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Monday 29th June 2009
Mystic Henley players, don't forget to update your picks if you chose crews who didn't quailfy last Friday. And for those who haven't yet had a go, you have until Thursday 3rd July 10pm BST (= GMT+1) to choose who you think is going to win each event at Henley Royal Regatta. Any number of changes can be made before this deadline, and the current choices of each player are visible, for those who want a bit of help working out which crews are quick.
The Wednesday timetable for Henley Royal Regatta (UK) is out, now confirmed. Further timetables of racing will be published each night from Wednesday onwards, usually at about 8pm-8:30pm.
Results from the Holland Beker regatta (Netherlands) are out - Drysdale and Knapkova won the men's and women's singles.
This year Henley Royal Regatta is running alternative results services (UK). These include SMS texts, either to follow specific crews, or to get all the finals results on Sunday. The charge is £3 plus network charges, a flat fee to subscribe to the service, ie after subscription you get your chosen crew's results for nothing right through the regatta. An international number has also been set up, for those who want to receive the SMS results while outside the UK. Details on the link above.
LATE UPDATE - Regatta Radio 87.7 FM (UK) has now got its streaming working, so it can be heard online through the link above (click on 'Listen Live' button).
Henley Royal Regatta qualifiers later today (from 4pm, UK) - the results are typically put out both at the course and online in groups as they finish checking them, while the rest of the races are running.
Those taking part in qualifying at HRR shouldn't be surprised to see a trio of Olympic medallists at the start - Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent and Katherine Grainger are amongst the Stewards marshalling crews for the qualifying races. Just make sure you do what they say....
The London Youth Games (UK) has been including rowing (actually sculling) - see here for the overall results, but no sign of the detailed results yet on the official site. However, fortunately the London Youth Rowing blog has the regatta results race by race (about halfway down page).
Oxford City Royal Regatta (UK) has a new website at www.oxfordcityroyalregatta.co.uk. The regatta is offering a set of sculling blades to the winner of the Junior Victor Ludorum.
The FISA quick-quote interviews which were taken by Sofia Hasou as short video clips last weekend are available here on YouTube, and also via the Kopilasia Blogspot (Greece, plays all the clips in order if you leave it running.)
The Scottish Rowing webmaster (UK) is off on her honeymoon (congratulations!) so won't be making updates until halfway through July. If Scottish clubs etc want anything publicised, they are welcome to send it here instead.
FISA's athlete of the month for June is Camilla Vargas (El Salvador) - updated late June.
The JustGiving saga continues - most of the pages are still available in the old pre-upgrade format via the secure server, so you can see Sarah Winckless and Victoria Wood's original page here, showing most recent donations. However, JustGiving warn that donations made on these versions of the pages are not likely to work, so you are advised to give by phone at the moment until the real page is working properly. There is a number on this main link for a contact who will take phone donations. including Gift Aid.
The Regatta Radio 87.7 FM photo gallery has pictures of the Hoff rowing at UTRC (UK). Yes, really. And an interview with Antonia van Deventer about coxing the Hoff in his first attempt at fine-shell rowing, which segues into an interview with the Hoff himself about rowing (MP3). The RR home page has several interviews up as podcasts while they're waiting to get the streaming going (blame BT).
As well as the FISA coverage (see yesterday) the BBC coverage of the Munich World Cup, with Garry Herbert and Dan Topolski commentating, can be seen on the BBC iPlayer for those inside the UK, until early on Monday 29th June.
More photos from the Scottish Championships (UK) from Snapper Ron.
Photos from Henley Women's Regatta from BigBlade and Wokingham Photographic (the latter with a searchable database of the photographs.
Wednesday 24th June 2009
Regatta Radio 87.7 FM (UK) should start broadcasting today, from their portacabin beside Lion Meadow, and covering the whole of the Royal Regatta. Should have started at 10am local time (BST = GMT+1) but there have been problems with BT not putting the streaming line in. Regatta Radio is available within about a 6-mile radius of the Regatta, and online at the website link above once the streaming is activated.
The fireworks on Saturday of Henley Royal Regatta (UK) are going to happen after all, sponsored by local businesses. They will start at 10pm on Saturday 4th July, and be set off from Sham Hill, which should make them visible in most of Henley and from the riverbank. See the news article (Henley Standard) and the official Fireworks website.
A reminder that the video action from Munich (and indeed Banyoles) World Cups is available on the FISA website. For those outside Europe it's via Universal Sports (requires Adobe Flash 10), see the Schedules > Rowing if you want the full list of what's available. For those within Europe, see World Rowing live, the same stream on a different server.
An update from Sarah Winckless and Victoria Wood (UK) on their Huntington's campaign. I've just had a message from Victoria this morning, explaining that the upgrade of the JustGiving website during the weekend of Henley Women's Regatta rather knocked their efforts on the head. Unfortunately the 'upgrade', which was done without warning to fundraisers, is still very unstable, so they know there are a lot of people who have not been able to donate, and giving on their page dropped from several thousand a day to an average of £150 a day during the regatta. Victoria can't even update the page today to reflect the latest situation. As a result, they are extending the campaign for another week to give people longer to try and get a donation through. If you have been unsuccessful, they say please have the patience to try again as everything is very much appreciated. Prizes - they would also like to announce the winners of the 'top donor' prize and the randomly selected donor prize. The top donor was Di Ellis, who has kindly refused to take the prize (a piece of pristine Olympic kit), which will go instead to Mrs 'Mo' Thomson, as the next in line. The randomly selected donor is Mr B Shelton, who will receive a limited edition Rock The Boat print of the Henley reach. Thanks to everyone who donated.
A reminder that Mystic Henley is open, if you want to try and win a luxury hamper by choosing the most number of winners next week at HRR. Open to all (any country), you don't necessarily have to be a rowing expert since the website includes charts showing you which are the most popular picks, so you can use other entrants' guesses to help you choose. Plus, you can change your choices any time up until 10pm on Thursday 2nd July, so that if your early choices are beaten or don't look fast enough, you can swap them for better crews. Supported by Regatta Radio, which starts broadcasting on Wednesday 24th June.
New gadget - the OarRater, an inexpensive hand-held rowing stopwatch and ratewatch, with an alarm function. It is designed to use an algorithm which reduces human input inaccuracies, apparently.
Peter Williams, who founded World Ocean Rowing, will be at HRR on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this year. Anyone who wants to meet him to discuss this winter's expedition from the Canaries to Barbados (two places left in the 6-person crew), should email him beforehand, call him on +353868683860, or call Matt on +447843628739.
Burton Regatta & Sprint (UK) are open on OARA. See the website for more information.
Helen Kilgallon has a double room to rent during Henley Royal Regatta, in central Henley (UK). Can also be rented during the Festival week. Please call Helen for details, 0791 444 8686 or 01491 575895.
Sarah Winckless and Victoria Wood (UK) may not have won Henley Women's (Debbie Flood and Jane Hall did that) but they have now raised over £26k for the Huntington's Disease Alliance.
Links below have been transferred across from the temporary Twitter account. I'm keeping it open but will not generally use it at the moment unless for backup purposes.
LM1x Adam Freeman-Pask did Rowing Voice twitters from the finals day at the Munich World Cup.
More nutters - Acer Nethercott and friends from his time at Univ College Oxford are doing an Ironman Triathlon on 28th June to raise money for the Oxford Cardiac Centre Campaign. Brutal sport - 2.4miles ocean swim, 112mile cycle, plus a marathon run. Bonkers. Click on the link to go to the donations page at JustGiving.
The Taurus Boat Club website has been updated including the latest newsletter (March 2009) for alumni. Please will all alumni racing at Henley Royal email in which event they're in, so that the main page can be updated.
An obitary for Martin Clemens CBE, a Cambridge Blue (1938) who was spare for the British Empire Games in the same year, and had what we can only describe as an interesting war (The Times, UK).
Row For Cora is a group of women racing together to raise awareness of breast cancer in Germany.
Dudley Fletcher was awarded an MBE in the Birthday Honours (UK) for his services to Doncaster Rowing Club.
The Munich regatta website has a useful crew status page where you can see how they progressed through the World Cup, with links to full race result pages (rubrics in German).
PROBLEM WITH UPDATING - at the Munich World Cup, and for some reason I can't get FTP access at the course - I have web and email access, but can't update this page. I have only limited options to make changes to any of my webpages. As a result, I'm going to run news on a temporary Twitter account - rowingserviceX - during this weekend, then will transfer back the news notes later.
Wednesday 17th June 2009
Bookings are open for the GB Rowing & Junior Commission junior Coaches Conference (19th-20th September, Nottingham, UK), with a galaxy of coaching talent as speakers, including Olympic LM2x coach Darren Whiter. The page on the link has a conference flyer and booking form to download (both PDF). The conference is aimed at all coaches of juniors, any level, to get together, swap ideas and hear how experts do it.
Entries close for Bradford Primary sprint regatta at 2pm on Sunday 21st June (UK). OARA entries preferred, but they can also be taken by phone or email. Those who change status at York Summer this coming weekend are requested to phone 01274-563997, or to email regatta@bradfordrowing.co.uk by 6pm latest on that date, so that alterations can be made.
Monday 15th June 2009
Rowing Voice vol 3 issue 2 is ready to be downloaded, with reports and pictures from the Banyoles World Cup regatta. Coming shortly - Voice 3-3, a full club/national/feature issue, and then after that, Voice 3-4, a short issue from the Munich World Cup.
The Pull for Huntington's effort gallops on, now £22,500 and rising (UK). Sarah and Victoria will be selling limited-edition signed Pull for Huntington's t-shirts at Henley Women's Regatta. The minimum donation will be around £10, but to whoever volunteers the largest donation for a shirt there will be an extra prize as a thank-you, to be revealed later.
The UL beach party is back, on 22nd August (UK). Facebook members can visit the online poster here. Tickets £20 by post or at HWR, Marlow and HRR, also on the door.
Published earlier this year, a review of quite a few rowing papers, condensing their conclusions into "rowing, the ultimate challenge to the human body". You'll need to be able to access PubMed in order to read the full paper - visit the main PubMed page and put 19366367 into the search box - it will bring up the abstract, which is visible to all readers. To buy, click on the Wiley Interscience link, or visit this direct Wiley link and click on one of the full text links to buy access to the article for 24 hours. Those who are members of universities or hospitals may be able to access it through their institution's e-library without paying.
A reminder that entries for Henley Royal Regatta close at 2pm BST (=GMT+1) tomorrow (Tuesday 16th June).
Interesting to see that EventWise is offering "a limited number of Stewards' Enclosure badges available for £50 each including a Pimms voucher" as part of their hospitality package.
Friday 12th June 2009
The Henley Women's Regatta draw/timetable is out (PDF, UK). Qualifying races on Friday, junior fours and quads time-trials Saturday morning, and racing from 1pm on Friday and 8:45am on Saturday, with finals on Sunday. See the main website for further information.
Mystic Henley is running again this year - the Henley Royal guessing game. If you haven't signed up in a previous year, log on to http://henley.rowingservice.com and do so now. Get ready to start picking which crews you think will win in each event from next Wednesday when the entries are published. The rules are simple - you can change your choices any number of times up until 10pm on Thursday 2nd July, at which point everything freezes and we wait to find out who will have guessed best by Sunday evening. Regatta Radio 87.7 FM is once again supporting Mystic, and providing a luxury hamper prize to the winner.
Entries for Berwick Regatta (UK) close today on OARA. A reminder that the regatta is also running TS15 1x races for new-to-rowing juniors, as an invitation event. Anyone with such juniors email the organisers for an invitation, and they are running men's, women's and mixed fours for new-to-rowing seniors too.
Ian Neville and Paul from Intersport Racing Shells will be at Durham Regatta (UK) if anyone wants to have information about Len Neville riggers or Intersport boats.
The Oar Doctor, Russ Thatcher, will be at Marlow and Henley Royal Regattas, running his usual oar maintenance service (UK).
Baz Moffat and Carla Ashford of Point2Fitness (UK) are running junior fitness camps this summer.
Thursday 11th June 2009
A phenomenal response to Sarah Winckless and Victoria Wood's efforts for HWR (see two days ago) - by the end of the first 36 hours they had 3/4 of the money they had hoped to raise in 10 days. The target is now "as much as we can in 10 days", and they are now going to share the money between the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish Huntington's Associations. To be part of the fastest-ever UK rowing charity fundraising effort, visit their JustGiving page. Today and six more days to go - can they make it £10k each in ten days?
Draws for Saturday and Sunday racing at Durham Regatta (UK) now up. They are asking rowers to car-share wherever possible as parking space will be in short supply, partly because there are cricket matches on both days.
Burglary (UK): Elise Laverick was burgled last Monday and lost, amongst other valuables, her Wingfields prize brooch from 2007. It's in a box but has no date bar on it. I'm pretty sure the prize she's talking about is this one, a clip taken from a picture of 2008 winner Sophie Hosking, being presented with it by Elise. Anyway, Elise would be very grateful if rowers could keep an eye out for it on eBay and in antique shops, in case it can be found. It might even have been chucked or dropped - the burglary happened near Hammersmith Bridge. Fortunately Elise's world and Olympic medals weren't taken, which makes it more likely the thieves may not know much about rowing trophies. Anyone who wants to contact Elise directly, use this address.
Robert Treharne Jones is inviting expressions of interest from experienced and novice rowing commentators to help out with the Regatta Radio commentary team at Henley Royal (UK). Obviously a knowledge of rowing is required, but training will be offered to those who are rather less experienced. Please contact Robert direct at tjwizard (at) tiscali.co.uk.
Tuesday 9th June 2009
Sarah Winckless is briefly coming out of retirement later this month, to row a double at Henley Women's Regatta with Victoria Wood. They're after a wing rigger boat to row in (any offers?) and the whole enterprise is in aid of the Scottish Huntington's Association, for which Sarah is a patron. This is no ordinary charity row, though - they're looking to raise £10,000 in 10 days, starting today and ending just before the regatta. Given that Sir Steve Redgrave's target of £5million in 5 years gave him 3.65 days per £10k, and a much longer period overall, it's a pretty hard target. Anyone who would like to donate to their £10k target can do so today onwards: visit their JustGiving site. More information in their press release.
Monday 8th June 2009
Entries for the Barnes & Mortlake Regatta (13th June, UK) close at noon today - see the events page or the PDF poster for details.
Ironbridge Regatta (27th-28th June, UK) is open for entries on OARA. See the poster> (PDF) for information, or email enquiries to Ian McLellan, regatta secretary.
Reading University (UK) is holding an open day on Friday 19th June (10am-3pm) which will include details of rowing at Reading in their Sport section (1pm, see General Programme).
Friday 5th June 2009
Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC, UK) are going to appoint a new assistant coach. Deadline for applications is 26th June, details in the advert.
Last weekend Polish students Bydgoszcz raced Oxford and Cambridge on the water outside the Houses of Parliament in London (UK). See the YouTube video for a summary clip of the race (Polish production). Bydgosczcz, in the middle, with Cambridge on their stroke side and Oxford on their bow side, won the race.
The Kingston Regattas (Kingston Amateur Sat 11th July, Kingston Borough Sun 12th July, UK) are open for entries on OARA. Details on the link above.
James and David Livingston (UK) did an interview about 'Blood Over Water', their excellent Boat Race 2003 book, on Radio New Zealand. See here for the interview, downloadable as an MP3.
Bradford Sprint Regatta is open for entries on OARA (27th June, UK). Link is to the PDF poster, and the main regatta page has links to the safety plan and club location.
Peterborough Junior Championships (UK) are open for entries on OARA.
The Cadence Watch Company has a new Oarsman rowing dress watch which can be used to measure the stroke rate of passing crews....! A women's dress watch is coming shortly.
Egham Regatta (UK) is open for entries on OARA, slightly different from last year with three divisions set up as different regattas.
Berwick Regatta (20th June, UK) is open for entries on OARA. There are discounts on race entry fees for those doubling up.
A treat for her Maj today (UK) - Pete Reed is collecting his MBE today in full Navy uniform (Word press release from his PR guys - and no, there isn't a 2km record attempt, other than on the water at any regatta he and Hodge attend).
Monday 1st June 2009
WorldRowing (FISA) results and rankings from Banyoles (all files downloadable in PDFs).
Goran Buckhorn has started a rowing history blog (March 2009) after he finished editing his (US) club's newsletter and fancied a new outlet for his writing talents.
This year's Doggett's Coat & Badge race for apprentice watermen will be on Friday 10th July, at 12:30, between London Bridge and Chelsea.
Much in evidence at the Banyoles World Cup regatta, the Chungju worlds 2013 bid with an over-produced expensive advert for those with time to waste. Bureaucrat-speak all over. Chungju is in Korea, and apparently "the global mecca of rowing" - the website is in English and Korean.
Friday 29th May 2009
Henley Royal Regatta has given its website a facelift this summer, and on the front page is a reminder of the changed timetable for Sunday's racing, starting half an hour earlier to allow an earlier departure after the last race. They are also running a special members' offer of three Sunday badges for the price of two, to kick-start the new format. Note that the Regatta church service in the town church has been moved forward by half an hour as well.
The URL www.rowingnz.net has been picked up as a site called Flat Water Fast Times - What we all want. As well as a feed of the FISA news, they offer NZ-centred news and features, and blogs from Duncan Holland.
Tuesday 26th May 2009
Results from Twickenham Regatta (UK, PDF format). Kingston won the Ian Rogers Victor Ludorum trophy.
A reminder that entries for the 175th anniversary Tyne Regatta (UK) close at 8pm on Wednesday 27th May.
Results from Clydesdale Regatta (Scotland) in PDF and Excel formats.
See the Scottish Rowing news page (Scotland, UK) for details of the Scottish Championships - see the links in the RH column.
Results from the National Schools Regatta (UK) are online - click on results to get the full list of events.
A reminder about Egham Regatta (changed URL from last year, 28th June, UK). This is their centenary year, with prize tankards on offer. Entries close at midday on Sunday 21st June and will be taken on OARA when they open with cheques to the entries secretary.
Information for Berwick Regatta (UK, billed as 'starting in Scotland and finishing in England'). There is a discount for competitors with multiple entries - notes on the website.
The Nat Champs (UK) notice of regatta is on the official website, with details of events offered, timetable outline and order of racing. There are also pictures of the book in which all champions have been recorded for 37 years.
Elise Laverick (UK) is "switching to cycling" - the press release is a bit confusing, as it suggests she has moved to the new sport completely, but she also says "after Beijing I wanted to take a year out from rowing". Last summer she suggested she was retiring full-stop from rowing, not just taking a break. Anyway, she's racing for Team Pearson in the London-Paris '09 tour, in late June.
The Milton Keynes RC appearance on the Paul O'Grady Show (UK) will be shown during this week, having been filmed last Friday. The challenge is between "Paul's Angels" and "The P Team" (ladies vs men from the show's production crew) and is intended to promote fitness and raise money for charities.
And from Bristol Avon at Saltford, by race and by event (both PDF, UK).
Friday 15th May 2009
A website for the 1st World Cup in Spanish, Catalonian and English. Some of the information is linked back to the FISA website, but there is local info too.
Tyne Regatta (UK) is now open on OARA for entries. It's the 175th anniversary regatta, and IM1 and IM3 coxless quads for both open and women have been added to the roster of events.
Entries are now open for Loughborough Regatta (UK, 13th June). OARA entries only, closing date 1pm on Saturday 6th June.
Point2FItness (Carla Ashford & Baz Moffat, UK) are running a junior fitness camp for rowers, on 17th-21st August, in Putney. £160 for five mornings, 9-12am, aimed at 13-17 year olds, to act as a pre-winter season fitness camp for teenage rowers, with sport-specific sessions from a range of coaches.
Talk Rowing (UK) has some free copies of 'Blood Over Water', the book by Boat Race brothers James and David Livingston, to give away. Details on the site.
Oarsman Alex Hoodless is doing the David Bradley Thames Row in memory of his uncle-in-law, another former rower. The link is to the JustGiving page to raise money for a new RNLI rescue boat, and the row will take place between Thursday 28th and Saturday 30th May. The other participants are Pete Lowe, Alex Henshilwood, Andre Zlattinger, James Symington and Chris Hopkinson, who have a few years quality rowing between them, to say the least....
The provisional draw for Clydesdale Regatta (Scotland, UK) is up in Excel and PDF formats, along with the information for competitors. The event includes the Edinburgh-Glasgow University Boat Race.
Peterborough Regatta (UK) is open for entries on OARA.
A reminder that entries for Twickenham Regatta (UK) close on Friday 15th May. Remenham clubs are eligible for the Ian Rogers VL Trophy.
Wednesday 13th May 2009
A plea to rowers and scullers living in and around Staines (UK). The local boat club (SBC) has arranged to be one of Waitrose's local monthly charities during May. When you get to the checkout, you will be handed charity tokens which can then be put in the relevant slot for donation to the boat club. So anyone who feels like shopping in Waitrose Staines this month will do local rowing a lot of good!
Entries for Doncaster Regatta (23rd May, UK) close on OARA on Friday 16th May. They are offering an unlimited entries option at £300 per club, which may be a good bet for the bigger clubs. Neat idea.
ARA jobs on offer (UK): the Henley Stewards' Trust Scholarships for this year - funding for those looking to do two years part-time coaching of young rowers combined with studying for a part-time sports degree. Closing date Friday 22nd May. The deadline for the GB Rowing High Performance Coach is tomorrow, Friday 15th May.
And the ARA also has going a new online project officer job, closing date Monday 1st June (UK). Details on all the links above.
A link to Sport England's Practical planning guide for sports clubs, to help those making planning applications for new/extended buildings (UK, England relevance specifically).
'Butlers in the Buff' (UK) is recruiting 'good looking, intelligent guys with great bodies' to serve drinks and canapes at events, pay around £25 per hour. They say most of their butlers are sportsmen, so thought rowers might be interested....
Australian company BAT Logic has launched the BAT Lab to study human biomechanical engineering for rowing.
In June Tom Barry and his son Ed are cycling from John O'Groats to Lands End in memory of his father, Oxford Blue Michael Barry, who was a keen cyclist until his death after an accident last Christmas Eve. Donations can be made in aid of the intensive care unit of Selly Oak Hospital where Michael was treated, via their JustGiving page for the expedition (UK). Ed is also cycling in aid of Future Hope which helps underprivileged kids in Calcutta.
Friday 8th May 2009
Information for Tees Regatta (UK) contains all the documents for competitors, including the provisional race programme and event summary. Note that all competitors will be required to leave their racing licences at control when they collect race numbers, and will need to collect them when numbers are returned. This is to aid points updating with more races being qualifying.
For the adrenaline-addicted, the sad news that the Ocean Thunder WOrld Surf Rowing Championships have been cancelled due to the financial/sponsorship climate. The European federation is still hoping to run a European championships event, to be confirmed.
Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC, UK) has announced that former assistant coach Rob Baker, who was acting chief coach in the interim before Chris Nilsson arrived from New Zealand, has been appointed lead under-23 coach for Ireland, working under Martin McElroy.
The planned World Rowing Forum which was to be in November, has been cancelled. More information on the link.
Friday 1st May 2009
Details of the National Veteran Championships (14th June, UK) are on the dedicated website, including the poster. This year they are offering mixed eights, and also VetIM3 and VetNov quads. The event is now open on OARA, and entries close at 6pm on Wednesday 3rd June.
Entries are also open for Twickenham Regatta (23rd May, UK), and close at 10pm on Friday 15th May. This is the 75th regatta, and commemorative pennants along with pewter pint tankards will be presented to all winners. Entrants should note that last year's regatta was heavily oversubscribed.
Wednesday 29th April 2009
RowGear (UK) has been taken over by Graeme Clark and his U23 son Tom, from Ric Colborne, who was retiring from the business due to ill health. They are hoping to build on the good reputation he established, will retain Ric as consultant, and are always looking for C2 ergs, any model, any age/condition, for refurbishment and onward sale.
Thames Ditton Regatta (16th May, UK) is open for entries on OARA and by post. They are offering more events this year, but will not run any events with fewer than 4 entries, so are asking crews to show whether they are prepared to enter for a higher event, or not, on their entry form.
GBR team for the first world cup of the season (Banyoles): M1x Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers); M2x Matt Wells/Steve Rowbotham (Leander); M4x to be announced later: M2- Andy Triggs Hodge/Peter Reed (Molesey/Leander); M4- Matt Langridge/Ric Egington/Alex Partridge/Alex Gregory (Leander/Leander/Leander/Reading Univ); M8+ to be announced later; W1x Katherine Grainger (St Andrew); W2x Annabel Vernon/Anna Bebington (Marlow/Leander); W4x to be announced later; W2- Olivia Whitlam/Louisa Reeve (Agecroft/Leander); W8+ to be announced later and W2- likely to double up into it; LM1x Zac Purchase (Marlow) due to recent illness; LM2x Rob Williams/Paul Mattick (London/Leander); LM4- to be announced later; LW2x Hester Goodsell/Sophie Hosking (Reading Univ/London); LW other crews to be announced later. Some further decisions are yet to be made. Ian Lawson will be offered the opportunity to compete as an extra M1x in Banyoles if he wishes.
The draw for Wallingford Regatta (UK) is online in several different formats. The draw, and on Sunday the results, are also available on their DidWeWin website, which is optimised for use on mobiles so that web-enabled phones can query it for live results. It's also searchable by race number or club.
Cambridge University Lightweight RC (UK) is looking for a new head coach to build on their 2009 lightweight boat race success and to develop more athletes towards the GB international pathway, they say. See their website for more details.
Worcester Spring Regatta (UK) is now open for entries on OARA. Closing date is Sunday 10th May at noon.
A link to the Flora London Marathon results (UK), for those who were running it. Olympic champion Tom James (at least, I'm pretty sure it was him) did 4 hours 9:01 minutes, and silver medallist Al Heathcote in 2 hours 58:36 minutes (nice one Al).
Friday 24th April 2009
Looks like March/April is a good time to hold an ocean-rowing race: the Bouvet Rames Guyane race across from Saint-Louis (Senegal) to Cayenne (French Guyana) was won a few days ago by Patrick Hoyau in just over 42 days, with Mathieu Bonnier and Charles Bergere second and third only hours after.
Recently retired Irish international Eugene Coakley has joined Powerhouse Sport to help with sales and marketing, and also product development.
Details of Castle Semple Regatta (30th May, UK) are online. The regatta is as Castle Semple Loch, Scotland, on a 1000m six-lane fully buoyed course.
The Environment Agency (UK) is holding a Water Framework Directive consultation, and want input from water users under their remit. See the index page on the EA site for more information: there is a covering letter and indexes for each of the EA's regions. The consultation has apparently already been running since December 2008, and goes on until 22nd June 2009, so get your views in. Each region's page shows how you can submit comments, either through the website, by post or coming to a meeting (though quite a lot of these have already happened).
Information for Tees Regatta (UK) is starting to go online, with the poster available in a Powerpoint format. If they are previously informed of the chance, the organisers are prepared to help crews who change status on the weekend of 9th-10th May, to do so. Entries close at 9pm on Thursday 7th May.
A recent thread on the rec.sport.rowing newsgroup - a way to turn an iPhone 3G or an iPod Touch into a rowing performance monitor. Note that it's suggested you get a good waterproof case for your iThing if you do this! Apps are available to help measure stroke rate, distance, speed, and to shift workout data to your computer.
Borne at Chiswick Bridge Regatta (9th May, UK) is open on OARA (only) for entries. As well as open, veteran, women and junior categories, mixed fours are offered for those who wish to race without picking up points. Entries close Sunday 3rd May at 8pm.
All the information for Birmingham Regatta (UK, 25th April) is on the link, which is the dedicated regatta page. Includes draw in three formats, safety plan, instructions, and maps.
Results from the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta (UK) are online, in PDFs split into age-groups, and as a full text file of all races. The Victori Ludorum were the North West (girls and overall) and Thames Upriver (Boys).
Results and photos from Abingdon Head (UK) are online.
Crews going to the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta this weekend (UK) please note that Holme Pierrepont has recently changed its circulation pattern. See the JIRR website for the updated circulation pattern, as well as other safety information, crew details and draw.
Thursday 16th April 2009
A reminder on the Scottish Rowing news page that this year their junior Home International Regatta junior coaches who have not already had a Disclosure Check done will have to do so. See the 12th April item for more (Scotland).
Wallingford Regatta (UK, 3rd May) is now open on OARA with online payment, preferably by debit card. Closing date 22nd April latest, but it has been oversubscribed for many of the recent years so early entry with immediate payment is advised to avoid disappointment. Secretaries please make sure you include a suitable address for posting out race numbers, and a mobile phone number for someone able to take on the spot decisions if the organisers need to move crews to alternative events.
The Welsh Open Regatta (Cardiff, 9th May, UK) is also open on OARA, closing at 1pm on 3rd May. The 1500m 6-lane 2008 Home Countries course is being used.
Blood Over Water (Bloomsbury, UK) can now be bought from the publishers directly (previous link), and also from RowPerfect (UK).
Turns out the Telegraph was able to publish my full GB trials report, Olympians dominate British trials, even though only a short bit made it into the print paper due to a late advert change. (RQ, UK).
StealthRowing, the company mentioned in a link above, have their own website here (USA).
Tuesday 14th April 2009
Trailing issues (UK): - A couple of North-East rowers trailing or towing or cartopping boats have been stopped lately, suggesting there might have been a local crack-down by police. All those transporting boats, even on a large trailer, are advised to carry a full printout of the rules for transporting, and the ARA's further guidance notes, so that you can show them to traffic police if stopped, and explain the details. Many police won't know the precise regulations, which are very unusual compared with those for most vehicles. See section 2.5 of RowSafe for the relevant downloads - the trailer/towing guide is particularly helpful.
Results from the A and B finals, semis and time-trials of the GB Rowing Hazewinkel camp (UK) on the GB Rowing page.
And photos from the trials at this link, courtesy of Marc Legein (RSNB, Belgium).
Birmingham Regatta is now closed (UK), the entry limit having been exceeded before the final deadline. The draw will still be done this coming Thursday after noon.
Entries for the Oxford City Bumping Races (UK) are still open until next Wednesday. Local clubs are asked to give the races space on 25th April: racing will be every half hour.
I recently discovered that someone has already set up a RowingService Twitter page, currently showing RSS feeds of this page up until late March. I think/hope this is someone helpful just saving the name for me, and doing something useful with it, but it would be nice to find out who that person is, so if you know, drop me an email.
However, the reason I found out is that I'm starting a small experiment - live updates from specific events via Twitter. I'm testing it this weekend at the GB trials in Hazewinkel, and will send a few short updates today, to see if it's likely to be something worth doing. The morning is time-trials, so don't expect anything earth-shattering unless there's an incident, but from the semi-finals I will have a go at sending short summaries of some races. Can't commit to more at the moment - see how it goes. The address is twitter.com/RowingVoice for those who want to follow it.
The 2009 Crew Classic results are online (USA), and this year's race DVDs can be ordered online. JAMCOTimes did their usual coverage, including live split times, with the diagrams still available to show race progress.
The 2009 FISA rulebook has been published online, with marked-up versions showing changes from the 2007 edition (all PDFs). Progression changes: 9-10 entries have been slimmed down to a single repechage (sensible); 25-26 entries now have a rep as well as heats, before the quarters, so that a temporary problem in the heats does not eliminate someone from getting to the medal final. Other changes which will affect competing rowers: athletes at world championships should be able to show a passport or identity card to prove nationality - this will only be waived in exceptional circumstances; the rowing commitment form must be signed and received by FISA before FISA accreditation can be issued; coxes and lightweights shall be weighed with them wearing "only their racing uniform" (ie accessories no longer allowed); lightweights must now weigh in no more than two hours before the first race of each lightweight event in which they are taking part, and must present themselves as a crew to be weighed, but as per the new agreement, all lightweights in an event shall be weighed before the first round of racing, even if some are not taking part in that first round (eg if it's a rep and they are already in the final); lightweights who are over weight by the expiry of the time allowed for weighing will now be excluded; masters category J (80+) has been formally created; Olympic and Paralympic boat classes are exempt from the 'under-7-entries' rule at all levels including J18 and U23; bow-balls must now be solid and not deflect sideways when pushed; heel restraints must now not allow lift of the heel of more than 7cm; boats of more than 11.9m must be sectioned, with no section longer than 11.9m; crews required to weigh their boats who do not take it straight there will be penalised as if it was underweight; the rules on advertising have been revised and should be read carefully by athletes and federations; the draw will take place at at team managers' meeting; the lane draw rules have altered slightly; the 100m start zone rule now applies if the bow of the boat has not yet crossed the 100m line; and there are a number of changes in the anti-doping regulations to come into line with current WADA, with athletes and support staff being required to know what the latest rules are.
Wednesday 8th April 2009
The Glasgow Spring Regatta (Scotland, UK) has been cancelled because many events still have only 2 entrants. The organisers would rather not put the regatta on than run an event that would fall below the standards they want to set. They would like to emphasise that the decision was made purely on consideration of the quality of the event, and it is not a financial one. They would also like to thank and apologise to the rowers who offered to take part, and to the umpires who had offered to officiate.
Oxford City Bumps (UK, 25th April) is open for entries, closing on 22nd April.
BUCS (UK) are looking for volunteers for the BUCS Regatta (May bank holiday weekend). They need the usual volunteers but also anyone who could do a bit of car-park marshalling. See this list of roles for what's needed in more detail.
Courtesy of NE Rowing, a job vacancy for a PE and sport development support officer in Durham (UK, link to Word file). Applications close Monday 20th April, interviews Friday 24th April.
Details are online for Merseyside Regatta (UK, 2nd May, PDF file). There's also a Word version for those who don't like PDFs.
Friday 3rd April 2009
Rowing Center (UK) Ltd, an importer of Swift racing boats, is rapidly expanding its business and is now looking for a full-time sales manager. For more details and a job description please email enquiries@rowingcenter.com or see their advert in April's Rowing & Regatta magazine.
Sims revival (UK): After Raymond Sims Ltd closed down earlier this year, it is very good news to hear that the Ray Sims-designed Evolution shells are back in full production at the same facilities in Nottingham. The new company, Evolution Performance Composites Ltd (EPC) are specialists in the design and production of carbon composite laminates and the vacuum infusion process (VIP) used recently for the boats, and offers a full repair service for all major boat types, as before. They claim their shells will give at least 25 years of use. EPC can be contacted via the old website address, www.rowing.co.uk/.
I hear that Sir Matthew Pinsent has agreed to start the Radley 24-hour erg challenge on 18th-19th April (UK, see Tuesday 31st March news).
A reminder that entries for Glasgow Spring Regatta (UK) close on Sunday at 3pm, this weekend. Note that the online entry system is hard to find on the website, but can be accessed via this link.
Ponteland Junior Head (UK) is open on OARA. Mixed crews can be accepted - enter as open and specify in the notes - and J16/17/18 coxed quads will also be accepted - enter as coxless quads and specify coxed in the notes, but say if also prepared to race coxless. There is also a WJ15 4+ event offered in division 2. Entries in by 6pm tonight.
Evesham Regatta is now open for entries on OARA only (UK). See the event website for the poster and events offered. Note that it was oversubscribed last year so leaving entries to the last minute may be dangerous.
Good cause; schoolboy Myles Watkiss is running a 24-hour erg challenge at Radley (UK) on 18th-19th April. Teams of three rowers will do one hour on, two hours off for 24 hours, ie 8 hours each, to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Watkiss' mother has MS and his fourteen-year-old sister has just been diagnosed with the disease. At least three Radley teams will do it, but others have become interested so it's turning into a large event. Information in this Word file and donations can be made via his JustGiving page.
There are apparently spare places on the ARA's J16 camp to be held at Holme Pierrepont on 10th-13th April
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