Pre Rowing Race Checklist
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In this video, Mick Casey takes us through what you need to know before you race in a single. He covers everything from getting the boat off the trailer to the start of the race.
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Video Transcript
My name's mick casey i'm the president of Tas Uni boat club i've been involved with rowing for a number of years this session is just a quick reminder refresher about when you're given keys to the Ferrari and set in the sense that you are going to be rowing a single what you need to do what you need to check how you need to prepare yourself what you need to do in the boat park and when you put the boat on the water
you are going to be most likely rowing a school boat or a club so it's gone through many hands so by the time you will get to you there's a couple things that you need to remind to check don't assume that because someone's rowed the boat just before you the boat's going to be fine you've got it you're taking charge this is the responsibility you're you're responsible for your piece of equipment so the first thing you got to do you get the boat you go to the bow ball give it a good shake is it still in one piece if the bow ball is broken or if it flops to one side or the other you need a new bow ball next just check the number hole because that we need to know what lane number you are it helps with the reporting now this is going to sound a bit strange but i'll explain to it a little bit later go along and tap the top deck
so you check the bow ball the number holder the top deck you get into the cockpit there's a couple things you need to check just run the seat up and down make sure that it's running properly and listen to the sound of it now this one runs quite evenly and cleanly but if the seat makes goes along and goes clunk clunk clunk and you might have had that experience because the wheels have got small ball bearings in them and quite often they get full of salt or grit and one wheel will wear more than another one and you and as you push the seat you hear this clunk clunk sound that when you are actually sitting in the boat it actually will hamper the way that you're going to row it actually it's not an enjoyable experience you're rowing along you hear the seat going clunk clunk and it wobbles the boat wobbles anyway but you don't want the seat to agrivate check the slides look at the foot stretcher this is a clog style foot stretcher i'll demonstrate shoe style these are stay rigger riggers they're bolted on the side give them a shake make sure the gates turn around and then they've got spaces here
last thing is make sure the bung caps are in a tied in or it's tightened in this one's got two because the boat is your flotation device you might i don't know you've been rowing for a few years you might have already had the experience of going for it you've been in a single and you've gone for a swim if you haven't gone for a swim yet you will every rower in a single will go for a swim when you look at the olympians and the elites they have gone for a swim it's inevitable when you go for a swim this is where the safety aspects come in when the bung caps are done up tight the boats when it once it tips it's not going to fall it's not going to fill up with water what it's going to become the boat is your flotation device so you you fall out of the boat with these type of foot stretches you get your feet out and you rest on the boat you you hang on to the boat there you are that's your life jacket it's an inbuilt lifejacket now shoe style foot stretchers this is when it starts getting a little bit more serious we've got the velcro you know you can get your feet shoe sizes you've got your feet comfortably in the shoe when you're going for a swim and your feet are encased in the shoes you're upside down imagine you're in the boat's tipped over you're upside down first thing you're going to do is grab
the strap and pull it that will release the pressure next thing is you're going to pull your feet out now for this exercise this shoe is tied the distance is seven centimeters it's tied so it provides resistance which enables you to pull out in this case your right foot but this one's not tied here and what happens is you don't have resistance to pull out your foot remember you're under water you're upside down and the brain starts saying to itself i can't get my left foot out that's when you might that's when you start to panic and you say and then you start wriggling your foot and you start trying a little bit harder and you're using oxygen you're under the water and you're starting to get worried you won't have that problem if both them are tied this is a bit that the boat race officials are going to go around this is the bit they really concentrate on they'll look at this they want to make sure it's tight and this is the reason why when you're upside down you've got to get your feet out out of the shoes we have had a number of incidents on the water i had one of my junior rowers last year she did exactly what was it she pulled but she didn't pull tight enough so her one foot was still in the shoe but velcro was still grabbing and she started to panic luckily enough she was just near the launching pontoons so a couple of guys jumped in and helped her but when you're out in the lanes you can you know you you it does become a difficulty so what if you can remember anything out of this session
make sure for the shoes that it's got the strap it's tied in that's what i want you to remember that's that's the one thing if you forget everything else but you remember that that seven centimetres tied in the bottom it's got the strap we want you to have a safe and enjoyable experience
so I'm going to run through and you're going to tell me if I explain so what do you do with what's this what what are you doing why are you going to shake it
okay what's the next one you're going to touch
now i'll explain why are you attacking the deck because when you tap the deck it makes the sound if there's a crack in the deck the integrity of your life raft or life jacket is compromised especially when it tips over if there's a crack in the deck just put a bit of gap or tape on it that'll that'll seal it up don't think oh that's okay a bit of gaffa tape you'll always solve you know for a short term problem solve that
in the in the cockpit here what are you going to check first
the bung caps
your rigger this is a standard rigger or a stay rigger it's bolted on if you're responsible for putting it yeah and you will be responsible you're going to need one of these a 10 on a rigger jig 10 and 13 mil spanner most standard boats in Australia wherever there's a bolt it's going to be 10 mil or a 13 mil invest it it's a good investment because when you're setting up your own boat you're responsible for rigging it if you've got your own spanner you don't have to go searching for it it makes it easy yours your own equipment just put the boat together just rig it
the next thing i'm going to ask demonstrate is you've got your boat ready your race is at midday
what well actually i'll take a step back your race is at midday your boat is sitting on the on a rack it hasn't been rigged what time should you start thinking about well you should start rigging your boat so the race is at midday how long do you think you're going to need to get your boat rigged get on the water to get to the start line
Do you want to have a guess an hour 60 minutes does anyone want to go shorter or longer maybe a bit longer so let's give me your time we've got an hour so you've got 90 minutes three hours, okay i suggest you're quite close it's 80 minutes it's roughly what i suggest 80 minutes to get a boat off a rack to put on the trestles to rig it up to do those little bits and pieces of checks so you've got a rep so 80 minutes if you've got your own spanner it's that saved you 10 minutes because inevitably you'll say you'll get the boat off and you go ah have you got a spanner have you got a spanner and everyone's going to no i don't have a spanner but but if you bring your own that saves 10 minutes instead of walking around so that's 10 minutes off your acre so now you're down to 70. it's all about your time management the last thing you want to do is go to the effort of rigging the boat checking it getting on the water get to the start line and finding that you missed the start of the race so if the race is at midday you need to be up near the start line 10 minutes before the start so at 11 50 you should be up to the start line so if you start at 10 40 you've got your own spanner you've saved 10 minutes you're not wasting time you rig the boat get it ready the next thing you're going to need to know is when are you going to go pick up your boat take it to the water so the race is at midday you've got to be there at 11 50. what time do you need to pick up the boat to go on the launching pontoon to go up to the start line go give me a time i'm going to start with you
so give me a time so 11 50 is when you've got to be on the start line what time do you need to be on the water um
spot on 11 30 is the time when you've got to have the boat in the water it usually takes beginner rowers or learner rowers or inexperienced rowers about 11 minutes once they got the boat in the water to get the almost in to push away from the pontoon for these pontoons here a single is about seven bit meters you can get about on a high tide you get four launching off from the pontoons down here so you're chewing up 11 minutes so each person is 11 you're going to take 11 minutes if they're doing well if something goes wrong and the classic situation is they put the gate the wrong way around and put the oars in the other one is is they put have you done it today the other the other one is someone puts the wrong oar in the wrong gate and in a sense they put the stroke or on the bow side of theve put they've reversed it and they've pushed off from the ways and started rowing so that's going to take another 15 minutes to come back if you can get a slot back on the pontoon to reverse swap the oars or to put the gate the right way around they're simple mistakes because you're under pressure when you're under time pressure you start making these what seemed like simple mistakes but they got consequences because you can't ride the boat when the gates are back the front all the oars are the swapped over don't worry everybody's done it lots of people have done so that's why i'm saying at 11 30 the boat in the water put your oars well you have the oars on the pontoon before you put the boat in the water put the boat in the water put your oars in push away row up to the start line it will give you enough time to get the start line which is 11 50 from 11 50 you will be marshalled into your lane start your race enjoy your event there's nothing worse than doing all the preparation and they missed the start because you didn't give yourself enough time time management one time with an empacher with a two piece rigger you can put the riggers on back to front so backwards and then you got to rig the whole boat again oh i did it once very embarrassing but they're easy when you when you're under pressure you don't allow enough time these are things that happen yeah there's all sorts of things that go
and especially when you're using a boat that's not your own if you're using a school or club boat and it's a different boat every time each boat will have its own little quirks that you've got to address you know the way the riggers have bolted on so that's why i'm saying minimum 80 minutes before your start time so that's 10 40. i think you've got to be have the boat ready before 11 30 boat on the water 11 30 11 minutes you're gonna chew up on the on the pontoon push away row up to start gives you enough time turn around and enjoy the race i'm not going to take you out because it's raining and then we get wet and it's the end of the day but anyone got any questions
you've done really well at the end of a long day there's only two things i want you to remember out of this you will forget all the little bits and pieces i've just said
foot stretchers with shoes what we're there and it's tied down what's the distance that you've got to make sure that's going to be 7cm well done which is roughly about when you put your hand in that's about seven centimeters it's about it's a pretty rough but at least it's a guide it can be smaller but it can't be much it can't be greater than seven centimeters and the other thing is to manage your time the whole rowing is about time management because it's not only you that's got to get on the water but there's other people as well that's all i've got to tell have a great time
you are going to be most likely rowing a school boat or a club so it's gone through many hands so by the time you will get to you there's a couple things that you need to remind to check don't assume that because someone's rowed the boat just before you the boat's going to be fine you've got it you're taking charge this is the responsibility you're you're responsible for your piece of equipment so the first thing you got to do you get the boat you go to the bow ball give it a good shake is it still in one piece if the bow ball is broken or if it flops to one side or the other you need a new bow ball next just check the number hole because that we need to know what lane number you are it helps with the reporting now this is going to sound a bit strange but i'll explain to it a little bit later go along and tap the top deck
so you check the bow ball the number holder the top deck you get into the cockpit there's a couple things you need to check just run the seat up and down make sure that it's running properly and listen to the sound of it now this one runs quite evenly and cleanly but if the seat makes goes along and goes clunk clunk clunk and you might have had that experience because the wheels have got small ball bearings in them and quite often they get full of salt or grit and one wheel will wear more than another one and you and as you push the seat you hear this clunk clunk sound that when you are actually sitting in the boat it actually will hamper the way that you're going to row it actually it's not an enjoyable experience you're rowing along you hear the seat going clunk clunk and it wobbles the boat wobbles anyway but you don't want the seat to agrivate check the slides look at the foot stretcher this is a clog style foot stretcher i'll demonstrate shoe style these are stay rigger riggers they're bolted on the side give them a shake make sure the gates turn around and then they've got spaces here
last thing is make sure the bung caps are in a tied in or it's tightened in this one's got two because the boat is your flotation device you might i don't know you've been rowing for a few years you might have already had the experience of going for it you've been in a single and you've gone for a swim if you haven't gone for a swim yet you will every rower in a single will go for a swim when you look at the olympians and the elites they have gone for a swim it's inevitable when you go for a swim this is where the safety aspects come in when the bung caps are done up tight the boats when it once it tips it's not going to fall it's not going to fill up with water what it's going to become the boat is your flotation device so you you fall out of the boat with these type of foot stretches you get your feet out and you rest on the boat you you hang on to the boat there you are that's your life jacket it's an inbuilt lifejacket now shoe style foot stretchers this is when it starts getting a little bit more serious we've got the velcro you know you can get your feet shoe sizes you've got your feet comfortably in the shoe when you're going for a swim and your feet are encased in the shoes you're upside down imagine you're in the boat's tipped over you're upside down first thing you're going to do is grab
the strap and pull it that will release the pressure next thing is you're going to pull your feet out now for this exercise this shoe is tied the distance is seven centimeters it's tied so it provides resistance which enables you to pull out in this case your right foot but this one's not tied here and what happens is you don't have resistance to pull out your foot remember you're under water you're upside down and the brain starts saying to itself i can't get my left foot out that's when you might that's when you start to panic and you say and then you start wriggling your foot and you start trying a little bit harder and you're using oxygen you're under the water and you're starting to get worried you won't have that problem if both them are tied this is a bit that the boat race officials are going to go around this is the bit they really concentrate on they'll look at this they want to make sure it's tight and this is the reason why when you're upside down you've got to get your feet out out of the shoes we have had a number of incidents on the water i had one of my junior rowers last year she did exactly what was it she pulled but she didn't pull tight enough so her one foot was still in the shoe but velcro was still grabbing and she started to panic luckily enough she was just near the launching pontoons so a couple of guys jumped in and helped her but when you're out in the lanes you can you know you you it does become a difficulty so what if you can remember anything out of this session
make sure for the shoes that it's got the strap it's tied in that's what i want you to remember that's that's the one thing if you forget everything else but you remember that that seven centimetres tied in the bottom it's got the strap we want you to have a safe and enjoyable experience
so I'm going to run through and you're going to tell me if I explain so what do you do with what's this what what are you doing why are you going to shake it
okay what's the next one you're going to touch
now i'll explain why are you attacking the deck because when you tap the deck it makes the sound if there's a crack in the deck the integrity of your life raft or life jacket is compromised especially when it tips over if there's a crack in the deck just put a bit of gap or tape on it that'll that'll seal it up don't think oh that's okay a bit of gaffa tape you'll always solve you know for a short term problem solve that
in the in the cockpit here what are you going to check first
the bung caps
your rigger this is a standard rigger or a stay rigger it's bolted on if you're responsible for putting it yeah and you will be responsible you're going to need one of these a 10 on a rigger jig 10 and 13 mil spanner most standard boats in Australia wherever there's a bolt it's going to be 10 mil or a 13 mil invest it it's a good investment because when you're setting up your own boat you're responsible for rigging it if you've got your own spanner you don't have to go searching for it it makes it easy yours your own equipment just put the boat together just rig it
the next thing i'm going to ask demonstrate is you've got your boat ready your race is at midday
what well actually i'll take a step back your race is at midday your boat is sitting on the on a rack it hasn't been rigged what time should you start thinking about well you should start rigging your boat so the race is at midday how long do you think you're going to need to get your boat rigged get on the water to get to the start line
Do you want to have a guess an hour 60 minutes does anyone want to go shorter or longer maybe a bit longer so let's give me your time we've got an hour so you've got 90 minutes three hours, okay i suggest you're quite close it's 80 minutes it's roughly what i suggest 80 minutes to get a boat off a rack to put on the trestles to rig it up to do those little bits and pieces of checks so you've got a rep so 80 minutes if you've got your own spanner it's that saved you 10 minutes because inevitably you'll say you'll get the boat off and you go ah have you got a spanner have you got a spanner and everyone's going to no i don't have a spanner but but if you bring your own that saves 10 minutes instead of walking around so that's 10 minutes off your acre so now you're down to 70. it's all about your time management the last thing you want to do is go to the effort of rigging the boat checking it getting on the water get to the start line and finding that you missed the start of the race so if the race is at midday you need to be up near the start line 10 minutes before the start so at 11 50 you should be up to the start line so if you start at 10 40 you've got your own spanner you've saved 10 minutes you're not wasting time you rig the boat get it ready the next thing you're going to need to know is when are you going to go pick up your boat take it to the water so the race is at midday you've got to be there at 11 50. what time do you need to pick up the boat to go on the launching pontoon to go up to the start line go give me a time i'm going to start with you
so give me a time so 11 50 is when you've got to be on the start line what time do you need to be on the water um
spot on 11 30 is the time when you've got to have the boat in the water it usually takes beginner rowers or learner rowers or inexperienced rowers about 11 minutes once they got the boat in the water to get the almost in to push away from the pontoon for these pontoons here a single is about seven bit meters you can get about on a high tide you get four launching off from the pontoons down here so you're chewing up 11 minutes so each person is 11 you're going to take 11 minutes if they're doing well if something goes wrong and the classic situation is they put the gate the wrong way around and put the oars in the other one is is they put have you done it today the other the other one is someone puts the wrong oar in the wrong gate and in a sense they put the stroke or on the bow side of theve put they've reversed it and they've pushed off from the ways and started rowing so that's going to take another 15 minutes to come back if you can get a slot back on the pontoon to reverse swap the oars or to put the gate the right way around they're simple mistakes because you're under pressure when you're under time pressure you start making these what seemed like simple mistakes but they got consequences because you can't ride the boat when the gates are back the front all the oars are the swapped over don't worry everybody's done it lots of people have done so that's why i'm saying at 11 30 the boat in the water put your oars well you have the oars on the pontoon before you put the boat in the water put the boat in the water put your oars in push away row up to the start line it will give you enough time to get the start line which is 11 50 from 11 50 you will be marshalled into your lane start your race enjoy your event there's nothing worse than doing all the preparation and they missed the start because you didn't give yourself enough time time management one time with an empacher with a two piece rigger you can put the riggers on back to front so backwards and then you got to rig the whole boat again oh i did it once very embarrassing but they're easy when you when you're under pressure you don't allow enough time these are things that happen yeah there's all sorts of things that go
and especially when you're using a boat that's not your own if you're using a school or club boat and it's a different boat every time each boat will have its own little quirks that you've got to address you know the way the riggers have bolted on so that's why i'm saying minimum 80 minutes before your start time so that's 10 40. i think you've got to be have the boat ready before 11 30 boat on the water 11 30 11 minutes you're gonna chew up on the on the pontoon push away row up to start gives you enough time turn around and enjoy the race i'm not going to take you out because it's raining and then we get wet and it's the end of the day but anyone got any questions
you've done really well at the end of a long day there's only two things i want you to remember out of this you will forget all the little bits and pieces i've just said
foot stretchers with shoes what we're there and it's tied down what's the distance that you've got to make sure that's going to be 7cm well done which is roughly about when you put your hand in that's about seven centimeters it's about it's a pretty rough but at least it's a guide it can be smaller but it can't be much it can't be greater than seven centimeters and the other thing is to manage your time the whole rowing is about time management because it's not only you that's got to get on the water but there's other people as well that's all i've got to tell have a great time