Head of the Forth: Stirling Rowing Club have sent information including the start list, map of the course, umpires list and local rules for the Head of the Forth being held on Saturday 2nd December.
26 November
Rowing Action: The December issues are ready for collection in the NRA office. The Glasgow ones will be delivered and the Aberdeen ones will be uplifted by Peter Morrison this weekend. If any other clubs are training at the Park, it would be great if they could pick up their box and any others they can assist in delivering.
2007 Selection Policy: The selection policy for 2007, revised following comments received at the SARA AGM last weekend, is now on the International Rowing page. Iain Somerside would also like to remind all athletes and coaches who wish to be involved in HIR 2007 that they must register by the 9th December (form and details in the policy document). All athletes must also submit an ergo test by the 9th December.
Coaches of junior athletes may wish to note that the selection policy notes that juniors are to submit a 5k ergo rate capped at 24, whereas the initial note on the December ergo stated a rate cap of 28.
23 November
Inverness Heads Photos: Some more photos from the Inverness Fours and Small Boats heads are now on the Clyde Gallery Site.
Universities Winter League: After two events the positions in the Universities Winter League are as below. Last years winners are very much in contention to retain the trophy. Hopefully recent loss of equipment does not stop them from keeping up the pressure on Glasgow.
1. Glasgow University
170
5. Heriot Watt University
64
2. Edinburgh University
131
6. Aberdeen University
48
3. Aberdeen University
115
7. Strathclyde University
43
4. Robert Gordon University
106
8. Dundee University
25
Strength and Conditioning coaching: Closing date for the Level 2 Certificate course in Coaching Strength and Conditioning for Sport is this weekend (advert, information, application form.
22 November
Glasgow Fours Head postponed: The race organisers met today and assessed the conditions; they have decided to postpone the race. The river was barely, if at all, rowable, with the conditions downstream of Dalmarnock Bridge and the Railway Bridge looking particularly tricky and the weather forecast is predicting heavy rain on Friday and high winds on Saturday. The organisers felt it was it important to make an early decisions and hope that crews might want to race two weeks later instead...
The SARA have confirmed that we can reschedule the event for Saturday 9th December. We can all only hope that the weather will be kinder then! Details (events etc) will be as originally offered, the on-line entry system will be made available again from Sunday 26th November and the new closing date for entries will be Sunday 3rd December at 5pm.
21 November
Glasgow Fours Head: The provisional start orders for both of Saturday's races are now online (division 1, division 2). As you will be aware, the rain has been almost incessant over the past couple of weeks. The Clyde has not been rowable for several days but the race organisers are hoping that the rain will stop or lessen enough that Saturday's races can go ahead. They are going to assess the conditions and the weather forecasts tomorrow (Wednesday) at mid-day and will make a decision on whether or not to proceed then; that decision will be announced tomorrow evening.
20 November
Trailer accident: Travelling back from the Fours Head on the A1 yesterday evening, Edinburgh University Boat Club's trailer, carrying their own boats and several from other clubs, was flipped over in high winds.
EUBC would be extremely grateful for any offers of help, particularly with regard to towing and equipment lending (spare coxed fours, blades etc) to help them get back on their feet whilst they sort out the damage. The club had intended to compete at the Glasgow Fours Head this upcoming weekend and Rutherford Head the weekend after and had planned a training camp on the Tyne in early January. Any offers of assistance over this period should be sent to David Anderson (Men's Captain) or Richard Lawrence (Boatman).
18 November
Fours Head: Six Scottish crews competed at today's Fuller's Head of the River Fours on the Tideway. Provisional results are on the Fours Head website.
14 November
Reminder: No coaching at Head Races: All clubs are reminded that coaching at Heads is regarded by Umpires as 'extraneous outside assistance' and therefore may render the crew liable to disqualification under rule F21. The subject has been articulated widely over a long period at AGMs, at briefings and in publications such as Rowing Action.
Legitimate encouragement is acceptable (e.g. "Well done University") but technical instruction or the transfer of race information is not (e.g. "timing" or "turn the bend now"). Because the dividing line can be blurred, coaches, and indeed supporters, should always err on the side of caution. For coaches to continue after being warned is inexcusable and will lead to certain disqualification.
Can all clubs please ensure that their coaches are advised to be very careful in calls to their crews while racing is in progress at Heads. Encouragement should be limited to shouts of encouragement and restrain themselves from going overboard in the heat of the race.
The one acceptable exception to this is, of course, the safety instruction to avoid a collision with an object, though the timing of a shout can be open to debate and even here should be the subject of careful thought.
Glasgow Fours Head: The on-line entry system is now available. It has been modified this year to allow you to select your crews from a drop-down list of your SARA-licenced club members. The person's name and licence number will be filled in for you. All the individual names for every crew entered via this system will be printed under the name of their event in the 'crew lists' section of the race day programme, available free.
General information. The usual information about the race is available on the GRC website. Keep looking here as more information will be added between now and race day.
Boating. GRCs priority on the day is competitor safety - which means starting the races on time! They will do everything in their power to help get crews on the water on time. Please help by letting them know where you intend to boat from on the day. Last year, the steps at GRC were fairly quiet - you are welcome to boat from there, where GRC can guarantee to provide marshalling and assistance.
Inverness Heads Results and Photographs: Results for the Inverness Fours and Small Boats Heads held last weekend are available on the IRC website.
Snapper Ron has dried out his camera and managed to resurrect some photographs from the gloom and lashing rain which fell during much of the racing at the Inverness Head of the River weekend. Other shots show fine sunshine and gleaming rainbows as the Scottish weather did its best to baffle us. The dedication of participants (especially coxes) has been captured in some of the images as the rain stotted off the canal into their faces. Everyone seemed to have a great time despite the weather and many smiley faces can also be seen. The meal in the golf club on Saturday evening must represent the bargain of the year - £10 for a three-course spread. Congratulations to everyone at Inverness RC for organising an extremely enjoyable weekend. Commiserations to Sandy Walker’s clutch that got so excited that it expired half way round a roundabout leaving the GRC trailer as a (rather ineffective) speed-reducing chicane. Perhaps motorists in Inverness drive just like IRC members row ... fast and taking no prisoners! Pictures are available on the Committee of the Dee website.
Photograph: Aberdeen Boat Club Mens Open 4+, winners of the antlers, 2006. Photo courtesy Roy Sinclair
Inverness Heads: All competitors at the Inverness Fours and Small Boats Heads are asked to read the competitors information document, which anticipates trailer and boat carrying parking needs and also includes other important information for event competitors at this weekend's event, which has a record total of 192 entries.
Team Manager Position: Applicants for Team Manager should send their applications in writing with a copy of their CV to Jo Ramsay at the National Rowing Academy, 366 Hamilton Road, Motherwell ML1 3ED or by email to jo.ramsay@scottish-rowing.org.uk. The closing date for applications is the 27th November 2006.
7 November
Rowing Action: The deadline for contributions for the forthcoming issue has been extended. If you have an article or other piece of news, please send it to Ailie Ord as soon as possible.
Scottish Rowing Awards: Recipients of the 2005-2006 SARA Rowing Awards were as follows:
Junior Oarswoman of the Year: Nicola Santoni (Strathclyde Park RC)
Junior Oarsman of the Year: Daniel Shankland (Castle Semple RC)
Volunteer of the Year:John Denovan (Stirling RC)
Coach of the Year: Ali Paterson (Aberdeen BC)
Senior Oarswoman of the Year: Lindsay Dick (Glasgow RC)
Senior Oarsman of the Year: David McNeill (Aberdeen BC)
Crew of the Year: Glasgow University Lightweight Double Scull (Chris & Jonny Logan)
6 November
Inverness Heads: The draw for the Inverness Fours Head and Small Boats Head is due to be posted on the Inverness Rowing Club website this evening (Tuesday lunchtime - the provisional draw is now available).
Advert for Team Manager: The Executive is looking to appoint a team manager to head up the association's International Team Management Group. This follows a review of the performance management structure of the the sport in Scotland. Full details of the new structure together with roles and responsibilites is contained in the attached document.
1 November
December Ergo Test: Advanced notice of an ergo test which all athletes wishing to be considered for junior or senior selection in 2007 must complete by 8th December. This test is the second in a series of ergo tests, which will also include the Scottish Indoor Erg Champs in February. The full selection policy for 2007 will be published on 19th November.
This site is designed for
MS
Explorer 5/ Netscape 5 or later. If you have older versions, try using the links to download their latest (free) v6 updates
Inverness Heads Results and Photographs: Results for the Inverness Fours and Small Boats Heads held last weekend are available on the 