COACHING TEAM UPDATE THREE : 09/11/18

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Pierce McBride
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1 COACHING TEAM UPDATE THREE : 09/11/18 Reflection on Bennet Shield, looking ahead to our first Karapiro (Club) regatta, common myths about seat racing addressed 133 DAYS TO MAADI Lake Karapiro

2 LAKE PUPUKE REVEALED ITS TRUE COLOURS FOR OUR SECOND REGATTA OF THE SEASON The coaching team was very pleased with how our rowers handled the dreadful conditions Lake Pupuke produced this past weekend. It was very pleasing to hear a number of crews managed to tame the conditions and still produce rows with considerable boat speed. There were a number of great learnings taken from the regatta, and as they saying goes - you just don t know what type of conditions you might have to race in at Maadi so its always great to get the practice in! We felt all our rowers took a step up and better executed technical focuses in racing situations than at our first regatta a sign of great progress with plenty more to come. In the coming weeks we are shifting our technical focus from the backstop/finish to the front stop/catch ask your daughter about how well they are executing the rat in a drain concept on the drive back! Please ensure you are aware of the changes to the schedule for the coming weeks due to exam clashes schedule here : content/uploads/2018/11/training-program to-summer-camp- 19-AMENDED-FOR-EXAMS.pdf Good luck for exams & bring on Karapiro! WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT BENNET SHILED The bacon sandwiches (coaches) Same technical focuses as regatta 1 WHAT WE DISLIKED THE WEATHER WHAT WENT WELL Composed in weather Team work it makes the dream work : boat loading & off water help Boats ready to go on water/checked well Rowers well organised for themselves Responding to coxswains calls WHAT COULD WE IMPROVE FOR OUR NEXT REGATTA Being more consistent with the technical & internal focus (thinking in general!) Remaining relaxed/feeling the boat vs getting frantic Better nail the PUSH DOWN onto our race beat (coach comment good luck racing 2km if you don t nail this it s a long way!)

LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR FIRST KARAPIRO REGATTA Our first 2km regatta of the season is rapidly approaching, further detail will be provided closer to the date but here are some key facts The Karapiro

at 7:30am on Saturday 1 st, those crews who qualify will compete in finals on Sunday 2 nd from 8:00-4:00pm approx.

junior students still at school will bring their bags for the weekend to school with them on Friday morning, leave them in the fitness centre until lunch time when will pack them into the vans.

3 LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR FIRST KARAPIRO REGATTA Our first 2km regatta of the season is rapidly approaching, further detail will be provided closer to the date but here are some key facts The Karapiro race course with tents lining the last 250m We are attending Karapiro club regatta from Friday 30 th of November to Sunday 2 nd of December, staying upstairs at Epworth retreat Racing of heats begin at 7:30am on Saturday 1 st, those crews who qualify will compete in finals on Sunday 2 nd from 8:00-4:00pm approx. We will be departing Auckland at lunch time Friday 30 th & making our way to Karapiro in hired vans with the help of our parent volunteers Our senior students will meet us at school at 12:30pm, our junior students still at school will bring their bags for the weekend to school with them on Friday morning, leave them in the fitness centre until lunch time when will pack them into the vans. Our junior students are excused from period 4 & 5 at school on Friday 30 th Lane 1 Unlike Lake Pupuke starts at Lake Karapiro are held, also unlike Lake Pupuke lane 1 enters the blocks first at the start, not last! We will leave Auckland at approximately 1pm & head to Lake Karapiro, we will not be rowing on arrival only rigging & placing our boats on racks, then heading to Epworth retreat Lane 8 Rowers will race in North Shore Rowing Club racing singlets and wear their Westlake girls travel uniform at the regatta mufti is allowed at camp but not at the race course ROWIT LINK FOR REGATTA More information including crews will follow closer to departure WAIT ZONE The wait zone crews wait behind the starting blocks to be called into their blocks & then need to back into the starters hands

4 Thank you to those girls who help with the sports dinner. The following girls helped to raise $1,000 for WGHS Rowing Scarlett Kerse Makayla Bray Carys Osbourne Jemma Veldman Ayla Holmes Charlotte Thoumine Áine Maloney Bianca Coplestone Claire Snelling Katie Booth Marin Parker Abigail Clements Trixie Andrew Megan Uttley Emma Patterson Maren Howarth Taylor Morrison Are you going to be in Auckland on the 5 th & 6 th of January? I would like to get those girls who are in Auckland the weekend before we go to summer camp out onto the water Why? It means we don t spend the entire first day of camp remembering how to row! Could I please ask girls to let me know via ASAP whether or not they will be in Auckland and have the intention to row on these two days. I can then plan boats for us! Do I play a winter sport? I have had a few queries recently about what rowers should be doing next winter & what we provide for winter training We strongly encourage each and ever member of our squad to play at least one other winter code taking a break from rowing/having something else to think about is important to refresh the mind! Rowing will also be running optional fitness trainings (2-3 per week with a mix of erging, running and circuit work) throughout the winter for all returning rowers. Family holidays in the new year I have had a few queries around families holidays following summer camp Obviously in an ideal world following summer camp we would have every rower at every session but if you are looking to get away post camp and are flexible on dates I ask that you contact me to allow a heads up and recommend these dates : 14th & 15th Jan (days off following summer camp) Weekend following summer camp: 19,20,21st, 22nd (need rowers for end of week as heading to KRI2 our last regatta prior to start of school racing season) 2nd-3rd Feb NOVICE SEAT RACING (seniors will likely erg so if planning on going away would be a good weekend) NB: After the girls return to school almost every weekend is accounted for by regattas

5 FEB JAN DEC COACHING UPDATE WGHS Seat racing (and long term crew selection) From December onwards the coaching team will be starting to consider racing crews for Maadi cup in 2019, our crew selection & priority boat decisions will be guided by what happens at our various seat racing sessions throughout the season Our seat racing will occur on 4-5 separate occasions, with our first set of seat racing scheduled for a months time with our senior crews. The results of these sessions will enable to coaching team to form base crews to train in at Maadi, rowers who are either just slower or just faster than one another will rotate in and out of the crews at camp to enable to coaches to see which combination makes the boat go faster from here final seat racing will occur in February to confirm final seats in crews. Following our December seat racing returning rowers will know what position they are in headed into summer camp, they will also know what boats we are looking to have as priority boats for Maadi cup Our novices seat racing will occur in the new year in February due to how rapidly novices can advance, however there may be some novice seat racing at summer camp at the coaches discretion. Due to Duke of Ed commitments not all our year 10 students will be seat racing on Dec 8 th please check the list to ensure I have arcuately captured who is available for the session on the 8 th of Dec WHAT WHEN WHERE WHO Senior Squad Seat Racing Saturday December 8th 6:30am-1pm Rame Road Billie Insull, Caitlin Rawlings, Hollie Marshman, Olivia Anderson, Phoebe Allen, Megan Uttley, Maddie Kerse, Devon Thorpe, Nyla Bunyan, Olivia Swann, Sylvia Leadley, Jamie Whittaker, Maren Howarth, Taylor Morrison, Lily Rose Gholam U16 Squad Seat Racing Summer Camp - possible seat racing for some senior & novice crews Full Novice Squad Seat Racing Additional Senior Seat Racing (if required - at Head coach discretion) Maadi crews confirmed WENDS 12th December 5:35AM-12pm Rame Road All year 10 students who returning rowers DEPENDING ON SESSION ONE SOME 17-18s MAY BE REQUIRED Tuesday 8th Jan- Sunday 13th Jan Epworth Retreat TBC Saturday 2nd Feb 6:30am-1pm Sunday 17th February 6:30am-1pm By Monday 26th February Rame Road Rame Road All first year rowers & any returning rowers who can row down Returning rowers competiting for final seats in crews

6 HOW DOES SEAT RACING WORK. Rowers race repeatedly across a fixed stretch of water at a fixed rating with rowers swapping seats each race to determine who is moving the boat faster. Our races will occurs over a fixed 1km stretch of water in Lucas Creek, Greenhithe Our rating will be fixed at 30 Coxswains will steer the boat and ensure crews hit the 30 rate there will be no other comments from the coxswains Each race coxswains will start their boat on the same side of the river At the end of the race coaches time the difference between the finish line times Rowers and coxswains are NOT told in advance how many races are being completed nor who is swapping seats only once the race is complete do rowers know who is swapping next. Thus you always need to assume you could be swapped next & apply consistent effort. Its not the previous race that impacts your performance, its the next result! Crews begin with racing starts behind the start line so crews come through the start line on any difference through the start line is recorded by coaching team and subtracted from time difference at the end of the race. RACE 1 : Gives the base speed of both crews, coaches record the initial difference in finish times between the crews Boat 2 crossed finishes line +04: A B C D Boat 1 crossed finishes line 00:00 Conclusion : Boat 1 is four faster than boat 2 with the current crew RACE 2 : Rowers are notified which two people are changing seats Rower 3 & C swap boats and paddle back to the start line to complete another race where it is determine who is faster Boat 1 crossed finishes line +04:00 A B 3 D Boat 2 is four faster than boat 1 with the current crew Conclusion : Rower C reversed a 4 second deficit to a 4 second win, making rower C 8 faster than rower 3 Next : Swap rower C & A to determine who is faster between rower C, A & 3 Boat 2 crossed finishes line 00: C 4

7 DEBUNKING MYTHS YOU CAN RIG SEAT RACING FOR YOUR FRIENDS, SO IS NOT FAIR SCENARIO : Rowers 4 & D swap boats, but rower C is best friends with rower D, so she decides not to push as hard when rower 4 comes into her boat OUTCOME : Rower C successfully negatively impacts the outcome for rower 4 & makes rower D the winner of the race. BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The coaching team swaps rower C who hadn t tried in the previous race with rower 3. Rower 3 who has applied consistent effort through all seat races reverses the deficit that rower C intentionally created, recording a result of rower 3 being 6 faster than rower 3. THE MORAL : If you sabotage a race for a friends benefit, you could be sabotaging yourself as you don t know how many races we are doing or whether you are going to be the next person who swaps. REMEMBER rowers do not know how may races are being completed in one set nor do they know when they are going to swap you always need to assume you could be swapped next. Its not the previous race that impacts your chances, its the next result! Boat 1 crossed finishes line +04:00 Boat 2 crossed finishes line +00:00 A B C Boat 1 crossed finishes line 00:00 A B Boat 2 crossed finishes line +02:00 C D D IT IS OUR FIRM BELIEF THAT : Everyone member of the WGHS team would not consider acting in this way as we all want the fastest boats out on the course, because any success we manage on water is down to every member of our squad HOWEVER : The coaching team is smarter than you, we can tell when a result has been interfered with. If we believe a result has been deliberately interfered with we will void the result of the race and continue on. Rowers will not be notified of this, but there would likely be a re-race at some point.

8 DEBUNKING SEAT RACING MYTHS ITS NOT FAIR BECAUSE I DIDN T DIRECTLY SEAT RACE THAT PERSON Not everyone will directly race one another, some will be done by indirectly comparing three peoples time to get the relative speed between one another. In the event that there is extremely small time margins between people who did not directly race the coaching team will do all of the following : 1. Look to include a direct race in one of the sets on the day if this is also close we will then : 2. Rotate both people in & out of the crew following seat racing to determine who fits best with the boat 3. Complete another set of direct seat racing between the two people involved in February 2019 to determine who is faster ITS NOT FAIR BECAUSE THE COXSWAIN COURSE WASN T STRAIGHT/THERE WAS WASH In the event that there is wash or the coxswains course is not straight the coach who is following behind the race will note this with the finish line coaches, depending on the severity of the interference (and distances between crews) the coaching team will determine what happens We may elect to adjust the time difference by 1-2 Maintain the result and make a note, should it become relevant at a later date In the event the race is extremely close, void the race and re race at another time ITS NOT FAIR BECAUSE THE OTHER CREW WAS RATING HIGHER Rating will be capped at 30 & the coaching team in the following coach boat will be monitoring rating (as will the coxswains), if the rating is not on 30, despite attempts made by the coaching team & coxswains the coaching team may elect to Maintain the result and make a note, should it become relevant at a later date In the event the race is extremely close, void the race and re race at another time

9 DEBUNKING SEAT RACING MYTHS ITS NOT FAIR BECAUSE MY SEAT RACE IS LATER IN THE SET SO I AM MORE FATIGUED/ I HAVE A UNFIT PERSON IN MY BOAT At the beginning of the seat racing sets everyone is at optimal fitness so yes if you are a less fit athlete this is the best time for you to race. It is also therefore true that as more races occur the less reliable relative times are as means to gain an overall ranking. However it is not a disadvantage/unfair to race later to gain direct comparison. If you are racing later, fitness will play a greater role in the outcome, but this is exactly the same in a 2km race fitter people win races. It is likely that every person will complete at least one set where there race is later in the racing as a way for us to test fitness. Having a unfit person in your crew is generally not a disadvantage as they would be raced with both people, however if the following coaching boat did believe someone blew up during your seat race they may elect to void the race and re-race at a later date. ITS NOT FAIR BECAUSE I RACED IN SET ONE & AND TWO BUT THE PERSON I AM RACING AGAINST IS ONLY RACING IN THE SECOND SET All our athletes should be fit enough to race multiple sets and perform well in all between each on water set all rowers will have an hour break, ample time to recover. Those who did not complete the first set of seat racing will go for a run as an alternative. ITS NOT FAIR BECAUSE THEY ONLY GOT AN ADVATNGE FROM THE RACING START Racing starts will be done behind the start line and crews expected to cross through the start line on 30 rating. The starts are merely designed to get boats up to speed quickly. Any advantage a crew gains from the start and leads to them crossing the start line with ahead will be recorded by the following coach boat and adjusted for the finishing result OVERALL : The coaching team can tell when a result has been interfered with and will make the required adjustments Seat racing in December is apart of the equation but there are many other things that will be taken into consideration to determine March Maadi crews. This seat racing is to get a bench mark and give rowers a steer on where they will likely end up In particular extremely close racing means that further consideration of rower ranking is absolutely required this will occur by assessing crew combinations at summer camp, taking into account February 2km times and further seat racing in February

Head of Rowing Message

Head of Rowing Message 23 September 2015 Rowing Elite Development School Canberra Girls Grammar is a Rowing Elite Development School. CGGS is in a partnership with the ACTAS Rowing Program. ACTAS Rowing is assisting CGGS Rowing