Vic earns gold at indoor rowing championship

The Victoria College Dragon Boat Club's visit to the 24th annual Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships produced three podium finishes in the resurgent club's most significant test during its off-season preparations for the coming 2008 season. Vic Captain Karen Chung struck gold in the women's 1000m, while the Vic Men's "A" Crew claimed bronze in the Men's fours on the strength of a strong and inspired final 200 metres.

Coach Jason Au also claimed bronze in the Men's Individual 1000-metres after spending the two days prior to the event bed-ridden and ill. Serving as a testament to the team's depth, Vic's eighteen-athlete contingent - most of whom had never trained on racing ergometers prior to this fall - also produced 5th and 8th place finishes in the Men's Fours and a 5th place in the Women's Fours.

The Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships (CIRC) in Toronto, which are run in parallel with satellite events in Victoria, Dartmouth, and Montreal, not only attracts both elite and novice rowers alike, but athletes that use ergometers (rowing machines from Concept2) to cross-train including paddlers like those from Vic.

Winter training on ergometers is beneficial for many reasons beyond serving as a way to develop athletes' strength and aerobic capacity. Rowing, like paddling, is highly technical. Boat speed is predicated on an athlete's ability to effectively and efficiently find resistance through an oar or paddle blade. Ergometers simulate water resistance, and many technical habits required, including tall posture and use of the body's large muscles, apply to both rowing and paddling.

Vic athletes trained from November through January to prepare for the CIRC.

The team hopes to apply the fitness acquired and the lessons learned back to their sport for the rest of their training leading up to their on-water season which begins in mid-April.