Baltimore Rowing Club Newsletter
February 27, 2008
http://www.baltimorerowing.org
RELUCTANT Morn, whose meagre radiance lies
   With doubtful glimmer on the farthest hills,
   How long shall men, reiterant of their ills,
With peevish invocation bid thee rise
To burn to noontide glory in the skies
   That now a gloom perplexed and starless fills,
   And seek from thee and not their own strong wills
That perfect good which is not bought with sighs?

                      - William Gay, "A Sonnet of Battle"
Upcoming Events
  • Winter Training. The home stretch is here. Bring water, a yoga mat, and a winning attitude.
    Morning workouts are often posted online:
    http://www.baltimorerowing.org/programs/winter.php
    Evening workouts are shared over email:
    http://www.baltimorerowing.org/mailman/listinfo/erg_baltimorerowing.org
  • Bowling social. Saturday, March 1. AMF Timonium. Details below.
  • Executive committee meeting. Monday, March 3. 6:30pm. Maryland Nonprofits. 190 West Ostend Street, Baltimore. Agenda to follow shortly; check www.baltimorerowing.org for directions and other information.
  • Boathouse Opening. Saturday, March 8, 2008. Come early, stay late, and wear clothes that may or may not get dirty.
Latest News.
The Great Baltimore Burn.

The latest Baltimore Burn was held earlier this month at the New Era Academy in Cherry Hill, right across the street from our warm home at the boathouse. With over 100 registrations and a number of interesting vendors, the event strengthened the hold our Burn has inside the winter erg schedule. Thanks to all those who competed, attended, and volunteered. Special thanks to Kathy Nickel and Mike Chin for handling the logistics of the event.

 · http://www.baltimorerowing.org/burn

Baltimore RC at the Crash-B Sprints.

Taking no time to rest after the Burn, Emily Erbelding and Heidi Hutton headed to Boston and turned in stellar performances at the Crash-B Sprints!

  • Emily placed 10th out of 29 with a time of 7:38 (faster than her Burn time - 7:41).
  • Heidi placed 4th out of 17 with a time of 8:10.

Great job ladies!

 · http://www.crash-b.org

Boathouse expansion.

Middle Branch Park is bustling with change. The city's parks & recreation department recently approved construction of a short-term standalone boat storage structure along the rolling green grass of the park. This facility, will be shared and maintained by Roland Park Country School, Institute of Notre Dame, and the Bryn Mawr School, and will be large enough to accommodate 24-30 shells. An additional shipping container will be placed near the existing boathouse to store oars and other equipment.

This structure is another step toward convincing the community, the city, and the world at large that the rowing landscape in Baltimore is growing at a swift and alarming rate. Details are forthcoming, but the city has already proposed earmarking $1.25 million for a new boathouse.

(Thanks to those who continue to put their time and effort into these projects; specifically, Rock Singewald, Dave Rosen, and Jeff Rodman.)


Registration moves to RegattaCentral.

After years of loyal service elsewhere, we have moved our club registration system to RegattaCentral. Some of you are eminently familiar with this website; for those who are not, please take some time to poke around www.regattacentral.com over the next few weeks. Registration materials, dues, and other valuable information will become available in the next few weeks; in the meantime, go ahead and make yourself an account on RegattaCentral (or make sure your existing account is up-to-date); it will make the registration process that much easier.

We are encouraging check payments this year, although online payments will still be available. For any questions regarding RegattaCentral, registration, or other membership issues, contact Megan Sikora or any other EC member.

 · http://www.regattacentral.com

Buy an erg.

We still have some ergs for sale; these beauties have been through one day of use (albeit heavy) from the Baltimore Burn, but still have that new-erg smell. $795 gets you one. Contact Mike Chin for details: regattas@baltimorerowing.org


Friends of Parks.

Our own Dru Schmidt-Perkins was the featured speaker at the Friends of Parks meeting on Monday, January 28. The meeting was held at the Conservatory in Druid Hill Park, and is one of only two meetings of its type held each year. Dru was introduced by Acting Parks Director (and former Aquatics Center manager) Portia Harris. Dru, named one of Maryland's Top 100 women, gave a talk about the benefits of advocacy and forming coalitions.

 · http://www.baltimorerowing.org/gallery/dru0128081842.jpg

Our club has long relied upon the knowledge and savvy of its members, and Dru is no exception. If you have a skill that you think will help the club -- either a skill of your own, or something to offer from your school or place of work -- we invite you to attend any and all executive committee meetings. A few hours a week, or month, or even some short sentences spoken at a meeting help the club in huge ways. We had a great turnout at the general meeting earlier this month, and that attendance is always welcome.


Coaching opportunities with Baltimore RC.

With membership growth comes the need for more coaches. While the club expects the glut of its current roster of coaches to return for the 2008 season, there are always opportunities for new coaches to learn the craft, especially under the watchful eye of our experienced staff.

If you are interested in starting your coaching career, in any capacity, please contact our head coach, Marc Daemen at headcoach@baltimorerowing.org


New college rowing association formed.

As announced late last month, a group or over 25 collegiate rowing coaches has formed a new rowing organization, the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA). The ACRA is focused on establishing a national championship event for collegiate rowing teams who find themselves outside the typical routes offered by NCAA and IRA Championships.

The first national championship regatta held by the ACRA is slated for May 24-25, along the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City.

 · http://www.americancollegerowing.com

Baltimore RC Regatta dates announced!

Dates have been announced for the summer and fall regattas hosted by the Baltimore RC.

Mark your calendars now, for volunteer opportunities abound!

 · http://www.baltimorerowing.org/regattas/regattas.php
Social Events.
Bowling! Saturday, March 1, 2008. Timonium Lanes Bowling Center, 2165 York Road, Timonium. Bowling, bowling and more bowling! This event was a blast year and we are trying to top those stellar performances.

The fun starts at 5:00pm. For more information or to RSVP, contact Kathy Nickel.

 · http://www.amf.com/timoniumlanes/centerHomepage.htm
Marketplace.
Buy an erg.

As mentioned above, We still have some ergs for sale. These beauties made their way through one day of use at the Great Baltimore Burn, but still have that new-erg smell. $795 gets you one. Contact Mike Chin for details: regattas@baltimorerowing.org

Stolen From the Web
The Flyak.

"Introducing the World's Fastest Kayak. The Flyak."

 · http://www.foilkayak.com
Winter Training
Concept2 March Madness Challenge.

On any day in March that you row at least 5,000 meters, you will be automatically entered into a daily random drawing for great prizes. Additionally, on five random days during the month there will be additional drawings for those who row at least 10,000 meters. The best way to stay in the thick of things? Row daily!

For more information on either challenge, visit http://www.concept2.com/challenges or click on the "Challenges" tab in your online logbook.

The remaining schedule and suggested winter workouts can be found on the Baltimore RC website: http://www.baltimorerowing.org/programs/winter.php

Erging sessions will be held early mornings and early evenings. Juniors have priority on certain nights, but unless otherwise indicated - all sessions are open to all paid members. Open, novice, competitive, any combination -- we suffer together. There is no exclusion policy. Also, attendance at all sessions is not mandatory; come as often as you can. Erging may be painful and tedious, but the suffering is easier to swallow when done in groups.

For some exercises -- especially on Monday -- a yoga mat or large, fluffy towel will come in handy. Hot-water showers are available in both locker rooms for use after practice.

If you happen to arrive to practice and think the room is full, please stick around; overcrowding will be handled swiftly and efficiently.


Log your erg meters.

It helps the club to log meters you row at concept2.com. If you are too exhausted to remember exact distances, log your best guess. The log uses an honor system. http://www.concept2.com/sranking03


Membership requirements for winter training.

If you are not an annual member, and have not yet signed up for winter rowing, please do so immediately. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please bother our membership department at membership@baltimorerowing.org. Knock loudly.

Important Reminders
Boathouse alarm.

If have and use a boathouse key, please remember to disarm the security system inside the building, or, at the very least, check to make the security system for our area -- dubbed "Warehouse" on the console -- is set to "Off" as you enter and move about. We have used our handful of mulligans, and from now on, each false alarm incurs a fine from the city.

Baltimore Rowing Club People
Baltimore Rowing Club 2008 Executive Committee
  • President -- Cindy Ching
  • Vice President -- Mike Chin
  • Secretary -- Adrian Breeman
  • Treasurer -- Paula Merkle
  • Membership Chair -- Megan Sikora
  • Boathouse Manager -- Jeff Ditter
  • Social Chair -- Kathy Nickel
  • Safety Chair -- Stuart Blum
  • Merchandising -- Jan Cookson
  • Cox Attache -- Sunil Soprey
  • Volunteer Coordinator -- Amy Kleine
  • Juniors Liaison -- Deb Kleiner
  • Webmaster -- Adrian Breeman

Coaching Staff.
  • Marc Daemen (Head Coach)
  • Alyson Covino
  • Mike deVera
  • Niels Lium
  • Patrick Martin
  • Paula Merkle
  • Karen Pfarr
  • Evan Rea
  • Wendy Shields
  • Andrew Swiatowicz
Places To Be
The Boathouse.
3301 Waterview Ave
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
(410) 355-5649
http://www.baltimorerowing.org
Thursday Nights
J Patrick's Irish Pub.
1371 Andre St, Baltimore, MD
(410) 244-8613
http://home.netcom.com/~leemarsh/jpatrick.html
Saturday Mornings
Spoons Coffee Cafe.
24 East Cross St, Baltimore, MD
(410) 539-6751
Harvest Table.
1000 Hull St, Baltimore, MD
(410) 837-0073
http://www.myharvesttable.com

This edition of the Baltimore Rowing Club newsletter has been brought to you by Adrian Breeman, on the backs and necks of great minds before. Help also comes from the creative criticisms and witticisms of rowers like you. Submissions and corrections are always welcome; give secretary@baltimorerowing.org or http://www.baltimorerowing.org/about/newsletter.php a try.

See you on the water.