I N D O O R R O W I N G N E W S L E T T E R # 2 ======================= 9-December-1999 ==================== _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. British Indoor Rowing Championship 2. Boston 3. So You Want Some More? 4. Christmas Gifts To Delight 5. Christmas Quiz 6. Richard Burns 7. Concept 2 Slide 8. And So To Bed _________________________________________________________________ So what happened this fortnight in the world of indoor rowing? Oh yeah, the Perpetual British Indoor Rowing Championships (or BIRC as it's somewhat unfortunately known as). ========================================================= THE LAST GREAT SPORTING EVENT OF THE MILLENNIUM ========================================================= As the more hyperbolic people in the Rivermead Leisure Complex last Sunday were wont to cry. This year's British Championship was by any measure the biggest yet. 4,000 people flowed through the doors to help create a piece of Reading that was forever gasping for breath. One world record, eight British records and 27 championship records fell on a day when the awesome German man-mountain Matthias Siejkowski flew into town to try for his third British Men's Open title. His main opposition lay in the shape of Dutch champion Geert-Jan Derksen, the powerhouse number five man in the Sydney-bound Dutch Olympic Eight. Although Geert-Jan started well, it transpired later he was suffering from a migraine and, brave as he was, pulled up short after 600 metres, clearly upset. From then on in, Siejkowski simply blitzkrieged the opposition with his long bludgeoning strokes, and pretty soon the rest of the pack resigned themselves to battling for silver and bronze alone. As the German powered home in a new championship record of 5:44.3, second and third were picked up by the United States and Norway, albeit under Oxford University colours in the persons of Toby Ayer and Eirik Lilledahl, although neither managed to break the six-minute barrier. Other notable races include Cath Bishop and Katherine Grainger battling it out for the Women's Open and George Meredith breaking the British record for the Men's 50-59L, only to lose out to Jean-Paul Tardieu who shattered the World record. A full list of all results along with race reports and pictures is up on our web-site now at www.concept2.co.uk/v4/brit_champ_r.htm . ========================================================= BOSTON ========================================================= The World Championships take place in Boston every February, and each year Concept II provides funding for six athletes to go over and compete. The funding is worked out by a comparison of the athlete's time BIRC time with the world championship record, although as a further caveat we'll only provide funding for one athlete in each race. The top fifteen performers in relation to the world championship record were as follows. Pos. Name Club Event BIRC Time %WCR 1. Herbert Leah Tyldesley M70-79L 7:18.0 102.5% 2. Paddy Rouse IoW W70-79 9:08.1 101.1% 3. Cath Bishop Marlow RC WOpen 6:34.4 100.6% 4. George Meredith Tonic Fit Ctr M50-59L 6:39.7 100.5% 5. Peter Fields Team Maximuscle Junior 6:00.0 99.7% 6. Kath Grainger WOpen 6:39.9 99.2%* 7. Sean Morris Wallingford RC M50-59L 6:47.6 98.6%* 8. John Flood Tideway M50-59L 6:48.6 98.4%* 9. Mavis Surridge S Reading L Ctr W70-79L 9:43.4 98.30% 10. Colin Greenaway David Lloyd M30-39 5:57.7 98.2% 11. Andy Ripley Tideway M50-59 6:16.4 97.7% 12. Graham Price Newark RC M40-49L 6:36.2 97.6% 13. Peter English Royal Chester M40-49L 6:37.8 97.3%* 14. Rachel Andrews Tideway W30-39 7:01.7 96.9% 15. Tony Larkman Molesey BC M30-39 6:03.7 96.7%* An asterix against their name indicates that although among the top performers against Reading, they were not top in their event, and therefore will only qualify if the person ahead of them drops out. Also, although Peter Field's time would qualify him for funding, he will be too old to compete in the Junior event in Boston. One further point to note is that anybody can actually compete at Boston, and an entry form is available at www.concept2.co.uk/v4/world_champ_r.htm ========================================================= SO YOU WANT SOME MORE? ========================================================= For those of you who missed out on BIRC, or those of you who delight in becoming what The Guardian described as "modern-day galley slaves", just a brief reminder of the calendar on our web-site. As up-to-date as possible, it contains details of all the indoor rowing events going on up and down the country. For those of you in the East Midlands area who fancy working off any surplus turkey, the next big race is the East Midlands IRC, taking place on the 9th of January at Leicester Tigers Rugby Club. To find out more drop Andy Lambert a line at andrewl@wsampson.co.uk If you've got a race that you want to publicise on our web-site then get in touch with us at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk. Remember that we'll also run reports and results from your race as well. The calendar is on www.concept2.co.uk/v4/calendar.htm ========================================================= CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO DELIGHT ========================================================= Otherwise known as the shameless plug section of our newsletter. One overlooked reason for the falling Marks and Spencer's share price is the fact we've unveiled a new merchandise section on our web-site. Located at www.concept2.co.uk/v4/merchandise.htm , the page shows the wide range of T-Shirts and Sweatshirts available from Concept II, as well as shorts, crop tops, vests, rugby shirts and much much more (well, a training guide and a training log anyway). ========================================================= CHRISTMAS QUIZ ========================================================= Minor pop stars and Mr Blobby turning on the lights in the city centre, Noddy Holder's bank manager buying himself a new car and the Norwegian trade surplus going through the roof, yep it's Christmas time again, and to celebrate we're knocking up not one but two Christmas quizzes. Nip over to our web-site at www.concept2.co.uk/v4/quiz.htm and you'll find both a Lightweight and a Heavyweight quiz. With prizes including a set of slides, top-notch clothing, training guides, waterbottles etc, you might find yourself getting something more than a monogrammed pair of socks this Yule. ========================================================= RICHARD BURNS ========================================================= After a poor start to the season, rally-driver Richard Burns managed to turn it around in grand style. When Concept II met up with him to provide training advice, he was confident that the results were going to flood in, and so it proved. After wins in Greece and Australia, and a gaggle of second places, a good result in the last event would have placed him second overall in the championships, beyond Tommi Makinnen. With the final race of the season the Network Q Rally of Great Britain, there was an added incentive, due to the rivalry between Richard and Colin McRae for the title of British No. 1. A magnificent display of driving by Burns on the second day of the rally where he won all but two of the eight stages meant that even before McRae spun off, he had effectively already conceded the Battle of Britain. Burns said: "This is just a fantastic feeling to have won my home rally again. It is difficult enough to win the rally for a first time where there is so much pressure on you. But to come and do it a second time I was a lot more relaxed about it and enjoyed it more. I tried very hard throughout, but not on every single stage. If you do that you are going to have a problem and go off. When the conditions have been good I have pushed really hard. "The win means more than finishing second in the championship because no-one remembers who is second." ========================================================= CONCEPT 2 SLIDE ========================================================= Due to the enthusiasm at Reading for the Concept 2 Slide, we've decided to make them available as part of a special offer. Three slides will be available on a thirty-day money back guarantee, allowing everybody to have a risk-free look at the next big thing to revolutionise indoor rowing. If you haven't had a chance to look at the Slide yet, our web-site carries information and video footage at www.concept2.co.uk/v4/c2slide.htm . ========================================================= AND SO TO BED ========================================================= Due to seasonal vagaries, the next edition of this newsletter will be out a couple of days later than usual. However, to make up for it, we promise it'll be packed even fuller with all the latest news and information from the world of indoor rowing. It'll also contain the first in a hopefully regular series of columns by three times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill, where he'll answer any questions or queries you have. As always, remember that if there's any thing you'd like to see, or you've got a question for Terry, just drop us a line at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk __________________________________________________F E E D B A C K We're eager to hear what you think of this newsletter. E-mail us at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk _________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________S U B S C R I P T I O N If you're on this mailing list by accident, reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" as the subject header. If you're receiving multiple copies of this e-mail, reply with "multiple" as the header _________________________________________________________________ Concept 2 Tel: (0115) 945 5522 E-mail: info@concept2.co.uk Web: www.concept2.co.uk Printed from: www.concept2.co.uk/news/newsletter_archive.php