Peterborough rowers part of one minute challenge
Competition sees athletes ‘rowing’ at home, on video
The rowing community is doing its best to stay active while planning for life after COVID-19.
Twenty Peterborough Rowing Club members, ranging from 12-year-old Olwyn Watkins to 79-year-old Dave Lienert, competed in the Four Nations One Minute Challenge on the weekend.
It challenged rowers from Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand to record the distance they rowed on an ergometer (indoor rowing machine) in one minute. The distances are entered into a real-time online platform and the country that covers the most distance wins bragging rights.
Members of the public competed alongside rowers from each nation’s Olympic and Paralympic teams for individual awards in various age, weight and Para rowing categories.
PRC president Brian Love said they got the word out to as many club members as possible about the challenge.
“Anything to give people a challenge and get enthusiastic,” said Love.
The next challenge will be to see which country can row the distance to the moon in the fastest time.
Love said about 30 club members either own or took home ergometers to train on while the club is closed during the pandemic.
PRC and Trent Excalibur rowing head coach James Dyer has been conducting training sessions on Zoom video conferences three days a week for separate junior, U23 and adult/ masters groups. Rowers train the camera on them as they row so Dyer can monitor their progress and offer tips on form and technique. There are also strength training sessions for those without ergometers.
“Our club is open for business but we’re doing it virtually,” said Love. “We’re hooking up for about an hour with James or one of the other coaches running us through a series of core exercises. We can’t all hop on ergs because we don’t all have ergs so we’re running these virtual training programs focusing on core strength.
“We’re having a lot of fun. There’s competitive chatting going on.”
With Premier Doug Ford suggesting outdoor recreational activities will be part of Phase 2 of the province’s reopening plan, Love hopes rowing will be included.
He said the club’s board has discussed ways it can open while practice social distancing and enhanced hygiene.
“We are organizing a system for people to go out in single sculls. The club owns or has access to 10 single sculls and there are roughly 10 members who own their own boats stored in the clubhouse. We will organize a system to allow the people who own private shells to have access to them in a fashion where they are not all crowded together. At the same time we will have a program for juniors, competitive U23s and competitive seniors and masters where five or six people will go out as a group with a coach but all in single sculls. That is really the only way. When you think about a double you’re separated by three or four or five or six feet but it’s one thing to be six feet away from someone, it’s another to be cycling or rowing. Because of the nature of what you’re doing and the breathing you need to be further than six feet away. The sport of rowing only works with social distancing in single sculls.”
Love expects Phase 2 will begin after the May long weekend.
“We want to be ready with a protocol,” he said.
“It’s not just about what happens on the water but what goes on in the boathouse. Whether it’s a golf course clubhouse or rugby, we’ll have practices but not traditional practices where we collect together. We won’t be going into the clubhouse, we’ll be starting from outside to maintain distancing.
“We’ll have similar protocol about how people access boats. When they are used, how they are then cleaned before the next person uses them, including the blades? Do we allow access to washrooms? I think we have to but how are they regularly cleaned?”
Love expects there will be stages through the summer where things may open further.
He is not optimistic there will be competitions this summer. The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in August has not yet been cancelled but the majority of the summer schedule has been cancelled or postponed.
“I just don’t see how they could have that regatta in its current form,” said Love.
He said it’s too early to know if PRC will be able to host the Head of the Trent regatta in October.
“We’re hopeful things will open up by then but we’re trying to be realistic as well,” he said.
Whatever they are required to do they will do to get on the water, he said.
“We’re enthusiastic but clearly this is a different year and we have to make significant adjustments to insure everything is done safely,” he said.