Friday 31st December 2004
- GB New Year's Honours now public: congratulations to Sir Matthew and Lady Pinsent, James Cracknell OBE, and Steve Williams and Ed Coode, both MBE. Mostly just the announcement in the British papers plus the odd press-released quote, but Matt's written a column for the Times here. Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell have been made Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).
Thursday 30th December 2004
- You may notice I'm not mentioning the endless "year in review" appearances of rowing all over the world: we all know what happened this year and rehashes are largely tedious. But there is this pearly quote from an article about second place not being an option in the Washington Times (USA), from US national soccer team psychologist Trevor Moawad: "As long as we're winning, everything's OK. We may not be the biggest rowing fans. But we still want to be the best at it."
- The rumour is now strong that Matt Pinsent will be knighted in tomorrow's New Year's Honours List (UK), though official news sources are embargoed until midnight tonight.
- Michael 'Chook' Wilson is still doing his rowing round-up on AEST radio in Australia every Saturday at 6:20am local time, as part of their Hi-Tide programme. It's streamed on 2KY.com and he welcomes input - send email to rowingchook [at] bigpond.com if you have something to contribute.
- Following the news earlier in December that John Dane, executive director of US Rowing, has resigned, the information that programs director Glenn Merry becomes acting executive director.
- Chris Anton has put up the GB international selection criteria (PDF file, UK).
- Kingston RC (UK) are running trial rowing courses starting on 12th January. They last for two hours beginning at 10:30am, run until 9th March and cost £60. Course leaders are Lizzy Walne and Fiona Lunney, and there are two free places for coxes (I bet there are!) For more information call the Kingston sports and recreation department on 020 8547 5207.
- Nagambie Lakes Regatta Centre (Australia) will be hosting the Australian Masters Rowing Champions from May 19th to 21st 2005, as well as the AusDBF National Dragon Boat Championships during the Easter weekend.
- Date for the ARA Touring Rowing Dinner is on Sat 5th March 2005 at Leander (Henley-on-Thames). Cost £35 tbc, anyone interested in recreational and touring rowing welcome to attend. Contact Caroline Turnbull for information and to reserve a place.
Friday 24th December 2004
- The Rowing Service is taking a break this Christmas. No more updates until next week and email may not be answered until then. Best wishes to all the Rowing Service readers.
- Henning tells me Ez-Vee (see yesterday) can be contacted via email sales@kayakpro.com and telephone (914) 633 7676, (917) 239 9689 (both USA numbers). Full address is PO Box 656, Pelham, NY 10803, USA.
- 65-year-old ocean rower Pavel Rezvoy has earned a special mention in the 2004 Best of Explorers Web Awards.
Thursday 23rd December 2004
- CUBC are advertising their Chief Coach job to replace Robin Williams, leaving in April 2005. They are asking for applications by 31st January 2005.
- Ez-Vee has a series of new car roof-racks including one for sculls. They're from New York State (USA), and they don't have any contact details online which is frankly wrong when they are selling items, but it's all very glossy and looks like an interesting option. The site is also very spawny - new windows keep popping up annoyingly. I have the proprietor's email address if anyone wants it.
- The GB international selection criteria, as a PDF download (UK).
- There is a sea-rowing competition next April (2nd and 3rd) for the 'Universities of the Atlantic' in La Rochelle (France) - details on the Ligue Poitoucharentes website.
Wednesday 22nd December 2004
- Details of the 3rd Annual Rowing History Forum on Sunday January 23rd at the Mystic Seaport Museum (USA). Harry Parker is the special guest coach speaking at the event, and it ends with an enticing-sounding Social at the Seamen's Inne.....
- The Welsh ARA's international selection criteria for the next two seasons (get out those Welsh grandparent birth certificates or accommodation bills quick!) The equivalent Scottish information is available as a download PDF from this page on the SARA site.
- Newsletter from USRowing (USA) including the news of Executive Director John Dane stepping down.
- Rowing Australia is seeking expressions of interest from potential selectors, team managers and travelling sports medicine experts. Their irritatingly over-Flashed site doesn't allow me to make direct links to the downloadable documents giving more information, but go to the News page via the homepage and you will get the links there.
Tuesday 21st December 2004
- Have just had it pointed out to me that the mention of Matt Pinsent as a "world class greeter" in the Scotsman yesterday (see link below) refers to his 'greetin' ie crying on the podium. Still works as a joke though, 'cos he is a bit of a smoothie at the other kind of 'meeting and greeting' too.
- And (this is a day for corrections - do you have nothing else to do than read the Rowing Service?!) Rob Bristow points out that the Evers-Swindells missed out on the NZ Herald Sportsperson of the year title, not the overall NZ one, part of the Halberg awards which will be given out in February, and shortlists for which will be announced in early January.
- A bunch of rowers competed at the European Indoor Champs in fancy dress for medical charity - here is the reason why and details of how appreciative readers can donate.
- A new website for Bedford Modern School's rowing club (UK).
- Because it doesn't include nakedness, I omitted the Rock The Boat calendar from my list the other day (UK).
Monday 20th December 2004
- Congratulations to Ed Coode and his girlfriend Clare, who got engaged this weekend. Ahhhh....!
- An inaugural Harpur Trust Biathlon is to be held on Sunday 16th January at Bedford Modern School, open to all schools and club juniors. Events from J14-J18, with a C2 erg prize for the winning boys' and girls' teams. 5k erg, 5k run for the older kids, 3k erg and 3k run for the younger. Details here.
- Apparently, if London wins the 2012 Olympic bid, every baby born today (Monday 20th December 2004) will be able to take part in ceremonies and events for the 2012 Games. This London 2012 Children's Promise was announced on Friday at the Sparks charity dinner, by Matthew Pinsent. Some 1,800 children will be born within this 24 hours.
- News from New Zealand that the Evers-Swindells twins (Olympic and multiple world champions in W2x) have been beaten to NZ Sports Person of the Year by cyclist Sarah Ulmer (ok so she's a world recordholder too, but hell it's easier to get perfect conditions inside a velodrome...) The twins did get Team of the Year though. More details here and here in the NZ Herald.
Sunday 19th December 2004
- The GB trials results will go up here on the Boston RC website (UK) some time. Briefly, the top ten results were W1x Flood, Winckless, Houghton, Romero, Greves, Grainger, Page, Howard, Bebington, Vernon; LW1x Hammond, Stewart, Langlands, Hoogesteger, Goodsell, Van Deventer, Court, Orr, Murray, Norris; M1x Matt Wells, Lawson, Campbell, Rowbotham, Hodge, von Maltzahn, Fieldhouse, Warnock, Egington, Devlin; LM1x Male, Hunter, Stephenson, English, Beechey, Lindsay-Fynn, Wakefield, Brown, Kelly, Jones. Etc. Houghton's time was after racing in the second division (better tailwind but definitely colder and wetter) after she fell in while doing feet-out on the way to warm up for the first division.
Friday 17th December 2004
- FISA is changing its newsletter system and going electronic - if you want to receive it by email you can now sign up to do so. As bait, they're offering round-trip tickets to the Lucerne World Cup next year (competition closes end of December 2004). The form itself has a bizarrely-worded paragraph about privacy at the end, but the full Privacy Policy does seem to abide (just) by current British law (which is now one of the strictest, forbidding sale/donation of information to third parties or distribution of unrequested material unless the customer has specifically signed up to allow this.)
- FISA Council news - John Boultbee (Competitive Commission) and Jean-Christophe Rolland (Athletes' Commission) have been appointed interim to replace Denis Masseglia and Mike Sweeney. Elections will be held at the Extraordinary Congress.
- Information on the first official EUSA Regatta, to be held next July in Cardiff.
- Tideway Scullers are holding a fund-raising raffle for their new boathouse. Prizes are NK Speed Coach Gold (3rd), Rowperfect (2nd) and a Filippi single built to your specification (1st). Tickets £10 each, limited to a total of 5000. Draw will be on 25th February 2005. For tickets, send a cheque payable to "TSS Appeal" with a stamped addressed envelope, to Rebecca Caroe, Tideway Scullers School, Dan Mason Drive, Chertsey Road, London W4 2SH.
- To summarise a busy thread on the international rec.sport.rowing newsgroup, a reminder of the naked rowing calendars around this year: Homerton's Calendar Girls (UK), Rowers Revealed from the Ashland Rowing Club (USA), Durham's Naked Calendar (UK), Elia Luini (Italy) did one last year but there's no sign of a 2005 calendar yet, and allegedly Old Eds BC (South Africa) did one too. University of York BC (UK) were considering it, but have gone rather quiet on the subject, while back in 2002 De Montford University RC (UK) did a photo-shoot, but may not have sold any actual calendars (information incomplete).
- But if you're not so keen on nudity (especially someone else's) and want the best-in-class rowing photography on your walls, I'm delighted to see that Joel Rogers' annual calendar (mainly North American images) is now being sold by Amazon, which will bring it to the big audience it deserves.
Thursday 16th December 2004
- The Austrian Rowing Federation is after a new head coach (PDF download from FISA's website, in English).
- Details and downloadable entry forms (all in PDF) for the Oxford Schools Indoor Rowing Competition (Sunday Feb 5th, UK) are now available.
- A bit on the C2 (UK) site about fainting after exercise.
- Results of the 7th L'Open C2 indoor championships in France are online, together with photographs.
- An interesting press release about successful paraplegic erg rowing.
- Still no full list of those taking part in the GB trials on Saturday (I have been pestering), though there's just been a press release confirming that Katherine Grainger is racing and that Josh West and Steve Williams are exempted. I can add that Alex Partridge has been barred from trials medically until the new year, and Debbie Flood and Rebecca Romero said yesterday they would be in Boston. We expect most of the OU/CU men's squads too, of course. More later if I get it.
Wednesday 15th December 2004
- Next year the Jewish Olympics (aka Maccabiah Olympics) are being held in Tel Aviv in July. Would any Jewish rowers who would like to race at the event please contact Yaron Peled or Nigel Mayglothling. All standards welcome.
- I'm told that Ruderverein Treviris Trier 1921 e.V. (on the Moselle in Germany) has about eight nationalities rowing at the club currently. They also have a campsite and bar open to visitors. All that and wine country too - heaven!
- The rowing section of Grasshopper-Club Zurich (Switzerland) is looking for a new head coach. PDF summaries of the job description can be downloaded in English and German.
Tuesday 14th December 2004
- Cambridge Honour proves its worth - Ali Oyston reports on yesterday's Cambridge Trial Eights for the Rowing Service (UK).
- From FISA, FISA Award goes behind the scenes with Sweeney, Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, 2004 FISA female crew of the year, It's cool to erg in Mexico.
- Burway Small Boats Head was sadly cancelled due to fog (UK).
- Details of this weekend's GB senior trial on the ARA website (UK).
- Also from the ARA (UK), Nottingham Schools Indoor League.
Monday 13th December 2004
- Sevasti Lisle's website has moved to www.rowing-technique.info (Greek rower's site on rowing technique, physiology, rigging etc., though some pages still under construction and she STILL doesn't seem to want to give the Rowing Service a link). [URL now corrected]
- In lieu of publication on the official ARA website (UK), Chris Anton has put up a site with the minutes of the latest ARA Council meeting in November.
- Last night at the Sports Personality of the Year (UK), GBR's M4- won team of the year in a public vote while Matt Pinsent was runner-up to Kelly Holmes for the main award.
- Reading University's website (UK) has a new section about their facilities.
- T-shirt design company WilliNilli (UK) has rowing products (the designer was a rower).
- I noticed a small bit in the Calcutta Telegraph in India, saying that this week from Tuesday to Saturday the Lake Club course will be holding the 64th Regatta of the Amateur Rowing Association of the East (ARAE) including competitors from Pakistan's Karachi Rowing Club for the first time in over 20 years.
- The Tideway Small Boats Head was cancelled (UK) last weekend, apparently because it wasn't allowed to go ahead.
Friday 10th December 2004
- Yesterday's press release from HRR - a few minor rule changes but no big announcements.
- Details of the 2005 European Sculling Camp in Ratzeburg (Germany) as a Word document from the organisers. If you're interested do act quickly - it tends to be oversubscribed.
- For British rowing addicts, the Sports Personality of the Year programme goes out on BBC1 at 8pm GMT on Sunday 12th December, with voting for the SPOTY award out of the five shortlisted names starting halfway through the progamme by phone/txt/digital. Expect plenty of Olympic footage as well as a snippet on the Boat Race.
Thursday 9th December 2004
- The 11th European Sculling Camp will take place from 17th-23rd April 2005 at Ratzeburg, near Hamburg (Germany). Full details later (have to rush off now).
- BearingPoint have developed a completely new portal for Rowing New Zealand, at www.rowingnz.com.
- Biographies up on the Boat Race 2005 website (UK).
- I gather there's a bit in Private Eye out today (p. 34) about the Thames sewage issue (UK).
Wednesday 8th December 2004
- Rowing Canada Aviron has appointed Phil Monckton of Toronto as its new VP of High Performance, a volunteer board position, to replace Bill Donegan, who is stepping down at the end of his term.
- The ARA (UK) intends to employ a new Performance Development Coach to work as part of the Start and Potential programme.
- Results for the Maidstone Small Boats Head (UK) last weekend are up on Maidstone Invicta's website.
- Amongst the most recently posted Rowing Service UK notices is the gem that Francisco Mascaro's Oxford & District Sculling Centre boathouse is for lease or sale. On the Thames at Culham, in Oxfordshire.
- A press release on Monday's CULRC trials race (UK).
- News of the Northern Region's Annual Awards (UK).
- There will be an Online ARA demo for the Thames Region on 9th December 2004 at Dorney Lake.
Tuesday 7th December 2004
- And on the Rowing Service, a a lengthier piece on the February 2005 FISA Extraordinary Congress in Dubrovnik, and proposals concerning buoyancy/flotation and lightweight limits.
- Rowing Canada Aviron has presented its 2004 Annual Awards. Winners include Brian Richardson and Mike Spracklen (President's Award), Dynamic Mutual Funds (the corporate award), the Canadian Olympic M4- (special citation) and Jon Mandick, Jacqui Cook and Iain Brambell (Centennial medals). Full list here on the RCA website.
- RowingPhoto and Ian Smith have pictures of Rutherford Head online (UK).
- A bit more on Alex Partridge (UK).
Monday 6th December 2004
- Oarsport (UK) now has streaming video of the Alden recreational range: wmv format so intended for PC users. I would have recommended those with other computers to download Windows Media Player for Macintosh, but the wretched thing crashes my own Apple every time I try and install it, so I'm not particularly keen to suggest it to others.
- Oarsport are also selling a small boat communication pack which adapts an NK speaker to plug directly into an Oregon 2-way radio. Aimed at coaches talking to small boats who don't want to use a megaphone.
- From Canada, Herschmiller recovering from accident.
- And I'd like to send best wishes to British bronze medallist Elise Laverick, also recovering from a traffic accident: she was knocked off her (push)bike in London some weeks ago. I've had the impression people don't want to make a fuss, hence no previous mention, but now gather it's going to be a pretty tough road back to full fitness for her. Elise I'm sure a lot of us hope your return to sport goes well and we look forward to seeing you back in a boat. Get well soon, and well done on what I hear was a 'fab speech' at the Thames dinner on Friday.
- Results from Rutherford Head (UK) will be here shortly, and are temporarily hosted as an Excel file on NERN until they go up officially.
- Walton Small Boats Head (UK) results in Word and PDF formats.
- And results from Wallingford Head (UK) - by event at the top, with overall listings further down.
- A website and club email address for Ironbridge RC (UK). The club phone number is 01952 432798.
Friday 3rd December 2004
- All sorts of bits of UK rowing news are being lost this week, the daily press having had rather a surfeit of rowing with the Cracknell and Pinsent press releases. So it's gone below the radar that the BBC has held onto the worldwide broadcast rights to the Boat Race, ie those outside Britain (afaik any media including radio/tv/webcast). This is a bit odd: the race is sold to a large number of countries, and you would expect that opportunity to be taken by the host broadcaster, ITV. The contract is apparently for six years, but backdates to the 2004 race, so everything will be up for grabs again after 2009.
- I missed the fact that Harry Almond (Shrewsbury and LMBC, Cambridge, UK) died last month: apparently his obituary was in the Times on November 25th but that's now out of reach in a non-subscription search. There's a bit more in Lives Remembered on 30th November (The Times), while Donald Legget adds: "Harry was at bow in the CUBC eights which won the 1950 and 1951 Boat Races, and a gold medal in the European Championships. He won with CUBC on their USA tour in 1951, and rowed in the Olympics in 1952. He was very small - 10st3lb and 10st6lb were his official Boat Race weights, though he is reputed to have been even less. He was one of the nicest Old Blues and always had a smile on his face." Thanks, Donald.
- The date of the Boat Race Challenge has changed to Monday 28th February 2005 (UK). In London, as usual.
Thursday 2nd December 2004
- 'Tis the season to present awards.... Big handouts for the GB coaching team at Sports Coach UK today: Paul 'Tommo' Thompson receives the Mussabini Medal for coaches who have achieved outstanding success on the world stage, and will be inducted into the Coaching Hall of Fame by Princess Anne, while Jurgen Grobler, whose Olympic gold-medal run remains unbroken (just!) will be given a Lifetime Achievement award. Grobler's comment on hearing of the award was that he was very honoured, but thought perhaps the coaches working at development and other levels should not be forgotten.
- Twickenham RC adds an official website again to complement its Twickenham Underground extravaganza (UK).
- From FISA, Next stop for Iztok Cop - Turino 2006 Winter Olympics?.
- The ARA (England) is making a laudable effort to update its news more regularly, with snippets of what's going on around the regions in funding and coaching terms. It's also got a story on the CCPR Challenge, launched by the Central Council for Physical Recreation, the umbrella body for British sports national governing bodies, to challenge the next government to place a higher value on sport and recreation, and to bump it up the funding and commitment levels. Retired GB silver medallist Alison Mowbray is one of several sports stars fronting the Challenge up, along with various MPs.
- Although there was nothing I could find online about the ARA High Performance coaching job which was accepting applications until November 22nd (ie now closed) - the new person to work in the lightweights programme.
- Today and tomorrow, the Fairbairn Cup in Cambridge (UK).
- Draw for Walton Small Boats Head (UK), also available in PDF and Word format.
- Lest there should be any confusion, the 2005 Atlantic Rowing Race starts in 12 months time, although the entry list is now closed. 51 crews from 8 countries (5 solo, 42 pairs and 4 fours) have entered. More on the Woodvale site.
- There's more on the Lipa story (she's been given the office of Police General as an accolade to her achievements, similar to a British knighthood if I read the articles right) in Bumerang (in Romanian). There's also an interview in English on VividTalk (another Romanian site) from October, in which she does confirm Athens was her last Games, whatever she told Reuters in September.
Wednesday 1st December 2004
- The Northampton Head of the Nene race (29th Jan 2005 and then 28th Jan 2006) and Northampton Hollowell Regatta (29th August 2005) are new UK events. Details on Northampton RC's website.
- Start order, instructions and maps for the Rutherford Head (UK) are on the Tyne RC website.
- Advance warning in Durham (UK) - the colleges are holding the annual Senate Cup Head on 8th December, from Counts House to the White line going upstream. Two divisions, at 1pm and 3pm - avoid if not involved.
- It was apparently voted at the ARA Council meeting last Saturday (UK) that GBR will support the motion to retain the LM8+ in the Worlds programme, when it is raised at the Extraordinary FISA Congress next February.
