Training Camp: Lac D’Aiguebelette April 12th, 2010
It has always surprised me how, looking back, tough experiences never seem that tough. When you realise how you manage to overcome perceived difficulties together as a squad, you feel that not only have you become a better-rounded athlete, but the crew as a whole has become something more. That’s how I felt after this year’s club trip to France this Easter.
The aim of any training camp is to remove yourself from your surroundings, your comfort zone, and learn to push back preconceptions about where your limits lie. 80 athletes from all four squads and 6 coaches moved from our sheltered surroundings of Dane Road and Platt Lane gym to a vast expanse of clear, French-alpine lake to push back our perceived limits.
As well as the 2 square miles of untouched, blue water, the club was fortunate to bring along two high class coaches- Adi Dolo, the club’s new GB rowing ‘World Class Start’ coach, and the immensely experienced Peter Holmes.
After a rather gruesome 24 hour coach ride, crossing under the channel and dissecting through the French hexagon, 80 starved members of the living-dead descended upon the dining tables at our residence. The hostel was a most pleasant place to be, especially regarding the food portions. Being situated beside a ‘Fromagerie,’ the staff find it suiting to serve us positively colossal amounts of cheese before, during and after every meal. The senior men took it upon themselves to ensure they won the battle of eating as much dinner as the lovely French hostesses could physically produce. By the forth night, the senior men’s table had become a gastronomic circus achieving astonishing feats of culinary consumption.
Needless to say, those who ran down to the lake, 6 miles downhill, the following mornings were frequently able to see what they had eaten the previous night.
All squads would spend the duration of the day, sunrise to sunset, down at the lake. Being a past host of the Rowing World Championships and usual haunt for the French national squad, the lake had immensely impressive facilities for us to use. This was perfect as, due to the low number of three experienced coxes able to attend, all squads would have three or four water sessions per day, interspersed with bouts in the gym, rowing tank and cantine.
Camp has always been a traditionally open time to try out different boat combinations and give people a go in some of the smaller boats. The senior men, with a now very concentrated squad of 10 serious contenders managed to find a successful line-up for their varsity 1st VIII. With a mixed season under its belt and still suffering from a distinct lack of water time whilst the canal was frozen, the VIII made unprecedented headway during the camp. Adopting a new powerful stroke, the new vibrancy in the VIII is palpable. The squad also cultivated strong new small boat combinations, something which the club had not developed until this year. The influence of Peter and the surroundings had on the 1st VIII and, indeed, the entire club was truly striking.
The senior women improved markedly while having to deal with having but 6 of their squad able to attend camp. Their VIII laid-down some astonishing results, with their top four and small boats looking the strongest in years.
The novice men and women too made huge strides in both their ability to move a boat but also in the way they view the sport. The men, whose 1st and 2nd VIII line-ups were still very much up in the air before camp, managed to close-in on the fastest combinations. Their season too, being very much chequered in terms of performance, will surely have experienced a huge boost from the camp. The women had also made a phenomenal amount of progress over camp, adding to what is already a fast novice squad.
It does not do justice to but mention their names but as there are just too many to thank, gratitude must be given to all that worked hard to make all that was written above possible. Organisers from Teo Lopez-Bernal to Ed Farnell, Dennis Towers, Holly Dudeney and Kate Hodgkinson, the absolutely essential Steve Woolaghan, Alex McVey, all the locals and friends of the club, and of course the coaches: Paul Speed, Josh Fear, Adi Dolo and Peter Holmes.
The club as an entity has profited in so many ways from this camp. The new energy from each member has flowed into the club and there is now an undeniable vehemence and intensity on the canal.
One of the experiences that will stick with me, and no doubt many of the senior rowers, was seeing some of the newer members feel the joys of rowing somewhere so remarkable. It is a feeling that hopefully, in years to come, those people will see it in the next lot of novices that pass through our doors.
All I can really say now is, ‘Bring on BUCS and Henley.’
Chris Jeffers
Men’s Captain 09-10
