Programs
Next Level Rowing
Rowing Canada NextGen Virtual Camp
Over the weekend, Rowing Canada held a virtual rowing camp for rowers all over North America. Through a combination of lectures and active drills, the coaches introduced us to all the tools we need to take our athletic performance to the next level. Although it would have been nice to meet the coaches in person, the virtual format was a great opportunity for all of us to participate at once, from across Canada and even the US.
We started with a session on nutrition, which was a huge eye-opener because a lot of us discovered we had signs of undernutrition. The sheer volume of food intake we need to sustain our training regime is astronomical – over 4,000 calories a day. Of course we followed that with a gigantic breakfast!
After breakfast we had a session called Prehab. This session was one of the highlights of the camp as the twenty (or so) of us rolled out mats on the boathouse floor and collectively attempted the daring routine of stretches on the webinar; it took a lot of mental strength to get through, even for a rower.
Following the mobility session, things got more serious. The coaches of the Junior National Team gave a presentation on the selection process for their squad and asked for letters of intent from athletes interested in joining. Six Shawnigan rowers (including myself) submitted letters. Along with the letter, we were asked to submit our ergometer scores from a workout we did later that day. The coaches also published their expectations of training volumes for the team – about 22-24 hours per week.
For the day’s final session the Shawnigan team brought the ergs onto the dock and did the workout prescribed by the Team Canada coaches, a particularly grueling workout that is designed to test an athlete to the limit of his or her abilities. We submitted our times to the Junior National Development Team to be compared to much of our competition which included rowers from Brentwood, SMUS, St. George’s and Ridley College, as well as Queens, Dartmouth, Trent, Yale and Dalhousie universities.
Next morning, we started with a debrief of the workout we did the night before, with a focus on pacing for maximum performance. The coaches then told us the Team Canada standards we would need to meet for those drills. In this session they showed us about 100 different graphs relating to pacing and endurance – it was extremely interesting for me to see the data-driven nature of elite-level endurance sports.
The following session was a technique session which was very scientific as well, going into detailed analysis of the rowing stroke in terms of physics equations that reminded me a lot of Mr. Doig’s AP Physics class! It was really helpful to have familiar concepts in technique reframed in different words and styles of coaching by the Team Canada coaches, since every coach has something a bit different to offer. The coaches giving the seminar are some of the most experienced in the world.
The final session was on ethics in sport. It ranged from sportsmanship and etiquette to doping. An activity that we all enjoyed was going through the database of substances banned in sport and finding the craziest one allowed in competition.
– Benedikt H., Grade 11
Shawnigan Lake School is adhering to all COVID-19 guidelines released by the BC Ministries of Health and Education, including those regarding learning cohorts, physical distancing and mask-wearing when appropriate.
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We started with a session on nutrition, which was a huge eye-opener because a lot of us discovered we had signs of undernutrition. The sheer volume of food intake we need to sustain our training regime is astronomical – over 4,000 calories a day. Of course we followed that with a gigantic breakfast!
After breakfast we had a session called Prehab. This session was one of the highlights of the camp as the twenty (or so) of us rolled out mats on the boathouse floor and collectively attempted the daring routine of stretches on the webinar; it took a lot of mental strength to get through, even for a rower.
Following the mobility session, things got more serious. The coaches of the Junior National Team gave a presentation on the selection process for their squad and asked for letters of intent from athletes interested in joining. Six Shawnigan rowers (including myself) submitted letters. Along with the letter, we were asked to submit our ergometer scores from a workout we did later that day. The coaches also published their expectations of training volumes for the team – about 22-24 hours per week.
For the day’s final session the Shawnigan team brought the ergs onto the dock and did the workout prescribed by the Team Canada coaches, a particularly grueling workout that is designed to test an athlete to the limit of his or her abilities. We submitted our times to the Junior National Development Team to be compared to much of our competition which included rowers from Brentwood, SMUS, St. George’s and Ridley College, as well as Queens, Dartmouth, Trent, Yale and Dalhousie universities.
Next morning, we started with a debrief of the workout we did the night before, with a focus on pacing for maximum performance. The coaches then told us the Team Canada standards we would need to meet for those drills. In this session they showed us about 100 different graphs relating to pacing and endurance – it was extremely interesting for me to see the data-driven nature of elite-level endurance sports.
The following session was a technique session which was very scientific as well, going into detailed analysis of the rowing stroke in terms of physics equations that reminded me a lot of Mr. Doig’s AP Physics class! It was really helpful to have familiar concepts in technique reframed in different words and styles of coaching by the Team Canada coaches, since every coach has something a bit different to offer. The coaches giving the seminar are some of the most experienced in the world.
The final session was on ethics in sport. It ranged from sportsmanship and etiquette to doping. An activity that we all enjoyed was going through the database of substances banned in sport and finding the craziest one allowed in competition.
– Benedikt H., Grade 11
Shawnigan Lake School is adhering to all COVID-19 guidelines released by the BC Ministries of Health and Education, including those regarding learning cohorts, physical distancing and mask-wearing when appropriate.
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Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
