“In the boats, we explore the concepts that underlie creation. Like Einstein, we wish to know God’s thoughts. We shall attempt to pry them loose with an oar. The raw elements of the sport are our teachers: the wind and the water, the boat and its oars, our own bodies and minds.” Craig Lambert, “Mind over water – lessons on life from the art of rowing”.
I hope that you are all keeping well and enjoyed VE Day celebrations this weekend and, in between front-garden tea parties, were able to continue activities related to our two club Spring Challenges, that run until midnight on Saturday 23 May. Please continue to log all your activities on Strava https://www.strava.com/clubs/maidenhead-rowing-club-624714 , and send pictures of cakes and tracks to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Carlotta will be judging the cake decorations, so that gives you an idea of the standard to strive for! This week’s leader boards (Time): Sean O’Mahony (11h 42m); David Gibbon (10h 42m); Jasper King (10h 21m).
A belated shout-out to Jacob Ioras, who completed a 26-mile marathon ergo two weeks ago for his 2.6 challenge in under three hours; great work, Jacob.
Huge thanks to Jack Beaumont who took time out from his training to chat with, and answer questions from, a large number of our Junior rowers on Tuesday. He shared insightful tips, experiences and thoughts from his rowing journey (the first 7 years of which were at Maidenhead). It really demonstrates the importance of creating the environment and conditions to support and develop a passion for rowing. Jack noted the positive impact that his early coaches and other members (most of whom are still active at the club) had on him. So that is a good reminder for us to thank everyone who contributes to making our club such a special place. It was good to hear that he is still proud to consider Maidenhead to be his club. We are equally proud of him and his achievements, and wish him well for the next phase of his international rowing career.
Before joining the GB team, Jack benefitted from part-time temporary work with some of our club members who ran their own businesses; so, this is request for any of our members who might be in a position to offer opportunities to our current Juniors who are approaching transition ages. It is clearly not an ideal time to make such a request, given the uncertainties that all businesses face right now, but should you have any suggestions, please message me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) if you might be able to support this initiative, now or in the future.
Jack clearly enjoyed himself (our Juniors posed some great questions), as he has generously offered to join us for another club exclusive Q&A session; this time open to all our members (Timing TBA).
Squad virtual activities continue apace: all Junior squads came together for a quiz on VE Day; The VetMen workout together weekly for ‘Dylan’s erg heaven’; whilst the Adaptive squad ergoed up Mt Everest on Saturday and enjoyed Dan’s power sprints this morning. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18VXMls6sJL9BfVTrfwiJ8jfZs0JAfsjz_GgoMW6mLTo/edit#gid=1431650702.
Late notice, but if you have an ergo at home, and are looking for another challenge, British Rowing, Rowing Canada Aviron, Rowing Australia and Rowing New Zealand have organised the One Minute Challenge, a joint initiative for indoor rowers across the respective nations: https://www.britishrowing.org/2020/05/british-rowing-announces-four-nation-indoor-rowing-challenge/. The competition closes at 23.59 (BST) on Monday 11 May.
We are all hoping to get back onto the water as soon as we safely can, and will be following British Rowing’s guidance, which reflects UK Government rules and advice. Their latest update was published last week: https://www.britishrowing.org/2020/05/planning-a-safe-return-to-rowing/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=covid19&utm_content=planningforasafereturn. The Rowing Committee and Club Committee are looking at risk-informed options specific to our club ecosystem, and welcome any suggestions from members (please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Several of our members, including Jim Oliver, Brian Smith and Ken Bedwell, have been maintaining an active and frequent check on the safety and security of our boathouse, boats and truck; many thanks to them and others for spending time doing this to enable us to restart operations as smoothly as possible.
BR Lock-down webinars continue to be a source of useful information: last Thursday’s episode provided an introduction to ClubHub, featuring our very own Jim Hotchin. Essential viewing which will soon be available on-demand. Another interesting piece looking at energy system contribution to rowing performance was published last week: https://www.britishrowing.org/2020/05/rowing-physique-and-performance/.
Our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. project continues to provide some useful support to many of our members. A recent suggestion offered via this forum is for HelloFRESH - choose recipes from a weekly menu and they’ll deliver the ingredients and recipe (there are other companies that offer this service; this is a recommendation not an endorsement!).
We plan to run a club-wide quiz in the near future. As a taster, try this without Googling: Why did Bobby Pearce slow down during his rowing race at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam?
Please look after yourselves and your loved ones, and do not hesitate to connect in with the Maidenhead RC family if any of us can provide you support, or just have a chat.
Nick