Practical advice for first-time CRASH-B participants

[sharp_rower]

I participated in my first CRASH-Bs last year, and am looking forward to participating again this year. I thought I'd share a few practical things I wish I'd known beforehand.
* Once you get to your competition erg, there is only maybe 3 or 4 minutes before the start of your race. So make all adjustments (footplates, drag factor, units to display, etc.) quickly and be mentally prepared for the start of your race because it comes quickly!
* To set the drag factor, simply look at the bottom right of the monitor; the drag factor will appear there. No need to change screens like on a training machine.
* There are no lockers to secure your stuff, and if I recall correctly you're not allowed to bring your bag into the competition area, so keep at a minimum the number of valuables you bring with you. Only people with an access card are allowed into the changing rooms and onto the competition floor, but I don't know how strong security is in that regard.

[c2jonw]

All good points. Also remember the air is very dry inside the venue, leading to dry, raspy throat during and after rowing. Drinking water before rowing and applying lip balm can help minimize this.....C2JonW

[dwalk]

Don't pass out until you're done,lol

[Bob S.]

Don't pass out until you're done,lol

A waterproof bag to barf in.

[Cyclingman1]

For the second time in three years I am a qualifier for Crash-B. That is, Concept2 will pay for my round trip air fare.

But again, I'm not going. I don't find anything much practical about trying to navigate on my own an athletic competition in Boston in Febuary in the Winter that is over 1000 miles from my home.

There is the entire airport hassle on each end. On the Boston end, there is the opportunity to play switcharoo on their confusing subway system or pay $30 for every little 2-3 mile taxi ride to the hotel, to the venue and back, etc. And then there is the rushing around at an unfamilar venue with its petty, petty rules. Why subject myself to this series of hassles? People need to be relaxed to compete, not uptight.

I'm sure that the majority of Crash-B attendees live within driving distance, probably on the day of the event. They drive to the venue, walk in and row, and go home. That is what I did at the regional regatta that I just did.

I don't really have any suggestions. I doubt very seriously that Crash-B can be made "practical" for those living a long distance away with no knowledge of the Boston area.

[dwalk]

I might try next year, especially if gettingold makes it up here from down under.

[Butch91]

Cyclingman - I'm flying in from Ireland - majority of my team is UK based - one lady is coming in from New Zealand - it's the world Championships. Has to be done and I enjoy meeting all the guys

[Bob S.]

I have skipped three free Boston trips. Like cyclingman1, I was reluctant to make a trip to Boston in the winter, especially the first time in 1994. It was my first erg competition and I was surprised when I found out the the free trips were available and that I had qualified for one. My thought was "who would ever want to go to Boston in winter?" At the time I was 69 and it was all full decades at that time, so I would have had no chance of placing well. The next year I learned more about it and realized that if I lost 7 pounds I would have a good chance of breaking the 70-79 M lwt record - 2500m in those days. Making a long story short, I did break the record at the next year's Beach Sprints satellite regatta and took the Boston trip. I didn't really enjoy the trip that much, but it was an interesting experience, especially seeing a lot of the top rowers, but there was not a lot of social interaction on that trip. I didn't really know anyone there. And, without a doubt, this spoiled California boy was not happy with the climate in Boston. Back home in SoCal, I would have been doing my rowing on the water. They changed the distance (and the venue) the next year and I gave it another shot. I entered two satellite regattas. The second one was at Long Beach, where I missed making weight and ended up with a time that would not qualify for M hwt 70-79. However, I had made weight at San Diego a week or two before and my time turned out to be the best for the 1995 season for the new distance of 2k so it stood as the WR at that time. It was broken few months later in the 1996 season. I didn't bother to enter that season, since the qualifying time had been lowered to a time that was less than my record time. Naturally, I was rather pi$$ed about that and I also figured that I was bound to do worse a year later. In retrospect I could possibly have made the qualification time if I had trained for it, but no one that I knew trained for erg competitions in those days. You did your training on the water and just did the erg thing for January and on rough water days.

Since the 2500m had been scrapped, I figured that at least I had that in perpetuity. Well "perpetuity" lasted for about 11 years. Then some Dougie bloke revived it for his Basingstoke regatta and a gentleman by the name of Geoffrey Knight broke it officially. I met him at EIRC in Copenhagen and, while chatting with him, brought up the business about the WR in perpetuity - not fully realizing that it had been broken and that he was the very one who had broken it. As I said, he was a gentleman - he said nothing about it, but later in the day it gradually seeped into my brain what a boo-boo I had pulled. I put it down to mind-blurring euphoria, since I had just completed a new WR for the 2k (M lwt 80-89). The two of us had met as we were walking from the back row of ergometers up to the front to go to the podium.

Back to Boston and making the long trip. It makes a whopping difference if there are a lot of people that you know and you have learned a bit about getting around in Boston. On my last trip there were 5 of us from Long Beach, including one who had qualified at S.D. We all medaled and 4, possibly, 5 were gold. I also had the opportunity to meet up again with other rowers that I had met over the years and made several new friends. Even so, when I qualified the next year, I turned it down. There was no particular competition motive that season and although the social aspects of the trip were appealing they would not compensate for the difficulty of getting to and from LAX and for all the additional expenses such as the hotel and transport to and from LAX.

Bob S.

[Cyclingman1]

It makes a whopping difference if there are a lot of people that you know and you have learned a bit about getting around in Boston.

Bob,
Your story certainly demonstrates the intracacies of trying to be a qualifier [actually Boston has no qualification standards] for Boston and keeping up with record times, not to mention actually going to Boston. There is no doubt that as one gets older, it is more difficult to maintain a rowing edge that keeps one at the top of the heap.

I do think that Concept2 and the Crash-B people could make things easier for those coming a long ways for their event. Running shuttles between Logan, hotels, and the venue is by far the most helfpul thing that they could do. It may be an expense and a nuisance for them, but it would be a giant help for those unfamiliar with Boston. They also need to make sure that their rules for the racing venue do not impose any undue burdens. Not having been there, I'm not quite sure what those rules are, but I have my concerns. See the first post in this topic. If Atlanta had several male qualifiers that I could hook up with, that would be good. But Atl has very few qualifiers, none of whom would work for me.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Bob.

Jim G

[mikvan52]

to Bob S:

Nice story... Thanks for sharing...

~ Mike vB

As for practical advice... (Is erging practical? )

I may have gone to C-Bs ten or eleven times... once I even went to cox a man who I rowed with regularly... another time I went just to volunteer... And I didn't always live fairly near by... < about half the times, I lived in Maryland. One tine when drove... by-my-self... I turned around and drove home in a snow storm by-my-self in the dark... It was uphill both ways...

So all this crying about airports and subways falls on deaf ears.... I have never bothered with satellite races and messing with flying... at least, as far as I can remember

You want the best competition there is in the world? ~> you go to Boston ... or Euros.. or (once upon a time) BIRC...


The subway is not complicated... you can share taxis with others if you stay at a host hotel..
The after-parties can be a blast... Stay Sunday night (!) and set-up rendezvous with the crazy Canadians...

I've a feeling that we're coming to the end of an era... What happens when the Dressigackers retire from the business?... I'll bet the free airfares disappear... Online racing will probably become the thing in the future....

I've watched the Europeans pull back big-time in the numbers they send... this does not bode well.

Blasts from the past....
I saw stood right in front (behind the tape) watching Rob Waddell set the WR for 2k at the Reggie Lewis Arena (damper set on 3!)
I saw Eskild E. pour water on his rail in advance of his first show-down with HRH Henrik, king of the lwts...
I bring up such stories this because Crash-b's has been cool.... There's much more there than one's personal rowing.


Now there's Adaptive... ~> very inspirational... and I thought I had aches an pains! Last year a woman won an adaptive race and then, shortly later nearly won a second race... in regular age-group rowing...

When competing you have to manage all the unusual sensory input... That's a nice lesson in itself.....

Hope to meet some of you there this year... come up and say "HI!" ~ because it is a high....

•~> Mike van Beuren, vet. lwt. age 61...

[sharp_rower]

* There are no lockers to secure your stuff, and if I recall correctly you're not allowed to bring your bag into the competition area, so keep at a minimum the number of valuables you bring with you. Only people with an access card are allowed into the changing rooms and onto the competition floor, but I don't know how strong security is in that regard.

The best thing to do is to have a friend hold on to your stuff, or bring a small pouch in which you put your valuables. You can bring that with you to your erg.

[Bob S.]

Alert! New this year - if you want to save your records from your warm up at the arena and from the practice machines at the hotel, bring a USB stick. I was told by one of the C2 staff that all the ergs, race and practice, would be equipped with PM5s.

This probably does not apply to any ergs that are in the hotel gym itself, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring both the logcard and a USB stick.

Bob S.

[Paul Victory]

From my recent experience at BIRC, I have one additional piece of advice for those inexperienced at racing. If, for any reason, you find yourself totally unready to start when attention comes up on the monitor, pull the handle straight away so that there is a false start and you have time to get ready for the restart. It may not make you popular with your fellow competitors, but it's a lot better than starting 15 seconds after everyone else!

Paul V

[Citroen]

Not good advice from Paul, the race organiser knows who pulled the false start and may want to DQ folk who do it deliberately.

[jackarabit]

Could be the snow accumulation will complicate the transit conundrum. Take your arctics and mittens, snowshoes, ice cleats, maybe sled dogs? Radio beacons? Jack