The Long Hot Summer of 2020...

From the St. Catharines Rowing Club Newsletter

This week for sure… with more to come…?

I come from an era in our sport that on reflection seems beyond strange. Water bottles were unheard of in the late 60’s. To suggest to your coach (true for my coach) that after 2 hours of workout on days like these – “Coach, could we stop at the dock for some water?” - would have been equivalent to asking to be cut from the crew.

The Henley course was not as “clean” as it is today but after 2 hours of 1,000-meter pieces in +90F (pre Celsius…) heat I was not the only one that scooped a mouthful of water from beside the boat.

They say – what does not kill you, makes you stronger. Whether it made me stronger is debatable, but I am still here so… I envy the few scullers that can be on the course right now. There is a sense of real accomplishment to push through a workout on hot and humid days – even better if you can hydrate while doing it! 

The Junior Women taking a rest at the finish line after a long row on the quiet course this week.

We received permission from RCA, Row Ontario, and Niagara Regional Health to expand rowing to include same household doubles and pairs. Our interim Club manager, Jim Marino scrc- coach@hotmail.com is working with our Rowing Committee to review equipment and those people (from the same household) that would like to take advantage of these shells. No word yet on when we might expand to quads, fours, or eights.

Our move to online self check-in/check-out has gone reasonably well. However, some rowers have neglected to check-out and there have been some comments that the process is unnecessarily repetitive and long. We are looking to make it simpler, but I feel obliged to say again – These are not normal times!

We are doing this because its required to provide tracking information should someone test positive for the virus. If you are a current rower or coach, PLEASE complete the check-in/check-out information whenever you come to the Island. It is a small inconvenience to be able to row.

We are getting closer to more moments like this: pairs and doubles back on the water and winning national titles!

Had the pandemic not occurred, this past weekend would have seen us wrapping up our trip to Henley Royal. Perhaps with 2 SCRC victories! I have been asked about the money to fund the trip that was raised from our members and numerous supporters. When Henley Royal was cancelled, the SCRC Board immediately voted unanimously to sequester all monies donated for Henley Royal 2020 and save it for 2021... we hope!

It has been observed that most forms of planning have almost become impossible. While we can be optimistic, in the current environment we do not know what the next week might bring let alone the next month, 6 months or year. 

Our U23 Women at last year's captain's dinner.

From Wikipedia – “It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: 'And this, too, shall pass away'".  How much it expresses!

I, for one, can not wait for this to be true of the virus and 2020… Thank you for your continued support.

Best in Sports,
Rick Crooker
scrcpresident@gmail.com