Our adventure began in London, Ontario on Saturday March 19th at Movati Athletic and the next time we actually slept was Monday, March 21st at 9 pm in Canberra, Australia!
Saturday, March 19th we were surrounded by family, friends and supporters outside of Movati Athletic South location to send us of on our adventure to Australia. We loaded a Coach bus that was generously donated by Badder Bus Lines and we were off to the Toronto Airport!
Since this was such a long flight and we needed to get acclimatized as quickly as possible, we had our specific instructions on when to sleep while flying.
The flight from Toronto to Vancouver was uneventful and we were to stay awake for this flight.
Once in the Vancouver Airport, we did some fast walking, running, jumping jacks....anything to get our heart rates up and stay awake for the next few hours.
We only had a 90 minute lay over in Vancouver, then back on the same plane to start our long flight to Sydney, Australia.
We were instructed to try to stay awake for the 1st half of the flight and then sleep for the 2nd half of the flight. It was challenging to actually sleep on the plane but most of us got a little shut eye.
We arrived in Sydney, Australia at 9 am on Monday, March 21st and then we were back on a bus for a 3 hour bus ride to Canberra where we will spend the next week training. I have to admit, this 3 hour bus ride was one long ride to try to stay awake on, but we did it!
Even though we really hadn't slept for many hours, we had to stay awake on our 1st day here. We arrived here in Canberra around 3 pm, checked into the Canberra Youth Hostel and then did a walking tour to be able to locate everything we would need for food and where we would be training.
After quick supper we were all sound asleep by 9 pm (6:30am at home).
Tuesday, March 22 started with breakfast at the Hostel and then a 30 minute walk to our training facility. Fortunately, our Coaches have many connections and of course have friends in Canberra who organized the Canberra Yacht Club and the use of the dragon boats at the facility.
With temperatures 25 degrees celsius and the sun shining, it was the perfect day to start our Training Camps!
Two practices, the 1st one at 9:30 am for 90 minutes and the 2nd one at 2:30 pm for 60 minutes. We worked on technical, cardio and just "feeling" the boat and the water again! It is so wonderful to be in the boat, on the water, feeling the sunshine and feeling STRONG!
But not being in a dragon boat since mid-December did not deter us too much, it felt like we had never left when in actual fact, it has been 3 months since we have been in a boat!
Our winter training at Movati Athletic has paid off and we are feeling strong in the boat. Thanks to Movati Athletic for being a huge sponsor of Rowbust for 14 years by giving us all free memberships, trainers and much encouragement and support!
Back to the hostel, we made some supper, showered and in bed for a good night sleep to do it all over again tomorrow!
The Australian hospitality has been amazing, they are willing to help us Canadians out any way they can to make our stay and training successful.
We are so thankful to have the support of so many, family members who allow us to live out our dreams and people who truly want us to succeed.
Thanks to our Coaches who always know what we need, when we need it and will do anything to make it happen.
Day 1 of Training a HUGE success........now to bed to look forward to Day 2!
Submitted by: Linda Kuska, Crew Captain
Saturday, March 19th we were surrounded by family, friends and supporters outside of Movati Athletic South location to send us of on our adventure to Australia. We loaded a Coach bus that was generously donated by Badder Bus Lines and we were off to the Toronto Airport!
Since this was such a long flight and we needed to get acclimatized as quickly as possible, we had our specific instructions on when to sleep while flying.
The flight from Toronto to Vancouver was uneventful and we were to stay awake for this flight.
Once in the Vancouver Airport, we did some fast walking, running, jumping jacks....anything to get our heart rates up and stay awake for the next few hours.
We only had a 90 minute lay over in Vancouver, then back on the same plane to start our long flight to Sydney, Australia.
We were instructed to try to stay awake for the 1st half of the flight and then sleep for the 2nd half of the flight. It was challenging to actually sleep on the plane but most of us got a little shut eye.
We arrived in Sydney, Australia at 9 am on Monday, March 21st and then we were back on a bus for a 3 hour bus ride to Canberra where we will spend the next week training. I have to admit, this 3 hour bus ride was one long ride to try to stay awake on, but we did it!
Even though we really hadn't slept for many hours, we had to stay awake on our 1st day here. We arrived here in Canberra around 3 pm, checked into the Canberra Youth Hostel and then did a walking tour to be able to locate everything we would need for food and where we would be training.
After quick supper we were all sound asleep by 9 pm (6:30am at home).
Tuesday, March 22 started with breakfast at the Hostel and then a 30 minute walk to our training facility. Fortunately, our Coaches have many connections and of course have friends in Canberra who organized the Canberra Yacht Club and the use of the dragon boats at the facility.
With temperatures 25 degrees celsius and the sun shining, it was the perfect day to start our Training Camps!
Two practices, the 1st one at 9:30 am for 90 minutes and the 2nd one at 2:30 pm for 60 minutes. We worked on technical, cardio and just "feeling" the boat and the water again! It is so wonderful to be in the boat, on the water, feeling the sunshine and feeling STRONG!
But not being in a dragon boat since mid-December did not deter us too much, it felt like we had never left when in actual fact, it has been 3 months since we have been in a boat!
Our winter training at Movati Athletic has paid off and we are feeling strong in the boat. Thanks to Movati Athletic for being a huge sponsor of Rowbust for 14 years by giving us all free memberships, trainers and much encouragement and support!
Back to the hostel, we made some supper, showered and in bed for a good night sleep to do it all over again tomorrow!
The Australian hospitality has been amazing, they are willing to help us Canadians out any way they can to make our stay and training successful.
We are so thankful to have the support of so many, family members who allow us to live out our dreams and people who truly want us to succeed.
Thanks to our Coaches who always know what we need, when we need it and will do anything to make it happen.
Day 1 of Training a HUGE success........now to bed to look forward to Day 2!
Submitted by: Linda Kuska, Crew Captain
Pictured here - Training camp site in Canberra, AUS