Inverness Rowers in Action at Home and Abroad
posted by Roy Sinclair - 24 Aug 2011, 10:15 a.m.
Imogen Walsh from Inverness, formerly of Inverness RC, Glasgow University BC
and Clyde ARC, has been selected for the GB Rowing Team's women's
lightweight quadruple scull which is set to compete at the upcoming World
Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia from 28th August to 4th September.
Also heading east for the European University Rowing Championships being held
in Moscow from 31st August to 2nd September will be Alan Sinclair from
Belmaduthy in Ross-shire. After a successful summer, including winning the
quadruple sculls at Henley Royal Regatta in July, Alan will be competing in
both single and double sculls events in Moscow.
Meanwhile, on Saturday 28th August, Alastair Duff will also be competing in
his single scull at the Castle Semple RC regatta on Lochwinnoch in
Renfrewshire
Ahead of the start of the biggest race of her life, Imogen shares her thoughts
with us prior to competing in the lightweight quadruple sculls event at the
World Championships in Bled
"Training camp in Varese...tick! It's been good, and not just in
the rowing sense. It's been a good chance to get to know the rest of the
women's and lightweight squad better (the heavyweight men have been in
Portugal for their pre-worlds camp), and for those of us who normally work as
well as train, it's felt like a bit of a holiday! The chance to catch up
on lost sleep and a few good books, and the odd gelato - the Italians
love their ice-cream! Almost as much as the GB Rowing Team do...
And for anyone interested in an Italian training camp, I can highly recommend
Varese. The course is beautiful, snow-capped Alps at one end rolling down to
green hills all around the lake. The lake itself has two 2k buoyed courses,
separated by about another 3k open water, so there's plenty room to
spread out and get some coaching from the launch, without fear of swamping
some other crew. It's been pretty hot, in the mid 30s, but surprisingly
for someone more used to the Clyde, or more recently the Thames, I
haven't found the heat too bad.
Leaving the tranquillity of Varese for Bled tomorrow morning; most national
teams are already there or arriving around the same time. I'm looking
forward to that feeling you get when you approach Strathclyde Park or Dorney
etc - you see the other competitors, you know that everyone has been training
hard all year, and that you're all here for one thing...
Racing starts on Sunday, with the Lightweight Women's quadruple sculls
first heat on Monday. Not long now...."