Dear all,
There will be a capsize drill taking place at Birtley swimming pool on Wednesday 20th December. The session starts at 7pm but we would like everyone there from 6.30pm if possible in an effort to make the most of the time we have. We should be finished at 8.30pm at the latest. We will be sending out a link to check if your son or daughter is available. Like most things that are health and safety related, the club needs to do one annually, and though we rarely have capsizes, it is still good practice, therefore we expect everyone to be there unless there are extenuating circumstances. You only need kit you would usually train in and a swimming costume.
Great news, our two GB hopefuls have been given two doses of good news this week. As well as being nominated for the Sports Aid GB Rowing Award which recognises the achievements of the top junior athletes in he country, previous winners include Jessica Ennis-Hill and Tom Daley. They have both also been selected to attend the GB Junior Training Camp in Spain over Christmas (don’t worry, they’ll still be back in time for the CLS Christmas Party). And what makes it more special is the fact that we are the only ARC on the list of attending clubs. ARC , meaning amateur rowing club as opposed to RC which reflects the fact that they have paid organisers and a ‘professional’ infrastructure, where as we are paid in happy athletes and progression (if this is the case we’re rich).
Rutherford Head was dubbed ‘the head race to take part in outside of London’, and the clubs from down south backed this up by sending a great deal of top crews with big ambitions for the season. So, the fact that both of our top boys and girls crews won their events facing eight crews in their categories is outstanding. Even with one j15 in each crew and a j16 each, both boys crews managed to win their events by some 45 seconds each. The other two j16 crews both boys and girls also performed well but they also had two j15’s in to allow them racing experience. We also had a mens and womens eight which raced and improved from last year also. Overall, a brilliant but cold weekend.
Many thanks to Geoff Bell who has installed a new sink in the tea and coffee room; the club is making slow progress on the fabric of the building over the following months so any help is appreciated.
The next event is Durham Small Boats Head in February and Inter-regional Trials so, in effect, it is hard training till then.
Thanks
Steven