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Women's Regatta FAQ (May 23, 2009)
PROGRAM for Women's Regatta THAT DAY:
7:30 to 9am, the team goes check in or register.
Heat: The earliest women's race starts at 9am and run till about 10:20am
Then at 10:30 to 10:50am the Breast Cancer Challenge Race begins (cheer for them!)
Semi Final: Then 11:50 to 1:40 is the semi final for the people who raced from 9am to 10:20am
Then there's some prizes to give away
Final: Then at 2:10 to 4:00pm, FINALS! (will be interesting to watch)
You might stay as late as 4:30 or 5pm depending on weather and hook ups.. so on...
What time are WE racing & what time do we meet...?
This just in, Queen of Hearts' first race is at 9:40am.
We're in Heat#5 @ Lane#2. (4 lanes in total) Tell your friends!!
According to our first race schedule, our semi final round will be at ANYTIME at or between 11:50am to 1:10pm, depending on how we do. The better we do in the first one, the sooner we can race.
Oh yeah, you want to race as soon as possible. Yes you want that. Keep the momentum going!
SO WORK HARD!
Our FINAL race will depend on how we do in the semi final, and I have no ideaaaaa when approximately we'll race.
As to what time we have to meet and where, stay tuned to your captain's Email.
Let's just say, generally, teams meet 2 hours prior to racing to stretch, warm up, mentally prepare, do visualization together, bond with each other, prepare to race in case we're ahead of schedule.
How's May 23rd gonna look like??
Weather wise, it's gonna look nice. 9 to 17 degree celsius. Sunny. BUT! Dress accordingly. You know how unpredictable Vancouver weather is.
I'm going to drive to the festival. Will there be parking?
Yes, but during the festival weekend, parking by the streets is high in demand. You'll have to come extra early or park further. There is also pay parking nearby. Either way, come early! Also, where there's car, there's auto theft. Make sure you don't leave any valuables inside your car. Lock your vehicle and and steering wheel when possible.
Suggest free parking may be: (watch out for restrictions/exceptions!) E.2nd, E 3rd, E.4th Avenue and along Quebec Street. Good luck. Remember, leave your valuables at home or on you.
Here's my two-cents for y'all: DO NOT bring shiny bags or jewelries if you're not going to bring them to the boat.
Parking is hard to find, what other methods of transportation are available?
Public transit -- Make sure you plan ahead (check Translink for schedules).Car Pool -- Arrange a ride with your friend or teammate.
How long is the race course?
500 Meters from somewhere near Cambie Bridge to somewhere around Science World.
How many boats compete at each heat?
4 boats per heat.
What kind of boats are we going to use @ the festival?
Gemini, and BUK (faster boat with foot brace underneath the seat infront of you, light boat, rough seat - raspberries beware!). I don't know if it's true that they're not going to use 6-16 this Alcan. We'll see.
What happens once we're on the boat?
The boat will be marshaled down just before the starting line..The starter (on the PA) will align the boats at the starting line. It'll go something like this...
"Welcome ladies to women's regatta! We're get you started as soon as the traffic clears." <--- waits for the aqua bus and yacht to get outta the way, remove obstacles.
(by then we'll need to keep our ears open for the steerer's command and the caller of course)
"I will call you all up to the starting line and will line u up one by one, if you fall behind, we will start the race without you. Will all boat approach the starting line now"<---- listen to YOUR steerer
The starter will say something like..
"Boat 1, back paddle...." <--- very distracting!! stay focus. you're not boat1 anyway.
"Boat 2, back 2 seats!.." <--- just listen to your steerer... do ONLY what the steerer tells you to do
After we're all lined up in the starter's perspective, you'll hear something like this....
"boat 3 HOLD boat 4 HOLD.. boat 1 and 5 HOLDDDD!!!!!!! Okay, we have an alignment" (dial in, ladies)
"Paddlers, are you ready? Attention Please..." (complete silence) (sometimes they say it really quickly, so stay focus)
*HONK!!!* The horn will go off and the race begins. (our caller will go 2....3.....4......5......6.. up up up ......)
So your first stroke is the HONK! then you do your 2nd stroke..3rd.... so on.
Different starters start the race slightly different, so be prepared and listen for the horn when you are AT the starting line. You'll be surprised how many people are outta focus. BE REALLY ALERT!
Touch wood! What IFFFF we do get involve in a boat collision?
Protocol: do not panic!! Open your ears for your STEERER'S COMMAND then CALLER'S COMMAND. That's all you gotta do. Just listen to them and nooooo body else. Steerer takes order from the water officials, y'all just listen to the steer er Most importantly, be there for each other! It's common that people in the boat will freak out. Help your teammates get back to it. Don't ask why ha hah yet.