The results of the lwt men's double (2x) at U23 Worlds this weekend in Lithuania will influence the decision if RCA is going to send a  lwt 4x to the Sr. World Championships.  It is a bit of a relief, to tell you the truth, that we have done what we needed to here to be nominated for the boat.  We just require the other two dudes to pull through for us.

We will find out the results by this Sunday, July 15th and I'm sure a few days later the official decision by RCA.  I think the natural process to go through is a "out of my hands" feeling, but at the same time I feel like there is something more I can do or at least have a contingency plan if all else fails.  There still is the lwt single at Worlds this year...

More to follow soon. As soon as I know.

Summer Sessions

The sun is out and the temperatures have finally climbed to what it seems like "regular" June weather. It comes at a time of great shifts and transitions at the Victoria Training Centre (VTC). The Olympic qualified boats have returned after an eventful trip to World Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland. They came back with some great results including a new world-record time in the men's 8+! There were also some not so great results which caused some new seat-racing and time-trialing going on for the past week. For me, it is always very exciting but also anxious to watch.    To think that some of these guys (and girls) are racing on team Canada two months out from the Olympics and the position can by swiped out with one bad seat-race. 

The dwindling focused World Championship group that I have been part of has been puttering along at the same pace in the same place. All this time training and not racing has been a bit confusing to me. I know that each Saturday morning time-trial is a bit of a race but its just not the same. I want to be amped up and get that pre-race butterflies that I love. I want to line up next to other teams and see what it feels like to race other countries (not just the same guys week after week month after month). I'm ready for some action.

Henley Royal Regatta 1900's

One group that is getting some action this coming week is a hwt group heading to the Royal Henley Regatta. It is a traditional regatta started in 1839 held over five days every summer.   A quad has been selected from Rowing Canada athletes and entered including Matt Buie, Mike Harowicz, Jamie Abbass, and Steve Van Knotsenburg. All are really good guys with some powerful horsepower to put into it. They have been laying down some solid times recently and I'm excited to see their results in England next week. 

By early July (of this year I hope) I should have a better knowledge what is going to happen for the world championships.  For sure there will be a speedy pair made up of John Sasi and Eric Woelfl.  There has been some discussion of racing the single scull at Worlds or combining together a few different groups for a lwt quad (4x) sculling. I'm undecided at the moment of what would be a better option. I have enjoyed the past week working on things in the 1x.  Truthfully, I will need to gain some significant speed in the next few weeks to make racing the single a possibility. I have, however, felt a bit like a tortoise trying to last the long haul that is training at the VTC.    I think the next few weeks will be a very important time in the cycle of training. There will be some action upcoming in the next fortnight!

Eric and John getting off the water before a big Coast Guard wake

Perspectives from Above

The time has come for a shift in focus. For most of the Winter training I knew that there was an inevitable boiling point for my goals . Regardless of what outcome it was going to be a fresh change and a concrete target to aim towards. Was it going to be toward the Olympics, World Championships or something else...  To paint a picture of what possibilities lay ahead I have drawn a pictogram web to follow; using classic Microsoft paint!

- - dotted lines have not occurred yet.

*Note: I have to clarify that if everything did work out I would still need to be selected for the boat that is racing at the Olympic Qualifier or World Championships, which is not guaranteed and is a long-shot with my limited experience.

Lately, I have been trying to put everything into perspective. I often have one focal point and try to block out   any external influences to complete the task at hand. It is now time to take a step back and look at the big picture.  Ultimately, I have only a certain amount of energy to focus on each activity and I want it to be 100% effective. When I try to take a birds eye view of my plans/goals and look at where I see myself going in the next 6months, 1year, 2 years, and 5 years out from now, I want to be going in the right direction.

Who knows, really, where our goals take us and if they change over time then that is completely fine. It was nice to have some more clarity these past few weeks with a new coach assigned to the lwt group. There has been increased communication between coach and athlete and I feel more involved in deciding outcomes. For me,  I'm now excited at a real possibility (with a ton of work) for the World Rowing Championships this summer, and possibly more...