News & Events
Cygnet update 5th October
5th October 2015
Hi One and All,Back from Benrath and the Rhine Marathon in one piece! It was my first RM and would recommend it as something all Cygnets have to do at least once in their rowing career. Our hosts at Ruder Gesselschaft Benrath made us all so welcome laying on a dinner to celebrate 50 years of friendship between the clubs and annual visits to the Rhine Marathon and Head of the River. It's a great Cygnet/BBL tradition and one that enhances the clubs. The race itself is fantastic once it's over. There were 5 Cygnet/BBL crews participating. Best time went to Chairman Wylie's invitation quad, narrowly ahead of Bates/French/Mountain/Gibbons 4+. Happy Mondays BBL crew awfully close behind those two. The mixed quads took a little longer, honours in that duel go to Cris/Tom/Sian/Katie over Helena/Marj/Cap/Klaus/Uli. Perfect weather helped offset the sore hands and sore backsides. Post race alt beer made all the pain go away completely.
This week:
Club Circuits with Maxi, 7:15 at Cavendish School or leaving the club at 7. Great way to improve fitness and enjoy good music... Be there.ThursdayPairs Head final outing at 7:15 with Sue. It would be good to get all 3 crews out on the water to push each other and get race ready.Squad Erg for those not on the water TBC
Saturday:Pairs Head at 3:30Please come down to the club to eat a hot dog, slice of cake and a couple of beers and cheer on:Cris and Charlie (245)Alfonso and Jez (257)Nick and Dave (297)and a whole lot of BBL crews. Pairs Head is run by BBL so its our home race, come and support, bring the family, watch Wales vs Wallabies in the bar after the race....
Saturday 11 am
Get Fit and Row venture onto the Tideway for the first time. I'll let you know if we need more volunteers for boat sitting/coxing.
Sunday am
GFAR on the river for the second time!!! Anyone who wants to get out on the water in crew boats in the morning before Pairs Head or on Sunday, please put your availability on the the spreadsheet to we can put crews together..
Further Ahead
7th November 12:45 Fours Head
8th November 13:45 Vets Fours Head We should have 3 if not 4 crews entering over the two days. Please let me and Sue know if you want to be part of it so we can fix up the crews and get training going.
5th December 11am, Scullers Head
Coaching update:As many of you already know, Sue is stepping back from coaching after Pairs Head. We are searching for a new coach, we have ads out for the position but it seems a lot of other clubs are also after coaches and right now they are in short supply. Our most immediate need is to get a structure in place for when the Get Fit and Row course ends and the 13 men on the course graduate to full Cyngets. If we don't get a paid coach in the short term then we'll have to look to the members to fill that gap. We have a lot of experience to draw on so I've no doubt we will be able to continue their development and integrate them into the club. Plan B is to draw up a schedule for coaching and supporting their outings. I've said in previous updates how well the GFAR has been going, we really have a very keen and promising intake so I'm sure we will all do our bit to help out when the time comes. In the meantime we will carry on looking for a permanent coach through advertisements and our rowing network.
That's all,See you at Pairs HeadJezCygnet Update 29th September
1st October 2015
Hi All,Beautiful weather on the river at the weekend for those crews who made it onto the water. Enjoy it whilst it lasts. Good to see Rob back on the water again. The get fit and row course is going well with 20 or so people honing their erg technique and learning about safety on the river in preparation for their first water outings in two weeks time...This week:Tuesday (tonight) 7:15 Circuits at Cavendish School, Edensor Road. Last week was the first session of the new Maxi era, with a new format and MUSIC! She was relatively gentle on us for the first session although the last man standing burpee finisher was a sting in the tail and sore legs on Thursday was proof that the session hit the spot. So let's have another good turn out tonight.Thursday Squad Erg from 7This Weekend:Rhine Marathon: A big chunk of the club will be over with our good friends at Benrath for the annual Rhine Marathon. So expect sore hands, sore bums and sore heads in equal measure. Back at home: there are enough people around to get some boats out, please anyone who is available for Tideway outings, put your availability on the spreadsheet so we can plan outings.Further Ahead:Saturday 10th October: Pairs Head at 15:30. We have 3 combos entered Nick and Dave, Cris and Charlie and Alfonso and me. The race is run by BBL from our boathouse, come down and support, enjoy the BBL catering and a drink on the banks of the river. What not to like.Also on the 10th, the Get Fit and Row course take to the water for the first time, we will need helpers to take strategic seats in the boat for the outings on the 10th and 17th. We've had an excellent uptake on the course, the guys on it are all really positive and enthusiastic and we have the makings of a very promising new novice squad so let's do all we can to help out when needed to make their transition from GFAR to Cygnets.Beyond:
Next up is Four Head so lets start planning and training for it and please get you availability up to date so we can plan outings.Have a good week, see some of you in Benrath, wherever you are at the weekend good rowing,JezCygnet Update 21st September
21st September 2015
All,
Firstly, we had a successful Sculling Camp in the sunshine at Cygnets Bungalow. We got a bunch of first time scullers out onto the river. I am still awaiting the final score but it sounds like a record low swimming count which is great result for those showing them the ropes (or holding them by a rope). Thanks to all those involved in the organisation - Nick, Nick, Cris, Tom , Stu, Anna, Jo, Helena that I know about and others that I don't. We were short of some o of our old Scamp hands, it's good to see others step into vacancies they left. The GFAR moves into its 3rd week, again thanks to those who've helped out on the sessions to date. The numbers and their enthusiasm is very promising for a new Cygnet intake, and we've had others come along after the course started wanting to get involved. It does put a strain on our resources but the club will be in a better position if we get a good proportion to stay on so please help out when you can, please say hi to the new people to make them feel at home. Sian will let me know week by week the help she needs, but we'll need more helpers once the course moves onto the river.
This week...
Tuesday - Start of a new era with Circuit Training with Maxi running the session at Cavendish School, Edensor Road W4 2RG. Please come along to make sure it's fully supported for her debut. Meet at the club by 7 or at the school for a 7:15 start.
Thursday - new squad erg night - time to get in your 5k test as Sue has kindly given us 2 extra days to post our scores. Let's all get a time in so we have baseline to improve on. Or if you've already done that then 4 x 2k with 1 min easy
Weekend: Hmmm, availability on the sheet is pretty lamentable... Please please please update the spreadsheet. If you are planning a Pairs Head training outing put that on the sheet so we can line up coaching and crews to compete against each other.
3rd/4th October Rhine Marathon - a good few of us will be in Dusseldorf, if you are back at base please make your availability clear so we can plan outings
10th October 15:30 Pairs Head - if you are not it and can help with boating/parking etc contact Nick Bates and come and cheer those who are in it. Our boathouse is HQ for Pairs Head and it's run by BBL so come and support it if you can.
Beyond, winter training starts here. I'll be sending a separate email to ask you all what you want from your rowing and how much you can commit so we can work out what resources we need not least on coaching and get an informed and realistic view of what crews will be out regularly. We've high hopes that the level of interest shown in the GFAR will translate into new recruits and as a club it's our interest to support their integration into the club and their rowing development, so be prepared for calls for volunteers to for experienced guys to jump into novice crews and helping out with coxing duties,
That's all for now,
