seven
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Posts: 35 
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Post by seven on Aug 9, 2010 18:19:30 GMT
Spoken to a few people who have started training again for the september champs and the majority of them are pretty sick of the it at this stage, especially some of the juniors who I've spoken too who feel like they're missing out on their summer. Some will go straight back into school, others straight into University life. To be honest, that's hardly fair.
Having said all that, the season is like this because the clubs voted for it, and you can't argue with democracy (well, maybe)!
Personally, I would keep the Champs as a 3 day event in July. I know there is the argument that the weather is better at this time of the year for rowing, but August is a good month to use the clubs resources to get new people invoved, where as mentioned before, there may be more coaches around to help out etc. Keep the Grand League format, moving Limerick and Monkstown to earlier in the season, and finish the season on a high after our International crews have competed at the World's etc. To me, it just seems to be dragging on a bit at this stage.
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Post by strokeside on Aug 9, 2010 20:06:39 GMT
From speaking to people in a lot of clubs I get the impression that a lot of clubs shut down for a few weeks after the champs. A few kept going but with reduced numbers. It will be interesting to see what kind of entry Limerick, Belfast and Monkstown will get. Unlike mhughes, most of the rowers do not like the longer 50 week season. Yes, I know they can take a break after the Sept Champs but many of them will be unwilling to do so as they are aiming for trials. I think a 3 day event in July works well. Not sure why we would need 4 days. we managed with 3 in the past.
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Post by theoriginalbowside on Aug 9, 2010 20:34:30 GMT
I was on the Level1 coaching course this year, and part of one of the exercises was to have you discuss the pros and cons of the 2 champs and 1 champs layouts.
Only after a good bit of discussion and asking questions from the people giving the course did we hear that you would expect to take October as your Off time and then back into the season (2 champs one).
This year would alays have been the hardest as it started in September 2009 and wouldn't end until September 2010, which is a long time (12 months assuming you sweep and scull), but next year will be 11 months so may seem a little shorter.
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Post by runner on Aug 9, 2010 21:50:02 GMT
Rowing needs to make up its mind are we a summer sport or a winter sport ?
I am all for the September Champs , if we should go for a single date I would go for a date in September. I am looking forward to having my break from training during the winter months, cross training during the dark nights , windy and wet weekends , knowing that I will have 6 months of good water from April to go rowing before I row champs in 2011. Looking back to when I rowed junior, finished the leaving end of June and the pot 3 weeks later, no regattas all year because of study, summer off and no rowing, it never added up.
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Post by mhughes on Aug 10, 2010 8:29:23 GMT
Socrates: you wrote......
"As for mhughes, you boast that you have no problem fitting sport around your life for 50 weeks a year. Are you training twice a day for three quarters of that time, and faced now with getting back in a boat now for a September championships, followed by the start of the trials process etc?"
Most of the argument on holidays that I have ever heard comes from administrators and coaches, and I can hardly ever recall an athlete bringing this up (I'm not saying that they don't). I did not BOAST, and you were disingenuous in tossing that dig in.. did that make you feel better?
I AM a long time administrator, former coach and one time very dedicated athlete, so I can speak from experience. Another thing, your sport's administrators do not get a break in July/August, if anything they get busier in that period.
(rant coming)
Our sport is burdened by a lot of moaning about how hard people train as if it gets tougher and tougher every year...... sure it's hard and it was ALWAYS hard if you wanted to be the best.
It is no harder now than it was in the 1970/80s, it's just that those going through the pain now think that they are much better than the last generation. Not necessarily true at all.
Each generation is the best in its own era only.... I know quiet a few coaches that recall the "golden age" of heavyweight rowing in the mid 70's and a 4th by a bow ball in a world championships (for an Irish club crew) long before high performance and athlete support systems (which ARE welcome by the way).
Be the best you can be and as long as the playing pitch is level you should reach your potential.
(rant over.... incoming.... I take it...)
2010 was always going to be the toughest year in this process as CHANGE is never easy. By the time the decision was taken in Sept 2010 most clubs had returned to the traditional training pattern already.
If a later Championships is to be adopted (August or September 2011) then October IS the month to take off and possibly even some of November.
Of course this decision will not be taken until October this year so by then the "traditionalists" will have gone back to their biological clock already.
My preference is for a mid August single event and for a decision ASAP. (but the AGM is where this happens). I believe we should call the 2012 event also at the October 2010 AGM., as this would clarify the whole thing well in advance.
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Post by Oldreliable on Aug 10, 2010 14:38:05 GMT
Looking back to when I rowed junior, finished the leaving end of June and the pot 3 weeks later, no regattas all year because of study, summer off and no rowing, it never added up. This is how it adds up now - schools, colleges and clubs that cater for juniors and students are at a disadvantage with a September Championship. For example -school kids who unless their parents allow them to skip a day are going to be finishing school on Friday, then head to the NRC for the Saturday Championship. That includes kids coming from the North of the country where it's 4 - 5 hours of a drive. Also the college students that have moved out of home to go to college, who would normally stay on for the extra month to compete at the championships, now have to hang on for 3 months after term finishes if they want to race the championships. At which stage it only gives them 2 weeks to go home before returning to College in October. It doesn't add up at all compared to running the championship in July! |
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Post by mhughes on Aug 10, 2010 14:54:55 GMT
Oldreliable......
You seem to be totally focused on schools and colleges...... there are other types of club out there. It would be retro to back to July now.... After such a good 2010 season so far. I still say mid- August is not a bad compromise.
The first 4 weeks of college for freshers is the most intensive research period of the young student's life...
In Galway it is all about where the best pubs/nightclubs are, but have you any idea how much energy and experimentation is involved in this. :-)
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Post by runner on Aug 10, 2010 17:21:00 GMT
time off school is not an issue, most other school sports take place mid week, the fastball, rugby and basketball team seem to be gone every second Wednesday for the day, teachers alway comment on the fact rower didn't miss school for sport, so one day won't have an effect, school crews would love to win an All Ireland during the school year , getting some notice in school at last.
As I said one regatta is fine by me but have it at the end of a good summers rowing.
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Post by overseer on Aug 10, 2010 18:29:05 GMT
Oldreliable...... You seem to be totally focused on schools and colleges...... there are other types of club out there. It is not just to do with school and college clubs. Fact - Virtually all junior rowers go to schools and a lot of senior rowers are at college. Fact - Most new rowers start their career in the Autumn. It is at this stage they want to try out something new. If all the clubs are to finish their season in September do you really think there will be the enthusiasm in the clubs to work with new recruits during final championship preparation? Would university clubs get a new set of freshers if they tell them to sign up in late September and come back to see us in November? What do school clubs tell their new recruits in September, or since you seem to downplay the importance of school clubs, what do those commercial clubs who go in to school and colleges at the start of the academic year, say to the recruits? Yes, this is an issue about the September championships, but it is more importantly about the effect the date has on clubs pulling in new rowers. Maybe not for your club, but a lot of clubs will suffer from this new calendar. |
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Post by misterblister on Aug 10, 2010 19:12:32 GMT
is there a sequence of events available anywhere for sep champs? agree with many; juniors in school, and young college rowers are being hard done by
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Post by imkindablonde on Aug 11, 2010 9:22:43 GMT
It seems (me being the same) that in thought the 2 champs was a good idea but in practice it is HORRIBLE!!! Trying to get your ass up and train after already rowing the July champs is just tough!!! MY head is not in it at all like others I am beginning to hate the sport!!!
I have a feeling in the next AGM the vote will be reversed! Everybody I talk to is NOT happy with it...!
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Post by Oldreliable on Aug 11, 2010 9:45:57 GMT
Oldreliable...... You seem to be totally focused on schools and colleges...... there are other types of club out there. Em - I did mention other clubs who cater for juniors and students in my post. It does effect everyone! |
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Post by reckthem on Aug 11, 2010 9:50:29 GMT
This discision to spilt the championships was in voted in by 4 to 1 at last years AGM if I remember correctly. But I think we were all led to believe it was better for Irish rowing and anyone who didn't think this way was holding back progress of making our sport better.
While I do think the grand league is a very good idea, spilting the Champs was a major mistake that we voted for. It was voted in by the old boys of clubs who tend to be mono sports people whos whole life revolves around rowing and delegating work for its coaches and other people that help out. I think sometimes people forget we are all involed in our clubs for the love of the sport and we are all volunteers.
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Post by mhughes on Aug 11, 2010 11:41:43 GMT
reckthem....
I agree with your point .... up to a point.
Yes there was overwhelming support for this at last year's AGM. Most of the people there were on the ground all season so it was not a "back room" thing.
In fact I got the strong impression at the AGM, that the "old" July arrangement was making a concertina out of the rowing season and we just needed more weekends to fit the concept of a Grand League & Grow the Sport setup to fit in. The GL has been broadly welcomed as a positive development for the domestic calendar. We should protect it.
Personally speaking, I too think we must have a single event championships for 2011 & 2012.
However to fit it all in we may have to add a few weekends to the season. If we "go back" to July we run into the concertina phenomenon so we are back where we started.
This is my main argument against a July Championships. A mid August Championships would be taking place this weekend or next. If other far larger sports can do it so can we. Early Sept. is a possible option (as they do in Denmark) and that coincides with the academic switch over.
2010 season is looking like one of the most positive for many years. Generally our rowers appear happier for the changes brought in. We have an "issue" with ONE PART of the overall deal, which I believe is not insurmountable.
The real danger is going all the way back to mid July and losing some of the benefits derived in this "experimental" year.
I think that an "all or nothing" approach is bad all round, whether it's a split championships or a mid July one. There must be another way.
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Post by TapDown on Aug 11, 2010 12:02:49 GMT
Ok so have the champs in mid August then, but like a lot of things, you cant just come out and say ok folks were now putting an extra 6 weeks onto the current fairly long season.
How about for a start for the next 2 years move the champs further back by 2 weeks each year, so say next year they would be near the end of July and the following year they would be at mid August.
People just dont take well to huge changes as insignificant as they are, but if its broken up like that people wont even notice that the season has gotten that little bit longer, seperating the champs by 10 weeks apart was complete madness and how the clubs voted for it is beyond me. I can see what they were thinking though, as the way the champs were they couldnt enter everything, but as they stand clubs, could potentially enter in almost every event winning more championships, this is why clubs jumped at the idea in my opinion.
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