[CUCBC Captains] CULRC 2009

[George Blessley]

Dear Captains,
I write to you disappointed, but hopeful for the future –
unfortunately the CULRC 1st VIII 2008 didn't manage to turn around our
recent record at the Henley Boat
Races.  I will say now that I had the utmost confidence in the crew
and our preparation, and I think that the loss, while being the one
win that our whole year aims for, doesn't speak for our season in
general, and I think that if you were to ask the rest of the crew you
would get a similar response.  If I didn't think that our club were
able to win I wouldn't have written to you all, and I wouldn't be
planning on getting down to weight for a third time, with the hope of
getting into a crew that can break our losing streak.
The reason that I write is to convince you to talk to your best
lightweight rowers about trialling for CULRC.  Firstly I would point
out, as we have multiple times recently, that the CULRC is a different
club to what it was a few years ago.  Secondly, from the athlete
perspective, we have a strong, consistent coaching structure and have
the use of all the facilities that we need to train effectively as a
group; with the result that this year's squad, whose motivation I
cannot fault, were able to train effectively and with a strong
competitive ethic that drove almost all of us to 6 or more seconds
improvement on our 2 kilometre ergometer tests, to name but one
measure.  We also had the input of a professional dietician, which
enabled us to hit weight targets healthily and train effectively
whilst losing weight.  In short, for an aspiring rower who has the
potential to make weight, there is nothing to lose and everything to
gain from training with the CULRC.
Many of you I know have the dilemma of wanting your best athletes to
improve to their full potential, whether with a college club or a
university one, and wanting to strengthen your own crews.  To this I
have no answer, but I would beg of you that you let the rowers
themselves make the decision after a discussion with myself or someone
else who was intimately involved with our campaign this year.
Our first meeting for potential triallists, with a focus on our summer
Dev Squad, will be on Monday the 19th of May at 7PM in the Captains'
Room, Goldie BH.  Rowers of any experience are welcome to come along.
I look forward to hearing from you
GDBO

George Blessley
CULRC President