Expanded Canadian Henley Coverage on IRN Website

W1x Dash at Canadian Henley (Photo: B. Kitch)
The coverage of the 2011 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta continues, with more video interviews and photo galleries added to The Independent Rowing News' website and Facebook page as of today. In addition of footage of the Men's Champ Eight race from start to finish on Sunday afternoon, there are video interviews with Justin Jones (2010 US World Rowing Junior Champion at bow of the men's eight), RR written interviewee Jason Read in his first video interview of the summer, and Natalie Mastracci of the Canadian women's eight as she prepares to head over to Bled for Worlds beginning August 28. Video from the Men's and Women's Senior Lightweight Eights upcoming.

Canadian Henley, which began in 1880, is one of the longest running traditions in our sport, and I can now say that attending the regatta as both an athlete and a spectator is an unique experience. The regatta course, which was used for the 1999 World Rowing Championships (click here for a great race in the LM4- from that regatta), and which continues to be maintained as a FISA-level regatta venue, gives up and coming club athletes a chance to experience what it is like to line up at an elite level international regatta. The volunteers and regatta organizers run the event in much the same way as their FISA counterparts, and manage to host a huge number of events without deviating from the schedule (weather permitting), which helps to increase participation as well as interest. While the timing of the regatta usually prevents members of the Canadian and US senior national teams from racing at the regatta, there have been exceptions (as with last year, when the late date of the World Championships in Karapiro meant that the Canadian men's eight could race in St. Catharines without interrupting their preparations for Karapiro), and there are a number of internationals at the regatta each year, helping to elevate the standard and broaden the experience for younger athletes. This is perhaps most clear in the small town of Port Dalhousie, which is nestled between Lake Ontario and the foot of the rowing course, occupying a narrow strip of land that is absolutely taken over by rowers during the regatta. Much like its British counterpart, Canadian Henley provides an atmosphere in a relatively small area for rowers from many nations to gather and intermingle in the local restaurants, bars and clubs, though without any of the formal restrictions of the English event.

For more on the history of Canadian Henley, please visit Stan Lapinski's website, where Stan has compiled a great deal of information regarding the earliest stages of the regatta, and regatta records (click on the 'Additional Information' link for historical notes on the regatta).

Much more to come as we draw closer to the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia.

-RR

Trending posts this month

"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

Image
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
Read more

The 30 Best Rowing Coaches of All Time, Part 3: The Top 10

Image
The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. ...
Read more

So, are Naked Rowing Calendars a Thing Now?

Image
Warwick rowers are all in again this year (Photo courtesy of Warwick Boat Club)  The phenomenon started four years ago with the Warwick Rowing men's squad. Then, the following year, the Warwick women's team joined the fray. Now, Newcastle University's men and women are back on the naked calendar train. So, the question is, have rowing and naked calendars become a thing? The above video features the 2014-2015 Warwick women's squad—the third edition of the calendar , and, from the looks of it, the raciest. However, perhaps not so racy as that of the 2014-2015 Warwick men (see below). But raciness aside, all four of these teams have chosen worthy charities and have gone "the full monty" to make sure that those causes have received considerable contributions. The Warwick women contribute to Macmillan Cancer Support —a cause for which Warwick reports it has donated some £5,000. The Warwick men? Sport Allies —a charity that combats homophobia in spor...
Read more

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? At Marin Rowing Association, Culture is Key

Image
Hands in after training  My alarm goes off—it’s 4:22am.  It’s been a while since I did this. Immediately, I think back to a college dorm room, rolling out of bed and running down the steps to carpool caravan to Marina Del Rey.  Not this time, though. It’s a Tuesday in late September, and I’m heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to Greenbrae, California, where I’ll meet with the Marin Rowing Men’s Masters squad. Fortunately, it’s an unusually warm morning—and when I roll in, the boathouse is already buzzing with activity.  Launch time: 5:10. Heading out into the Bay before dawn The Marin Rowing Association program has both men’s and women’s masters boats competing to win at every event they attend. In the fall, that can only mean one thing: The Head Of The Charles .  The boat that Coach Rodrigo Rodrigues and I spend most of our time with is the Grand Masters eight—average age 60+. But that’s just one of five crews that launched with us that morning. Everyone’s ...
Read more

Winter Workouts: Why Do Rowers Fear the Erg?

Image
Op-Ed from the RowingRelated Editorial Staff Friend. Not foe. (Illustration: B. Kitch) I am really frustrated by our sport when it comes to the erg being viewed as a torture device rather than a helpful tool that people can enjoy. This negative mindset, which is extremely contagious, plagues the sport, preventing athletes from training to their potential and possibly serving as one of the reasons that careers in rowing, at every level, are often so short. When compared to other endurance sports, I have not encountered an equal level of disdain for such fundamental mental and physical endurance training. My main problem is that everywhere I turn in the rowing community, whether it's high school rowers, college athletes, or even national team hopefuls, I hear of people dreading the erg. I've never heard about a cross country runner 'dreading' a track workout. True, basketball and football players may dread running wind sprints or other such conditioning acti...
Read more