like stepping out of a Volkswagen into a Ferrari. To this day, I can still feel the kinesthetic joy of those first few strokes and I bet my boatmates would say the same. I felt as if we had stumbled upon some magic treasure and in our giddiness wanted to tell the world all about it. And in the end, we did. This joy is undiminished through time and still puts a smile on my face.

“Psychologists use a term for the love of an inanimate object–objectophilia. That is what we feel for this boat. Like a favorite oar, it becomes a part of you. You invest it with human qualities because you want it to know how much you depend on it. You ask of it, you pat its gunwales, and it responds by affirming your intent. Athletes often tear up when they visit a stadium, a court, or a course where they achieved a particular victory. For me, it would be the same if I saw her again. I would pat her again and just say, ‘Thanks, old girl.’”

Destruction and Restoration

After the National Rowing Foundation decided to sell the boat in the late ’70s, Thames Tradesmen, one of the most successful London rowing clubs, bought it, and it was one of their top shells. It had a terrific reputation and great results. It met an unseemly death, however. On a day when the tide was low on the Tideway, as the Thames is called in central London, a coxswain ran over a submerged shopping cart. A 16-foot jagged gash was ripped through the hull. The boat sat on their boat trailer outside the boathouse for several years.

Members of the 1974 crew wanted to buy it and bring it to the States for their 25^th reunion. After three years of negotiation, years in which it deteriorated further because of rocks thrown through the hull, Mike Vespoli and crew bought it and brought it back home. They asked Graeme King to bring it back to life. He did as good a job as they had hoped, putting over 200 hours of loving work into it. In his final invoice to them, he wrote, “The end result is a very stiff and durable boat that, if your crew wishes, can be rowed for another 25 years. In fact, your 50^th reunion was on my mind when I did this work.”

The 1974 crew loaned it to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, where it graced the entryway of the Visitor Reception Center from 2008 to 2014. Sadly, the Seaport decide to raze the building that the Rowing Hall of Fame inhabited, and when that happened, the M.A. lost its home. It sits on the top rack in the Vespoli USA boatworks waiting for a new home. It’s high time that the treasures of our sport find a suitable resting place. We need a permanent Rowing Hall of Fame, and the legendary M.A. deserves a prominent place in it.

The post The Martini Achter, A Magic Boat appeared first on Rowing News.

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

As spring weather opens opportunities to get back on the water, it’s important to ease into the rowing swing.

One great way is drills, and I’m asked frequently about my favorites. My answer depends on the situation.

If I’m back on the water after several long and cold winter months, I prefer to start with some easy full-slide rowing, trying not to row too long at the catch and focusing on clean finishes.

After getting warmed up and gaining confidence in the boat, I begin a drill I call “stroke-rate changes.” These are short intervals of 10 strokes at rates between 24 and 30, with easy effort. This kind of rowing helps me sense the turning points within the stroke as well as the run of the boat.

The short intervals at higher speed are not exhausting and help me find the touch needed to execute long, solid strokes at lower stroke rates.

After I’m back on the water for some time, I’m ready for more challenging drills, mainly to improve my balance and the quick movements necessary for clean entries and releases.

Pause drills become my focus at this stage, chiefly because I can vary the drill so much–pausing every second, third, or fourth stroke, and at different stages of the recovery; executing additional movements during the pause, such as squaring and feathering; tapping the side of the boat or my head and air-stroking, etc. Finding good balance is essential to proper technique.

Next up are drills that help with oar handling. Wide grip with one or both hands, opening up the hands during recovery, pulling only with thumb and pointer finger are a few variations that can be done on their own and mixed with each other.

Changing stroke length and rhythm is very helpful at this stage. This drill again offers numerous variations. Not only can the length of the stroke be changed for a number of strokes but also the sequence of stroke lengths, such as arms-only, quarter, half, three-quarter, full-full, or half-half-full.

The final stage is combining different drills that develop discrete skills, which requires enormous focus. For example: first stroke–pause drill; second stroke–wide grip; third stroke–half slide, followed by a normal rowing stroke. Repeat this sequence without stopping and you’ll see that it becomes difficult to perform the strokes cleanly and fluently without getting confused.

A drill I use infrequently and with care is “part-crew rowing,” which can be beneficial for less experienced rowers as they seek to get back in the swing. Because of low temperatures this time of year, it’s important that athletes not get cold, especially when they’re sweaty and conditions are windy. Later in the season, when temperatures warm and athletes can benefit from strength exercises, using the slow and heavy part-crew rowing drill becomes more advantageous.

It’s important to present athletes with a variety of exercises to keep them engaged and excited. Therefore, limit the number of strokes for each drill. It’s more important to retain the focus of the athletes and expose them to a variety of challenging situations to widen the experience of how the crew and the boat react.

Rowers need to understand the connection to the part of the stroke that the drill aims to improve, and coaches need to alert athletes when they transfer the drill into their normal rowing stroke.

The post Rowing Drills for Skills appeared first on Rowing News.

BY CHIP DAVIS
PHOTO COURTESY

Longtime USRowing referee Roxanne Everetts died March 7. Everetts served as the chief referee at the first Champion International Collegiate Regatta (now the National Invitational Rowing Championships) in 1993 and continued to work weekends as a referee at regattas and championships for most of the next 20 years.

“She had a presence, no question,” recalled IRA Commissioner Gary Caldwell. “She wore her love for our sport and her fellow officials on her sleeve and will be sorely missed. I feel privileged to have known her as an official and friend.”

Everetts mentored many of the men and women who now officiate rowing, especially in the mid-Atlantic region. 

Off the water, she was a highly respected expert in cyber security. Everetts was a professor and the chair of the Cyber Strategy and Infrastructure Department at the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C.

The post Rowing Loses Referee Roxanne Everetts appeared first on Rowing News.

BY BILL MANNING
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Major regattas increasingly begin with time trials. World Rowing has done so at World Cups, USRowing uses them at Youth Nationals, and the IRA, the men’s collegiate national championship, did this last year. A time trial eliminates the need to seed heats—always subjective—and conduct repechages. Unless conditions change during the running of the time trial, it is extremely fair.

Time trials typically seed semifinals and determine lane allocation, which can be consequential if there is adverse weather. If some or all subsequent racing is canceled, a time trial may advance boats directly to the final or determine final placing.

Because of the stakes, it is almost always best to race a time trial at maximum speed. Otherwise, it’s gambling, with too much risk for too little reward. If racing multiple events—and conserving energy is a higher priority—row full pressure, but do so at lower rates. Above all else, be certain that everyone in the boat agrees 100 percent on the approach. Nothing is worse than some racing full throttle while others hold back.

Time trials share similarities with head racing but lack the complexity of turns and, one hopes, passing. In both, fractions of a second often determine outcomes, just as when racing side by side. All three formats reward racing intensity equally.

Give the boat plenty of room before the line to achieve maximum speed and room behind the boat starting ahead to avoid getting stuck in a wake. A couple of extra strokes before the line are far better than beginning the race at less than full speed. Rehearse doing this ahead of time; it’s a skill just like a standing start and deserves attention. 

Develop a race plan that isn’t based upon having other boats alongside. Mature crews should prepare, discuss, practice, and execute a race plan using a SpeedCoach.  Know the desired pace for the conditions and how to achieve this—not just the average split but where the boat plans to go faster and where slower-than-average may be necessary.

All coxed crews can chase the boat starting immediately ahead. Set out to close the gap and get as close as possible. Similarly, all rowers can push off the boat behind, attempting to increase the distance. Row away if possible. Stubbornly hold it off as long as possible if it’s faster. Either way, if moving on another boat, the coxswain should always share this with the rowers. There is no more powerful call than “We’re moving!”

Know where the finish line is. Predetermine where to lift and sprint for the line.  Race through the finish line. If in doubt, keep going.

The time trial is the beginning of the regatta, not the end. Immediately after crossing the finish line, begin preparations for the upcoming side-by-side racing. Project confidence, hydrate, cool down to flush the lactate, eat, and get excited for the thrill of six boats across.

The post The Thrill of Six Boats Across appeared first on Rowing News.

BY ALAN OLDHAM
VIDEO BY ADAM REIST

Change is something we all face as we age. Bodies grow—vertically at first and then often horizontally—and so do attitudes about training and motivations for staying in the sport or even taking up an oar later in life. Yet the template for how many rowers train and race, from the youngest juniors right through to the very oldest masters, can feel like it misses the mark.

While a one-size-fits-all approach still dominates in many sports, a growing trend shifts the focus onto the individual athletes that make up a team or club. This is especially significant for older athletes, who may not have the time to commit to vast amounts of training. We’ve all heard the expression, “train smarter, not harder,” but what does training smarter actually mean for rowers trying to perform as they age?

To find out more, I reached out to four experienced coaches from across the United States and Canada.

Breaking Bad Habits

My first call was to three-time world champion German/Canadian lightweight sculler Michelle Darvill. 

“All of this depends on the individual,” she said in response to my question about training for older athletes. In fact, I ended up hearing a lot of this sort of thing, not just from Darvill, but from others I contacted as well. “How someone trains is often based on physiology, training, and length of race,” continued Darvill, who until recently served as a national development team coach and women’s coach for Rowing Canada. In other words, it’s all relative. 

Yet there is one thing, according to Darvill, that is not relative: good technique. “Technique is important in all age groups to enable maximal leverage, minimize injury, and maximize boat propulsion,” she told me. Poor technique can lead to bad habits and for Darvill the only solution is “mileage and the desire to change.”

“This means staying focused on the task,” she explained. “Many people are willing to try something out for a couple of strokes, but want a quick fix. You have to be willing to dedicate time to making a technical change to retrain patterning and even look at other areas, such as flexibility or core strength, that you can improve on. When you look at periodizing your training plan, starting a new season and the general preparation stage may be the period of the year to devote to looking at the gaps and correcting technique. It is also important to look at how race pace may impact technique.”

The good news is that no matter one’s age, technique change is still possible, according to Darvill. “It is about having the right attitude,” she said. “Having feedback can also help; whether it is video or coaching or speed feedback, there are lots of tools out there.”

Rigging and Racing

A properly-rigged boat is a critical part of rowing well and racing fast. In fact, the adjustability of equipment to fit the athlete rather than the other way around is a good example of individualization already at work in the sport. But should rigging change as a matter of course as athletes age?

Not really, according to Patrick Kington, director of rowing at the San Diego Rowing Club. “As far as rigging is concerned,” he told me, “we don’t make changes based on age group per se, but rather on fitness level, size of the athletes, and those types of things. So while it’s true that, in general, I’ll have lighter loads for our athletes as they age, since younger athletes are more powerful on average, we use the fitness levels of the individual athletes to make the determination rather than making adjustments based on age group.”

Kington’s exceptional work with masters rowers was recognized in 2018 with a USRowing Fan’s Choice Award for Masters Coach of the Year, yet his engagement with rowers spans all ages and abilities. I reached him while he was en route to Austria for the senior worlds as coach of U.S. Paralympic sculler Blake Haxton.

When it comes to racing, “tactics do change with age and ability,” he said. “Our younger masters will come off the line at higher rates, have a more aggressive base pace, and begin their sprints earlier. Our older athletes will adopt a more conservative pacing strategy. The other main difference in strategy that one sees in masters racing versus junior or collegiate or elite is that the 1k race demands a more aggressive strategy. There simply isn’t time in the race to make large moves if a boat gets left behind off the line.”

For Darvill, the focus of a good strategy at any age comes down to pacing. “One consistently successful strategy we do see at all levels is even pacing,” said Darvill. “You want to minimize big changes in speed because it takes more effort to get the speed back up if you take your foot off the gas pedal. It often takes years of experience for athletes to find where the fine line is. This takes practice and specific training. For 1,000-meter races, you might be able to push a little harder, but you can’t treat it like a 200-meter sprint or you will fly and die.”

And once again, it comes back to the individual. “People need to figure out the best strategy for them,” she said. “There are many things to consider; wind, number of races, temperature, where they are in the season, and so on.  For some it might feel like they can’t race well unless they are ahead of the group. You don’t want to be sitting in wash, so sometimes you need to put yourself out there.”

Rest and Recovery

There are some interesting things that happen from the physiological side of things as athletes age,” said Kington. “I find it is important to continue to engage in high-intensity workouts with aging athletes; however, they will require more time to recover, both in between intervals within a workout and between workouts.”

“We do periodize the training for all of our athletes, regardless of age, but there are some differences within that framework,” he continued. “For instance, a men’s eight in the B age group may be planning to base [rate] at 38 strokes per minute, whereas a women’s quad in the G age group may be planning to base at a 30 for their race. As we approach a priority competition and start doing a lot of race-specific work, both groups would engage in the same workout—say 6 x 3 minutes—but the women’s G quad would do that with more rest between intervals and do the intervals at 26-32 strokes per minute, and the men’s B eight would do it with less rest between intervals and at a 34-40.

On a longer time scale, Darvill said how masters choose to periodize their training “depends on what you want to get out of it, how committed you are, and what your lifestyle allows. Periodization can help athletes in many ways to peak for events, recover properly physically and mentally, and in conjunction with tracking, can help tailor a program to support peak performance.”

Changing things up is a big part of keeping the adaptations coming, including later in life. “I think stimulus change is important for everybody regardless of age,” said Darvill. “Your body gets used to doing something one way, becomes often efficient at it, so changing stimulus is important to improving. A lot of masters have been weekend warriors doing their own thing, but there are so many services out there offering specialized training and targeting areas of weakness. If people are willing to go that route, you can circumvent injury and see improvements in other areas.”

Longevity

The idea that athletes can be proactive in things like injury prevention and longevity in the sport is central to Allison Ray’s mission as head coach at Oakland Strokes Rowing. “As you get older you need more time to recover,” the former assistant coach for Canada’s men’s team told me during a call from California. “As a masters athlete, you have to get really good at the recovery and injury prevention game so you can train as hard as an elite athlete. When I think of older national team rowers, some of those guys have had to train differently.”

While her current work with juniors may seem to put her at the opposite end of the age spectrum to masters, setting her young rowers up for a lifetime of enjoyment and success in rowing is a top priority for Ray.

“The first stage is learning to love the sport,” she told me. “Then learning how to train, then compete, and then how to win and how to lose.”

“A big part of it is helping them develop body awareness,” said Ray. “We have someone come in twice a year and do a functional mobility assessment and she gives us a score for the athletes and they work on things like flexibility and so on.” 

“Teaching them accountability, responsibility, and how to function as part of a rowing team are also important,” adds Ray. “Those things actually lead to longer-term success in the sport. I think there is something about it not being a self-centered experience where they learn the joy of doing things for the team together.”

The most important lesson that Ray seems to be imparting to her juniors, however, is learning how to learn. “Learning to have conversations with coaches, each other, and themselves, learning how to be in new situations like selection, how to seat race, how not to seat race,” she said. “These are skills that will allow you to feel empowered and provide motivation to rowers at all levels to stay with the sport.”

Motivations

When it comes to understanding what motivates people to start rowing and stay with it, U.S. Olympic gold medalist Holly Metcalf knows a thing or two. 

“My first exposure to motivation I had not experienced before was with masters women back in the early ‘90s,” said Metcalf, who is entering her 13th season as head coach for MIT’s open-weight women. “I had just finished my national team career and was coaching at various community programs. During this time, high school rowing was growing, and many women were introduced to rowing through their children.”

“Women in particular were drawn to rowing and wanted to learn to row,” she explained. “Many of these women were pre-Title IX and excited by the fact that they did not have to have prior experience and could start as novices. The motivation for many of the masters women was to experience teamwork—the kind they had observed their children growing so much from—to improve health, to have a community of women outside of their families and work demands, to learn something new, and discover the athlete within.”

“I was shocked by the stories of masters women—and men—being coached with a lack of respect for their desire to learn to row,” recalled Metcalf, who remembers her own feelings of trying to find her place in the sport following success at the international level as an athlete and then coach. She realized that, “what the masters community needed was respect for where they were in their lives and for the depth of experience they had in life.”

So she developed one of the first masters women’s rowing camps in America that offered quality instruction and, more importantly, what Metcalf called an “environment supportive of their journey into rowing. For those who never considered themselves competitive, they discovered a natural desire to find more speed as their knowledge grew.”

From her first successful Row as One camp she took her philosophy to Boston’s inner-city schools with G-Row Boston, fostering leadership for girls. Her next initiative, WeCanRow, has spread across the nation and focuses on bringing the life-changing power of rowing to the breast cancer survivor community. “With all groups, we shared the same love of feeling the sum of the strength of nine people connecting strength through the demands of moving together, being intense together, finding grit together.”

The Mental Game

Grittiness is something talked about a lot these days when it comes to sport psychology. For Darvill, staying on top of the mental game is what separates the best from the rest.

“Mental training is particularly important for masters rowers in racing and is a big part of enhancing peak performance. We all know that the adrenalin push helps rowers get through those last few strokes, however it is important to find ways to stay on task throughout the race. You train your body to perform during racing, and in the same vein your mental game needs to be honed.”

The social aspect of masters rowing shouldn’t be ignored either she added. “We are now seeing larger subscriptions to masters racing, which often involve training camps and social activities at the regattas. For many this social aspect is a large draw to the sport. For both new and returning athletes it is important to understand what type of experience they want and this will help guide their training and approach to seeking out the best training environment.

“Athletes do tend to want to get different things out of the sport as they age,” agreed Kington. “Our youngest groups are very concerned with competition, while our oldest groups seem to get more out of the sense of community and enjoy racing with athletes with whom they’ve been racing and training for decades. Obviously, there are individuals within these groups for whom the opposite trends hold true, but that seems to be the case on average.”

“In the same sense, athletes that are hoping to get different things out of the sport respond best to different coaching styles. I don’t know if it’s accurate to say that I coach large groups differently, such as the junior women one way and the masters men another, but I definitely try to learn what each individual within a group is after and try to find what styles of coaching will be most effective for them.”

For coaches and athletes then, finding the right mental space seems to come down to managing expectations and setting appropriate goals. Fortunately it is never too late—or too early—to plant the seeds of mental toughness.

“For us,” Ray said of her juniors, “the goal-setting is focused around what is happening at the boathouse and at school, short term and long term. Having a process to follow up on it is critical—socializing it in their day to day at the boathouse so they are having conversations with each other about how they are doing.” There is also a mental health aspect to all of this, as the door gets pushed open to provide a safe space for important conversations to take place.

“We’ve had kids down here before and they’ve been struggling and we say, ‘OK, just tell me if today is not a good day and we can figure out what to do.” When it comes to individualizing experience, it can be difficult, Ray said. “In the context of 100 kids, it comes down to what small things can you do if kids are having a hard time? We do spend time trying to motivate them to come and talk to us if things are difficult. And having limits and cultural standards on your own team about how they talk to each other, being good teammates. These sound like simple things, but being disciplined about it creates the environment that helps with mental health.”

The Sky’s the Limit

The idea of an age limit on top performance is a common view, but Darvill thinks it’s time to rethink what older athletes can do. “The mind will usually go before the body,” she said. “Diminishing will and desire likely precede physical limitations. That being said, some masters rowers have all of a sudden found a fountain of youth and dedicate large amounts of effort and time into their training and racing.”

“Every athlete can find something to help them improve, whether it is nutrition or integrating some stretching routine,” Darvill continued. “We do not know a lot about the limits of what masters can do because they usually do not follow a high-performance plan and often do not have proper systems in place to maximize performance. There are many ways to circumvent a decline in performance that are still untapped.”

“As the baby boomer retirement generation grows and their lifestyle changes, we will see more people devoting time to fitness. For rowing, the increased access to coaching, training regimes, and great racing opportunities around the world only serves to increase the appeal and enjoyment to both veteran and novice rowers alike.”  

The post Training Through the Ages appeared first on Rowing News.

BY COLLEEN SAVILLE
PHOTOS BY Caitlin Patterson, John Lazenby, Judy Geer, Paul Bierman UVM, Val Stepanchuk, Wes Vear

*This piece originally ran in the September 2018 issue of Rowing News

When Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer took over the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in 2008, they knew they had the chance to make an already good thing even better.

Founded by Russell and Janet Spring in the mid-1970s, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury, Vt., was originally an all-boys prep school the Spring family turned into a training center for Nordic skiers and rowers interested in learning to scull. Each summer, Judy and Dick would travel to Craftsbury for one week to guest coach the sculling camps, a group comprised of athletes of all ages and skill levels, eager to master the art of rowing small boats.

Through the Craftsbury camp system, Dick and Judy taught their two daughters to scull at an early age and, eventually, to ski.

“Up here it’s a long winter,” Judy says laughing, “and so we taught our kids to ski early on. In turn, they got to know the other kids who were cross-country skiing at the center. At that time, Craftsbury had hired a new cross-country skiing coach who wanted to start a junior program, and so we asked Hannah, our oldest, ‘Do you want to be a part of this program?’ and she said yes. We’ve been involved ever since.”

(Hannah, by the way, would go on to compete in the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 as a biathlete. Her sister Emily competed in biathlon in the 2018 Winter Games.) 

In 2008 Dick and Judy purchased the training center from the Spring family and reorganized as a non-profit to ensure the Craftsbury experience would be around for generations to come. Judy notes that she and Dick worked closely with the Springs during the transition, reflecting on what Craftsbury had been, and sharing visions on what it could be. Today, Craftsbury is a training center for elite rowers, Nordic skiers, bikers, and more recently, runners. It is arguably the most energy-efficient training facility in the country, and has built a strong reputation on its sustainable innovation and reliable snow.

Ask any Craftsbury athlete or coach, however, and they’ll likely tell you that above all, the center is a special kind of utopia. The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is many things, and in some ways, they’re just getting started. 

When Judy describes the foundation of the Outdoor Center, she quickly points to the mission statement by which the athletes, coaches, and members of the larger community live.

“We created a mission for the Outdoor Center, which has three prongs,” she says. “To support and promote participation and excellence in lifelong sports with a special focus on rowing, Nordic skiing, biathlon, and running; to use and teach sustainable practices; and to be good stewards of the surrounding land, lake, and trails.”

While sustainability—especially at scale—requires ongoing effort, Craftsbury is happy to rise to the occasion. Judy explains that in exchange for three organic meals per day, housing in the dorms, access to equipment, coaching, and all-expenses-paid travel to important competitions, Craftsbury Green Racing Project athletes (the official name for their post-collegiate group of elite rowers, cross-country skiers and biathletes), give back by dedicating 10 hours per week or 500 hours per year to the center by working on projects that support the mission.

Depending on the day, this could mean anything from working in the garden to splitting wood to trail maintenance, helping design a new building, or analyzing the energy uses of existing buildings. Oftentimes, too, giving back includes either mentoring or coaching junior or novice athletes. Judy notes that this idea of contributing to the larger community helps provide balance for athletes training at the elite level, while simultaneously creating a community by and for athletes of all ages.

“It’s an ongoing challenge,” she says. “These kids have to fly all over the world [to compete], and it’s not easy to be a team that way and be green. But we would, of course, rather try than not try at all.”

”These kids have to fly all over the world [to compete], and it’s not easy to be a team that way and be green. But we would, of course, rather try than not try at all.”

-Judy Geer

When Stephen Whelpley, former U.S. senior national team rower and Green Racing Project (GRP) alum returned to Craftsbury in 2017 to assume the role of head coach for the GRP rowing squad, he was already familiar with the green ways of life so central to the community. In addition to the benefits of sustainability at Craftsbury, Whelpley recalls the positive impact cross-training had on his career as a rower.

“When I joined GRP as an athlete back in 2012, I had never before cross-country skied,” he says. “That whole first year when you do it, you may be inefficient and have to augment what you do on skis with other indoor work on the erg or the bike, but by year two, it’s an invaluable cross-training tool.” 

Whelpley continues, explaining how Judy and Dick still today find new ways to harmonize their athletic initiatives with their vision to be as energy-efficient as possible across the center. Most recently, that has involved a snow-saving study in partnership with the University of Vermont, that tests and refines methods of storing snow over the summer months, with the goal of lengthening the Nordic ski season in late fall and early winter, while simultaneously reducing the energy costs and carbon emissions associated with snowmaking.

“We began almost sort of joking about it,” Judy chuckles, but Paul Bierman, who is a professor of geology at the University of Vermont and a Craftsbury member along with his kids, said, ‘We can do this, and I have a masters student named Hannah Weiss who would be a great asset to this project.’ From there, it all came together.” 

Judy explains that storing snow over the summer is both an art and a science, as it requires managing energy gains and losses to the snow pile, understanding which methods of insulation work best and are most sustainable over time, and of course, predicting melt rates that inform how much snow should be stored in order to net out to the desired amount. Right now, the center’s goal is to successfully store roughly 2,000 meter’s worth of snow to help lengthen the ski season, and act as a buffer for unexpected warm days or periods during the winter.

“Early races are something you stress about getting enough snow made for,” Judy says, “and the later races are challenging because you don’t want to make too much snow. This is where having that cushion would be a very nice thing.”

Judy notes that Craftsbury wanted to be in a position to host more racing, especially at the bookends of the season in November and March, and that snowmaking only works when temperatures drop below a certain threshold.

“Unfortunately, more recently, rising temperatures mean Craftsbury isn’t getting cold enough by the time we want to have snow,” she says. “And so what a lot of places in Scandinavia, and a few in Canada and southern Germany do, is save a huge pile of snow in the winter, and cover it with something during the warmer months … sawdust, wood chips, etc. What we’re looking at now is what’s going to be the best for us at Craftsbury. It’s science, combined with economics and environmental concerns, including the efficiency, the logistics and costs. It’s truly a multifaceted study.”

Part of what makes this project both challenging and interesting, is that the insulation methods that may work for one country or climate won’t necessarily work for another, since energy is transferred from the environment to the snow piles in different ways. Professor Bierman and Hannah Weiss, alongside Judy and Dick, must constantly consider the ways in which heat is conducted from the ground below to the base of the pile, since that variable directly affects the rate at which the protected snow will melt.

“They have fascinating monitoring equipment that can measure how fast the pile is shrinking,” Judy explains, “and temperature monitors that we put below the pile and then in the pile to help compare the different layers of insulating materials, in order to determine which are ultimately going to work best.”

Other variables the team must consider include the changing ground temperature during the warmer months, seasonal rain, and the increasing temperatures each year that warm the top of the insulating layer during the day, and in turn, melt the pile from the top down. The best conditions to store snow are of course cold, but also dry. If the air is dry, evaporative cooling from moist wood chips or sawdust will help remove energy from the stored pile of snow, rising out of the snow into the cool, dry air. 

An added bonus of snow storage for the center is that it allows the team to focus on making artificial snow only on the coldest nights mid-winter, when it is most efficient from a power and water perspective. Right now, Craftsbury has two experimental piles, but the plan is to refine the project for next year and in years to come based on this year’s findings.

“These are two experimental piles we knew weren’t going to be enough,” Judy explains, “but they should enable Hannah and Professor Bierman to create a model for how much snow we’ll need, based on how much snow they forecast we’ll lose. We’ll probably lose a good third of our snow, so that just means we have to save that much more,” she notes.

At the same time, Judy and team recognize that the journey is part of the process.

“We had some fun on the fourth of July,” she says, “and dug out a bit of snow for the local kids to sled on. It was a lot of fun.”

From a racing perspective, Whelpley notes that more and more important cross-country skiing competitions are being held at Craftsbury because of the center’s reliable snow, a reputation the study will only help uphold. He recalls his time as a GRP athlete and his role in helping make Craftsbury’s artificial snow making process as efficient as possible.

“One of the biggest byproducts of snow making is that the generator has to cook like crazy,” he says. “It pumps water from down below and helps run the process of pumping the water out and making it freeze, which, in turn, throws off a ton of heat. There was a neat, innovative project that preceded this process, where the team ran tubes underground and through ventilators into the shed where the generator lives, picking up the exhaust heat, and using it to heat a 50,000 gallon bladder, which I helped install as an GRP athlete.”

Whelpley explains that the bladder stays hot because it is insulated inside a cement box that functions as a heat reservoir, from which the center sources their domestic hot water for faucets, as well as for much of the radiant heating throughout the building, replacing the need for fossil fuels.

“We are very conscious that this thing we do to make our livelihood possible has byproducts,” he says, “and I think that’s an example of really interesting problem-solving. As a first step, we always look at what is already in place. In the case of the snow storing project, we looked at what was around us and recognized that if you have the snow, man-made or natural, why wouldn’t you try saving it?”

”We looked at what was around us and recognized that if you have the snow, man-made or natural, why wouldn’t you try saving it?”

-Stephen Whelpley

Olympic hopeful and Green Racing Project athlete Jennifer Forbes couldn’t agree more. When asked about the benefits of the snow storing study, and more generally, of having access to cross-country skiing trails and equipment as an elite rower, she is quick, like Whelpley, to acknowledge the ways in which Craftsbury’s variety of training options have helped her.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to cross-country ski because I felt like that would be an amazing way for me to get off the erg,” she says. “After my back surgery, I was able to come to Craftsbury and do something that developed my hip and lower body strength, while still getting a killer cardiovascular workout. And, of course, there is the added bonus of being outside in the winter. You still need to stay in touch with the erg, but a lot of my work I did outside once I got proficient at skiing. Mentally it was great, but physically my body felt more balanced.”

From a coaching perspective, Whelpley says this type of cross-training is equally as appealing.

“You don’t have to come in an already savvy skier. Cross-country skiing as a form of cross-training is something you see across a lot of the successful European rowing teams. Look at the Sinkovic brothers [of Croatia], they ski. The Norwegians obviously ski, the British team skis, it just keeps going on and on, and I think that is because it’s such a therapeutic way for your body to get aerobic volume done without it taking a toll. There are a lot of other perks like balance on the skis that can translate to balance in the boat, and of course, there is a rhythm play that happens, too.”

Whelpley explains that cross-country skiing taught him how to work and rest at the same time, a notion familiar to rowers who are constantly perfecting the inherent dichotomy between the drive and the recovery.

“When you’re gliding on the ski you can’t turn off completely and be a bowl of Jell-O,” he says. “You still have to find a way to move that ski forward and relax at the same time. Everything we do in rowing is partial extension of the hip joint, and whether you prefer classic or skate skiing, both are therapeutic and engage your glutes while extending the hips. The injuries that our sport are most prone to are connected to overuse, and the imbalances that are derived from it. I think this type of cross-training makes rowers better athletes in the long run,” he says. 

While the Craftsbury and larger skiing community will have to wait and see what findings this initial snow storing study will bring, there are a few things we know for sure. So long as athletes continue to train and live at the center, Craftsbury will continue to innovate. Forbes describes just a few of the reasons the center is so special to her, quick to cite Dick and Judy’s support first and foremost.

“Dick and Judy are incredibly generous and supportive, and not just physically by giving us the things that we need in order to successfully train, like boats and a place to live,” she says. “The food is amazing, the air is clean, the water is clear, and it’s simply this little piece of paradise. My soul is very happy being here, and I think a lot of people share that notion. It’s a nice place to live.”   

The post A Sustainable Pace appeared first on Rowing News.

The post Standing Shoves appeared first on Rowing News.

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

When many people hear the word “testing,” their heart rates jump. For some, it is playful excitement; for others, heavy stress. Increased heart rate is actually a positive thing, your body’s way of preparing for major effort that, along with an adrenaline rush, enables supreme performance.

Testing is one reason we train, because training leads to improved performance, and athletes should be eager for proof. We want to compare our current performance to that of other rowers or our own previous marks to chart progress. This can be measured in results relative to opponents at regattas and seat races, or in absolute numbers, such as weights lifted, erg scores, or times on the water. If training is planned properly and athletes have worked well over a sustained period, they can be confident their performance has improved, and that it will  show in measurable ways.

Without goals, training is difficult and often boring.  Therefore, every athlete should look forward to the next test. This, of course, is not always the case. Tests can be overwhelming, if repeated too often. I explained this to my athletes by using as an example a cake that you eat piece by piece.

The volume and intensity of your training determine how big your cake is. With every test or race, you slice off a piece, which makes it smaller. The more pieces you cut off, and the bigger they are as a result of the size of the challenge, the faster the cake disappears. Unless you have sufficient time to replenish the cake by training between tests, your cake eventually will vanish, and you won’t be able to perform.

This is why preparing for a test is so important. The better prepared you are, the more you’ll be able to take on more tests and bigger challenges. You know what you have done. You have experienced fatigue, difficult situations, and high effort. Consequently, a test becomes a smaller hurdle, one you can approach with confidence.

Your expectations, of course, have a major impact on how you perform in a test. If your expectations are low, you may not be disappointed but you’ll never reach your full potential, and other athletes will surpass you. If your expectations are too high, you are likely to fail and get frustrated. It is much better to set challenging but realistic expectations based on previous results and an objective evaluation of your training.

Another strategy is to break down the test into pieces or subordinate goals so you can experience a sense of accomplishment along the way that will motivate you, and success will not depend only on the final outcome.

Athletes tend to like certain tests more than others.  You can hear statements such as: “I simply cannot really perform well in this test, but I am so much better at the other test.” or “Today is not my day.” or “Why do we have to do this test?” Such pronouncements foster a negative attitude, and do not reflect the confidence that should accrue from how an athlete performed in training. They speak rather of a lack of preparation and/or improper expectations, and often they are built on misconceptions. For example, we all know that “ergometers do not float,” but we also know that ergometer results correlate highly with on-water race results and that a certain raw power is necessary to reach a particular boat speed.

Of course, positive experiences in tests are based on objective test designs. Testing athletes in dissimilar conditions, not providing the same information to all athletes, or holding back or falsifying information–all these create unfair conditions for participants that can lead to frustration and loss of respect. Athletes, coaches and officials must prepare properly for testing and handling the situation in a fair and competitive manner. Under proper conditions, athletes will thrive and enjoy racing to the best of their ability.

The post Optimizing Rowing Through Testing appeared first on Rowing News.

BY RICH DAVIS
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Full disclosure: I slouch. But I am not alone.

Many of the masters I have coached over the years slouch too. This is not a strong position for rowing.

Instead, aim to sit up straight with your head over your shoulders and hips and your eyes on the horizon. This is not only a biomechanically better way to approach the stroke, it also puts you in a better position to ensure you are using your full lung capacity.

Poor posture is a source of not only back pain, but also muscle fatigue, breathing limitations, and arthritic joints. When our bodies are out of line our muscles have to work harder.

Prolonged slouching begets more slouching, with tightening tendons and muscles contributing to a default slouch position. Keeping your head up will help you keep your back straight.

On the recovery, try swinging a straight back from the hips to achieve proper forward body angle. Take time on the release to catch your breath and make sure your shoulders are relaxed, but not rounded. 

The post No Slouch appeared first on Rowing News.

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Read about the core and you’ll discover:

1. There’s no consensus about how to define it;
2.  There’s no settled understanding of how it works;
3.  There are widely divergent views about how best to develop and maintain core strength.

Core refers to the portion of the body between the diaphragm and the muscles of the pelvic floor and it includes the spine; the abdominal muscles, tendons, and ligaments; and the stomach, intestines, and other internal organs. The mid-part of the body plays an essential role in generating functional movement. The core stabilizes the chest and pelvis, and well-developed core muscles help prevent injury. In addition, the core is vital to your ability to sense movement and your body’s location in space (proprioception), which is essential for balance.

Because of the core’s importance, be careful when transitioning from ergometer training to on-water rowing. Rowing on the water employs muscles and nerves that are not exercised optimally on a rowing machine. The fact that we get exhausted so quickly when we return to water rowing is proof that our bodies are being taxed in different ways.

On the erg, you don’t engage your transverse abdominis muscles, and your proprioceptive system is in sleep mode. Unstable sliding seats or thick seat pads fail to imitate adequately the sensation of a rocking boat and the movement of crewmates. Worse, an unstable seat can lead to a laterally tilted pelvis during the rowing motion, which can cause injury. A boat that rolls to one side will breed problems with bladework, but an athlete on an indoor rowing machine can ride on a tilted seat easily. On the water, rowers need to right the rolled boat immediately, and as the blades touch the surface, the entire crew participates in making the boat level.

Here’s my advice: Don’t start with an intense 20K the first time you’re on the water, no matter how inviting the weather. Instead, start easy. Row a few hundred meters, stop, do some balance exercises, then keep rowing lightly for another kilometer or so, and repeat for 45 minutes. Increase the length and intensity of your rows slowly so your core can adapt to the exertion.

Of course, you should supplement your on-water training with core exercises on land. The aim is not a six-pack, which is more cosmetic than functional and a poor indicator of a strong core. Heavyweight weightlifters need a mighty core to handle the staggering loads they lift, but their abdomens hardly resemble the washboards of fitness-mag cover models. Your core is used and conditioned every time you take a step or a stroke, but to prepare it for peak performance and the strain of high-level competition requires deliberate, targeted exercise.

The post Core Principles appeared first on Rowing News.

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

When I first began studying the specifics of training older people, I didn’t feel like I belonged to that group yet. I was in my 30s and participating in masters races seemed still far away for me despite the fact that I was already fitting into the first masters age categories. Although the days of elite training were behind me, I still considered myself a competitive rower. I continued enjoying myself as I trained regularly and purposefully. Having been fortunate enough to be involved with high-performance athletes as a researcher and coach, I was always in an environment that gave me access to excellent training facilities, and my interest in rowing- equipment development put me in touch with the latest rowing and boating innovations, so it was easy to keep my “toys” up to date.

The main motivation for continuing to train regularly has been fitness and health. I have tried always to maintain a level of athleticism that enables me to row on exciting crews, experience good boat speeds, and even compete.  I have learned that I don’t like touring rowing, poorly maintained and rigged equipment, or just drifting around on the water with no destination. I realize that many other rowers love touring rowing or don’t mind getting on the water with “normal” equipment to just enjoy the elements.

Masters rowing is not a “one size fits all” activity. We have to choose the options that are ideal for us individually. Of course, certain compromises must be made in order to come together as a crew or training group in a club, but this can be done in such a way that everyone gains satisfaction, confidence, and enjoyment. The goal of the rowing outing must be clear and shared by all. For a touring rowing group, the goal may be to navigate a particular current on the river, to be able to manage refreshments and snacks during a two-hour rowing trip, or to be able to row very steadily and effortlessly together. The goals of the training rowers may be to balance the boat better, achieve a certain stroke rate for a certain number of strokes, or maintain a certain speed for a few five-minute pieces. As long as everyone is making an effort toward the agreed-upon goals, and areas of progress can be identified, positive feedback will ensue, leading to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

All of this is easier said than done, but we need to begin working toward these goals. It takes communication and preparation to get things off the ground. Sometimes it even means re-evaluating goals, especially in light of getting older. There’s no getting around the fact that some biological abilities decline with age. But that makes it all the more important to keep realizing positive accomplishments. It may well be that outings need to be shortened, that more time is needed for recovery, or that splits on the ergometer become slower, even though training is maintained. Along the way, there are always many positive achievements that can and should be celebrated.

My friend Wolfgang Fritsch and I used the term “successful aging” in our book, Masters Rowing, and by this we mean the ability to achieve an overall positive balance sheet with increasing age. Practicing our sport in a healthy way, as either a recreational or competitive rower, enables us to maximize developmental gains while minimizing losses. In fact, rowing is one of the few sports that allows us to enjoy far-reaching exercise benefits even in old age. It is a low-impact weight-bearing activity that builds strength and endurance and fosters balance, agility, and coordination—all at once.

The post Evening Strokes appeared first on Rowing News.

BY ANDY ANDERSON
PHOTO BY LUKE REYNOLDS

The year 2021 ended with an email from an old friend who coached with me at Trinity College:

Dear Doc,

Thought you’d be amused to hear that I’m soon to return to the coaching life—after a 40+ year layoff—at a local Catholic girls high school. Just a few miles from my house—85 percent minority students and the only girls crew in the area. Not sorted whether I’ll be coaching JV crew or novices, but think I might prefer the former. Was telling the athletic director and the head coach that the only aspect (despite the layoff) I feel a bit unprepared for would be coaching novice coxes. In any case, I’d like your thoughts on best coaching practices nowadays, good YouTube sources, etc. This is a pretty new program and operates only January through May as they have insufficient funding for a full academic year.

With USRowing’s focus on reaching out to underserved rowers, I wonder if you have thoughts about potential funding sources. A very little money could have significant impact. For some of the families, even coming up with the $350 fee is pretty tough. In any case, if you have a few minutes later this week for a phone/Zoom call, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Dear Old Friend,

As I told you last night in our Zoom, which included another college friend who is coaching in a young program near me in Massachusetts, I’m delighted to hear that you are getting back to coaching and giving back to the rowing world, from which we have all benefitted. I think that you’ll find it to be a lot of fun. Coaching coxswains is always a challenge, but jump right in. They are essential, no matter what you old-school oarsmen think. (Doctor Rowing was a coxswain and took a lot of guff. All ’swains do.)

The first thing coxswains need to know is that the safety of their crew and their equipment is paramount. It is exactly the same as driving a car. That means learning the traffic pattern of your river and knowing when to start and stop rowing. I always tell my coxswains that of the many responsibilities that the position entails, the only one that cannot be performed by anyone else is steering. A rower could give commands, could call 10s, but no one else can steer. So that should always be their priority, especially at the beginning. 

Here we got into a discussion: “I hate that all the fours nowadays are bow-coxed so that the coxswains can’t do any coaching,” said my friend. “How can they coach the boat on timing or bladework?” 

I heartily disagreed. It takes a lot of experience for a coxswain to be able to provide valuable coaching. In the early stages of their careers, coxswains should work on steering and boat management. Let the coach do the coaching. There’s so much they need to master—starting pieces even with other boats and at the same time. They need to make sure that the shell is always pointed correctly down the river. They need to learn the commands and give them at the right time and with an authoritative voice. And it is crucial for coxswains to be able to see where they’re going, hence the bow cox. For high-school rowing, give me safety and not hitting things any time.

Teach your coxswains, not by giving them something to read or a video to watch, but by spending time with them. The first day, tell them to stand right next to you, as you give all the commands while they listen and watch. “Hands on. Lift it out of the rack. To the shoulders, ready, up. Walk it out.” Etc. Give the commands on the dock, putting the boat into the water, getting into the boat. On the second day, tell them, “I will say the commands quietly, and you will repeat them.” Inevitably, they will either scream them out, or more likely they will repeat them in a conversational manner. “These are commands, Roger. Make them sound commanding.” Demonstrate. On the third day, ask the coxes if they are ready to do the whole thing themselves. Maybe they will ask for another day before they are ready. That’s OK. You want them to be assured so the crew will have confidence in them.

At the beginning, if you are rowing with either a pair or a four, they will complain that the boat doesn’t steer. That’s true; it doesn’t steer well with so little momentum, especially if the rowers aren’t putting much power on it. The tiller is useful only if the boat has some movement. If they can’t keep it from going to starboard with the rudder, starboard needs to put more pressure on.

An incredibly valuable video is the USRowing safety video on its website. It shows coxswains and rowers what could go wrong. They will tremble and laugh at the Ejector Crab sequence, but it is vital that they know what to do in case of mishap. NEVER SWIM AWAY FROM THE BOAT should be repeated over and over. I begin every new season showing this to everyone. There are a lot of good videos of drills on YouTube. Search out the ones you deem appropriate for the right time of your season.

Here’s an important thing: Never let go of your oar. Your oar is your friend; you need it to balance the boat; you need it to row the boat. Only bad things happen if you let go of it.

There is information out there about funding and inclusion, too. It’s a vital part of the sport. Confer with other coaches in your area. I will come back to this in another column, but as you note, it is a priority for USRowing.

My final words are: “Make it fun.” It’s awesome to be in a shell that begins to move. Introduce pulling hard as soon as you can. That’s when you begin to see those little smiles cross their faces. “Wow!”

The post Getting Started With Coxswains appeared first on Rowing News.

BY MARGOT ZALKIND
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

The enthusiastic young coach had a boathouse full of novice junior scullers, all eager to go out on the water. She accommodated, placed them in singles and doubles, and then went back to get her launch on the water. By the time she came close to where they had strayed, they were like chickens let loose—all over the water, perilously close to the hazards, the shore, and sometimes even each other. 

Could she oversee all of them? No. Was this safe? No. Crew parents went into a frenzy. So what is the recommended safety guideline for coach-to-athlete ratio? This is a question we are often asked. The answer is, “It depends.”

There are so many factors to consider. How experienced are the rowers? How experienced is the coach? The coxswains? How many singles and how many sweep boats? What is the situation? The weather? And of course, making sure that everyone has passed the monitored swim test. 

Scenario one: You have two experienced eights rowing on a calm body of water 2,500 meters long and 10 racing lanes wide. This can be a very safe situation, and one coach for the two boats could be considered a good ratio.

Scenario two: Now take the example of 18 novice singles out on a rain-swollen river that has debris and barge traffic. A safe coach-to-athlete ratio here might be one coach to two athletes. (Or, better, take out quads that day. Or don’t launch.)

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer because every time a crew heads out on the water, it’s a judgment call.

Questions that need to be answered before the athlete’s launch:

· How experienced is the coach? (and are you/they well-versed in rescue?)

· How experienced are the rowers?

· If there are coxswains, how experienced are they?

· What are the hazards on the body of water and what are the conditions on the water (and what will they be for the next two hours)? Are hazards well marked? 

· Are the athletes familiar with the body of water or are you a visiting team on an unfamiliar body of water?

· How many athletes will safely fit in your launch? (Look at the information plate on the hull, or if a wakeless launch, ask the manufacturer.) And make sure you have enough PFDs for every rower you are in charge of. 

· Has the coach been trained in how to approach a boat safely and how to rescue rowers? 

How fast can you get a boatload of athletes to safety if the need arises? (And are you carrying all rescue equipment and a communication device?)

To make sure  the coach is not overextended on the water, here is some basic advice:

Before the season, establish guidelines for the program using the questions above and other issues at your venue that need to be taken into account.

· Do not take out more athletes than the coach can keep an eye on.

· Design practice so that boats stay together for easier monitoring.

· Have enough PFDs in your coaching launch for every rower under your supervision. And wear one yourself. 

Every program needs to develop and follow guidelines that makes sense for them, for their waterway, and their athletes’ expertise.

Margot Zalkind and the Foundation for Rowing Education (Mark Wilson, Jim Dietz, Jeff Freidrichs) The Foundation for Rowing Education is a nonprofit that creates and shares information about boating safety, coaching the coxswain, coxing, trailer driving, and launch driving.  Visit www.RowingEducation.org or info@RowingEducation.org.

The post How Many are Too Many? appeared first on Rowing News.

BY BILL MANNING
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

The old saying about the only stupid question being the one you don’t ask? That applies when speaking with college coaches, too. That’s because the questions you ask speak volumes about you. Good questions are the ones that deal with your specific concerns, communicate your sincere interest in the team, and that are best addressed by a coach. There are, however, times when your questions don’t help your case. Unhelpful questions are the ones that demonstrate a lack of interest or curiosity on your part, like asking for information you can readily find on the program website. 

A lot of the time, the student-athletes on the team you are considering will be better position to field your questions than the coaches. They’re more likely to tell it like it is, while the coach will be motivated to paint the program in the best light. 

It’s also important to show some humility. Most college coaches are turned off when a 17-year-old asks, “What’s your coaching philosophy?” Since you’re not interviewing the coach for a job and you likely don’t have a finely tuned rowing philosophy of your own, stick to the basics and use your powers of observation to see what the coach believes.

College coaches want prospects taking initiative and leading their own college search. That means prospects, and not parents, are the ones who should be communicating with the coach. Parents do have an important role in the process, though, especially when the conversation turns to financial matters.

Prospective student-athletes are frequently interested in how a school handles recruiting. Often, they want to know if they can get a scholarship or if a coach can support their application with admissions colleagues. These are all good questions. But they need to show the coach why they deserve a scholarship or their support before asking whether or not they’ll get it. 

The post The Art of the Ask appeared first on Rowing News.

BY JOSH CROSBY
PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

Lying on a patch of grass outside the St. Paul’s School boathouse, we took a few deep breaths before coach Chip Morgan began our first-ever pre-race visualization session. I don’t remember his exact words, but I do remember how he talked us through the following day’s race, start to finish, in specific detail. He had us see in our minds a strong and speedy start, a smooth settle to our race pace, perfect oar placement on entry and exit, and a powerful, race-winning sprint to the finish. 

More importantly, he had us visualize the not-so-perfect aspects of the race too—obstacles and distractions that we were likely to encounter. Coach Morgan took it a step further still. We also visualized our personal fears on race day. My nightmare? That my forearms would lock up; I wouldn’t be able to hold onto the oar and that would be the sole reason we would lose. My coach had me see the point in the race where I may notice my forearms starting to tense. He taught me that my response would be to focus on a firm, but relaxed, grip on the oar. When my forearms actually tensed up at the 1,200-meter mark in the race the next day, I was ready for it. My forearms stayed strong and we won.

The below erg workout will help you work on both your fitness and visualization skills. 

The Workout:

Warm-Up: 1,500 meters Picture your favorite place to row. Bring in the colors and the details of the surroundings. Imagine yourself pushing off the dock into choppy water. Stay calm, get moving, and focus on technique.

Row 1,000 meters easy at 22-24 strokes per minute, and then the last 500 meters at medium intensity at a 24-26. 

Wave 1: 2,000 meters You’re in a single with just a ripple on the water. A single sculler is paddling alongside you. Not just any sculler—the most competitive person you know.

1,000 meters easy intensity at a 24 focusing on technique. Imagine a bobble or two that you fix right away.

750 meters medium intensity at a 26. The other single is moving on you. Go with her. 

250 meters hard intensity at a 28-30. Make your move here. See her fade off of your stern deck. 

Wave 2: 1,2500 meters Imagine you’re in a coxed four with some of your favorite rowing friends when another four rows up on you. They want to spar. Game on!

250 meters easy at a 22-24. The crew is alongside you now, close enough that you can hear them breathing.

4 x 250 meters hard at a 24, 26, 28, and 30. Visualize losing the first one and the specifics you need to do to change that outcome. See yourself winning the next three.  

Wave 3: 1,000 meters Take it back to the boathouse as the sun sets. See the colors on the water and notice your blade washing out a bit. Then see your blade entering and exiting with perfection. 

500 meters medium at a 24-26

500 meters easy at a 22-24.

The post Picture This appeared first on Rowing News.

PROVIDED BY WORLD ROWING
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

A delegation of World Rowing representatives was in Southern California last week to visit the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games headquarters. They discussed, amongst other topics, the collaboration between LA28, World Rowing and US Rowing in the years leading to the Games.

World Rowing was represented by Jean-Christophe Rolland and Tricia Smith, President and Vice-President respectively, and its Executive Director, Vincent Gaillard. They were accompanied by Nobuhisa Ishizuka, Chair of the US Rowing Board.

They attended a series of meetings with key members of the Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee, including Casey Wasserman (Chairperson), Janet Evans (Chief Athlete Officer), Kathy Carter (Chief Executive Officer), John Harper (Chief Operating Officer), Doug Arnot (Consultant, Games Delivery) and Niccolo Campriani (Sports Director). They also met Gene Sykes, Chairperson of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Prior to these meetings, the delegation had the opportunity to visit the proposed venue for Classic rowing, the Long Beach Marine Stadium, previously used for the 1932 Olympic Games and located at the heart of the city of Long Beach. The maximum possible length for racing in Long Beach is 1500m, marking an exception that World Rowing accepted to make to showcase the sport at the heart of the Games.

In the context of the proposal made to the International Olympic Committee to include Beach Sprint Rowing at the 2028 Olympic Games – on the back of its confirmed inclusion at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, and the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia – the delegation also presented how this discipline would uniquely add value to the LA28 Games, targeting a full venue share with other inshore events in the Olympic program to ensure a financially sustainable approach. A decision regarding the inclusion of Beach Sprint Rowing is expected by the IOC before the summer.

“It was a very fruitful visit, which will contribute to strengthen our partnership with Los Angeles 2028 for years to come, said World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland. We are looking forward to actively supporting their ambition to, once more, make Olympic and Paralympic history in Los Angeles, including, we hope, through the inclusion of an exciting new form of rowing that will fully embrace the LA spirit and beach culture”.

The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30 2028, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 15 to 27 2028.

The post World Rowing Delegation Makes Visit to the Los Angeles 2028 Headquarters and Proposed Rowing Venue appeared first on Rowing News.

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

Many associate the term “slip” with the blade moving backward against the direction of travel. This comes from the perception that the blade is placed in the water and pushed backward through it. The more the blade moved backward, or slipped, the thinking went, the worse it would be for speed generated by the drive.

If only the blade just moved backward. In reality, after it touches the water it moves at first forward, in the direction of travel, and outward away from the boat. This lasts for one third of the drive before the blade then moves first backward-outward, then backward, and then backward-inward. Though perhaps not intuitive, this movement is well-documented and accepted as scientific fact. So does the blade actually need to move at all in the water?

The answer is yes; it has to in order to produce force, which is connected with the magnitude of the speed of the blade in the water. It can also generate lift force depending on how the water flows relative to the blade.

The trick is to place the blade properly in the water and then produce just the right amount of rotation with our pull on the handle, which requires covering the blade quickly to take advantage of its big surface area and accelerating the rotation delicately to get the most out of the lift.

The post Give Them the Slip appeared first on Rowing News.

BY VOLKER NOLTE
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

In one of my first identification camps for the German junior national team many years back, I had the privilege of meeting the legendary Karl Adam, one of the most influential and successful rowing coaches ever and a true visionary.

I remember well what he said to us: “Technique brings centimeters, fitness meters.”

For Adam, this meant that while he would still focus on technique, he didn’t worry overly about the small details. He based his regime primarily on physical development, bringing interval training to rowing, putting his athletes in small boats, and spending considerable time on strength and cross-training.

The same philosophy holds true for masters athletes. But after diving into serious training, many older rowers soon realize they are limited by their inability to recuperate quickly.

Instead of growing discouraged, however, we should remember that there are many centimeters to be gained through technique training. The challenge is to make this training meaningful. Instead of resorting to the same old drills, try new ones or play games on the water.

It’s also important to keep an older body agile and pliable. Perform a mix of balance exercises and extreme variations in stroke rate and stroke length. This reprieve from intense training will allow you to find centimeters—and, eventually, meters when you can again give it your all in your next physical session.

The post Getting Technical appeared first on Rowing News.

BY RICH DAVIS
PHOTO BY ED MORAN

One of my greatest worries as a coach was that my rowers would lose their ratio during the throes of battle. The ratio naturally changes as the rates increase, but it’s still important to maintain it, even if the difference between the drive and recovery is reduced at full speed. In a low-rate endurance workout, for example, the ratio between the drive and the recovery may be as much as three to one. At race pace or higher, it may come closer to one to one. But it’s still important to be aware of it. There are several other cues you can focus on. Pay close attention to what proper timing feels like. Try to feel when the backs of your calves touch the ends of the slides, which indicates whether or not you are driving evenly. Keeping the head up on a level plane will help increase awareness of lunging at the catch. By focusing on the horizon you will also be increasingly aware if you are moving horizontally or if there is excessive vertical motion. Paying attention to the oarlocks on your side and on the seat of the rower in front of you are useful tricks to focus on timing. But the most important cue, the one that trumps all others, is whether or not you are in front of your competition during a race. 

The post Got Rhythm? appeared first on Rowing News.

PROVIDED BY USROWING
PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

Racing concluded with finals in the men’s and women’s single sculls, lightweight single sculls, and pairs Sunday morning at USRowing’s 2023 Winter Speed Order at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.

The closest race of the day came in the lightweight men’s single, where the top four finishers crossed the line within 1.07 seconds of each other. Texas Rowing Center’s Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania) edged out teammate Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia) by 0.09 seconds to take the victory in a 6:59.58. Heese crossed in a 6:59.67. The two rowed together in the lightweight men’s double sculls at last year’s world championships.

“I knew today was going to be really competitive, expecting to have six boats across at the halfway (point) and see who was tougher in the second half and who had the most juice left,” Liu said. “I found myself down in about fifth at halfway and had to fight for it.”

New York Athletic Club’s Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University), the 2019 Word Rowing Under 23 Championships’ gold medalist in the lightweight single, finished third, crossing in a 7:00.23, while Penn AC’s Jamie Copus (Oxford, England/Oxford Brookes University), a multiple time British National Team member who is hoping to make the U.S. team in 2023, finished fourth in a 7:01.05.

“The goal is the lightweight double and trying to qualify that at worlds this year,” Liu said. “Today was a really good sign for U.S. lightweight men’s rowing – having four boats that close and pulling fast percentages. I think we are going to have a really competitive selection process for the first time in a while. There’s a saying that you can’t make a fast double with two fast people. You need three or four fast guys to make a fast double, so it’s really good to have and it’s going to push us the rest of the year.”

In the lightweight women’s single sculls, USRowing Training Center – Princeton’s Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa) took the victory over her doubles partner, Sarasota Crew’s Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College), by 2.61 seconds. Sechser clocked a 7:30.69 to win the race, with Reckford finishing with a time of 7:33.30. The duo has raced the lightweight double sculls the last two seasons, winning a silver medal at the 2022 World Rowing Championships and finishing fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“Today’s race was fantastic. It was really nice to show up at the racecourse and have beautiful glass water conditions after the team here endured a couple of days of wavy, challenging conditions,” Sechser said. “It was so awesome to be in this final with doubles partner Molly Reckford and Mary Jones – two incredibly fast, strong, veteran rowers – and just getting to line up with the best in the country is always a great day.

Whitemarsh Boat Club’s Audrey Boersen (West Olive, Mich./Grand Valley State University) finished third in a 7:36.75, with Cambridge Boat Club’s Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee) taking fourth.

“It was a really fun week,” Sechser said. “(USRowing Chief High Performance Officer) Josy (Verdonkschot) has this fantastic new plan in place. The team was able to come together. We did three weeks of erging up in Colorado Springs and came here and did two weeks of training as a group, so to finish this really nice block with three opportunities to go out and lay it all down on the line is as good as you can ask for.”

Texas Rowing Center’s Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin) finished 2.67 seconds ahead of ARION’s Lauren O’Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin) to win the final of the women’s single sculls. Vitas clocked a 7:27.71 to O’Connor’s 7:29.88. TRC teammate Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley) finished third in a 7:31.55, with Cambridge Boat Club’s Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University) taking fourth in a 7:36.19. Vitas raced in the women’s double sculls at last year’s world championships, while Kohler raced the women’s single and Kallfelz raced in the women’s quad. O’Connor is seeking her first national team berth this season after finishing second to Kohler in the single at the 2022 Senior National Team Trials.

“It was a lot of fun,” Vitas said. “There were fast conditions. After having to deal with the wind (earlier this weekend), it was nice to have some flat water to work with. Each race was a little bit different. I learned a little bit more each time I went down the course. It was fun to compete against all of the fast women from around (the country).”

In the men’s single sculls, California Rowing Club’s Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University) continued his strong showing in Sarasota by winning the final by five seconds over CRC teammate Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington). Koszyk, who raced the double sculls at last year’s world championships, finished with a time of 6:49.29, with Davison crossing in a 6:54.29. Davison raced the single at last year’s worlds, finishing eighth. Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University) took third in a 6:48.76, with CRC’s Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University) finishing fourth in a 7:00.59.

“Today, I was just trying to do my own thing, get into a rhythm, and just put down a good piece,” Koszyk said. “I thought this week was pretty good. I went through each race just trying to put down a solid piece and peak for the final. We’ll just go back to Oakland and just keep training with the guys and see what’s fast.”

USRowing Training Center – Princeton’s Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University) and Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington) won the final of the women’s pair, finishing 1.52 seconds ahead of USTC-Princeton teammates Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University) and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame). Buck and Thoennes, who were part of the women’s eight at both last year’s world championships and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, crossed the finish line in a 7:06.59.

“It was super fun,” Buck said. “Jess is one of my favorite people to race with. We’ve done a lot of pair racing together, and we learned a little bit from each race this week. We knew since the conditions were going to be better today, that was going to favor our fitness. So, we just wanted to go out there and see what we could do.”

Reelick and Bruggeman, who also were part of last year’s eight, crossed in a 7:08.11, with USTC-Princeton’s Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University) and Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/University of Washington) finishing less than a second back in a 7:08.84. The CRC/CBC composite crew of Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University) finished fourth in a 7:09.32. Collins won a bronze medal in the event at last year’s world championships (also racing in the eight), while Cohen raced in the women’s four. Musnicki is a three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medalist who is returning to competition after taking last year off, while Rusher was a Tokyo 2020 Olympian.

“We always want to learn something from each race, and we’re still getting better at racing the pair,” Buck said. “So, to take from each race, get a little better, and check a lot of the boxes that were on our list of things we wanted to achieve felt really gratifying.”

In the men’s pair, CRC’s Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University) and Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University) finished 2.4 seconds ahead of teammates Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University) and Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University) to win the final in a 6:24.31. Mead and Best finished in a 6:26.71. Grady raced the pair with Best at last year’s world championships, while Corrigan raced in the men’s eight and Mead raced in the men’s four.

“We had a good start, pretty fast through the 500 (meter mark),” said Corrigan. “I think we were just very internal and found a good rhythm. We had about a length most of the race. It felt good.”

CRC’s Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College) and William Bender (Norwich, Vt./Dartmouth College) finished third in a 6:28.80, with CRC’s Andrew Gaard (Madison, Wis./University of Washington) and Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University) taking fourth in a 6:29.01.

“It was good,” Grady said about this week’s racing. “It was kind of a short prep for a regatta like this – three weeks to hop in a lineup after the altitude camp. It was nice to build off each piece and think of how we can fine tune small critiques from race-to-race. Our focus was no big changes, just small changes.”

Click for full results.

This week’s speed order not only served as an opportunity for rowers to test their speed ahead of next month’s National Selection Regatta but also gave them a chance to earn automatic invitations to the first Olympic Events Selection Camp scheduled for April 30-May 21 in Chula Vista, Calif. The top three finishers in the men’s and women’s single sculls and pairs received invitations to the first selection camp, while the top two finishers in the men’s and women’s lightweight single sculls earned automatic invites.

The first selection camp, in addition to the National Selection Regatta, will determine the athletes who will make up the boats that will race at the 2023 World Cup II this June in Varese, Italy. Select athletes also will be provisionally named to the 2023 Senior National Team, although boats will not be finalized until the conclusion of the second selection camp.

The 2023 World Rowing Championships will take place September 3-10 in Belgrade, Serbia.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center.

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