Finally, the day had arrived when Bob, Dan and I would board the plane bound for Bled to participate in these Championships. The prospect of racing at this event sustained and focused us during all those early winter mornings when we braved darkness and cold to go on the river, those endless gym sessions where wind and tide forced us to stay indoors and those rough days where we sat in front of our computers at work feeling completely shattered after yet another tough speed session at the Docks. It was all worth it.
The Regatta took place at the Olympic Rowing Centre on lake Bled, an impossibly beautiful lake in the Julian Alps of the Upper Carniolan region of northwestern Slovenia which has also hosted the 2011 World Rowing Championships and the 2017 World Rowing Masters Regatta. All races were straight finals with the exception of the 1x where the six fastest times of all the heats per age category would get a final and medals for the first three places. We trained and prepared to race the 1x in our respective age categories and the immediately precedent ones as well as the 2x for Bob and Dan. There would be no handicaps. To spice things up Bob put us in touch with a nice group of very well organised British rowers also in attendance and keen on entering as many races as humanly possible. This resulted in a busy schedule for the gents where they would spend their days jumping from their 1x to a 4- or a 4x or a 2x and even an 8+. I got an extra race on a D 2x.
The days were in general bright and very hot. The wind tended to be calm in the mornings but could get very strong as the day progressed and make things rather uncomfortable in the afternoons. Those were the times we felt very grateful for Gary’s seemingly annoying insistence in making us train on rough waters! Boat rentals were provided by Filippi and came with the added bonus of being assigned to you personally by Iztok Cop, a Slovenian four times Olympic medalist. I got a lightweight single in great condition which suited me nicely. Sadly Bob and Dan were not as fortunate: Dan’s boat rattled like a piggy bank when you shook it and had more filler in it than a reality TV star’s face. Bob’s boat was not in better shape and required a few rounds of tape to fix the pitch. Try as they might they were never able to adjust the boats as well as they would have liked to but still went out there and poured their hearts into their races.
These are the results that this small Poplar squad has brought back:
Despite recovering from a nasty leg injury that took him out of commission for two weeks, Bob Milligan won his G 1x race, came 2nd on the H 1x and won bronze on the H 1x final. Our Club Captain Dan Bartlett’s C 1x was one of the men’s single sculls category with the most competitors, 34 participants. Only the D 1x had more with 35. He came 3rd on his race and had the overall 10th fastest time. On the B 1x he finished 2nd and had the rules allowed for it he would have qualified for the final in that age category.
I came second on the Lwt D 1x, qualified for the final where I came 3rd and won the Lwt C 1x. I don’t know how things went inside my teammates’ heads but as far as my experience was I will say that calming pre-race nerves, controlling self-doubt and avoiding negative thoughts were not easy things to do. However, once the first race started, the first 30 strokes were gone and I realised I was in contention something shifted, my mind focused and all that mattered was keeping the rate, the length, pushing hard and not hitting a buoy. I was second by 0.6 seconds. The feeling of elation once the race was over and I finally believed I belonged there had me smiling for the rest of the day and kept me awake a good part of that night.
Participating in this regatta was scary at first, then became exciting and in the end was full of valuable learning experiences. I already knew that racing in a single is something special, but there I realised you need to be prepared to be on your own the whole time. Your teammates will gladly help you if they can but they have their own races and schedules to worry about. You must be ready to take sole control of your race, from arranging some training on the venue before you start racing to figuring out where your boat and blades are, making sure they are suitably adjusted and in good working order, sorting out payments and registration, picking up your number, warming up, carrying blades and boat to the water, understanding circulation patterns and making it to the start on time. To me making it to the point where I was attaching the boat to the stake boat and getting ready to start felt like an accomplishment in itself.
I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to participate in this Regatta, for everything it has given me and to all the people who made it possible for me to be there. Dan, Bob and his lovely wife Carole’s companionship, support and encouragement made of this trip an absolute delight. Training with the sculling squad has been the highlight of most of my days this past year and the three participants on this Championship are determined to keep this momentum going. Already looking forward to seeing what else all of us at Poplar can achieve in the future!
(Photos courtesy of the fabulous Mrs. Milligan)
Race report by Bernarda