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Rowbust in Regina - Sunday - RACE DAY!

7/22/2019

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This weekend at the Canadian National Championships came with it’s fair share of challenges! Weather/water conditions on Friday caused long delays between races and forced Dragon Boat Canada officials to reschedule racing for the entire weekend.  Continued delays in racing on Saturday, even in better conditions, again forced the officials to scramble and make more changes to the remaining divisions who hadn’t started racing because of Fridays delays. These changes ended up being the cancellation of all 2km races for the BCS and Senior B Mixed division. For Rowbust this decision was disappointing because the 2km is our favourite race distance.  But, it is what it is, and we rolled with it!
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This year there were six BCS teams who came to race.  Rowbust has been working hard over the last 10 years to encourage other BCS teams from across Canada to come and compete at the National level so we were ecstatic to find growth in our division this year.  Previous years have seen as few as one other team for us to race with and just last year in Welland we were the only BCS crew to register to compete at Nationals.  So, you can just image our excitement for the opportunity for some real competition!

We arrived at race site an hour before our first 200m heat race.  After warming up, loosening up tight muscles and getting our heart rates up with a cardio warm up we proceeded to marshaling where we got our first look good look at the competition.  

For our first race we were in lane one.  We loaded our boat and proceeded to the start line.  A calm came over our crew.  We were finally about to race.  Finally doing what we came here to do. Finally all together and ready to have some FUN!  We sat quietly in our boat, visualizing what we needed to do.  Reviewing the race plan in our minds.  Breathing deeply, rolling shoulders and staying loose.  All six boats approached the start line together.  As usual, our steersperson, Shirley, expertly maneuvered our boat to the starting bouys for a floating start.  The other boats continued to jockey for position as we held ours, ready to blast off that line!  With everyone in position, the starter called “ATTENTION!” – Shirley & Shantal, in unison called us to race position – “READY READY”, and at the sound of the horn we were off like a shot! Five hard, powerful strokes to get us moving, then “UP” for a gear change in to another five strokes, “UP!” in to third gear, then fourth gear and one final “UP” in to our 200m race pace with a full on “POWER NOW!” Every paddle hitting the catch at the same time, pulling water in long, fast strokes.  There is no time in a 200m race to get comfortable.  We go hard, we go harder and then we go our absolute hardest!  No one is looking anywhere but straight ahead, cross checking in our peripheral to stay in time.  We’ve got no idea where we are in line with the other boats.  All we can do is go hard and see where the chips fall after the finish line.  Shantal & Shirley finally called “LET IT RUN!” and a quick look over our shoulders didn’t tell us whether or not we were first over the line!!  As we paddled back to the dock we passed under a bridge and saw our supporters cheering us on, holding up one finger to let us know we’d done it! Holy cow, that was too close for comfort!  Our time in the first 200m race was 56.06 seconds.  Hamilton was right on us with 57.06.  We wanted competition – and they brought it!!  

Off the boat we debriefed with coaches, they liked what they saw!  We felt good about our performance, we loved the rush of being pushed.  And we knew we had to do it again and again. It would not be easy.

It was not too long before we were back in marshaling for the 200m final race.  This time we’d earned our place in lane 3.  A new race, a new lane and the same tough competition.  We knew what we had to do and we were “ready ready” to do it.  The same blast out of the start, the “UP, UP, UP and UP” shifting through all the gears and then powering down the course for the same result – we didn’t know if we’d done it!  Our supporters on the shore didn’t know if we’d won! Our supporters at home watching the live feeds didn’t know if we’d won it…. It was a true photo finish!  The live results were posted and it was then that we knew we’d won our 200m final by less than one second!  We finished with a time of 55.64, faster than the heat race.  Hamilton was again right on our tail with a time of 56.28 followed by the V I Paddlers with a time of 57.20.  

With the 200m races out of the way it was time to concentrate on the up coming 500m races. These races are worth more in the points ratings, so we needed to be at our very best.

Back in marshaling, in the shute for lane one.  Each section of the boat (front, engine & back) grouped together talking race plan.  Captain Kuska walked through  giving us her words of encouragement and asked us to give her everything we had!  

We loaded our boat and backed away from the dock so we could get out to the start line and practice a couple of starts on our way out.  Our practice starts felt strong and once again that comforting calm came over the crew.  Each of us feeling the energy of our teammates.  We waited on the start line as the usual jockeying of boats took place.  With everyone set on the line the starter called us to “ATTENTION” followed by the growl of “READY READY” and we are immediately in race mode.  The horn blows and we take off! Within 50m of the start the starter official is blasting her horn to call us off!  One of the boats in our heat caused a false start as they came out of their lane and in to the neighbouring lane. We all turned back to the start line to sit and wait for the race to start again.  We were not rattled.  We remained calm.  And soon we were blasting out of the start again.  Powering down the course, keeping our strokes long and in sync. Stroke after stroke after stroke we surged and kept our boat out in the lead!  Crossing the finish line we could clearly see that we’d won it!  But Hamilton remained right on our tail!  It was still way too close for comfort!  The live results page showed that we won the 500m heat race by a full 4 seconds. Our finishing time was 2:18.31.  Followed by Hamilton with 2:22.66. We needed to improve that spread for the 500m final!  We could not let them take us!  

Back at our tent we hydrated and fueled up in preparation for our final race of the day.

More delays in the racing schedule meant more waiting at the tent, more waiting in marshaling, more waiting and more waiting!  

On the start line for our 500m final we waited. We had our marching orders.  Captain Kuska once again had asked us for everything we had.  “We need to empty the tank on this one!”  Out of the start we were powerful and strong.  We geared up into our race pace and powered down the racecourse with our long, powerful stroke.  But something wasn’t right.  Something that we’ve never felt.  We could see boats on either side of us and they were surging.  Shantal and Shirley called us in to power after power and we gave them everything!  It was a dogfight to the end.  This time, everything was not enough.  We knew in that moment that we would not be taking a gold medal home with us on this trip.  Our final 500m time was 2:23.33 earning us a third place finish behind Hamilton with a time of 2:20.33 and the V I Paddlers with a time of 2:22.88.  One word crossed our minds – heartbreak.   We did not retain our title as National Champions.  The best we could hope for in that moment was a Silver medal finish.

Coming off the boat we dreaded the debrief.  We had a check list of things to accomplish this weekend - #1 bust our butts to retain our National Championship title.  We did not.  Couch talked with us about what we felt had happened and what we improve upon to not let this happen again. There was nothing left to do now but to congratulate the winners.  With genuine smiles on our faces, and in our hearts, we ran to the Hamilton crew to offer our congratulations on their win and thanked them for the amazing racing we did together.  Next we congratulated the V I Paddlers crew for their 2nd place finish in the race. Followed by Toronto Dragons Abreast, Chemo Savvy & Busting with Energy. These are the teams that now understand what it is paddle and compete at Nationals.  And we sincerely hope that they continue to come to Nationals and grow the BCS division!  The sport of Dragon Boating for Breast Cancer Survivors is an important part of our recovery and support in what could be a devastating time.  Paddling brings us together and makes us “Warriors on the water, but friends on the shore” (Thanks for the quote Gwen – of Hamilton).

Rowbust returned to our tent to clean up and pack up our gear to prepare to graciously accept a Bronze medal award.  

As the medal presentations started and the MC talked about our BCS division he reminds of how it is that we got here.  The hellish paths we took to get here and the awesomeness of our accomplishments in even having the courage to take on the sport after our experiences.  When you think about it in those terms it certainly puts it in a different perspective.  We are ALL CHAMPIONS!  We are champions of LIFE!

As Mr. MC was about to call up the Bronze medal winners Rowbust prepared to make our way to the podium – but wait!  He didn’t call us!  He called the V I Paddlers!  That means – we’d won SILVER!  We cheered for the V I Paddlers as they accepted their Bronze medals and waited to be called up next.  Rowbust proudly took our place on the Silver Medal podium and cheered for Hamilton as they climbed to the top of the podium to accept their Golds!  

After all the hardware was handed out and the photos taken we made our way back to the hotel, some stopped along the walk back to grab a bite and share a laugh with friends and teammates alike, others opted to hit the showers before partaking in some delicious offerings at the hotel bar.  

Some members actually had to leave before the medal presentation to catch the red-eye flight home so they could work on Monday but they were quick to reply to multiple texts from those of us left at race site informing them of our Silver medal win.  

Every one of us has taken time over the last 24 hours to reflect on the day.  What could we have done to change the outcome and what will we work on when we get home.  We are genuinely happy for Hamilton, they worked hard, they wanted it and the did it.  This is not to say that they wanted it more than us.  We ALL wanted it!  We ALL worked for it and it took a dog-fight to decide it.

Congratulations to the Knot Abreast BCS Dragon Boat team of Hamilton Ontario for your Gold Medal win at the 2019 Canadian National Championships in Regina, SK.  We’ll see you in France in 2020 at the Club Crew World Championships! 


Final thoughts...

Being a member of Rowbust is truly a privilege.  Never have I met a more supportive, caring, sharing/oversharing, wonderfully intrusive group of women!  (Yep, you read that right! Lol) During the long stretches of down time at race site, or in the hotel or lounging at long, late dinners we have learned more about each other in this trip than any of us cared to know!  It’s what happens in groups as close and connected as ours.  There is way too much information shared and it just brings us closer together! This weekend is not a "loss".  We have come away with many wonderful memories! And in that we are winners.

Thank you for following us across the country to Regina!  We look forward to sharing our stories from France in August 2020!

Blog contributor - Suzanne Newington (aka Newton) - joined 2011
Photo contributors - random member photos!
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Rowbust in Regina - Saturday

7/20/2019

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Rowbust was not scheduled to race today...so there are no Rowbust updates.  

However, our Sr. B women's crew did get to race their 500m heat and final races in beautiful, calm conditions!  A 100% improvement over yesterdays weather.  But even with great conditions there were delays at the start line and the race schedule was pushed later in to the day.

Not only were there delays on the start line, there was a delay caused by a boat taking on too much water and sinking just shy of the finish line of their 2km race!  And not to worry, thank fully everyone is okay! 


Check out the video -  Sunken Dragon Boat Video

Today's delay caused the cancellation of ALL remaining 2km races.  So you know what that means....another change to the Rowbust race schedule! (so yeah, I guess there is one Rowbust update)  We will only race 200m & 500m race distances on Sunday.  It is a disappointment because the 2km is our favourite race.  But we also understand the constraints these delays put on the organizers in trying to keep the event fair for all divisions.  

Hopefully Sunday goes off without a hitch and I can regale you with the exciting tales of our 200m and 500m races!

Until then...keep your fingers crossed and send all your positive vibes our way for a perfect day!


Blog contributor - Suzanne Newington (aka Newton) joined 2011
​Video credit - Shantal Feltham joined 2017
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Rowbust in Regina - "Race" Day 1

7/20/2019

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The high winds we experienced in Regina on Friday for the first day of racing at the Canadian National Championships caused major delays in getting boats lined up at the start line.  Much to the frustration of – well, everyone! Many races took upwards of 15 to 20 minutes to get lined up because of the wind and water conditions. Weather is unavoidable and Dragon Boat Canada has done their very best to accommodate everyone while Mother Nature is angry.  Thank you DBC, the organizers, officials and the volunteers!  You are greatly appreciated for everything you do!

Our Pendragon Sr. B women’s crew did get their 200m heat and 200m final race in yesterday after long delays and long, patient waits in marshalling.  And our Pendragon Sr. B. mixed crew was able to race their 200m heat race before Dragon Boat Canada called it and cut racing off at race #55.  The remaining 200m races will be run on Sunday morning.

After a long day we returned to our hotel for a late dinner and the conversation around the dinner tables quickly erupted in laughter about the memories made on and off the water.  There is rarely a dull moment in this crowd of crazy paddlers so we had lots to laugh about. 

Racing for the Sr. B women’s crew resumes today (Saturday) and the Sr. B mixed and Rowbust crews will race all remaining races on Sunday.

Rowbust race schedule Sunday July 21:

200m
> Heat Race #56 @ 7:24 
> Final Race #63 @ 8:20
500m
> Heat Race #138 @ 10:44
> Final Race #158 @ 13:35
2000m
> Race # 171 @ 16:10

 
 
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Rowbust in Regina - Practice Day

7/18/2019

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Greetings readers!

Our flights from London - Toronto - Regina were uneventful...and as we all know, any flight that lands on its wheels and arrives without incident is a great flight!  Good job West Jet!

Our lodgings at the Double Tree in lovely downtown Regina are beautiful and offer a bountiful breakfast buffet that we take full advantage of to fuel up for the day.  We've scoped out the area and found everything we need within walking distance - race site, grocery store, drug store, farmers market...liquor store (for Sunday Coach!!).  We're all set!

We made the 20 minute trek to race site at Wascana Park for our 11am practice.  For two hours we worked the race plan and starts as well as lining up at the start line for the "held" start. It is "held" by our stern, Shirley, who grabs a post sticking out of the water and can't let go until the starter gives the signal!  It's a new one for us but we'll make it work!  Or rather...Shirley will make it work with our help.

Our starts are feeling powerful and our powers are feeling strong - we are "Ready Ready!"

The race schedule has changed yet again - 200m races are tomorrow race #'s 57 & 66.

Here is the link to the most current race schedule - our division is "BCS OPEN"
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/2364d1_199fb1117eb744e5832a745431a0ef5a.pdf

And what many have been asking for - here is the link to the LIVE STREAM!
https://www.dragonboat.ca/livestream

Enjoy!  

Thank you for following along!



Blog contributor - Suzanne Newington (aka Newton) joined 2011
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Rowbust in Regina - Updated Race Schedule

7/17/2019

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There have been revisions made to the race schedule.  Here is the updated version of Rowbust's race times in local Regina time:

Friday July 19, 2019
> Race #57 @ 3:48pm – 200m Heat
> Race #66 @ 5:00pm – 200m Final
 
Sunday July 21, 2019
> Race #145 @ 9:39am – 500m Heat
> Race #163 @ 12:12pm – 500m Final
> Race #176 @ 2:50pm – 2000m

 
If and when there is a Live Stream link posted we will share it here and on our Facebook page!

The full schedule can be found at 
https://www.dragonboat.ca/canadian-championships.

Paddles Up!
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Rowbust - Road to Regina 2019

7/16/2019

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How is it already July?  How is it already one full year since we were in Italy & Hungary?!?  The hands of that clock just keep ticking as we, the members of Rowbust, keep moving forward!

Each year we welcome new members to our club and to our many crews – members who breathe new life in to the organization!  We regenerate year after year so that we can continue to grow and change in order to take on new challenges!

This year’s challenge – to plan and host our 20th Anniversary!  In June we hosted our Fanshawe Dragon Boat Festival over two days.  Saturday for the Community teams and Sunday for all Breast Cancer Survivor teams!  The weekend included a Gala Dinner to celebrate 20 years of Rowbust where we connected with old friends and enjoyed wonderful speeches & presentations about our team from our humble beginnings, our growing list of accomplishments and our very bright future!  It was truly an awe inspiring weekend!

All the while, during the planning of this event, we were training in the gym, training on the water, training our brains, managing the club duties, hosting another successful Spring Golf Tournament, competing at other festivals to qualify for Nationals, working our regular jobs, spending time with family & friends and finding the time to get the necessary rest and nutrition to be at our best for all of it.  Nothing short of hard work gets all of this done.  And the members of Rowbust are no strangers to hard work.  It’s all about team work!

We started our competition season at one of our favourite festivals – May 26th at Heart Lake in Brampton hosted by the True North Women’s crews out of Toronto.  It is at this festival that our brand new members get their first taste of racing.  As usual, it was a great day!  The weather was perfect, the water was perfect and the venue was perfect!  Two Rowbust crews competed and both won top spot in their respective divisions!  How’s that for “getting a taste”!

After hosting our 20th Anniversary event on June 8 & 9 we were training hard for our next event in Hamilton on July 6th.  This event always has it’s challenges - insufficient washroom facilities and the supplies needed in there, the boats were not what we’re used to, the weather was absolutely ridiculous and caused serious delays in the schedule – oh, and the driver who “misread his GPS” and landed in the water!  (You can’t make this stuff up, it happened!)  All in all the racing was good and the results even better with Rowbust bringing home more hardware!

Fast forward to the present – on Wednesday July 17th we board the plane and fly off to Regina, Saskatchewan to complete in the Canadian National Dragon Boat Club Crew Championships!  This year is Rowbust’s 10th trip to Nationals and we’re just as excited as we were for the first time!  This year brings more competition, more BCS teams are coming out to play, more than have ever come to compete at Nationals since the BCS division was created in 2010!  As usual we’ve been working hard to improve our performance so that we are ready for the competition that awaits us!

We’ll arrive in Regina late in the evening (10:43pm Regina time/12:43am at home) and head straight to our hotel to catch some zzz’s so that we are rested for our practice session that is scheduled for Thursday morning at race site on Wascana Lake in the heart of Regina!

The race schedule for Nationals is now published and can be found at: https://www.dragonboat.ca/canadian-championships

Rowbust race schedule - in local Regina time
Friday, July 19, 2019
Race # 57 @ 3:48pm – 200m heat
Race #66 @ 5:00pm – 200m final

Sunday, July 21, 2019
Race #144 @ 9:39am – 500m heat
Race #161 @ 12:12pm – 500m final
Race #173 @ 2:50pm – 2000m

Thanks for following along!  We’ll keep you posted!


​You can follow us on:
  • Facebook ~ @rowbust
  • Instagram ~ @rowbustbcs
 


Blog contributor - Suzanne Newington (aka Newton) - joined 2011
 

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Rowbust - 2018 Adventures, a few final thoughts...

7/28/2018

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It’s been a week since our final race in Szeged, Hungary effectively wrapping up our teams 2018 European adventures that we’ve been planning for the last two years!  Many (…many) fundraising events, training camps, fitdex testings, weigh ins, paddling practices and workouts later and it’s all done! 

Our traveling members are making their way home after well-deserved vacations.  Some are already home, some are on their way and some are on extended vacations traveling around Europe.

I’m sure that each of us have taken time over the past week or few weeks, depending upon which event we’ve participated in, to reflect upon what we accomplished this July.  It was nothing short of “Awesome good” …a term that somehow found it’s way in to our boat in Hungary from the out-of-breath mouth of one of our crew after a particularly grueling race…and it stuck!

Our teammates who travelled to Florence, Italy and raced in the International Breast Cancer Paddler’s Commission (IBCPC) Participatory Festival for breast cancer survivors from around the globe did us proud as ambassadors of Rowbust!  Many of this crew had never been to an event of this type or magnitude and they were thrilled to take part!  We are thrilled that they were the crew who represented us at the Ultimate Celebration of Survivorship & Sisterhood!  Teams from around the globe congregating in one place to share their love of paddling and togetherness while celebrating the best gift of all…LIFE!  A life made better by living it together one stroke at a time.

In Hungary we pulled out some incredible racing.  Personally, after our first 200m race when we had to put absolutely everything we had in to keeping our boat in the lead…I was scared.  The other teams have been working hard to be faster than us…to beat us!  No longer would Rowbust blow the other crews out of the water.  No longer would we cross the finish line with fuel left in our tanks.  We were pushed hard by our competitors and we LOVED IT!  We dug deep.  Deeper than we have ever had to in the past.  We took no prisoners!  We trusted our long powerful strokes, our drummer, our stern and our coaches…but most of all we trusted ourselves.  Each stroke was a display of our dedication to this team.  To each other.  To the members on the shore.  To the members at home.  To the members we have lost…

I want to thank everyone, again, who followed us through our adventures this summer via our blog.  I am never quite sure of how many readers we have until I hear from my teammates about the texts, emails and other messages they get from home and pass on to me.  Or when a reader leaves a comment for me to share with the team.  It has been an honour for me, Suzanne N. and for Susan O., to share our stories with you from Italy and Hungary on behalf of our teammates.  It has been incredible for us to have these experiences and to share them.  And to know how much it is appreciated at home makes it so much sweeter!

Humbly yours…Suzanne & Susan 😊

​Paddles Up!
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Rowbust in Hungary - 2,000m Race Day!

7/21/2018

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This is it, the last day of racing for Rowbust at the Club Crew World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.  The venue has changed.  We were now racing on the Tisza River that runs right through Szeged.  The same place where the opening ceremonies were held just a few days ago.  The vendors have all moved their tents and their wares from the Olympic Regatta Center to the banks of the Tisza. And the locals can come and watch some excellent Dragon Boat races and cheer on their favourite crews.

Once again, it’s hot.  There is little shade cover but we managed to find a good spot outside of the new paddlers village in the park above the river.

Soon we were warming up with some cardio exercise and mentally preparing for the 2,000m race we came here for.

We watched a few first.  We saw the swift current that made the first and third 500m legs of the races look really easy and the second and fourth look really hard as paddlers fought the current in the opposite direction.   

It was our turn.  We loaded our boat.  Each of us having to sit on the edge of a pier to step down to a platform to then get down in to the boat. Once loaded we push away from the dock and we head to the start line.  We get a taste of what the second and fourth 500m stretches will feel like.

We were the last of 10 boats to leave the start line and we are drifting in the current that wants to snatch us. Shirley is an expert stern and keeps us from getting caught in it before it’s time. 
Boats approach the start line at 15 second intervals for the 2,000m with the fastest boats last…this means we had some passing to do! 

We floated up to the start line, we were set in our “Ready Ready” position and on the starters very calm and quiet “Go” we were off.  Shirley got us right in the current and we used it to our advantage for the first 500m.  We were just off the tail of the New Zealand crew in front of us.  Shirley took us around the turn and Laura called us to “restart NOW” as we straightened up. The second 500m was rough, there was wake from other boats that jostled us around but we powered through.  It took the full 500m to get the head of our dragon passed the tail of the New Zealand boat to attempt to have the right of way around the second turn. 

Going in to the turn…even though the head of our dragon was definitely passed the tail of the New Zealand boat the official gave the right of way to New Zealand.  However…we continued to power through the turn.  The stern of the New Zealand boat was yelling at us to get out of her way but we didn’t stop.  We’ve been caught in this position before and it’s cost us the gold medal…we would not be letting up to let that happen again!  Shirley turned our boat so close to the bouys that we hit every one on our way by…but she kept them on the right side so there could be no penalty!  Once we were cranked around the final bouy and in to our “restart” we took off like a shot and left the New Zealand boat in our wake! 

We were in the current again on the third stretch.  Our paddles hitting the water in sync on every stroke.  Suddenly…Nathalie’s paddle “catches a crab” and flies out of her bottom hand…the same thing had happened to her at National’s and just like then she reacted quickly, grabbing it back and jumping back in to stroke like nothing happened!

In to turn three we go, our sites are now on the Vermont boat.  We didn’t catch them on the straight away but we most definitely closed the gap!!

Again Shirley takes us around the bouys in a turn so smooth and tight…it’s really a thing of beauty to see first hand.

On the home stretch we are giving it everything we’ve got left in us to catch up and pass Vermont!  Our strokes are long and strong.  We are focused on our one job…to paddle with all our might.

A hundred meters out of the finish line we are called to bring our rate up with power.  A few more strokes and we’re called up again.  We power through the finish line before we are finally able to “let it run”. 

Something that never happens….Captain Linda has collapsed breathless in seat one.  We all know how that feels!  You give and give and give everything to get you, your team and your boat across the finish line and there is just nothing left at the end!  THAT is what gets us there!  THAT is what gets us the GOLD!

There is no celebrating in our boat…1) we don’t want to tip 2) we really don’t know where we ended up in time.  We knew that there could be penalties involved from turn two when we didn’t have the right of way.

So we paddled back to the dock.  Got out of our boat and went back to our camp to wait for the official results.  There was no celebrating of any kind, just nervous chatter until Coach Cheryl came to deliver the news.  New Zealand was protesting our start and our turn two.  But they’d LOST their protest!!  We’d won our 2,000m race!!  Three GOLD medals at CCWC!

We did what we came here to do!  We came to defend our title and defend we did!

2,000m Race times:
   * Rowbust – 10:34.152
   * Vermont – 10:50.801
   * New Zealand – 11:04.482

Lining up for our third turn on the podium we were told that we had to wait.  The race was still under protest. We thought perhaps the young man who was volunteering surely had not been given the news.  He must have been mistaken. 

The announcer called the winner of the Silver medal – New Zealand??? 

How could this be?  Vermont clearly had the faster time.

But Vermont had made a critical error…. They did not cross the finish line between the proper yellow bouys and they were disqualified.  This cost them their medal.  They did not get to the podium at all.  How disappointing for them.  But this is racing on a World level.  There are rules.  If they are broken, there are clear consequences.

Outside of the podium area we gathered with Vermont and New Zealand for more celebratory pictures.  This is where the friendships are formed.  Jersey’s traded, email addresses and Facebook info exchanged.  There is no animosity here.  That is left out on the water and we part as friends. 

Until we meet again ladies!  Thank you for a week of exciting racing! 

Now it’s time to celebrate!  Time to relax and enjoy our teammates and supporters.

Thank you to everyone at home who has followed us through this Hungarian adventure!!

We will all go in our separate directions now to enjoy some earned down time to explore more of Europe! But we will all be together again soon…at home, on our beautiful Fanshawe Lake!

​Paddles UP!  Take it away…..

(Pictures to follow....)

​

Suzanne Newington

Rowbust member since 2011.  Keeper of the Blog.  Proud member of the 2014 (Italy), 2016 (Australia) and 2018 Hungary CCWC crew!

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Rowbust in Hungary - 500m Race Day

7/19/2018

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Let me start this one by saying…..”Holy Cow!!!  What an amazing day!”

Another early start today, breakfast at 5:30am, on the bus for 6:30am and headed to the Olympic Regatta Centre.  The day started out cloudy, grey and cool with a threat of rain but we’re no strangers to adverse paddling conditions so the weather was no real concern.  Turns out it warmed up!

Today moved very quickly…we got off the bus, dropped our gear in our space in paddlers village, got our marching orders from Coach, started our warm up and then headed down to marshalling for our first 500m race of the day. 

Our first race had us in lane 2 right between Vermont and New Zealand.  There was a delay on the dock so when we loaded our boat and headed to the start line we had some time to make up to catch up to the other boats in our race…no harm, it was a good warm up!

On the start line Shirley and Laura got us in the starting boot, the strokes (seat one – Tracy & Linda) made sure the head of our dragon was in the center of the boot while the back (seat ten) continued to paddle us forward to keep us in the boot.  However, we rebounded off the boot and started the race slightly behind the other boats. 

Even with the rebound we nailed our start. Up…up…UP…POWER and then lengthen!  We surged down the race course and fought to pull our boat out in front.  Laura and Shirley called a number of power series and we crept up seat by seat by seat to win our first 500m heat race!  But looking over at the other boats we saw just how close Vermont was.  So close!  Too close!

500m Race #1 times:
   * Rowbust – 2:24.113
   * Vermont – 2:26.580
   * New Zealand – 2:28.202

Back in our huddle we had the usual debrief with Coaches, we discussed and dissected our race…how did it feel, were we able to keep our strokes long and the stroke rate.  As always there are things we need to work on.

And it wasn’t long before we got the chance to do just that.  We were off to marshaling again for our second 500m race of the day.

This time we were not delayed in loading our boat…but this time the current caught us and pushed us towards other boats loaded and trying to get away from the dock.  We found ourselves sideways and being pushed between two other docks.  Shirley’s excellent steering skills and Laura’s eyes and direction got us clear of the situation and headed out to the start line. We shook off what had just happened and brought our focus back inside our boat.

As we approached the pass through between the back channel and the race course we were called to a stop because a boat had capsized just beyond the finish line!  Yep, it happens…thankfully it’s not happened to us!  But it certainly could.

The boat and paddlers were cleared from the water, everyone was okay and we were able to approach the start line for our second of three 500m races.

Second race, we were securely in the starting boot, this time in lane 1.  For a 5th straight time we nailed our start!  Again, we battled with Vermont down the course. Again, we pulled ahead seat by seat. Again, we crossed the finish line just before them.  When Laura called us in to a power, their drummer called them to power…they were mirroring our race plan!  We’d won, but we needed to make some changes for the third race.

500m Race #2 times:
   * Rowbust – 2:23.466
   * Vermont – 2:24.788
   * New Zealand – 2:29.194

In our debrief huddle we formed a plan!  Coach Sarah had one “small” request….she wanted to see us win by a half a boat length.  Okay Coach, we’ll do our very best to delivery!
This time there were no hang ups in getting away from the dock and soon we were approaching the start line in lane 3 for our final 500m race of the day.

We had our orders…half a boat coming up Sarah!

We powered out of the start and went in to our nice, long stroke.  Surging down the race course we put the new plan in to action.  Shirley quietly spoke to the back 6 paddlers to power it up…we felt it in the middle and front of the boat and started our power series to get us out of there!  It worked…the other boats were not powering!  They couldn’t hear us, so they couldn’t mirror us! We did it again and again.  We were in stealth mode.  Quietly pulling out in front.  Sarah had asked us to give her a half a boat length…we filled that order and more!  We gave her more than one full boat length in our finish!  We did it!!  We’d won another Gold medal!!

500m Race #3 times:
   * Rowbust – 2:22.161
   * Vermont – 2:27.233
   * New Zealand – 2:27.538

The last race proved to us that if we trust our long stroke it will carry us to victory!  Cheryl & Sarah are always telling us to trust the stroke, trust the race plan…and we did just that.  Each 500m race we did better and better, shaving time off with each pass across the finish line. We worked together as a well oiled machine and got the job done! We are elated in our performance today as are our Coaches.

Another trip to the podium for us!  Another medal to wear proudly!

Only one race stands between us and total victory.  The 2km.  It’s our favourite race! 

Tomorrow is another day off for us, we’ll be nicely rested for the 2km on Saturday when the race venue changes to the Tisa River right in Szeged!  The stands will be packed with paddlers and locals!

Check our Facebook page for pictures and videos of today’s victory.

Thank you to our readers who are following along with these adventures!

A very special Thank You to three very special sponsors – Movati Athletic, Egg Farmers of Ontario and Siskinds the Law Firm!  Movati is where we go to get fitter and stronger all winter, Egg Farmers of Ontario provided our new race jersey’s and Siskinds our new uniform pants – all three make us look and feel GREAT!  Thank you!!

Stay tuned folks!  More excitement coming your way…

Suzanne Newington

Rowbust member since 2011. Proud member of the Italy (2014), Australia (2016) and Hungary (2018) CCWC crews.

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Rowbust in Hungary - 200m Race Day

7/17/2018

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It was an early start today…buffet breakfast at 5am, on the bus heading to race site at 6am!  It’s a half hour bus ride to the Olympic Regatta Centre in Szeged.

We arrived at race site as many other teams were filing off of their buses and setting up camp for the day. All of Canada and Australia are parked inside a very large indoor area with huge bay doors open to the water, some bay doors open to the back to allow for air flow and some tents pitched out back for overflow of teams.  Other countries are camped out in similar areas.  It is cool in this “paddlers village” and we are out of the sun with ample space to stash our belongings.

Once we were organized in our space we got to the business of preparing for our first race.  Before every individual race we warm up with cardio and stretching before heading off to marshaling. It’s important to get our heart rates up, our blood pumping and our muscles loose.

Our first race was race # 4.  We were in lane 3. 

Lining up in the marshaling tent was our first real chance to size up our competition and at the same time to greet and hug old friends we’ve not seen in 2 and 4 years since we first met them in Italy (2014) and Australia (2016).

Down to the docks we were lead by Shirley and Laura…we loaded quickly and headed out to the start line.  This venue is unique in that we don’t paddle along side the race course in the opposite direction to get to the start line, there is a channel of water that runs along side the race course separated by a narrow strip of land and a passageway between to enter the race course area.  In this channel we can practice a couple of starts and other technical while we paddle ourselves to the start line.

We approached the starting boot in lane 3 along side the other BCS boats who are gunning for us.  As usual Shirley & Laura got the nose of our dragon in the boot with ease and then Linda & Tracy (strokes) and the paddlers in seat 10 kept us in place by applying pressure in the water.

The starts come quickly once everyone is lined up!  The starter announces that all boats are in line…”Are You Ready”…”Attention” – Shirley & Laura call us to action with a loud “Ready Ready” and we wait for the starting signal. 

On the “GO!” all boats nail the start and power down the race course…it was so quick, there was no time to think, only react!  We powered through our finish and only looked over at the competition once we crossed the finish line to find Vermont and New Zealand right on our tale!!  No open water between our boats.  They stayed on us all the way…but did not catch us!  Phew!! 

Our Race #1 times:
   * Rowbust – 56.968
   * Vermont – 58.727
   * New Zealand – 59.572

There was not much more than an hour between our first and second race. 

Race #2 we were in lane 1.  Lining up beside us to our left was Vermont and New Zealand beside them.  We approached the line again…butterflies harnessed and ready to blow off that start line…. “GO!” and again, all boats nail the start and it’s another dash down the race course with no room to breathe.  Again, they were right there!  Holy crap…what was race #3 going to bring.  Would we be able to pull it out?!?

Our Race #2 times:
   * Rowbust – 58.118
   * Vermont – 59.127
   * New Zealand – 59.254

Again, not much time between races...just barely enough time to get a paddle repaired!  Halfway down the race course in our second race Newton felt the handle of her paddle twist!  Oh shoot!  That's not good... Once we were off the boat and debriefed our race with Coaches, Newton and Captain Linda Kuska went in search of Linda's husband "Mr. Fix Everything Bob Kuska" for a quick paddle repair.  Bob took it one giant step further and ran the paddle over to a paddle repair tent in the vendors area.  Within 20 minutes the paddle was repaired and more solid than it was when it was manufactured!  AND - the repair guy wouldn't take any money for it!!  What service!!  It wasn't even the same brand of paddle that he was also selling!

With a repaired paddle Newton wasted no time in getting over to the marshaling area to wait with the team for the final race of the day.

Race #3, back in lane 1…we’re lined up, we’re ready….”GO!” as we expected, all starts are nailed and it’s a dog fight to the finish!! But we did it…we held them all off to secure the GOLD in the 200m!

Our Race # 3 times:
   * Rowbust – 58.128
   * Vermont – 59.532
   * New Zealand – 1:00.000

This was an awesome day!!  We laid down some excellent races and emerged victorious! 

Vermont & New Zealand gave us some serious competition!  That’s exactly what we came here for, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best!  And so far we are the best…at 200m!  But we’ve got lots of racing left to do this week so there is no getting lazy about it now!

Thursday, July 19, 2018 is our 500m race day.  After today we know that we’ve got a fight on our hands! 

Stay tuned! More exciting racing coming up!

To see video footage of our final 200m race and our walk to the podium go to our Facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/rowbust/​ 
 
 
 

Suzanne Newington

Rowbust member since 2011.  Proud owner of a newly repaired paddle!  

26 Comments
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