With a big regatta coming up, I guess most of what can be done of preparation is done by now. However I cannot help but thinking about the start, and how to improve it. If not for anything else, so for next year’s regatta season.
I am interested to find out what has been said or written about preparing and improving the start.
Womens Eights Head of the River Race, London UK
Has this been a topic in the past with you, or would it be an idea to make it one?
Great suggestion. Let’s dive in with expert help from Marlene Royle.
- Use a speed measurement tool like Coxmate GPS and do different start stroke sequences.
- Measure record each. Download and review on land. Which went faster or further?
Secondly ask the crew to tell the cox what s/he says that helps them the most. Ask the cox to keep reading out boat speeds so you learn when the boat is going at your optimal speed. Especially after the start as you transition onto race pace.
Learn from the New Zealanders who do not worry about speed on the start and optimise the energy output to get from 0 to your racing target pace over the 2k. The less stress on the system at the start the more you can put in the middle and end. However, racing at HRR and other two lane regattas requires a completely different tactic depending on the opposition… If the oppo is suspect in terms of confidence but roughly the same speed it pays to go into oxygen debt to get clear water and “struggle” on over the rest of the race. This is only worthwhile if you have done lots of LT work.