Archive News from January 2009

Snippets of news and events from earlier months, as shown originally on the Rowing Service News Page.
Standard results/events/etc not shown.

Friday 30th January 2009
• Open trials for Wales (UK) will be held in March, on 15th (women) and 29th (men), this year. See the WARA PDF poster for more details, and the WARA website for the international selection policy.
• Worcester Head (UK) is open for entries on OARA. Closing date is 5pm on Saturday 14th February.

  Wednesday 28th January 2009

• Results for Quintin Head (UK).
• Tyne Head (UK) is open on OARA, closing on 14th February.

  Tuesday 27th January 2009

• Entry details for the Schools Head 2009 (UK) are online. The most significant change this year is that they can't run the short course this time, because of the timing re: the tides and available light. They will review the situation after this year.
• The first ever Indian Ocean 8 is looking for help and sponsors to get them onto the start line for the Indian Ocean Race this April. The crew includes 6 men, 2 women, and one rower is a Beijing Paralympian. For more information see www.piraterow.com or email Helen Taylor.
• Olympic silver medallist Al Heathcote (GBR) is running the London Marathon for the Make A Wish Foundation. Those wishing to sponsor him see his Justgiving page.
• The ARA Touring Rowers dinner (UK) will be on Saturday 14th March at Leander Club Henley, price £35. Anyone who is interested in touring rowing is welcome to attend, and details of this year's ARA tour will be announced at the dinner. The event is being organised by Weyfarers Rowing Club, and details plus an application form are on their website.
• Vanja Buvac has introduced his new Vo3 Cadence stroke-rate monitor, with improvements over the previous versions. Will ship to the UK direct from the USA.
• York City (UK) now has a webcam page on their website. Updates every 5 minutes.
• Entries have opened for the City of Bristol Head (22nd Feb, UK), 3.5km on the harbour so no flood problems.
• I'm told that the Henley Junior Head (UK) is not happening this year.
• Durham Small Boats Head (UK) is open on OARA. Note that though the poster states entries close Friday 30th January, due to other commitments by the race secretary, OARA will actually be open until 8pm on Saturday 31st January for the race.

  Monday 26th January 2009

• The Oardoctor's Oar & Ergo Service & Repair business (UK) is now in private practice, and operating from the same unit in Windsor. Contact Russ Thatcher, Oardoctor, Danleebar Farm, Unit 2, Crouch Lane, Windsor, SL4 4RZ. thatcher.russell@googlemail.com and mobile 07812589595.

• Friday 23rd January 2009

• URGENT (UK): - while the Henley Fours/Eights & Sculls Head (7th February) is on, the HRC website is down. See the poster (PDF) for details. The website is being fixed.
• A link to information on the Prince Albert II of Monaco coastal challenge (Monaco, 31st January - 1st Feb), website in French, Italian and English.
• I hear that Raymond Sims Ltd (UK) has gone into administration, with a creditor's meeting held yesterday. No other details at the moment - people with boats under repair or order should contact the company directly.
• Hampton Head (31st January, UK) is offering J13 events this year. Entries close today but can probably be made over the phone or on email if followed up fast with a written confirmation and fee (check with race secretary Neil Double, details on the page).
• Reading University Head (UK, 28th February) is open for business on OARA.
• Putney Town RC (UK) is holding an open day on 8th February from 1pm-3pm, for their forthcoming men's beginners' course. Please come along on the day or contact Peter Rossi for details.
• TV film that survived sea rescue drama (Henley Standard, UK), about a rowing film which will be shown tonight: An Island Parish - The Deadly Storm, on BBC2 at 7pm today.
• Headlines - New captain takes to water (Beccles & Bungay Journal, UK), Pole race Brits beaten by Norwegians - again (Independent doing Crackerswatch, UK), National athletes no longer 'hungry' (Viet Nam News, Vietnam, and yes they do mean hungry, not just competitive), Caversham schoolgirl Olivia wins gold (Reading Evening Post, UK), Four men speak of frightening attempt to row Atlantic (Portsmouth News, UK), Blind NI explorer closes in on South Pole (about former rower Mark Pollock, Belfast Telegraph, UK), Golden girl Oakes (Warrington Guardian), Richmond athletes finalists for Sport BC awards (Richmond News, Canada), Olympic rowing star named appeal patron (Cumberland News, UK), Local rowing part 3 of 3: The future (Long Beach Post Sports, USA), Atlantic row (Regen.Net, subscribers only).

  Thursday 22nd January 2009

• South Africa is holding a new international junior rowing event, the Bishop Bavin rowing festival (Johannesburg, 9th-15th August 2009). Accommodation, boat hire, transport and catering are offered as a complete package. It also includes the 'long row relay', described as being like a Formula 1 grid start. See the website for details - everyone is invited. The organisers can be contacted via bbrowing@global.co.za.
• The results of the Swiss indoor rowing championships (Switzerland). Top winners were Andre Vonarburg (M, 5-50.5), Nora Fiechter (W, 7-04.9), Mario Gyr (LM, 6-14.1) and Pamela Weisshaupt (LW, 7-19.9).
• Rowing headlines - Excellence of British rowing team prompts Siemens to extend sponsorship (Simon Hart, Telegraph, UK).

  Wednesday 21st January 2009

• Entry date change (UK): The closing date for the Wycliffe BIg Head (7th Feb, UK) is now 28th January and not 21st as on the poster. Entry via OARA only and the event is already 2/3 full. See the official website for details.
• FISA have a page for the 2010 Youth Olympics, which will be the first whole-world version of the Australian invention, in mid-August 2010. The rowing will be J18/J19, singles and pairs only, with the top 5-6 places at the 2009 world juniors qualifying the NOC places for the events, and the 2x/4x/4-/8+ events also qualifying singles and pairs places for the Youth Olympics. See the full table for precise details.
• Deutscher Ruderverband (Germany) have announced that Jutta Lau is leaving to go to China. She will eventually run their women's sculling squad (from 2010) but 2009 is their inter-state competition, which likely means no Chinese at the 2009 Worlds, unless individual crews think they can do both.
• From FISA, Coaches train in Sudan.
• Google Books: Physiological Tests for Elite Athletes (Christopher John Gore, Australian Sports Commission) has 21 tests for elite rowers in it. [Link corrected] ¬œIf you search on rower within the book you find quite a lot of unblocked pages with information.
• And a 2005 paper from Jane Rumball (Canada) - Rowing Injuries - can be read onscreen or downloaded as a PDF file, though both require registration and payment if you are not already able to see AdisOnline material.

  Tuesday 20th January 2009

• London RC (UK) is advertising for a new senior coach to join their team, working with their chief coach but with quite a bit of autonomy. See the LRC website for more details.
• FISA's two most recent circulars - 2009/1 (antidoping) and 2009/2 (voting summaries, budget, subscription and NF data) are both on the FISA circulars page for download. PDF format for all files, and there's a useful summary of the anti-doping changes. Those retiring should be careful to read the rules on retirement, and fill in the retirement form, which also includes the relevant paragraphs.
• RowTV (UK) has taken advantage of the HD options on YouTube, so that coverage from Reading Regatta 2008 onwards is mostly now available in the new format. See http://www.rowtv.org and use the left option: YouTube 2008.
• Information about Tyne Head (UK, PDF format).
• Northern (UK) Rowing information: the minutes of the latest NRC executive meeting are here in Word format, and the updated 2009 LD Sculling Series notice and rules here (also Word).
• Turner is named Coach of the Year (Ellesmere Port Standard, UK).
• The start order for Quintin Head this weekend (UK). Note to locals: "The race will take place without a river closure and therefore the organisers would appreciate if any crews and coaches which are in the vicinity of course who are not taking part please take extra care between Hammersmith and Chiswick Bridges just prior to and during the race and not impede racing crews."
• A link for Northern Exposure Rescue (UK) which does safety cover for a large number of events including several rowing races. It's a not for profit organisation and also runs first aid training courses. Not sure where they're based but there's an email contact.
• The Scullery website has been updated for the 2009 Junior Sculling Head (9th March, UK), held in Henley. Entries are now open on OARA.

  Monday 19th January 2009

• The memorial service for Sid Rand (UK) will be held at 2pm on Friday 30th January at St Mary's Church in Henley. All welcome.
• The full results for the Youth Olympic regatta (Australia) are on the official website - Saturday and Sunday separately. No official medal table is kept since the Australians are competing in state teams. GB results/comment on the GB Rowing news page, BOA team news here and Rowing Australia have race reports (just copies of the official ones), results and video footage (under multimedia).
• The Head of the Trent (UK) is open for entries on OARA. Closing date 10am on Wednesday 4th February.
• Bournemouth University's naked calendars (UK, tagline 'what better way to spend 2009 than in the company of naked students?') are still on sale, reduced to £5 to clear out the last few. See Rock The Boat for ordering details, and they will also be on sale at the Thames Valley Trial Head.
• Due to a change in boating arramgements, Gloucester Head (Sunday 8th March, UK) will be holding eights events for the first time in many yaers. The Gloucester RC website doesn't yet have 2009 information on it - just 2008 - but the basic details are 4km, 2 divisions and still water. Entries will be open on OARA shortly.
• The UK Surf Rowers League has 2009 information: see their events page for dates, and the Ocean Thunder website for details of the 2009 World Surf Rowing Championships. General information and video clips on the UKSRL website.
• The Rio Abajo RC (New Mexico) has shifted website addresses to http://rowest.biz.

  Friday 16th January 2009

• A website for Sculling for Pleasure, based in London (UK), involving £50 1-hour sessions coached by Nick Wilde, daylight hours Monday to Friday, largely for those not involved with the sport before or those who rowed at university/school but want to try it again.
• Details of the Head of the Trent (15th February, UK).
• The Environment Agency (UK) is slowly going 21st-century. The river conditions webpage has current stream warnings for the whole Thames, and can also send them to you by email/RSS.
• There is a rowing tour in the Dordogne in May this year (21st-24th). Details via the ARA (UK).
• A webpage with 7 days tide time and height prediction for Glasgow (UK). The main website gives away free 7-day predictions without having to register for a range of ports around the world. Note that England, Scotland and Wales are all listed separately under Europe.
• Tom Courtney offers rowing tips (last weekend's Observer, UK).

  Thursday 15th January 2009

• Sad news (UK): The NE Rowing group (UK) is circulating a notice that Frank Humphreys of Brandon Village, President of Durham Regatta, died on 8th January. Friends to meet in St Andrew's Methodist Church, Brandon, on Monday 19th January at 12:15pm prior to cremation at Durham. Family flowers only, donations to Cancer Research.
• Information on the Hammersmith Women's & Juniors Head (UK, 22nd February), and Hammersmith Head (UK, 8th March).

  Wednesday 14th January 2009

• There will be a memorial service for photographer and rowing historian Tony Owen (UK) at 3pm on Friday 6th February, at St Mary's Church, Putney.
• A poster for the Medway Small Boats Head (UK, 22nd February).

  Tuesday 13th January 2009

• Sad news (UK): the second of a pair of ice-climbers who died in a fall in the Alps last week has been named as James Atkinson, sponsorship secretary of St Aidan's College Durham boat club. See a brief report in the Times, and a tribute in the Guardian.
• More sad news (UK): John Rose, trustee and former captain and President of Bedford RC, died on 9th January.
• The Australian Youth Olympics starts tomorrow (14th, Australia). The rowing is at Penrith, Sydney, but is only running on the fourth and last days, 17th-18th January. Australia's rowers are competing in state teams, and they have invited New Zealand, China and Great Britain to challenge them. The format is openweight 1x, 2-, 2x, 4- and 4x plus a lightweight 2x for both men and women, and an eight which must be made up of existing team members. In fact the limit is 10 men and 10 women per team, all under-19 in age, so some athletes will triple up. The official website has the rowing schedule, rowing index and full list of entered athletes, together with a preview story, Young guns aim to strike first London blow. See here for the 2007 finals results on its official website (results are in two PDF files just above the schedule for each day).
• The poster for the Warrington Head of the Mersey (7th Feb, UK), in PDF format. Entries by OARA only, closing at 10pm on Friday 30th January. No doubling up of athletes or boats in consecutive divisions.
• Quintin (UK) is on a recruitment drive, with open days on 15th and 21st February, two learn-to-row courses in March, and are looking for a support coach for the open days and onwards. Details on the link. A student age coach would be suitable, though qualifications are a plus, and coach mentoring is a strong possibility. They are also looking for coxes for the Eights Head.
• Overseas entries for the Eights Head (UK) must be in by 5pm on 23rd January. Entries from UK (not including IARU) clubs will open the day after, and close on 20th February. The lightweight category is being offered again, 73.5kg average crew weight limit.
• Frank Biller of Nielsen-Kellerman is visiting the UK this month and will be running three free workshops on how best to use the NK Speedcoach XL. One is during the ARA coaches' conference (Saturday 24th January), one on Monday 26th January in Abingdon and the third in Cambridge (Goldie Boathouse) on Tuesday 27th January. A fourth may be arranged on Sunday 25th if there is enough interest and if a suitable venue can be found. Please contact Andrew Wilson if you are likely to want to attend a Sunday workshop.
• A poster for Peterborough's Head of the Nene (7th February, UK). Entries by OARA only, payment online or by cheque accompanied by a summary of the entry, closing date noon on 1st February.
• A link to the AHOY centre schedule - AHOY (Adventure, Help and Opportunities for Youth, UK) runs various boating activities at Greenwich, including some land and water rowing training and instructors' training.
• A link for your favourites list if you regularly row on the Thames (UK): the Environment Agency's stream conditions page, including their yellow and red boards, also available as an RSS feed.
• Rowing in the news - Rowing hopeful set tall order for 2012 (Reading Evening Post, UK), Pravasini Dwivedy set to begin second innings (Kalinga Times, India), Overdue report still unfinished (Charlottesville Daily Progress, USA), Hall eager to test the water (Tasmania Examiner, Australia), NZ faces rescue bill for Antarctic rower (New Zealand Herald, NZ), A veteran, poet and artist (about David W Moore, formerly of North Bay RC, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, USA).

  Monday 12th January 2008

• The website for the Junior inter-regional regatta (ARA, UK), with details of this year's changes (no J/WJ14 singles, and J/WJ15 4+ added) and how to enter. Regional entries must be in by Friday 6th March, together with the regional affilliation fee.
• Another technical paper from Michael Macrossan: Does the pinching force dissipate the rower's energy? (PDF format, Australia). Four of Macrossan's papers can be found quickly online via this search results link.
• Details on a PDF of the Head of the Taff (28th February, Cardiff, Wales). Entries have to be in by Sunday February 22nd.
• Information is now out about the 2009 Rose vom Wñrthersee, a 16km marathon sculling race whose date has now been confirmed as Saturday 10th October 2009 (Austria). There is information about the 2008 race on the RV Albatros website, but it hasn't yet been updated. The files are quite large so email Willy Koska if you want copies of the current information before the website is updated.
• Relating to the WeHORR Tideway coxing safety movie online (Thursday's news), copies of the original DVD or VHS are available via Andrew Ruddle (UK) for anyone who is interested.
• Wycliffe Big Head (February 7th, UK) is now open on OARA. Details from the Wycliffe website.
• Information about the South of England Indoor Rowing Champs (UK). The list of events is as on the Hinksey Sculling School website, but there is more information in the covering letter and rules page (both Word), plus Excel file of the events. (All published on the RS since I can't find any source for them online). Closing date for entries is 23rd January.
• 2010 world champs selects staff (WorldRowing, FISA, from a Rowing NZ press release).
• NZ New Years honours - George Bridgewater, Nathan Twaddle and Mahe Drysdale NZ MBE for services to rowing,
• OUBC (UK) have had a website facelift, still at the old URL. A few glitches with the history pages, but up to date news, calendar, and a photo gallery which will be filled later. Also promised later, an alumni update- your-details page, and OUBC merchandise.
• A blog from Silas Stafford, one of the US rowers now trialling for Cambridge.
• Up for sale on eBay, a 1979 Oxford bumps programme, which probably didn't cost much more than £1 at the time it was sold. There are lots of other rowing items on the UK rowing page, including a load of HRR and Leander badges, nice to know they're worth a few peanuts if you hang on to them long enough. Glad to see that the guy truing to sell "paddle signed by famous teams" after two regattas in Poland for £300 isn't getting anywhere: I bet the Leander/Brookes/Oxford/Cambridge crews signing were sure they were doing it for the host club's own collection, not for a non-rowing profiteer. Addition - a correspondent thinks they are selling them for charity, www.kiwanis.pl, in which case fair play.
• Rowing headlines - Boats, books and bedtime set boat race routine (Patrick Kidd, The Times, UK), Olympian who never lost love of rowing (obituary of Sid Rand in the Henley Standard, UK), Satch looking to impress at Olympic festival (Henley Standard, UK), Sarasota lake could become rowing attraction (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, USA), Olympic hero Lucy to quit rowing (BBC, UK), County firm plays part in race for gold (This is Lincolnshire, UK), Moodemere regatta judged 'best in state' (Border Mail, Australia), Adventurer's bid to sidestep NZ ban (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia), Wannabe Olympians discover a gruel world (The Times, UK), Rower ready for ocean challenge (Geelong Advertiser, Australia), Pain of defeat only boosts desire for gold (Canberra Times, Australia), Golden girl ties the knot (New Zealand Herald, NZ), Georgina steers a course down the aisle (Stuff, NZ), Cycling Sally fails to finish in race towards a new career (Canberra Times, Australia), Coverack resident is second sister to reach 100 (? the world's oldest living former member of a rowing club, perhaps, This is the West Country, UK), Woman losing her battle with deadly disease (Sudbury Star, Canada), Canada opposes limit on London entries (Globe and Mail, Canada), Canadian star rips Swiss proposal to limit top rowing teams (Toronto Star, Canada), Wings of the past (The Columbian, USA), Man refuses to identify burglar (Buxton Advertiser, UK), Indian Ocean row beckons Madsen (WorldRowing, FISA), 2012 proposal could limit Team GB rowing medals (Simon Hart, Sunday Telegraph, UK), CrossFit workouts are rarely routine (Stars and Stripes, USA), Boathouse opponent hopes to reiterate proposal (Delaware News, USA), Waddell quick to make mark (Sonia, Stuff, NZ), No boat, no crew for Tomkins' next race (Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia), Review: Navy's wonder crew (National Examiner, USA), Hereford adventurer Leven on his way in Trade Winds row (Hereford Times, UK), Awards keep coming for Richmond rower (Richmond News, Canada), At Music Theatre, grand plans gone awry (Salem News, USA), Braun finds a tough row to row (Free Lance-Star, USA), Port Kembla beckons crews (surf rowing in the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner, Australia), An interview with Wilton's Celia Kohl (Wilton Villager, USA), Gauging progress ahead of nationals (Marlborough Express, NZ), Home Depot ends Olympic sponsorship, leaves US athletes high and dry< (Vancouver Sun, Canada), Record bid a drop in the ocean for local rowers (Bray People, Ireland), Kids' rowing relay (South Manchester Reporter, UK), Koch's boathouse proposal fits times (Kansas.com, USA), Raw sewage spills into Broad River (The State, USA), Free hopes to continue Ginn partnership (ABC Online, AUstralia in December), Burton hope for new year party (Burton Mail, UK), Rowing coach tapped for national position (Miami Herald, USA).
• And a series of articles and resources on rowing within the Guardian Getting Fit section: Strength training for rowing (3 pictures), Olympic champion Andy Hodge reveals the secrets of his winning stroke, Andy Hodge: 'Rowing has redefined me', Improving technique, 'Get into some Lycra'.... essnetial gear for rowers.
• There's also an odd link - Campaigners fight a bridge too far on national trail (Grough, UK) which is odd because there is already a moveable bridge in the place discussed, which can impede walkers if it is shifted to allow launches out. Bizarre.

  Thursday 8th January 2009

• Entries are now open for this year's Thames Valley Trial Head (UK, 25th January) and can be made via this page on the Marlow Regatta website. Coastal boat classes are once again included. A one-off payment per competitor is made for the use of Dorney Lake so entering more than one division may be cost-effective.
• Sad news (UK) - Staines and Worcester RCs stalwart Bryan Griffin died on Sunday 28th December, after fighting illness for a number of years. The funeral is on Friday 9th January at 3:15pm at St John's Church, Bedwardine, Worcester, no flowers by request but donations to St Richard's Hospice. Full details on the Staines website front page.
• Details of Stourport Winter Head (UK, 25th January) are online. Entries by post, email or phone close on 17th January at 6pm.
• Entries are now open for the Women's Eights Head of the River (UK, 7th March at 12:30). The closing date is midnight on 13th February or when 300 entries have been accepted, whichever is sooner.
• Mote that the WeHORR now has the Coxing the Tideway Head modern video on their own website, WMV format, should play in updated Quicktime and similar applications. Includes footage from most of the big Tideway heads and cartoonised diagrams of the lines to take.
• Simon Prior is planning to row 3,500 miles from Australia to Mauritius in April 2009, raising funds for Bob Wilson's Willow Foundation to help people with serious illness. He will launch the appeal on Friday 9th January 2009 at 10:30am, when he will row up the Thames from the Houses of Parliament to the Old Royal Naval College in his ocean boat. The aim is to be the fastest and youngest person to row the Indian Ocean.
• The River and Rowing Museum (UK) has joined the newly launched Our Sporting Life initiative, from the Sports Heritage Network, involving a search for the sporting memories, artefacts, photographs, videos and stories which have inspired Great Britain. This will run up until 2012.
• Mote that the RRM's brief closure (5th-9th Jan) for routine maintenance ends this weekend, so the collections can be visited once again from Saturday onwards.

  Saturday 3rd January 2009

• Sad news (UK). Old Oxford Blue Michael Barry, emeritus fellow of St John's College Oxford, fell off his bike on 12th December 2008, injuring his head badly on ice. I've just heard that he subsequently died on Christmas Eve. The funeral is is St John's at 11:30am on Wednesday 14th January, with a blessing and burial at Holy Rood Church, Shilton, Oxfordshire, on Thursday 15th January at 11:30am. No flowers by request but donations to Cancer Research UK.
• Santa arrived in decuplicate and rowing this year in Kastoria (Greece): see the direct YouTube link or the Kopilasia Rowing blog including it.

  Friday 2nd January 2009

• Based in the North East of England (UK), Rowins Repairs, serving the north and Scotland, and including boat and erg repairs, servicing, and about to add boat fittings sales.
• Mortlake Anglian & Alpha (UK) has updated its famous Tideway tide tables with the 2009 data. Conversions to other Tideway reference points below the main table.
• Details of the City of Swansea Head (Wales, UK) are online. Entries close 8pm Sunday 25th January, on standard ARA entry forms. The club makes the point that due to the short catchment, the event is unlikely to be affected by flooding.
• York City (UK) is moving its website: it will now be at www.ycrc.co.uk/, with the old site to close shortly. Along with the domain name change has gone an upgrade in look: very smart, with the OuseNews archive and a new version of the photo gallery up and running. Shame the wins list hasn't been ported over - always good to have a record of what's been won by the club.
• The website for Ur Kirolak (a combined sea-rowing and gastronomic club near San Sebastian in northern Spain) changed some time ago to www.urkirolak.com. The site now has a detailed historical archive with lists of Spanish and Basque medallists, scans of historical documents, and an explanation of the history of sliding-seat sea rowing in the area. Site in Basque, English and Spanish.