March 2025 Rowing BC Junior Performance Camp Summary

March 2025 Rowing BC Junior Performance Camp Summary

A successful four-day Junior Camp was held during the March break, with 35 athletes from various clubs participating, including St. George’s School Rowing, Vancouver College Rownig, Nanaimo Rowing Club, Fort Langley Youth Rowing Society, Vancouver Rowing Club, Vernon Rowing and Dragon Boat Club, Shawnigan Lake School, Claremont Sports Institute, Victoria City Rowing Club, and Brentwood College School Rowing.

A strong coaching presence included four mentorship coaches under the direction of Rowing BC Director of Performance Terry Paul: Ben Murphy (St. Michaels School Rowing), Miki Chandler (Victoria City Rowing Club), Rene Gonin, and Ribal Abou-Haidar (Fort Langley Youth Rowing Society). In addition, Will Crothers (Brentwood College School Rowing), Marc Addison (Vancouver College School Rowing), and Vince Amodeo (Thunder Rowing) were able to drop in to support certain portions of the camp.

Thursday and Friday began with familiarization rows in different combinations, followed by dryland testing between the two sessions. On Friday, a lactate test was delivered by the Canadian Sports Center Pacific Physiology team for selected athletes to assess training progress since their last test in November. The test produced a report that accurately outlines the training zones for the athletes using heart rate, wattage on the C2 ergometer, and lactate level mapping at 2, 4, and 6 mmols thresholds. Other athletes completed our standard field testing on the C2 ergometer (3×3 strokes), max watts testing for peak power, and a 1000m piece at rate 24 (aerobic power test). 

Saturday was busy with three sessions, including two long water training sessions focusing on a Men’s 8+ project led by Marc Addison and various Women’s projects (quads, doubles, pairs, and singles). Coaches rotated through groups, providing diverse feedback.

Sunday concluded with race preparation: a pre-race warm-up, start rehearsals, and a final session of 2x1500m time rows. Boats were grouped based on relative speeds and started with handicaps relative to Gold Medal Standards, creating competitive races. The results were encouraging, and everyone is looking forward to the spring racing season.

Thank you to UVIC and Victoria City Rowing Club for providing access to equipment during this camp.