Dragon Boats in Beijing in 2008?

From Mike Haslam, Executive President of the International Dragon Boat Federation, regarding dragon boats and the 2008 Olympic games:

Thank you for your interest. The site was not actually an IDBF site
but was put on by a keen individual who no longer seems to be active !
Anyway, getting into the 2008 Beijing Games was not the intention, the
object was to get support for the IDBF by stimulating interest in new
countries to form Dragon Boat associations by 2008, in order that the
IDBF has the 75 Countries in its Membership, which is the number the IDBF
needs before we can apply to join the Olympic Organisation.

After that it takes many years to get accepted for the actual OGs -
sometimes never !! So it was never an option that DBR would be included
in the 2008 Games.

However, we are hoping to hold an Olympic Celebration Dragon Boat
Regatta in China, as near to Beijing as possible, in the week leading up
to the Opening Ceremony and that event may be included in the Cultural
Programme of the Games.

You are most welcome to spread that message !!

Many thanks for your interest.

Mike Haslam
IDBF Executive President.

Splash: February Issue

The February issue of Splash, TRRA's electronic newsletter, is available online at http://www.threeriversrowing.org/Splash/2006%20Feb.pdf, and includes an introduction to Executive Director Richard Butler, Director of Adaptive Programs Jim Costello, information on the closing of the 31st Street Bridge, and a call for volunteers at Saturday's indoor sprints.

PFD's cont'd.

3 people have ordered PFD's for the spring. We need 7 more people to order PFD's in order to get the $35.00/per jacket discount. If we dont place the order with Exkursion, we will wait until we can buy the vests through the Eastern Regional Dragon boat Assoc. at the deep discount. However, that will be too late to put the Paddlefish logos on. So, if you are interested in purchasing a PFD let Dick know within the next two weeks or else we will hold the order until the spring.

PFD's

Please bring your PFD to practice, and give it to Dick or Laurie, within the next two weeks. Something close to the logo on the back of our red t-shirts will be placed on the back of the PFD. Get your PFD's in as soon as possible so hopefully they can be done before Florida. If you don't have a life jacket and wish to purchase one, talk to Dick. If enough people show interest an order can be made in the spring for new jackets.

Tonight's Workout

The TRRA Board is meeting at Millvale tonight, so the meeting room will be occupied during practice time....

Practice starts with warm-ups at 6:30. By 6:45, move to erg or weight stations and follow the posted workouts.

For the ergs, that's 6x1000 in zone 2, plus your 5000 timed piece, plus 3000 at an easy rate -- zone 1.

It's another MAX night in the weight room! Yeeha. 3 sets of 10 reps for the primary ones (bench press, lat pulldown, lunges) and 2 sets of 12 reps for the auxiliaries (reverse flys, tricep raises, shoulder raises, and bicep curls).

Reminder: Tomorrow night (Thursday) is swim night at the Oliver Bath House!

Why We Do It

When you start to question whether it's worth it to keep pulling through that 13 thousandth meter on the erg this winter, keep this image in mind and dig deep! It will feel soooo good when you're back on the water!

Rachel's Team Wins First 5K Erg Challenge!

Congratulations to the members of Rachel's Team, proud winners of the first round of the 5K InterPfish Challenge! Their winning average was 24:09.

Members of Rachel's Team (it's one of those team names that just rolls off the tongue) include Ann, Carolyn N., Lindsey, Rachel, and Rich. Pull hard!

saturday practices

The last two Saturdays in January (21st & 28th) practices will be held at 8:30. This means everyone should be ready to warm up at 8:30, so get to the boathouse around 8:20 or so depending on how long you need before practice starts. Capt'n wants to see how this works out and by the beginning of February, a regular time will be set.

Erging With a Smile

Just four more weeks 'til the Pittsburgh Indoor Rowing Championships!

Workout for tonight includes three 1000 meter pieces (zone 2), a timed 5K, and two 3000 pieces in zone 1.

If you're in the weight room, it's a "max night" -- load 'em up!

January Workouts

A brief recap of Ben's plans for us for January:

Monday and Wednesday workouts will be either ergs or weights: half the group will spend practice time on the ergs while the other half of us does weights/abs/med balls. If you did ergs Monday night, you do weights/med balls/abs on Wednesday and vice versa.

The erg workouts are building up to a 15K workout. This week, you'll do two 1K pieces and then two 5K pieces (different intensities/purposes on the 5Ks, so talk to Ben or Laurie before practice about what to do during those 5Ks). You can do the three pieces (2K, 5K, 5K) in any order -- play around and figure out which order works best for you for getting the strongest time.

The erg workouts are preparing us for competition in the Indoor Sprints in early February. Any and all Pfish should sign up for the sprints (registration is online via the TRRA web site: http://www.threeriversrowing.org); you'll need to register as either a "lightweight" or a "heavyweight."

I think Saturday practices this month continue to be a combination of weights/ergs (a little bit of each, in other words) but am not sure I have that right. (Ben?) A copy of the Excel files with the January workouts (e.g. whether you're doing Romanian dead lifts or rotator cuff exercises during your weight workout -- and how many of each) will be attached to this week's update.

A final note: Please start recording your erg times (2K and 5K) and keeping track of your weightlifting experiences. I don't think there are any extra weight logs in the weightroom right now, but maybe a helpful soul will run off some copies and put those in the box with our other accumulated paper....

Polar Bear Bob (Hoo-Rah!)

Bob just can't get enough of the Pittsburgh rivers....

(Thanks to Judy L. for the photos!)