IT’S THE NAME OF THE GAME
NATIONAL ARCHIVES
CELEBRATE OUR NATIONAL OARSMEN SINCE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
Rowing Nutrition Are you eating the right stuff?
*2011/2012 calendar *Boat Race news *University regattas
True Story A farmer rows 100kms on the ergo in one go!
ROWING
PHOTOGRAPHY at its best!
BOAT
LAUNCH ISSUE
RACE
2011
contents ISSUE #1
02 03 09 11 12 14 15 19 20 22 27 32 41 42
Introduction/ editors notes 2012 Rowing Calendar Boating for both Sides Basic Rowing Tips Universities Boat Race Boat Race Crews 2003-2011 Rowing Nutrition Famous Rowers Henley Womens Regatta National South African Rowing Photography Section South African Rowing Archives 100km on the Ergo Universities Sprints Regatta
2 Backsplash October 2011
2011- 2012
SOUTH AFRICAN
Rowing Regatta
CALENDAR GAUTENG
2011
STATUS
EVENTS NAME
WHO
VENUE
OC
AUG 06
Social
Ebenezer Regatta
All
Ebenezer Dam
Old Ed’s
21
Indoor
Bishop Bavin Ergo Regatta
u14/u19
Bishop Bavin
Bishop Bavin
26
Social
Bishop Bavin Long Row
Vaal River
Bishop Bavin
Local
Bishop Bavin Junior Regatta
27
All
u14/u19
K4 Canoe Marathon
28
29 - 04
Roodeplaat
Roodeplaat
GAUTENG PRIVATE SCHOOL ROWING CAMPS
SEPT 08 17
Indoor
24
Local
GSRF Regatta
OCT 01
Local
GSRF All Juniors Roodeplaat Regatta GAUTENG STATE SCHOOL ROWING CAMPS Energade Roodeplaat Triathlon
02 - 07 09
USSAR BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED St Andrews All Ages St Andrews Ergo Regatta All Juniors
15
Local
Wemmer Junior Sprints
u14/u15
16
Local
Wemmer Senior Sprints
u16 to Master
GSRF Regatta
U16, U19
22
29 - 30
Bishop Bavin
Local Local Champ
Gauteng Junior Championship
Gauteng Juniors
Roodeplaat
St Andrews
St Benedicts
Holy Rosary
Wemmer Pan
Wemmer
Wemmer Pan
Wemmer
Roodeplaat St Dunstans Roodeplaat
GSRF / Pzrktown January 2012 Backsplash 3
2011- 2012
GAUTENG
NOV 26
Social
DEC 09 -10
GRA Masters
Masters
Wemmer
SA SCHOOLS BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED
2012 JAN 02 - 08 14
Local
21
Local
GSRF Regatta
U14 U15
28
National
VLC National Sprints Regatta
All
FEB 04 - 05
National
River Vaal Regatta 2 Boat elimination
U14 to Master
11
Local
GSRF Regatta
16 18
Local
25
Local
GSRF Regata
U14/U15 & U16/U19
Wemmer
Germiston
National Champs
SA Schools & Junior Championships
All Juniors
Roodeplaat
RowSA/ SASRU
MAR 02 -04
10
APR
14
24
AUG
04
Roodeplaat
St Andrews
Victoria Lake VLUJ
Vaal River Alt = Roodeplaat
Roodeplaat U14/U15 & U16/U19 BUFFAL REGATTA - EAST LONDON Non attend- U14/U15 & Wemmer ees of BufU16/U19 falo
KES
KES Vikings Mondeor
Roodeplaat
Local Champ
Gauteng/ Seniors Roodeplaat KZN Senior Champs SA SENIOR CHAMPS - EAST LONDON
GRA
Social
Vaal Long Row
Al
Vaal
Wemmer
Social
Ebenezer Regatta
All
Ebenezer Dam
Old Eds
SEP
06 - 08
St Johns
Seniors & Seniors/ Roodeplaat Masters Masters USSAR SPRINTS - VANDERKLOOF
28
JUNE
GAUTENG SCHOOL ROWING CAMPS GSRF U16 U19 Roodeplaat Regatta
Socail
16 -17
4 Backsplash January 2012
Wits
USSAR BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED
KWA-ZULU NATAL
2011
STATUS
SEPT 08 -10 OCT 08
EVENTS NAME
WHO
VENUE
OC
USAR BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED Local Champ
KZN Junior Championships
Juniors
Albert Falls
DEC 09 - 10
SA SCHOOLS BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED
2012 JAN 28
VLC NATIONAL SPRINTS - VICTORIA LAKE
FEB 04
RIVER VAAL REGATTA - VAAL RIVER (ROODEPLAAT)
16
BUFFALO REGATTA - EAST LONDON
18
BUFFALO REGATTA - EAST LONDON
Hilton
MAR 02 - 04
SA SCHOOLS & JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - ROODEPLAAT
16 - 17
USSAR SPRINTS - VADERKLOOF
APR 14
Local
October 2011 Backsplash 5 Champs
28 - 29 SEPT 06 - 08
Gauteng/ Seniors Roodeplaat KZN Senior Champs SA SENIOR CHAMPS - EAST LONDON
GRA
USSAR BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED
January 2012 Backsplash 5
2011- 2012
EASTERN CAPE
2011
STATUS
EVENTS NAME
WHO
VENUE
OC
SEPT 08 - 10
National
USSAR Boatrace
Varsity Students
Kowie River
USSAR Rhodes
17
Local
ELBA Heads Regatta
All
Buffalo
ELBA
OCT 01
Indoor
SA National Indoor Rowing Champs
All
TBA
RowSA/ ECRA
22
Local Champ
ECRA Junior Championships
Juniors
Buffalo
ELBA
Social
Nemato Regatta
TBA
Tyume Dam
Nemato
National
SA School Boatrace
U18
Kowie River
SASRU ECSRF
2012 JAN 21
Indoor
ECRA Indoor Regatta
All
TBA
Leander
28
Local
ZRC/Grey Regatta
All
Zwartkops River
Grey
FEB 04 - 05
Indoor
East London Indoor Regatta
All
Buffalo
Claredon
04 -05
National
River Vaal Regata
All
Vaal
RVR
Local
Grey U14 Regatta
U14
Zwartkops River
Grey
NOV 05 DEC 09 -10
11 MAR 02 - 04
SA SCHOOLS & JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - ROODEPLAAT
16 -17
USSAR SPPRINTS - VANDRKLOOF
APR 07
28
SEPT 06 - 08
6 Backsplash January 2012
Coastel
Nelson Mandela Bay Syrfski Classic
Coastal Rowers
Algoa Bay
Z Sports
National Champs
SA Senior Championships Regatta
All Seniors
Buffalo River
RowSA ECRA
National
USSAR Boatrace
Varsity Studets
Kowie River
USSAR Rhodes
WESTERN CAPE
2011
STATUS
EVENTS NAME
WHO
VENUE
AUG 13
Local
UCT Maties
Misverstand
UCT
SEPT 08 - 09 10
Local
OCT 15
Local
29
Local
30
Local
NOV 05
Local
20
Local
DEC 09 -10 17
2012 JAN 21 28 FEB 04 05 11 16 18 25 MAR 02 - 04 10 14
Coastal
28 - 29 SEPT 06 - 08
Bishop Sprints Knysna Midway Knysna Heads
Local
Rondebosch
Local
Somerset
Zeekoevlei
Bishops
All
Knysna
WCR
J19
Knysna
WCR
SA SCHOOLS BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED Robben Seniors/MasAtlantic Island Sea ters Ocean Row Peninsula SACS
Local Local
All
Head of the J16 Misverstand Dam J19 Cape Sprints Seniors/Mas- Zeekoevlei ters
Local Local
All All
Elgin Elgin
All Elgin Seniors/MasAlfreds ters Zeevkoevlei Somerset All Elgi BUFFALO REGATTA - EAST LONDON BUFFALO REGATTA - EAST LONDON WCR All Elgin
WCR Alfreds
Alfreds
Peninsula SACS Rondebosch Nomads Somerset
Somerset
SA SCHOOLS AND JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - ROODEPLAAT Local V&A WaterAll V&A WCR front Indoor
16 - 17 APR 14
USSAR BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED Million Meter All Somerset Row
OC
ERGO
All
Bishops
Bishops
USSAR SPRINTS - VANDERKLOOP
Local Champ
Western Seniors Elgin Cape, Senior Champs SA SENIOR CHAMPS - EAST LONDON
ERC
USSAR BOATRACE - PORT ALFRED
January 2012 Backsplash 7
International DATE AUG 03 - 07 27 - 04 SEPT SEPT 08 - 10 13 - 16 OCT 21 -23 2012 MAY 04 - 06 25 - 27 JUNE 15 -17 28 - 01 JULY JULY 12 -15 28 - 08 AUG AUG 16 -19 SEPT 01 - 03 07 - 09
8 Backsplash January 2012
EVENT
VENUE
World Junior Champs
Eton, UK
World Rowing Champs
Bled, Slovenia
World Rowing Masters
Poznana, Poland
All Africa
Chidenguele, Mozambique
World Rowing Coastal Champs
Bari, Italy
World Cup I World Cup II
Belgrade, Serbia Lucerne, Switzerland
World Cup III Henley Regatta
Henley on Thames
World U23 Trakai, Lithuania Champs Rowing Olympics London World Senior and Junior Champs
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Paralympics Games World Masters
Eton, London Duisberg, Germany
Rowing here, rowing there
Coming from the university rowing scene in South Africa to rowing at Oxford was always going to be a bit of an eye-opener. Without a shadow of a doubt the biggest difference between rowing in South Africa and in Britain is the profile of the sport.
W
hile in South Africa many rowers spend a fair portion of their time trying to convince their family and friends that their boats are not canoes; in Britain rowing is a big part of the national sporting scene. That said, one can’t help but observe similarities between many of Britain’s rowing clubs and the rowing community in South Africa. The smaller city clubs all rely on a small core group of extremely dedicated rowers, coaches and administrators. People often comment on the well-heeled boat clubs in Britain with their racks full of top level imported racing shells. There is certainly no shortage of clubs like these, but for each one of them there are dozens of other clubs which are less competitive, less well-resourced, but yet still very active and committed. The size of the rowing community helps to keep everything ticking: from small-town regattas to the national squad’s training facility in Caversham. The level of interest in the sport is such
Andrew Craig (S) and Brad Smith (B) training for u23 World Champs in the pair.
There is no doubt that as rowing continues to expand in South Africa it will increase it’s share of the attention of a sporting-mad nation that it can’t help but attract the highest quality athletes and enthusiastic funders. During the two years that I spent (unsuccessfully) trying to gain a place in Isis, the Oxford reserve crew, I was able to observe first hand how the profile of an event like the Boat Race feeds into the running of the competing clubs. Besides the enormous depth of talent in the squad, the biggest contrast with
what I had experienced before was the fact that almost everything that needed to happen off the water was taken care of by the club’s staff. Two full-time coaches, a boatman, and an administrator meant that everything from repairs to kit orders was handled without any involvement from the rowers. This makes for an ideal situation where the rowers can focus completely on their training (and studies, of
course). This is only possible because the much of the operational costs of the club are funded by sponsorship money generated by the Boat Race. The popularity of the Boat Race, both amongst non-rowers in Britain and amongst rowers around the world, is no accident. It stems nearly two centuries of history and a full-time company - the Boat Race Company - which works hard to market and publicise an already world-famous rivalry. While you can only watch the English cricket team’s home tests on Sky Sports, the Boat Race is always broadcast on free-to-air television in Britain. This is a testament to the position that it maintains in popular culture. Each year a quarter of a million people line the banks of the Thames to watch the two boats battle it out. January 2012 Backsplash 9
In contrast, the lightweight club at Oxford is more like what I had experienced in South African rowing. There we had a full-time coach, but the club only employs him for part of the year, so he doubles up by also coaching at a nearby club. The towing of boats, ordering of equipment and kit is all organised by the club’s committee members and the training programme is in part determined by the public transport schedule. The success of the national squad and the popularity of the sport are of course deeply intertwined. Having topped the rowing medals table in Beijing, Great Britain’s rowers were earmarked for success in the next Olympic cycle. Nothing gets a country behind its sportsmen and women like a home Olympics, and London 2012 will be no exception. The rowers have rewarded their supporters by producing a superb string of results in the past three years will no doubt continue to produce excellent performances in the lead up to the Games. Both the international success and public profile ensure that the World Cup and World Championship races are broadcast live on national television, while the BBC Sport website has a section devoted to rowing. Even by British standards, the attention that rowing receives at Oxford is incredible. At the annual inter-college bumps racing, more than 1,200 students will participate in the racing. Some of these crews will have been training for weeks, some will have rowed for the first time just a week or two before the racing. The end result is that a huge number of students get a taste of rowing! This kind of ‘mass participation’ can also been seen at the annual Head of the River races in early Spring. This sees 400 men’s and 300 women’s eights racing 6.8km down the Thames. Around 450 fours race the same distance in the November chill. The size of the UK (and indeed of Europe) means that no regatta is ever too far away. This makes compiling national squads a whole lot easier and means that it is never too difficult to get to competitions. It is not uncommon for serious clubs to travel to Europe to compete in large regattas during the summer, and so something like an U23 tour is nothing much out of the ordinary. In spite of the high profile of the sport and the tremendous facilities that this brings, this provides no guarantee of a great rowing experience. Even with the plush facilities and the convenience of nearby venues, my fondest memories of rowing are still from the Kowie River or at Settler’s Dam in the Eastern Cape. There is no doubt that as rowing continues to expand in South Africa it will increase it’s share of the attention of a sporting-mad nation. In spite of all that is different, it is still the same infectious sport that inspires, motivates and frustrates each of its enthusiastic participants.
Backsplash
10 Backsplash January 2012
Andrew Craig Andrew Craig has been an extremely dedicated and passionate oarsman from a young age. Having started his rowing career at St Andrews College in Grahamstown, he went on to row for the 1st 8 from an early age and eventually captained the rowing club. He then earned his South African colours as he went on to represent South Africa in the JM 4- in 2002. He joined the Rhodes University Rowing Club ( RURC), and slotted straight into the stroke seat where he remained until completing his masters degree, 6 years later. Along the way he managed 4 Boat race gold medals and represented South Africa twice at the U23 World Championships in the mens lightweight pair, winning a silver medal in 2006. He then was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship and had the oppertunity to complete his PHD at Oxford University where he currently resides. It is safe to stay he didnt stop rowing. He twice made the Boat Race squad but just missed out very close to the final cuts. He has kindly contributed an insight into the British rowing scene vs the South African rowing scene and perhaps, if we are looking to grow the sport as a whole in South Africa, can learn a few things.
Basic
Training tips
T
he key to rowing is having a strong aerobic system! This is the system that is used in 80-90 % of a race. Development of the aerobic system occurs from long duration of slow to medium intense exercise. This can be in the form of rowing, ergo, running, cycling, and swimming to name a few. So if only starting rowing and want to set yourself an effective training program to strengthen your aerobic system, the bread and butter of it should be long ( minimum 30 minutes, maximum 2-4 hours) of low intensity long duration exercise. It is important you focus on the time and not the intensity- just make sure you spend the time doing it and the intensity will increase naturally.
Aerobic training should make up the majority of rowing training that you do! Which exercises are the best you might ask? Performing and replication the exact mo-
tion/sport you want to excel in is the best form of training. So for rowing, you want to ideally be in a boat and rowing for the extended period of time. If you can’t get out to the dam, sit on the ergo and do the session on the ergo. If you cannot get to an ergo, select a closed chain exercise ( i.e. an exercise that does not put stress on your joints) and perform the exercise. Swimming
and cycling are great examples of closed chain exercises. And finally if you do not have access to closed chain facilities, resort to an open chain exercise. Running and skipping are forms of open chain exercises.
Misconception Doing only gym/ strengthening exercises will make you a good, effective rower. Gym and strength work is important and has contribution to overall rowing performance, but one needs a good aerobic system to be able to deliver enough oxygen to the big muscle groups so they can work harder and longer. Simply having big muscles from doing gym work will not develop your aerobic system and will not allow you to perform well in rowing, compared to those who include aerobic training. Backsplash
January 2012 Backsplash 11
Approaching stroke side corner of the Men’s Boat Race course on the mighty Kowie River.
THE
Boat Race
T
he South African Universities Boat Race is revered as the toughest, most gruelling challenge open to university students within the rowing community. It is held in the sleepy town of Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape where it suddenly comes to life in the month of September, filled with students and spectators from all over the country. The race itself takes place on the Kowie river, a tidal river which mouth opens up into the Indian Ocean. Oarsmen have to factor tides, sandbanks and winds into their racing strategies when planning how to row through the course in the quickest manner. Port Alfred is a popular holiday destination during the summer but during the early days of September, students from all over the country flock to represent their university in what is the most prestigious competition on the university rowing calendar. The Boat Race is modelled on the Oxford versus Cambridge Boat Race held annually on the Thames River in south west London. This annual event began in 1829 when two chaps named Wordsworth and Merivale came up with the idea of a rowing challenge between the two universities. The original Boat Race was held in Henley and not in south west London. Oxford were the first winners of the Boat Race . The second
12 Backsplash January 2012
Boat Race was only held in 1836 and moved to south west London where it was raced over five and a half miles between Westminster and Putney. Then in 1845 they moved the course to be raced between Puntey and Mortlake, where it is raced
today over four and a quarter miles. Today the Boat Race is one of the most popular university sporting events where it is televised globally and is estimated to capture an audience of over 400 million. Some interesting facts about the Oxford/
The Boat Race is modelled on the Oxford versus Cambridge Boat Race held annually on the Thames River in south west London Rhodes University A8 during the annual Tri-Varsity, held on the Kowie, two weeks before Boat Race.
Cambridge Boat Race: Cambridge sank whilst racing in 1859 and 1978. Oxford sank in 1951 and in 1912 both crews sank during the race. The most recent sinking occurred in 1984 where Cambridge sank before they even made it to the starting line. The crew smashed into a barge and managed to smash up the bows to the point that the boat sank. In 1877 the race was so close it the result was called to a dead heat. The most recent , closest, race was in 2003 when Oxford won by one foot. This race spawned the idea of a race in South Africa where universities could race against each other in the same fashion. It began in South Africa in the 1970s , when the original boat race took place on the Kowie river between Rhodes University from Grahamstown and the University of Cape Town. It was rowed in September each year and was sponsored by South African Breweries. A decade later, the University of the Witwaterstrand was challenged by UCT to race on the Vaal River , with television coverage organised. The race was held over six and a half kilometres. The helicopter carrying the television crew caused much dismay as Wits got off to a start and gained a three length lead whilst UCT claimed that the draft from the helicopter held them back from gaining ground on the highveld based crew. The race then expanded to include
other universities and in 1983 Rhodes and University of Pietermaritsburg joined into the competition, still being held on the Vaal. The coastal crews struggled with the altitude and the issue became controversial. Eventually the race was moved back to its original location, the Kowie river. The “Cambridge Rudder�, is the Mens A Division trophey and the first trophy made for the winners of the Boat Race. The story behind the trophy is that the Cambridge Engineers Association kindly offered to donate a trophy from the St Johns College Boat Club and was in the form of a rudder. The rudder came from the Lady Margerate Boat Club VIII. The shields of Wits and UCT were placed on the rudder. The Isis Blade, is the Womens A Division trophy and is part of an actual oar obtained from the Oxford University Boat Club. It was donated by Martin Kennard in 1988. Martin was an oarsman at
Oxford from 1966-1968. South African oarsmen and women dedicate hours of back breaking training every year ( some times the whole year round ) with blood smeared hands and sweat drenched tri-suits to try get their hands on these trophies. In the Mens division, Rhodes University lead the amount of Boat Race wins with 14, WITS lie second with 7, UCT 3rd with three and tied 4th are University of Pietermaritsburg, University of Johannesburg and University of Pretoria with two wins each. In the Womens division, Rhodes University have claimed the Isis Blade on 13 occasions, University of Johannesberg ( formally known as Rand Afrikaans University) and WITS have won 4 a piece , and University of Cape Town just twice. The Boat Race is raced over a 6.2 Kilometers for the men and 4.5 Kilometers for the women. Backsplash
January 2012 Backsplash 13
Boat Race Finalist Crews since 2003 A FINALISTS SINCE 2003 2003 Rhodes vs UCT RHODES: Adam Cripwell, Andrew Craig,
Gorden Simpson, Cameron Bellamy , Edwin Channing, Greg Pienaar, Alex Cruickshanks, Harry Roussos, Ben Kriel UCT: Edward James, Julian Carelse, Dave Mackay, Stuart Bellamy, Sam Pearson, Anthony Ford, Bruce Kerr-Peterson, Simon Moore, Grant Webster RHODES WIN.
2004 Rhodes vs RAU
RHODES: Julie van der Meulen, Andrew
Craig, Brad Smith, Cameron Bellamy, Edwin Channing, Greg Pienaar, Ben Whitfield, Alex Cruickshanks, Alastair Glover RAU:Kevin Malan, Ross Hawkins, Matt Chittenden, Matt Bell, Dean Kearns, Richard Gilfillan, Tony Paladin, Andrew Stockwell RAU WIN.
2005 Rhodes vs UJ
RHODES: Andrew Craig, Ben Whitfield,
Alex Cruickshanks, Phil Brierly, Cameron Bellamy, Sam Wells, Kevin Acheson, Brad smith. UJ:Ryan Thomspon, Graham Hood, Grant Celliers, Edwin Channing, Matt Gertenbach, Richard Gillfillan, Pete Lambert, Kevin Malan, Dean Kearns ( in no order) UJ Win.
2006 Rhodes vs UCT
RHODES:Adam Cripwell, Andrew Craig,
Brad Smith, Alex Cruickshanks, Ben Whitfield, Murray Chandler, Phil Brierly, Kevin Acheson, Jono Handley UCT: Ramsay Solomon, Jason Paans, Ali Glass, Rob Vanlierde, Nick Bizinos, Dave Ogier, Chase Hyde, Stephen Gillespe, Mark Vernon RHODES WIN.
2007 Rhodes vs TUKS
RHODES: Roberta Arnold, Andrew Craig, Jono Handley, Ryan Palmer, Patrick Mattushek, Kevin Acheson, Ed Ovespian, Grant Bursey, Brad Smith TUKS:Mark Newby, Matt Brittain, James 14 Backsplash January 2012
Thompson, Matt Linforth, Murray Chandler, Simon Chittenden, Hein Swart, Warwick Mayberry, CJ Swart RHODES WIN.
2008 WITS vs UJ
WITS:Conan Riebling, Brett Pachonicht,
Brad De Jaager, Ant Lester, Alex Cruickshanks, Bruce Morris, Simon Spooner, Barrie John Mulder, Andrew Polasek UJ:Bianca Cranckshaw, Graham Hood, Cal Thompson, Pete Lambert, Matthew Gertenbach, Lloyd Bemelman, Andrew Stockwell, Mike Celliers, Darren Roff WITS WIN.
2009 TUKS vs UJ
TUKS:Mark Newby, Matt Brittain, James
Thompson, Shaun Keeling, Murray Chandler, Lawrence Brittain, Morgan Kloes, Hein Swart, John Smith UJ: Ryan Thompson, Lloyd Bemelman, , Pete Lambert, Jeff Knowles, Graham Hood, Alton Cadle Marx, Jan-Daan van
Wyk, Mike Cellier, Gary Fortman ( not in order). TUKS WIN.
2010 TUKS vs UCT
UCT: Fiona Wilks, Dale Manning, Joe
Muller, Rob Vanlierde, Kyle Hanck, Vincent De Muynk, Marcus Crowther, Ash Myburgh, Chase Hyde TUKS:Lawrence Brittain, John Smith, Sean Keeling, David Hunt, Liam Colahan, Eben Odendaal, Gareth Mayberry, James Thompson TUKS WIN.
2011 TUKS vs UJ
TUKS:Caz Reynolds, Lawrence Ndlovu,
John Smith, Lawrence Brittain, David Hunt, Gareth Mayberry, James Nevin, Matt Brittain, James Thompson UJ: Lloyd Bemelman, Scott Donaldson, Shane Reynolds, Gary Fortman, Jeffery Knowles, Athenkosi Hlekani, Bryan Watson, Mike Celliers.TUKS WIN. Backsplash
Nutrition what to eat, when to eat, & why eat this rather than that?
Rowing is a tough sport that requires a considerable amount of energy expenditure whether competing or training. But no matter how hard you train during a session or how much you push yourself during a race, the quality and quantity of the food one consumes in preparation for such activities has a massive impact on one’s performance and thus results. You can be at Olympic level fitness and technique, but if you haven’t eaten since 36 hours before a race, chances are you will be beaten by opposition fairly easily.
F
ood serves as the fuel for our energy and the quality of the fuel affects the quality of the performance just like it would in a motor car. The less the quality of the food, the less the quality of performance. So what should we be eating? What is the ultimate athlete’s diet? What are the secret ingredients? Ultimately every athlete is different and requires slightly adjusted diets depending on many variables; body composition, competing distance, age and training. Athletes require a balance of different but healthy food groups to affect the muscles and the cardiovascular system in the best possible way. There is no magical recipe or secret ingredient that makes athletes produce great results. Just clever eating. Below is a guide of what to be eating; we explain as best as possible what properties certain foods contain and what effect they will have in combination with training for rowing.
Carbohydrates
The carbohydrate is the primary fuel used in athletic activity. It is a fuel that is stored in the liver and the skeletal muscle in the form of Glycogen. When the human body begins to move, walk, run, sprint or row, glycogen is released from its stores to provide energy to the necessary muscles which are required for the particular activity. The more demanding the activity, the more glycogen is needed. Glycogen is a fuel that is best utilised for endurance activities. The average amount of energy available from the average store would provide a run for approximately 40km. However, the more endurance training an individual does, the bigger the capacity for muscles to store glycogen becomes. Since rowing is a power- endurance sport, we can see how important carbohydrates are for rowing training and competition. Examples of good carbohydrates (low GI) for rowing training are: potatoes, pasta,
Rice, vegetables (carrots , peas, sweet potatoes, whole-wheat bread). GI stands for Glycaemic Index, which refers to how slowly or quickly glucose is released into the system, from digested food to be used for energy. The lower the glycaemic index the better. Most food labels display weather food is low or high GI.
Fats Fat, although socially measured as a major negative in modern day society, is scientifically and physiologically a major potential source of energy. It is in - fact the largest store of potential energy in the human body and is very useful for athletes. It is more than twice the equivalent capacity of carbohydrate or protein combined and varies considerably from athlete to athlete. To put it into perspective; an athlete who has very low body fat content of 7kgs would have enough potential stored energy to run 1200 km! Compare that to the carbohydrate store that would allow one to run for a mere 40km and we can see just how powerful fat is as an energy store.
Sports nutrition can be divided into four categories: Carbohydrates, Fats, Protein and vitamins and minerals. January 2012 Backsplash 15
Protein Protein is predominantly found in both red and white meats but is also found in various sources of nuts and legumes! Its primary role is to repair and build muscle tissue. It can also be used as a fuel, like carbohydrate and fats, but its contribution to energy production is relatively minor ( 5-10%). It is generally used as a backup fuel; when the distance/length of the endurance is relatively high and glycogen storages become depleted. Protein requirements can thus be seen to be much higher for athletes than those who do not participate in sports. Athletes who are training require 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day, depending on the type and length of training. The highest amounts of consumable protein are mainly found in beef, chicken, pork, fish, turkey and lamb. Kidney beans are not as high in protein as these meats but are the highest of all the beans.
Nutrients (Vitamins and Minerals) It has been seen that decreased levels of vitamin C in the training athlete will affect the capacity for work. Strenuous exercise may cause the need for increased uptake of vitamin C and can be obtained in fresh fruit and vegetables. Although not enough research has been performed, vitamin E is believed to act as an antioxidant and supplementation of the vitamin may help maintain red blood cells in tact during strenuous exercise. IRON is seen as a very important mineral and its deficiency is a common problem amongst athletes, particularly female ones. The primary role of iron relates to the ability of red blood cells to adequately carry oxygen for use throughout the entire body. If there is not enough oxygen travelling to the muscles for muscle contraction, performance will invariably be sub optimal. Good sources of iron can be found in: lean red meat, liver, kidney, skinless poultry with dark flesh and wholegrain breads. Do not embark on iron supplementation without consent from a medical practitioner. CALCIUM is a very important mineral as its primary function is bone formation in the human skeleton. It also plays a role in blood clotting, nerve transmission, muscle contraction and enzyme activation. Calcium is most important in individuals going through puberty to aid bone metabolism as human skeletal system is constantly growing during this period. Adequate calcium in take is essential after puberty to maintain bone mass. In the modern day society dairy products are the best source of calcium Using this information, one can devise a personal plan of how much of each food group one should be consuming in conjunction with a) current training regime 16 Backsplash October 2011
Athletes who are training require 1.21.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day, depending on the type and length of training b ) body composition c) future personal goals. These must be assessed and written down first before choosing how ones meals should be set out. It is always advisable to work with a sports nutritionist when devising a plan for an entire season. The next issue will include more specific information of what the best foods are to put on your plate and what popular meals are eaten by top class athletes.
To supplement
OR NOT
to supplement? This day in age with the advancement of sports medicine, nutrition, performance and marketing, there is plenty of money to be made in the sports industry. In the last decade there has been a boom in the production of products that are put on the shelves which offer advanced sports nutrition in the form of a powder supplement. Unfortunately due to lack of immediate and accessible information aspect that exists in on the topic, these products offer major promises to
the potential user without the user knowing how to go about using them properly and effectively. As a result of this there are some major misconceptions about powder supplements that have developed over the years. These include: ď Ź Supplements should just be bought off the shelf and used without the advice of a health professional (sports nutritionist/ dietician etc.) or the advice of your rowing
coach. Supplements can be used to produce results without training. Supplements have magical qualities that cannot be found in a normal foods that can be bought from local shops/supermarkets Researchers and academic in the field conclude that “ widespread use of supplements combined with an absence of evidence of their efficacy and a concern for the possibility of inadvertent doping, underscore the need for appropriately focused educational initiatives in the area”. Supplements can be very useful and aid in sports nutrition but only if used correctly and with a good understanding of how they are indeed so effective. Let’s begin with the popularity of supplements. Athletes do not have to think twice about questioning whether supplements are popular or not. They are popular worldwide and used by varying ranges of athletes. This is characterised by reports that were carried out in the 1996 and 200 Olympic Games. 69% of Canadian athletes reported using some type of supplement ranging from vitamins and minerals to amino acids and creatine in 1996 and 74% in 2000. Products being by so many top level athletes in such high number clearly show that they must produce some kind of effect in sports performance. We will divide the topics and discuss separately, different supplements used for different types of sport and training.
SUPPLEMENTS FOR STRENGTH AND POWER SPORTS.
These supplements are generally used by people who are looking to increase strength, muscle mass to either increase sports performance or sometimes just to look good on the beach. Three sub categories of this main category can be divided into proteins, amino acids and HMB ( beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate).
HMB HMB is a metabolite of an Amino Acid, Leucine. It is thought to facilitate protein breakdown and contribute to the integrity of the cell membrane. In testing it was seen to increase lean body mass when combined with resistance training, but particular more effective with novices are athletes relatively new to strength training.
Carnitine Carnitine is a type of protein that enhances fat oxidation. It is predominantly found in red meat and dairy products. It
has been found that the greatest effects are found in individuals who are Carnitine deficient.
protein stands at 0.8 grams/kilogram of body weight but does not take physical activity into account. Thus
HMB is a metabolite of an Amino Acid, Leucine. It is thought to facilitate protein breakdown and contribute to the integrity of the cell membrane
Proteins and Amino Acids Amino Acids and proteins are very popular and are the predominant constituent of supplements that modern day strength seekers look for. There is a logical reason for this as strength and power of a muscle are a function of the mass of the muscle. Amino acids are the foundation of muscle tissue. Therefore an increase in consumption of amino acids would be logical in athletes that are undertaking strength training. The current RDA (recommended daily allowance ) of
athletes tend to require 1.2-1.7g/kg if training and depending on what they are looking to develop.
Supplements for weight restriction (light weight rowers)
Lightweight rowers have a hard life as , unlike heavy weight rowers, have to restrict their food intake after heavy sessions when all you want to do is eat eat eat! Some lightweight rowers have special supplements to help keep their weight in check. January 2012 Backsplash 17
ity – the lower the pH the more acidic and the higher the pH , the more alkaline). This is seen to decrease the electrical communication bridge within the muscle itself, resulting in less forceful muscle contractions and a higher rate of fatigue. Sodium bicarbonate/citrate is seen to prevent the pH from lowering during high intensity exercise thus, keeping the communication bridge strong and maintaining forceful muscle contractions. Studies revealed there has been definite benefit to athletic performance however with unpleasant side-effects. Complaints such as diarrhoea , bloating, vomiting and other gastro-intestinal upsets, which have often , ironically, prevented these athletes from competing. Overall, the sense that we get about supplements is that their biggest positive is their convenience. Most nutrients athletes require can in-fact be gained by products in a normal diet and can be bought fairly easily from normal stores and found in normal foods. In the modern western world time is the problem, and often the time when we need to be consuming food (i.e. fairly soon after a training session) will be spent on preparing the food. This is where supplements step in and save the day by providing a solution to saving a considerable amount of time whilst still getting in all the required nutrients. It is recommended that before embarking on a supplementation program, it should be discussed with a health professional in conjunction with a current training regime, future goals and body composition. Backsplash
Supplements for
HIGH INTENSITY EXERCISE CREATINE
Creatine is a tripeptide that is synthesised in the liver. Muscle absorbs creatine from the circulatory system. It can also be obtained through diet and is available in fish and meat. Basically, the role of Creatine is to provide a rapid but brief source of energy to the muscles during brief bouts of high intensity exercise. It also plays an important role in re synthesising the energy currency of the individual cell, otherwise known as ATP ( adenosine triphosphate). Theoretically in an increase in Creatine will equate to an increase in the ability to perform work and studies have shown an increase in strength and muscle mass as a result of using creatine supplementation. The enhancement is mainly seen in short term, high intensity explosions
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of energy. Rowing wise this translates into enhancing starts, bursts of 10 or 20 strokes in the middle of the race and finally the sprint finish. It does not have an effect on endurance phases of the rowing race.
ALKALINE LOADING
The most well known form of alkaline loading is consuming sodium bicarbonate or sodium citrate. The reason for this is quite long winded and scientific but does have an effect on athletic performance. The main tests were performed in runners rather than rowers, but the main premise is that high intensity exercise leads to a lowering of muscle and blood pH. (pH is the measure of acidity/alkalin-
Famous ROWERS
Lord Colin Moynihan (British Minister of Sport) coxswain, 1980 Olympic silver medallist Admiral Chester Nimitz, stroked Navy 1905. Edward Norton (actor) rowed at Yale.
Dean Acheson (Secretary of State) rowed at Yale.
Admiral Robert E. Perry (explorer) rowed at Bowdoin College, 1877.
Anderson Cooper (news journalist) coxed at Yale.
Vincent L Price (actor) rowed freshman crew at Yale, Class of 1933.
Pierre deCourbertin (founded Modern Olympics)
Robert Reich (Clinton administration Secretary of Labor) coxed at Dartmouth.
Anita DeFranz (USOC/IOC) rowed at Conn. College.
Stanley Resor (Secretary of the Army) rowed at Yale.
David T. de Varona (heart surgeon & father of Donna de Varona) rowed at al-Berkeley with Gregory Peck.
Teddy Roosevelt (U.S. President) sculled at Harvard.
Charles Eliot (Harvard president) rowed at Harvard.
Leverett Saltonstall (Governor/US Senator of Massachusetts) rowed at Harvard.
Averill Harriman (statesman) rowed at Yale
Capt. Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (astronaut) rowed at Navy.
Stephen Hawking (physicist) coxed at Oxford.
Dr. Benjamin Spock (baby MD/author) rowed at Yale-Gold Medal 1924.
Graham Hill (Formula One champion) stroked London RC VIII 1953.
John L. Sullivan (boxer) sculler.
Richard Hillary (UK WWII pilot/hero, author) rowed at Oxford.
Jake Kilrain (boxer) aka John Killion, 1883 stripped of NAAO sculling championship.
James J. Corbett (boxer) sculler.
Hugh Laurie (actor/comedian) rowed at Eton/Cambridge/Henley RR/Jr. Worlds. John Lehman (Secretary of the Navy). George Mallory (d. 1924 Mt. Everest expedition) rowed at Magdalene College. Andrew Irvine (d. 1924 Mallory’s climbing partner) rowed at Merton College/ Boat-Race 1923 & 1923.
 William Middendorf (Secretary of the Navy) rowed at Harvard. 19 Backsplash October 2011
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HENLEY ROYAL
Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta has always been revered as one of the most prestigious regattas to compete in, worldwide.
T
he Womens Henley was formed as a result of the lack of women’s events at Henley Royal Regatta and first held in 1988. Women’s Henley is held on the same stretch of the Thames as Henley Royal but the course is shorter 1,500 m (Henley is 2,112 m) and stops at the Remenham Club. It takes place over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 2 weeks before Henley Royal. Since 2004 the regatta has used Intermediate, Senior and Elite categories instead of College, Club and Open. This is still up for further review and may change again in the near future. In 2011 one of our Elite Light Weight Woman went over to compete and came home with top honours. She had won the Womens Henley in the Eilte Lightweight Sculls Division and showed the world how South African Rowing is moving from strength to strength! Here we give you a bit of history about Carolyn Smith, who she is , and how she came to win one of the most prestigious regattas in the world! 20 Backsplash January 2012
Carolyn Anne Smith was born on 4 Feb 1986. She started rowing at age 13 when she went on the St Stithians Girls College rowing camp. Since finishing school she has rowed for Tuks and Roodeplaat(when Roodeplaat and Tuks were one club) and Old Eds. She has rowed in the following crews that have won SA champs: 2003 Girls 1st quad 2004 Girls 1st double, Girls 1st quad 2005 WA4- and WA4x 2006 WA8+ and WA4- 2007 WA4- 2009 WA2x and LW1x 2010 WA1x, WA4- and WA8+ 2011 WA2x She has represented South Africa in the following crews: JW2at Junior World Champs 2004 W1x and W2x at Africa Champs 2005 W2x at World
“I finished the local season in SA and felt that I wanted to get further exposure to more competition. I decided to go the UK because the sport is so big there and there would be lots more girls to race. I also had the necessary contacts there for accommodation and a boat. I’d been over in 2007 and did the second half of the British season. So this time decided to go earlier and do Metropolitan Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta. Henley is a very special town and regatta with it’s history and prestige. It’s something I think everyone involved in rowing should go and experience. There are a lot of foreign entries so the
Henley is a very special town and regatta with it’s history and prestige. It’s something I think everyone involved in rowing should go and experience Student Games in 2006 LW1x at u23 World Champs in 2008 Other international regattas: W4x at Henley Royal regatta in 2007 Elite LW1x at Henley Women’s regatta 2011 We asked Carolyn how she came motivated to race at Henley and how she planned to do it.
organisers are very helpful with the entry process and putting you in the event that you will get that best racing. The regatta caters for some events at an intermediate and senior level and then all boat classes at an elite level. Henley women’s is raced over 3 days with up to 5 rounds of one on one racing. Events with more than
32 entries have a heads race in order to determine the top 32 crews. It is similar to the format for Riviera Vaal Regatta in SA.” She then goes on to explain how the racing went through her mind and eyes: “Unfortunately, due to withdrawals in the event I only ended up racing two races, a semi and a final on the Sunday. As a lightweight, the day starts with the first step of making weight. I came into the week very close to weight (59kg for a women’s sculler) and so was able to eat well and recovery properly from training during the week. A small sweat on Sunday morning got me to weight on time. My semi final was against Roxana Islas-Garcia from London Rowing Club. She’s a Mexican girl who has come over to the UK in order to further her rowing with the goal of one day racing at the Olympic Games for Mexico. I’d been warned by girls I’d been training with that she was a very fast starter and not to panic if she got up initially. She did go slightly up out the start, but I was always within half a length. Once we were about 250m in, I slowly started moving back and then through her. Halfway down the course I had clear water and then managed to keep moving away. In one on one racing, it’s very difficult to come back from being down. I ended up winning the race by 5 lengths. I was to meet Emily Gade from the University of London in the final. Her time was 3 seconds faster than mine in the semis, but her race was a bit closer. So I knew it was going to be a tough race. Emily was an American girl studying at UL. She was in the American LW4x in 2010 until illness prevented her from competing. She’d also raced for the American team at World University Games in 2010. Luckily there was about 4 hours between the races to recover. The final was very close. Neither of us were able to move for the first 300m. Due to the number of cruisers and barges watching from the side, there was a lot of wash around. I hit a patch of wash and she took half a length. As the water flattened out again, I put a big push in to get back on level terms. As I got level, she also hit some wash and I moved ahead. I put in another big push to break clear. In one on one racing, once your opposition has clear water, it becomes very tough mentally. I managed to get about a length clear, but unlike in the semi I wasn’t able to keep moving. Gade was a very tough racer and never gave up. I eventually won by just under 2 lengths. It was a great sense of achievement having won. It was a good end to a successful season. All rowers will know the hours put in through the year, the early mornings and for an overseas trip like this one there is also a lot of money going into achieving a goal. It’s an amazing feeling
All rowers will know the hours put in through the year, the early mornings and for an overseas trip like this one there is also a lot of money going into achieving a goal. It’s an amazing feeling when it all comes together
when it all comes together and you get it right. Henley is a very special place to win. After the racing there is a formal prize giving where all participants are in dresses and club blazers. It’s awesome to be part of a regatta with such history and prestige. There were plenty of South Africans there on the day and it was nice to win in front of old friends. The whole trip was an amazing experience. Between the two regattas I was able to race girls from Ireland, Australia, Mexico, America, another South African and some British girls. I was involved in training at some of the clubs and got exposure to their ideas on training and the sport in general. The number of athletes involved in the sport over there is incredible.” Backsplash
October January 2012 2011 Backsplash 21
2011 NATIONAL ROWING I
t has got to be said that 2011 has shown to be one of the biggest group, of the recent years, that has been fielding (boating?) athletes onto the international circuit. The senior men, senior women, u23,s and juniors have collectively reflected a group of over 30 athletes representing
The Senior Mens Pair of Lawrence Brittain and Ramon di Clemente look on as they line up against the rest of the SA National Squad in camp in Tzaneen, ready for the next piece.
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South Africa on the water at international regattas. This is an awesome statistic as it shows how rowing has grown over the years in South Africa! Here are a few of the crews that represented South Africa in 2011 on the international circuit.
Shaun Keeling, David Hunt, Joe Muller and Pete Lambert placed 3rd in the C Final at the Rowing World Cup, held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 2011.
The Senior Heavyweight MENS 4
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Mens Heavyweight Pair
The Heavyweight Mens Pair of Lawrence Brittain and Ramon di Clemente won bronze at the Rowing World Cup held in Hamburg, Germany.
Womans U23 Pair Kate Christowitz and Claire-Louise Bode placed 5th in A final at World Champs in Amsterdam.
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Stephen Mattushek and Marcus Crowther placed 2nd in the B final at World Champs in Amsterdam.
Mens U23 Pair
Mens Lightweight 4 Tony Paladin, John Smith, Matt Brittain and James Thompson placed 6th in A final at the World Cup in Lucern, Switzerland. London 2012 Olympic Qualifyers.
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Mens Junior Double
Murray Nocton Smith and Katlego Sotsaka finished 2nd in the D final at Junior World Champs in WIndsor, England.
Matthew Stevens, Devon Miller, Edward Templemore-Walters and Cameron Hoey place 3rd in the D fonal at Junior World Champs in Windsor, England.
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Junior Mens 4
Photography Capturing the art of rowing
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SOUTH AFRICAN
National rowing as guidance of Roger Barrow e th r de un d, ua sq ng wi ro l The South African Nationa st few years has grown from strength to strength. pa e head coach, has, over th
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he green and gold trisuit has become something of a treasure in rowing circles, especially to younger oarsmen/women who are driven so passionately in the sport, to achieve its highest honour. The number of athletes competing at international regattas is increasing and the number of medals being brought home is very promising. I think what is most promising is that, beyond the athletes that are being sent over to represent the country, there are still men and women who are achieving, physiologically, the standards set by the International Rowing Governing Body ( FISA) in certain tests but still need some time to develope their technique in and on the water. They represent the depth of South African rowing and with the 2012 London Olympics just around the corner, this depth combined with the squads current form, is a very promising prospect indeed. In South African international rowing, athletes often fleet from season to season; they are in and out and sometimes their achievements are not observed or quickly forgotten. These individuals who represent our country put a phenomenal amount of work in to get where they get to and it is important to know who they are and what they have done! Thus we have decided to compile the archives through the years, of the SA Squad, the boat categories rowed and competed, and the achievements and honours awarded for these efforts dating back to the turn of the millennium. 32 Backsplash January 2012
Warren Wellbeloved, Rod Mcdonald, Tony Paladin and Bruce Turvey training in the Coxless Four.
squad
2000
We start off in the year 2000, the year of the Summer Olympics games which were held in Sydney. At the games, South Africa fielded three crews to compete, all making the A finals (i.e. the top 6) of their categories, The Women’s Pair event was represented by Colleen Orsmond and Helen Fleming and they managed a 5th place in the A final.
The Mens Lightweight Coxless 4 was represented by Mark Rowand, Ross Hawkins, Roger Tobler, and Mike Hasselbach. The crew managed a 5th place in the A final.
The Mens Heavyweight Pair, represented by Donovan Cech and Ramon di Clemente managed a 6th place in their A final. January 2012 Backsplash 33
2001 Mens Pair won Gold at the World Cup in Munich and won Bronze at World Champs, Held in Lucerne. The U23 Lightweight coxless 4 made up of Tony Paladin, Rod Macdonald, Paul Smith and Lawrence Ndlovu, managed a 7th place finish at the U23 World Champs.
Lawrence Ndolvu, Tony Paladin, Paul Smith and Rod McDonald.
The Womens Lightweight Pair of Liz Sparg and Tanya
Amrstrong managed a 6th place finish at the World Championships
The Lightweight Mens Coxless Four of Mike Short, Rob
Dormehl , Bruce Turvey and Richard Gaddi raced at the World Champs in Lucern and finished 13th overall.
2002 Don and Ramon continued to improve on their rowing and performances by claiming silver at the World Champs in Seville, in the Mens Heavyweight Pair.
The Mens Lightweight 4
Don and Ramon.
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made up of Warren Wellbeloved, Tony Paladin, Richard Gaddi and
Lawrence Ndlovu managed an 11th place at the World Cup. The Womens Pair of Rika Geyser and Collen Orsmond finished 5th at the World Champs in Seville. Ross Hawkins raced the scull at the World Champs in Seville and finished in a respectable 12th place.
2003 The U23 Mens Heavyweight Pair
represented by Cameron Bellamy and Edwin Channing finished 12th in Belgrade.
The U23 Mens Lightweight Pair
represented by Warren Wellbeloved and Richard Gaddi placed 12thth overall in Belgrade.(richardwarren.jpeg)
The U23 Mens Heavyweight Four of Kevin Malan, Sam Pearson,
Duncan Bradley and Hayden Hochfelden narrowly missed out on bronze, finishing 4th overall in Belgrade
The Senior Mens Heavyweight Pair, Don and Ramon, finished with a bronze in the World Champs in Italy.
The Senior Womens Heavyweight Pair of Colleen Orsmond and Rika Geyser placed 11th at the World Champs in Italy. Cath Shaw and Alex White placed 10th overall in the U23 Womens Light-
weight Double in Belgrade. The Mens Lightweight Coxless Four of Rob Dormehl, Bruce Turvey, Ross Hawkins and Lawrence Ndlovu finished in 17th place overall at the World Champs in Italy.
ex White.
Cath Shaw and Al
Ramon and Don wining gold at Henley Royal Regatta.
2004 Rika Geyser competed at the World Cup in Germany and placed 6th in the race.
Cath Shaw and Alex White fininshed
7th overall at the U23 World Champs in Poland.
Rika Geyser.
The highlight of 2004 has got to be Don and Ramon winning bronze at the Olympics, in Athens! The rowing community of South Africa are still very proud of this achievement! January 2012 Backsplash 35
2005 Don and Ramon claim Silver at World Champs in Japan. They also went on to win the Silver Goblets in the Mens Pair division at the Henley Royal Regatta, in the UK. Andrew Craig and Brad Smith competed at the U23 Worlds in the Mens Lightweight Pairs and placed 7th in Amsterdam. Richard Gaddi and Warren Wellbeloved placed 19th at the World Champs in Japan, in the Lightweight Double Category. Rika Geyser placed 11th in the scull at the World Champs in Japan. The Mens Lightweight Coxless Four of Tony Paladin, Rod Macdonald, Lawrence Ndlovu and Bruce Turvey finished 7th at the World Champs in Japan.
Men’s Lightweight Coxless 4.
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2006 Lightweight u23 Coxless 4
of Matt Brittain, James Thompson, Grant Celliers and Peter Lambert placed 14th. Mens Pair Don and Ramon 7th at world champs in Eton, England, 12th. Rika Geyser Finsished 13th in the scull in Germany at the World Cup,
U23 Mens Heavyweight coxless 4, Shaun Keeling, Shaun Irwin, John Luck, and Matt Gertenbach 8th in Belguim.
Mens Coxless 4 lightweight
at World Champs- Tony Paladin, Rod Macdonald, Lawrence Ndlovu , Bruce Turvey in Eton, England. Andrew Polasek in the Lm1x at u23 worlds in Belgium, placed 12th.
2007 U23 lightweight pair, Brittain Thomp-
son silver in Scotland. Don and Ramon finish 5th at world champs in Germany. The Adaptive rowing crew of Kim Robinson, Carl Schreuder , Eddey Gordon and Siglind Koehler finished 4th at the Adaptive world cup in the LTA Mixed coxed 4, at the world cup in Amsterdam. Rika Geyser finished 10th at the World cup held in Austria, in the single scull. Shaun keeling finished 12th at the U23 world champs in Scotland in the single scull.
The Lightweight mens coxless 4
of Matt Brittain, Rod Macdonald, Warren Wellbeloved and James Thompson finished 21st at World Champs in Germany. The u23 Double of Karabo Mothulwe and Kennedy Manyike finished 16th in the lightweight doubles category in Scotland. Kirsten Mcann and Alex White com-
peted in the Womens lightweight double, at the World Cup in Austria and placed 16th . Cath Shaw and Liz Sparg Competed in the world cup in the Lightweight wo-
mens double in Austria and finished 24th. Nicholas Stipinovich and Andrew Polasek competed in the world cup in Austria in the Lightweight mens double and finished 23rd. January 2012 Backsplash 37
2008 The u23 Lightweight pair of
Brittain and Thompson repeated their antics of 2007 and came out with silver again at the U23 champs in Germany. Murray Chandler raced in the Scull at the same regatta and placed 19th. Masego Mokhine, Gordon Eddey, Kevin Du Toit, Kim Robinson, Jarred Clarke competed at the Paralympic games in Beijing in the LTAMixed 4+ category and managed a fantastic 8th position. Mens Heavyweight pair of Shaun Keeling and Ramon di Clemente finished 5th at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Alex White and Kirst Mccann competed in the Lightweight womens doubles at the Olympics in Beijing and finished 14th! Caroline Smith competed at the U23 World champs in Germany and finished 10th in the lightweight womens sculls. Rika Geyser competed in the Womens Scull and finished 13th at the Olympic Games in Beijing Top: The Men’s Heavyweight pair in Beijing. Above: JamesThompson and Andrew Polasek in the Double. 38 Backsplash January 2012
2009 The lightweight mens pair of Matt Brittain
and John Smith competed at both the u23 World Champs in Czech Republic and at Senior World Champs in Poland and finished 4th in both events. The Mens U23 Heavyweight pair of Lawrence Brittain and Murray chandler placed 7th position at the U23 World Champs in the Czech republic.
The Mens Senior Heavyweight pair
Top right: Matt Brittain and John Smith in the Pair. Above: Lawrence Ndlovu in the Single.
of Shaun Keeling and Ramon di Clemente finished 6th at the World Champs held in Poland Peter Lambert Competed in the Mens Heavyweight sculls at the World Champs in Poland and placed 14th . Lawrence Ndluvo competed in the mens lightweight scull at World Champs in Poland, finishing 9th Andrew Polesek and James Thompson competed in the mens lightweight double category at world champs in poland and finished 12th. January 2012 Backsplash 39
Men’s Lightweight 4.
2010 Top: Women’s u23 Pair. Above: Men’s Lightweight4.
2011 40 Backsplash January 2012
Hayley Arthur and Lee-Anne Pearse competed in the womens 2- at wc in Lucerne, Switzerlend and came 11th Kate Cristowitz and Clair-Louise Bode competed in the u23 womens pair and came 4th in Belarus The LM4 - at lucerne came 14th- Matt brittain, James Thompson, Lawrence Ndluvo, Andrew Polasek Lawrence Brittain and John Smith took all the honours and came away with gold in the M2 category at U23 World Champs in Belarus. Ramon and Lambert finished 7th in New Zealand at world champs in the mens pair Kirst Mcann came away with bronze in the lightweight sculls in Belarus in the U23 LW1X LM4 - in NZ , of L.Ndluvo, J.Smith, J.Thomspon, Tony Paladin finished 11th overall.
Hayley Arthur finished in 12th Position in the 1x at the world cup in Germany LM4 - of Paladin, Smith, Brittain and Polasek finished 8th overall at world cup in Germany M2 - of L. Brittain and Di Clemente took bronze at the world cup in Germany. Lee-Ann Perse and Naydene Smith 6th in A final at World Champs in Bled, Slovenia and qualify for the 2012 Olympics. The Lightweight Mens Coxless 4 placed 11th at World Champs in Bled, Slovenia and qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Backsplash
n o t A g r E f o . In one go. 100 km on the Ergt. Yes you heard righ
O
n scales of sane to crazy, normal rowers who get up at the crack of dawn, throw themselves into immense physical exercise for a large portion of the day, sacrifice social functions and relaxing weekends and still manage to get most of the normal day to day activities done, seem crazy to non-rowers. Recently we came across a duo who took the craziness scale to another level. The pair namely , Mark Burgess, from Natal and Ryan Palmer, from the Eastern Cape, challenged themselves to raise money for charity buy rowing 100km on the ergo, in one go. The event occurred on the day of the University Boat Race Finals, in September 2011, and was initially expected to take between 7 and 9 hours to complete. Ryan explains to us what motivated him to complete this amazing yet crazy feat which saw many people at the universities Boat Race, gaping in awe. “I decided to do the 100k in January and it was just more something that I wanted to try and then later thought it would be a good idea to do it as a fund raising thing which turned out to be a good idea as it raised over R15 000 for the Angus Gillis Foundation” The Angus Gillis Foundation is an organisation which works with rural people who live in conditions of abject poverty, deprived of access to basic resources. The work is based through a social development, instead of helping the poor in the traditional way with handouts, they work with the development and empowerment of individuals, groups and communities, teaching them to be self-reliant. “I started my training in January but wasn't following a proper programme, then i found a 16 week programme for running and adjusted it for the ergo a bit.” Ryan initially began training only in his lunch hour at work in between work. From
January to May he did hour and 90min pieces to get fit enough to take on the programme.” The ergo was all steady state rating about 22ish quite hard intensity. I also did a couple of gym sessions a week.” Ryan and Mark rowed 88 kilometres on the ergo every week for 8 weeks. They also did gym sessions and core stability sessions on top of that. Ryan takes us through rowing the actual 100 ks on the day of the Boat Race:
was there yet. The next 40 kms was ok, started to feel the effects but not too bad. People were coming and offering some support and that really helped a lot. Unfortunately Mark was starting to cramp really badly and had to stop after about 60kms. After he stopped it became a bit harder because I was on my own. The last 30 was pretty tough! I was starting to cramp in my legs and forearms and knew i still had over 2hrs to go. I was stop-
I decided to do the 100k in January and it was just more something that I wanted to try and then later thought it would be a good idea to do it as a fund raising thing “On the day Mark I got up at midnight to eat (a massive bowl of oats). We were starting at 5 so didn’t want eat just before. During the row I drank every 5km (20mins or there abouts) about a cup of Powerade diluted with water. I ate mostly protein and energy bars a few bites at the water stops. Stops were short, about 10secs max. The first 30km (2hrs) felt very good went past very fast and was pretty quiet as nobody
ping more regularly for water and to stretch out the cramps. The Boat Race crowd was very supportive which helped heaps and I managed to hang to the end. Mark and Ryan raised R15000 for the Angus Gillis Foundation. Ryan completed the 100km in 6 hours and 53 minutes. His average splits were 2:04 and his average heart rate was 168. Quiet something. Backsplash
October January 2012 2011 Backsplash 41
THE
South African
Universities Regatta
T
he history of the South African Universities Regatta stretches all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century and over the years has developed into one of the highlights of the rowing calendar. These were the days where waterslides, climbing up poles and angry Vanderkloof locals were merely a thing of fantasy and imagination . The Universities Regatta is said to have been started by a chap named Wilfred Marsh in the 1930, s. Not much else is known about the origin of the intervarsity regatta but one may assume it was born out of an idea to grow the sport of rowing by getting all the varsities together to battle it out on the water. Unfortunately, other than that, the rest is a mystery and if any one has any more information on the history of the intervarsity regatta we invite you to write in and enlighten the rowing community. It must be pointed out that Wilfred Marsh should be hailed as a legend, to have created an event which has a special place in every oarsman’s heart.
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Rowing in the 1930,s, one can only imagine that these times were characterised by hard, wooden , heavy boats rowed by hard, heavy men who put up with a lot more obstacles to organise an intervarsity regatta that are currently present at the
Hard wooden boats and bearded oarsmen.
moment. As the clear distinction can be made in transportation technology between then and now, one can only marvel at the effort it must have taken to organise an intervarsity regatta in the early 20th century. No super tubes or bomas for sure.
Skipping forward half a century, 84 to be exact, the Regatta was held in Pietermaritzberg, at a dam situated up in the surrounding hills. This year was characterised by the heathen behaviour of the University of Cape Town at the dinner, and were subsequently banned from competing in university rowing for 12 months. For once UCT doing the damage and not the usual suspects ( hmm hmm Rhodes and Maritsburg ). The event was held in Pietermaritzburg up until 1999, where it was changed to Vanderkloof Dam, following a tragic accident in 1997. James Kennard and Tessa Vriend , two fellow rowers from the University of Cape Town, were towing boats up to SA champs and were involved in an accident in which they both lost their lives. Vanderkloof was selected as an appropriate venue in the attempt to share the pain of long travelling and towing, as it is exactly half way between Cape Town and Durban.
Mens pairs launch from the banks to warm up before racing For those not in the loop about the regatta, now formally know as USSA it is the only regatta that is raced over less than 1000m at Senior A level and is held in March annually. It is raced on the Vanderkloof Dam, in the Freestate, which as mentioned above, is a central point between the universities and thus the travelling burdens are shared. The majority of the heats and some finals are raced on the Friday, followed by a dinner in the local town hall. The highlight of the dinner
Students attend prize giving in the famous Boma.
The sun sets over the picturesque vanderkloof dam. January 2012 Backsplash 43
is the myriad of creative outfits that all the clubs come up with, as there is a “best dressed� award, the winner of which usually receives some of the finest beverages to use at their disposal. The finals are then battled out on Saturday starting as early as 06:00 in some cases, always aiming to end around the 16:00/17:00 mark ( weather permitting). As would be imagined, it is only for registered university students, no matter what age the participant. A major characteristic of the regatta is the cross wind that can often pick up which usually moves laterally down the lanes. For crews on the outer lanes, not only is it a battle of mental toughness, physical strength, and stamina but also just survival as the swells that are created by the wind, often leave crews half sunk before they even reach the finish line. If you are lucky enough to be in the middle lanes, you will appreciate this protection( and often laugh at the unlucky crews on the left). The highlight of the regatta is the selection of the Blues and Grudge crews at the end of the second day of racing. Blues and Grudge are the top two boats in different categories, Blues being the top boat and Grudge being the second boat. The boats are filled by a mixed group of the top athletes who have a) performed the best on the day of racing and b) previously completed and submitted two ergo tests raced over 2000 m that meet the USSA standards. Making these crews usually dictates weather you are awarded colours or half colours for rowing by your university. Blues and Grudge crews selected are as follows: Mens Double, Mens Eight, Womens Double and Womens Coxless Four. After racing has completed and boats are packed, the entire university rowing descend down upon the infamous Boma and waterslides ( much to the amusement/irritation of the resort management) where the spirit of university rowing is celebrated and many stories unfold, only to be fondly talked about the morning after and , in some cases, in the years to come. Backsplash
44 Backsplash January October2012 2011
Students rela
x under gazeeb
os before raci
ng
Ladies Blues and Grudge athletes pose together after a long day of racing