Station L Rowing Club

Hello Members–we’ve got several items and reminders for this update–

•2019 member dues renewal information will be distributed the week of December 17.  Be sure to check the notice carefully so that your renewal is processed correctly.

•Please log your winter meters for the Concept2 Holiday Challenge.  You can compare to see if you have rowed further than some of our coxswains and coaches!  Plus we get bragging rights (Station L is in 3rd place nationally right now, behind Lake Union and Rogue Rowing)

•Special New Years Day row, 7am.  Note: street parking only

•Learn to Erg classes for January and February are enrolling now.  Suggest it to a friend, or give a class as a gift!

•Annual Membership Meeting–January 27, 3-5pm. Lucky Lab, NW location.

•Willamette Rowing Club is inviting Station L members to participate in their New Years Day rowing marathon.  They row from Oaks Park to Portland Boat Club near Sauvie Island.  It’s 11-12 miles.  They are willing to meet up with any Station  L folks at our dock, row together, and trailer back.  If you are interested, let Peter know ASAP, so we can coordinate with WRC. (this is independent of the annual Station L NY Day row, which is just a normal length 7am practice).

Hey folks, hopefully everyone is nearly fully recovered from yesterday’s feasting hangover. We are now fully engaged in the holiday/erging season which calls for a few announcements:

Learn to Erg

We all know that erging is the gateway drug to rowing — now is the perfect time to get your friends and family addicted. Our classes will be running Tuesday and Thursday nights, 6:30-7:30pm. The first one kicks off next Tuesday, November 27th and we have a couple of spots left for a few lucky folks. View the schedule and sign up here.

Gift Certificates

Give the gift of sweat. Gift certificates are available for either Level 1 Rowing which will pick up again next April, or for one of our Learn to Erg classes which are currently open for enrollment.

Holiday Challenge Kickoff!

Some of you folks have already started logging your meters for the Holiday Challenge, but if you’re new to the club, you might be wondering what it’s all about.

What: Concept2 challenges you to row, ski and/or ride 100,000+ meters from now through midnight, December 24.

Why: Concept2 will be donating to a selection of charities for every 1k you log. Once you top 100k, their donation per 1k doubles. Charities include World Bicycle Relief, Kafue River Rowing, Protect our Winters and Little Bellas. And let’s not forget that counting down those meters is a great way to get you erging with your teammates and keep you fit and fighting through these sleepy winter months. Finally: bragging rights. Station L as done pretty well in the past against other on-water teams so let’s bring it again this year!

How: If you’re new to the challenge (or to Concept2’s website) joining the challenge can be a bit confusing. Here are some instructions that will hopefully help get you set up.

1) Create an account on C2’s website

2) Add Station L as your team by going to the “Teams” tab and searching for “Station L”.

3) Visit the C2 Log page and on the right side you’ll see information about the Holiday Challenge. Click “Choose your Charity” to be enrolled in the challenge. Meters you log now through December 24th will count towards your personal meters and for Station L’s cumulative meters.

4) Row and log! Join your team for group workouts or grind it out on your own with a podcast. Manually log your meters to Concept2 by using their website or download the C2 ErgData app to more easily upload your workouts. If your erg has a PM5 screen, you can wirelessly pair it with your phone before your workout, and when you’re done hit “Sync” to send your data to C2. Read more about using ErgData here.

You can view Station L’s team standings for the Holiday Challenge by going to the “Affiliation Standings” link (which is also on the bottom of most of the Concept2 website pages). The meters for the Holiday Challenge are in the far right column — click “Holiday Challenge” to sort by meters logged, and you can use the filters to view on-water teams only. Pro tip: if you’re on mobile and don’t see the column, try flipping your phone to landscape. You can click into “Station L” to view your teammates’ points, so heckle and/or encourage at will!

Get in touch if you have any questions about any of the above, and happy erging!

Hello Members:

It might be the off season, but there’s plenty going on at the club.

1. Reba Knickerbocker (Coach K) is coming to town December 1 to run a clinic titled: “Your Athletic Brain”.  See details and registration information below.  All are welcome.
2. Buoy Ball this Saturday.  6pm start.  6:30pm Dinner. 7:30pm awards. 8-11pm Dancing. BYOB. Please arrange your transportation thoughtfully.  Sober drivers available, or use Uber/Lyft.
3. Winter Coached Erg Schedule–Coached Ergs MWF 5:30am-7am in the Rose City bay.    Members only
4. Station L bay ergs.  T/TH/F mornings, open to all members.  M and W mornings, PSU has 10 ergs–remainder open to STL members.   M-F Rose City uses Station L ergs from 4:00pm-6:30pm.
5. Thanksgiving Day open row.  Join us at 7am.  All members welcome.

“Your Athletic Brain” clinic information

The Women’s Sweep Team invites you to attend a masters rower workshop given by Reba Knickerbocker (Coach K) entitled:

Your Athletic Brain:The How and Why of Mental Skills Training
One of the most underutilized training tools for rowers is the brain. In this workshop I’ll introduce you to a bevy of mental skills that you can use on a daily basis to not only enhance your rowing experience, but also your life experience.
Skills that will be discussed:
-Pre-performance Routines-Positive Self Talk -Visualization and Imagery-Goal Setting
Hope to see you there. Go Station L!
Reba

Details:
Date: Saturday, December 1
Time: 2-4 PM 
Location: TBA*
Cost: $15**RSVP: ASAP 😉
Sign up and payment information:Sign up with Anne Reid via email ([email protected]) or in person. Payment in check, cash, or via Venmo (@Anne-Reid-6) prior to event.
*Boathouse with BYOCH (bring your own chair) is default location. I am working on an alternative venue. If you have a central location to suggest or office that holds up to 50 people comfortably, please let me know.
**Sliding scale payment options available

A reminder for members–the Buoy Ball will SELL OUT.  We have limited capacity, so get your tickets soon.

Buoy Ball Tickets

Regatta Fees for all Fall races can be paid now.

Regatta Fees–$30 for Portland Fall Classic, $60 for Head of the Lake and American Lake Fall Classic

Note:  Some will get this twice, due to the previous version ending up in many spam folders. Plenty of important information to chew on here.

The 2018 Buoy Ball is November 17 at the boathouse from 6pm-11pm.  Catered mexican buffet, dessert, BYOB.  1980’s themed music by DJ Mack, with costume prizes! Tickets are $25/person  and should be purchased online.  To benefit our annual coaches’ gear fundraiser, a $35 “Deluxe” ticket will also buy you two 1980’s song requests!  List your songs on our event sign up page.

Karen Wespi Memorial Service
The memorial service for long time friend-of-the-club Karen Wespi is Saturday October 20 at 11am at Sunset Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, OR – 14986 NW Cornell Rd, Portland, OR 97229.  In lieu of flowers the family is asking that those interested donate to ALS research at: the ALS Association or to the GoFundMe site for Karen Wespi and they will forward donations to the ALS association.

Portland Fall Classic Information–
•Entry fee is $30/rower.  Pay online or with cash to Peter.
•PFC work parties, Sunday Oct. 21, 9:30-11:00am.  Saturday Oct. 27, 9:30-11:30am.  Stop by to help us get regatta materials ready for the big day.
•PFC Volunteering.  Check the sign up and see if there’s a shift for you.  Rowers in non-novice 8+’s should be done by 9:30am on race day.

Weekday Rowing Schedule
The final day for weekday morning rowing is Friday October 26.  Rowing without a launch also ends on October 26.  Head of the Lake boats can schedule two additional morning practices the week of October 29.

Weekend Rowing Schedule
Beginning November 10, all weekend rowing begins at 7am.   Sweep Saturday, sculling Sunday.

Weekday Morning Land Workouts
Beginning November 7, we will have morning erg sessions available.  Look for additional announcements.

Thanks to our in-house official, Deirdre, for keeping time from the tip of the island, we have results from this morning’s race. (Note: what no-one else saw: her brave fording of the Willamette to go from launch to officiating perch – well done!).

1. Relentless (8+) – 18:45 (2 min penalty for cutting the buoy = 20:45)
2. Undiné (2x) – 21:13
3. Sparkle Pony (4x) – 21:33
4. Heavy Metal (4x) – 23:36
5. Tilikum (8+) – 23:36
6. Blind Faith (8+) – 30:45
7. Marquam (8+) – 34:45
8. Townsend (8+) – 38:44
9. Johnson (8+) – 47:25 (5 min credit for Jim’s drill = 42:25)
   

Congrats to all crews for hard work on the water this a.m., and best of luck to all who will race at American Lake tomorrow!

Hey everyone,

Before the murmurs get too loud, I would like to publicly share that I will be stepping down from coaching and also leaving the city at the end of the month. As some of you know, I was never really a city gal and only meant to stay in the area for a few months…which ended up turning into two and a half years! I’ve gotten an offer for a full-time job up near Bellingham and it is time for me to say farewell and head to a smaller town and get health insurance again. 

Thank you so much to all of you for making this team a family and for letting me be a part of it. I feel incredibly lucky to spend every day surrounded by so many strong, smart, talented, kind, and funny people and I am so glad y’all made a convincing argument to stay in one place for as long as I did. (This has officially become my longest team affiliation by over a year!) Expect to see me at many a regatta in that big blue jacket of mine, don’t forget to consider me for composite crews at Cascadia, and, of course, make sure someone makes y’all row feet-out now and again.

I feel like there are more words to be said about how much this team has meant and always will mean to me, but I have to hope the hours spent together will speak for me. I am deeply grateful for and immeasurably proud of everything we have done as a team in the past couple of years.

Thank you.

Love always,Sarah
P.s. Obviously I will be back in town for the Buoy Ball, so make sure you’re ready to party!

Due to continued poor water conditions at Vancouver Lake, the 2018 Row for the Cure has been cancelled.   To celebrate 25 years of RFTC, Station L is hosting a scrimmage on Sunday October 7 at 7:30am.   All Station L members and rowers who planned to attend RFTC are welcome.  Meet at the Station L boathouse for a friendly scrimmage on the Portland Fall Classic course, followed by brunch.  More info later this week.  No sign up needed.

Station L will re-open our sign up for the American Lake Fall Classic until Wednesday evening, in case any members want to add that regatta.  We will submit additional entries by the end of the week.  The American Lake regatta is in Tacoma on October 14, with racing at 9am, 11am and 1pm.  Sign up on our Event page

Due to 40+ club scullers at the Head of the Dog and 23 boats out of the boathouse, there’s no sculling practice tomorrow.

With increasing darkness, those scullers practicing without a launch must do so during daylight hours only.    And, for the month of October, weekday morning coached scullers need to have passed the requisite 4x/2x or 1x captains test, as the darkness makes rowing more dangerous.  Questions, contact Peter or Penny.

We’ve gained some additional insight into the City’s River Plan meeting on Tuesday September 25.  It will NOT include time for public comment, and the workshop environment is more suited to a limited number of Station L attendees.  STL Board members will attend, along with some Portland Boathouse officials.   We’ll report back to the membership any and all information gleaned from the session.

Bottom line, we don’t need the Blue Army this time after all.    Any member who really wants to attend should coordinate with Terry New.