Category: Newsletters

Newsletter – May 2021

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NIELSEN KELLERMAN (NZ) MASTERS REGATTA
Post-Regatta Newsletter – Thanks to the 24 Clubs who entered our regatta earlier this month and to the 316 rowers who competed; we had the biggest turn-out we have had for many years.  The rain stayed away and the wind behaved itself.  As well, we were fortunate enough to have a great group  of volunteers to act as boat holders at the 1000metre start which I am sure the competitors were very happy about.As to the number of rowers who came up to our BBQ at the end of the day’s racing to have some free food and buy a drink or two – we would like to say a big “Thank You”.  We very much want to try and replicate our “social gatherings” of past regattas and, with the help of a good selection of donated spot prizes, we were able to create a great post-regatta atmosphere.The Legion made the competition for our much sought after gold medals a little tougher, this time, with all mixed races being Open events as well as the last two Eights events on the program and as a result “the winners took all” As always, we attempt to put as many same-grade crews as possible in each division, but it is not always feasible to do so.Upcoming Masters Regattas are…
South Island Masters Championships will be held at Lake Hood, Ashburton on 5th June and
Legion Masters North Island Championships are now scheduled for Saturday 4th September, at which we will not only be awarding Medals for the winners, but also a selection of  Trophies and
New Zealand Masters Championships are scheduled for 18th/19th September at Lake Ruataniwha

LEGION TROPHIES MISSING IN ACTION – A call-out to two Clubs who competed in our August Regatta IN 2019 and who, according to our records, still have not returned a Legion trophy:
Brian Clarke Memorial Cup awarded to the winners of the Open Women’s Eights – won by ­WERC
Dave Blackie Handles for the oldest winning Women’s double – won by NSRC (Sharon and Martha). Please arrange to have these trophies returned to the Legion as soon as possible.
The Legion requires any trophies won to be engraved at the winner’s expense, so please ensure this has been done before returning them.

FISA MASTERS REGATTA 2022 – This regatta will be held at Libourne, France in 2022.

WORLD MASTERS GAMES REGATTA – This regatta at Kansai, Japan, was originally to have been held this year. Due to the postponement of the 2020 Olympics until this year, the Masters regatta has been rescheduled for 2022.
A message from the Organizing Committee – The Organising Committee of the WMG2021 Kansai hope all is well with you. We have finished securing the spots for participation in the 2022 Games for those who made entries based on 2021 Games dates and age category; entries are now open again. It is one year to go till the Games and entries are being accepted until 28th February 2022. If you are interested in participating in the Games, you can check the revised schedule and guidelines for each sport and disciplines here (Please note that for some disciplines, entries are unable to be resumed due to the adjustments required. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.)
Stay safe and keep being active!
Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact us!

Nielsen Kellerman (NZ) 

In light of our recent regatta sponsorship through Nielsen Kellerman (NZ), who supply  Rowing clubs and Schools with cox boxes and related equipment, some of you will no doubt remember the pre-electronic days, when coxswains wore headgear as per the photo above.
MASTERS PEER-TO-PEER COACHING CLINIC – The Legion of Rowers, in conjunction with Rowing NZ, are now inviting registrations for the first Peer-to-Peer Coaching Clinic – to be held at the Auckland Rowing Club from Friday 18th June–Sunday 20th June.
Registrations are now Open, and the close-off date is 12th June 2021.
The Auckland event is a “Trial” for the concept; with the possible running of additional clinics at Karapiro & Whanganui. All of these clinics are very much dependent on the numbers of rowers registering.
It is proposed to hold a similar event in the South Island later in the year.    
The Coaching Clinic times will be on
– Friday evening from 6pm-7:30pm
– Saturday 8am – 4pm (morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided) and
– Sunday 8am – Noon (morning tea and lunch provided).
All meals are included in the camp fee, accommodation is not included, but some billeting arrangements may be possible. All attendees will cover their own costs of travel and accommodation. The program is specifically designed to introduce existing Rowers, Coaches, Non–rowers and Coxswains to modern methods of Peer-to- Peer coaching for Masters’ Rowers and how :

  • To improve technique whilst in the boat with other Masters and/or from a coaching boat
  • To extend communication skills specifically towards Masters’ Rowers
  • To improve the coaching of Masters’ Rowers within YOUR Club
  • To improve coaching of New Members
  • To increase the numbers of New Masters Rowing

Numbers for this Clinic are restricted, based on the use of two eights & two coxless quads, giving both sweep & sculling coaching; and these will be accompanied by 2 coaching boats.
The Clinic will include video analysis, nutrition & strength lectures, erg demonstrations & on–water participation alongside expert question and answer sessions.
There is no limit on the numbers applying from any one Club or region. Each club may include 1x person for a free registration, provided at least one other person from the club is a full paying candidate.
The Legion reserves the right to cancel the event for whatsoever reason, in which case all payments will be refunded immediately.

Registration Details :
For information and registration, please go to our online form here

Payment of the required fee will validate your registration, which will be acknowledged when paid.

Any further enquiries can be made to info@lor.kiwi

Cost:
$ 350.00 for Members of the Legion of Rowers (2021-22)
$ 380.00 for Non-Members
Payment to :  03-0104-0099885-00
– Particulars & Code:  Name of Attendee/s
– Reference: Name of Rowing Club (e.g. Auckland or Taupo or North Shore)

Paula Storey (Secretary)
The Legion of Rowers Inc.
19th May 2021

NEWSLETTER – February 2021

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THE LEGION OF ROWERS INCORPORATED
Maintaining Rowing Connections – Past, Present and Future
Providing Scholarships to Junior (U19) Rowers
FEBRUARY 2021 – NEWSLETTER

There is no doubting that 2020 will be well remembered for being a year that saw the cancellation of many sporting events due to the outbreak of Covid-19; notably the Legion’s April Masters regatta, the Legion’s North Island Masters regatta in August and the Rowing NZ Masters Champs which were all to have been held at Lake Karapiro.

LEGION MASTERS REGATTA (April) – Our regular slot of April for our first Masters regatta, has been pushed out to Saturday 8th May 2021 due to ever-increasing demands for the use of Lake Karapiro. This later date, however, does allow for a slightly longer training period for all you Masters out there. It will follow the usual format of Age-group racing with heats and finals for the more popular events.  The Rules of Racing, and the List of Events for this regatta will be posted on the Legion website as well as rowIT. The regatta will most likely follow a similar format to previous years; the Legion Committee have yet to finalise the programme. We will be conducting this regatta with the assistance of Karapiro Rowing Inc. Winners’ Medals will be presented and we are hopeful of organizing a social get-together following the conclusion of racing.

LEGION NORTH ISLAND MASTERS REGATTA – Our second regatta has a provisional date of Saturday 28th August 2021. Legion Trophies and Winners Medals will be awarded at this regatta and we will be hosting a BBQ and prizegiving outside the Waipa Room following racing.

ROWING NZ MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – The date for this regatta, set by Rowing New Zealand and to be held at Lake Ruataniwha Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th September 2021.

HANDICAP SYSTEM FOR MASTERS ROWERS – The Handicapping system used for Masters regattas  in Australia will be implemented in future regattas. Handicaps apply to events where rowers of different age categories are combined in the one race.

RULING FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF NOVICE MASTERS – This was set out in detail in our April 2020 Newsletter and there has been discussion on whether or not to seek a change to this ruling – refer to our website where the present Rule is listed https://lor.kiwi/newsletter-may-2020/
A condensed version has been supplied for this newsletter by Andrew Carr-Smith and reads…
The Novice rules apply the same way to all rowers :  Masters, Club, School, etc. The Key date is the end of each Season, which is the end of Maadi.
At the end of Maadi :
1. The current Novice intake closes and anybody who is a Novice at that time becomes an Intermediate; and
2.  A new Novice intake opens.
Because Masters rowing tends to take place over winter, the majority of Masters fall into the second category. They are new Novices.
This is also the reason the Masters National Champs is scheduled at the start of the Season.
It was deliberately set at that time to cater for Masters who hadn’t been rowing at the club regattas during the Season (as those old Novices would have a huge advantage).

RULES OF RACING REVIEW – Rowing NZ is undertaking a review of the Rules of Racing and there is an opportunity for us to discuss Masters Novices’ status.
At present the “season” date which determines when a person ceases to be novice is the day after Maadi Cup. This is challenging for Masters who may have learned to row in Spring / Summer and raced at Blue Lakes and then find that come Legion Regatta they are no longer a novice.
A detailed discussion began with an open meeting on 28th January where some options were discussed and reviewed; this was advertised and implemented through the New Zealand Masters Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/256708472122650

Background
Discussion about when clubs run their Learn to Row programmes
Discussion about changing the timing of masters novice season to finish after NZ Masters Champs

Progress and Change
Andrew Carr-Smith (rowIT) suggested that adding a new racing category called “New Masters” for those with less than 3 years in the sport might be a better way of fixing the ‘Novice’ problem.
He proposes that you do your novice season as now. Then you can race for two more years against other newcomers to the sport.
The group remarks about this were
1 – You can race 2 events at the same regatta (novice + new masters) or (new masters + age)
2 – Could combine both events into one race to save event time as is done currently with low-entry events
Next steps…
The current proposal is NOT to change masters novice date in RNZ rules.
Add in a new event category for Masters who have 3 years rowing experience.

NZ JUNIORS / LEGION TRUST – With the serious disruptions caused by Covid-19 last year, there were no Junior Rowers  selected by Rowing New Zealand and as a consequence the Legion did not allocate any grants.

MASTERS ROWING COACHING SESSIONS / CAMPS FOR COACHES – With the support of Rowing New Zealand and Duncan Holland it is hoped to organise Rowing Camps for Masters during April. Legion Committee Member Rebecca Caroe has been working hard to help make this happen.  More details will be sent to all clubs when we have “crunched the numbers” and worked out the logistics.

WORLD MASTERS GAMES – These were originally scheduled to take place in Kansai, Japan, in 2021, but have now been re-scheduled for 13th to 29th May 2022, at the same venue. Exact dates are yet to be confirmed.

ASIA-PACIFIC MASTERS GAMES – These have also been re-scheduled  Spring of 2023. Exact dates are yet to be confirmed.  (Contact International Masters Games Association at “hello@imga.ch  )

LEGION MEMBERS’ SUBS – We are always looking to increase our membership, so if you are yet to join the Legion of Rowers, subs are currently $30 per year with benefits and extra, as a donation to the Legion Trust are always welcome. These funds are currently going to support Junior rowers.

– Subscibe to our mailing list https://lor.kiwi/subscribe/
– To then join the Legion of Rowers https://lor.kiwi/belong/

Once again, thank you very much for your support!

Paula Storey  secretary@lor.kiwi
Legion Secretary