RACICE REPORT MARK MEATES- MANAGER OF THE JUNIOR TEAM Thursday 29^th  July

Well the weather has been fine for the last few days. Monday saw the return of the sun as the rain faded away. There was still a bit of cloud cover so no direct sun and the weather consequently very pleasant in the high 20’s degrees C. So all in all a pleasant few days. Up to this point we had only being sharing the lake with the Czech rowers and some kayakers. There was the odd dragon boat but they rowed at different times to us so did not interfere with our rowing.

Everyone has settled into the daily routine which is pretty standard, 6:30 early light breakfast, 7:00 row, 9:00 Breakfast, 12:00 Lunch, 3-4:00 row, 6:00 Dinner. A little boring really but the athletes have been having a bit of fun in between times. Some spend hours on the computer, most spend some time trying to Skype all of you, the parents. Skype is a pretty handy tool on a tour like this. The internet connection is wireless in the Hotel and better still free. If there is a downside it is the number of people trying to get connected and this can sometimes be difficult which is frustrating. However, all in all a very convenient service.

Most rows start and end with a bit of a chat. All the crews are starting come together nicely and are starting to get better rows because of it, which frankly makes for much more enjoyable meetings after the row. I guess it is good that the kids set their standards so high but it is very refreshing to see them come in happy after a row.

Actually there is quite a mixed bag of personalities in our group and many different ways to be comfortable. There is usually a game of “Risk” going on in the upper foyer. The computer centre is in the lower foyer. Then there a rooms that just seem to chill out and others that regularly hold a summit setting the world to rights on what issues I can only imagine. Some just fill out their dairies, seem have a snooze. Frankly you just can’t tell what is going to happen. Unfortunately the Tour de France had finished so TV was a bit boring. I was amazed at how interested most people were in the cycling.

On Monday we decided to try to find a supermarket that was a bit closer. I think it looked pretty funny with Gary, Bill, Bruce & I squashed into our little rental car. We headed for Roudnice  (“Rude- nits-saa”) and with Gary as navigator quickly found a good medium sized supermarket, called “Billa”. Is only about 10 minutes away so is very conveniently located.

There was still a bit of boat tweaking going on but generally the coaches were getting comfortable with their set up. The afternoon row was a little lighter as everyone had a 2000m piece to do on Tuesday morning.

We were able to swap our car for a 9 seta mini-van on Monday night. Might I say, a much more suitable vehicle for people of our size.

The Americans turned up late on Monday as did the Australian’s boats. Armenia and Tunisia had arrived in the morning and had had a row during the day.

Tuesday was another beautiful still morning. Because we had a 2,000 m piece at 10:30, the early row was a race day pre-row, so pretty light. There was a little bit of tension building at breakfast because of the impending 2K. While the coaches tried to play down things a bit, the athletes knew it was important to do a good time.The result of course was a mixed bag. Some happy, others not so but everyone I think believing they could do better. So I think everyone got something positive from the piece even it were a bit of a reality check for most. 2K pieces are never easy. Simply because you are doing them in warmer weather overseas doesn’t make them any easier although I think everyone knew that deep down.

The outcome of an early second row was an afternoon off for most crews. We asked if anyone would like to go for a look around and most did. Too many for the van anyway. So I planned a bit of a train trip to a town called Melnik (“Mel-nik”, an easy one), about a 15 minute train ride away, just required a few trips from the lake to the train station. All good except the Steti (“State-ti”) train station was very well hidden and took longer to find than expected. Anyway we got two van loads on the train. Bill & I followed in the van. We caught up with everyone in the old town square on top of the hill overlooking the surrounding area.

The group had been split up, as five of the group had jumped off a little early, at a station described as “in the middle of nowhere”, that said “Melnik – Mlazice” which as it turned out was not Melnik. The train pulled out before any others could get off. A simple mistake. Fortunately Bruce, such a level head, was still on the train and upon arriving in Melnik, approached a police man and explained the situation and asked how the others could get to Melnik. One policeman to another, some kind of a secret handshake or something, anyway the policeman went and picked them up and brought them up to the Church. Well actually he brought the first three to the station but no kiwis, so then to the bus station, still no kiwis. He then got on the radio and asked for any sightings, which had a positive result and he dropped them in the town square with the others and then went back to get the other two. Thank god for the old police contacts. Certainly added a bit of excitement and humour to the trip.The church was quite an interesting church as it turned out. A crypt had been built beneath it to house the bodies of the local gentry but just after it was completed a plague hit the country killing many, many people. There bones were put in the crypt. In the early 20^th Century a german doctor took to examining the bones and sorted them and packed them in a more appropriate manner. The bones of about 10,000 people are in the crypt. The walls that can be seen are mainly leg and arm bones and then skulls are set into this making a Herat in one instance and spelling “Ecce Mors” in another. It sounds a bit gruesome but it was not so bad when visiting the place. I think only 1 in 10 people survived the great plague.

The walk back to the train was a bit further than expected so Bill & I had a couple of passengers on the way home. A couple of trips ferrying at the other end got everyone home. It didn’t all go as planned but I think those that went enjoyed it. Everyone kept their head and showed patience and good sense which while not unexpected was pleasing to see.

We also had a visit by Shane Bowers who had helped us get our oars here. It was good to hear some English spoken and a kiwi to boot. There is not much English to be heard around the lake. I guess that will change as more teams turn up. At this point it was just us and the Czechs. A couple of crews had an afternoon row and the rest just relaxed. The TV was again in play because the European Athletics Championships were being televised live.

The Canadian’s turned up along with the Japanese, a relatively small group.

Wednesday was just more of the same with the weather. The morning row was quite aggressive work wise as there was only one row planned for the day. So everyone had a good long workout. After the row the eight helped me put up our tent. They did a good job, quite efficient teamwork. It looked a bit lonely as the only tent i the tent area but we expect more to be going up in the next few days.

At breakfast the draw came out with actual entries differing quite a bit from what was expected which meant the women’s quad final was moved from Sunday to Saturday, replacing the men’s coxed four which moved from Saturday to Sunday. A full list is given on the World Rowing website. So not a big change in our planning. It seems as though entries are down a bit from last year but we suspect that some of the smaller nations have decided not to go to both the Junior Worlds and the Youth Olympics, perhaps preferring the Youth Olympics due to funding considerations. It doesn’t change things for us because all the big boys (and girls) are here. We still have a week to get things just right, that being said however I think the rowers are ready to get into it and see just where they are.

The coaches took a trip to the “OBI” store (Mitre 10 Mega equivalent) to get some boat  cleaning items and a few more large nails to hold the tent in place as the wind had been building during the day. Straight after lunch at 1:00 pm everyone was on the bus and off for a tour around Prague. I am not sure how many kilometres away it was but it took about 75 minutes to get there.  Fortunately we were dropped off at the Prague Castle which sits atop quite a tall hill overlooking the city. It is very impressive and the church built in the middle of it is fantastic. The oldest part took 75 years to build in the 1300’s, with two other building campaigns adding to the overall size since. In total over 200 years to build.

We had three hours before we had to catch the bus back. We had a guide who took as around the Castle and it’s gardens, down a long flight of steps (certainly would not like to have been going the other way) down into the “Little Town”, across the Charles Bridge (another engineering marvel built in the late 1300’s) and into the “Old Town” square. The team had an hour to look around and get back to the bus. I was ready for a sit down as were four of the coaches. We had a quiet drink, the prices of which had more than doubled from around here in Racice, 75 Kronor for a 300 ml glass of coke. I guess that’s the economics of being in one of the great cities of Europe and drinking and the town square, certainly a spectacular outlook and a great people watching spot.  

It did not take long for an hour to go by. We left a bit early so as not to run into Tuesdays problems and were pleasantly surprised to see everyone else pretty much had the same idea and we arrived at the bus meeting point over 5 minutes early with everyone but two coaches, both of whom duly turned up and we were off back to Racice. The return trip was a bit quicker only 1 hour. The driver was quite young but very skilled, it was a very smooth ride. We got back at 6:00 just as the dining room was opening and as everyone headed in there it brought an end to our Prague tour.

Fair to say Wednesday night was a quieter night about the place with everyone in bed nice and early. The Aussie’s turned up late and set about rigging their boats.Thursday morning brought yet more of the same. A beautiful, still, sunny morning. The kiwis, now officially, the “Team In Black” were first on the water at 7:00 and pretty much had the lake to ourselves. The rows are starting to get a bit shorter now. We have a 1000m, 500m and 2 x 250m tomorrow so saving a little for that. All crews looked really good with the double having a particularly good row.

The coaches, and myself, are getting used to biking but I think, I know for certain in my case, are still suffering a bit with sore bums. We are hoping that as the distances to travel come down over the next week things will improve.

Well the afternoon row was fantastic. This only my opinion, although I think the coaches are secretly quite pleased as well, but all the crews looked so good this afternoon. I got sick of trying to keep up with the eight and left Bill to it. There are a lot of other crews around now, especially in the afternoon and I think it brought out the best in the team in Black. Just a little more on the legs and the boats took off. We still have a week to go but the crews are really starting to work as one, tightening up all round with their precision.

We had our last meal at the restaurant up near the Hotel. From now on we eat down near the boat park. Not a big issue, just have to reorganise ourselves a little.I can report that Gary did win the game of Risk, he was very focused on doing so.Looking forward to the rowing in the morning. For all of you whom are travelling, we wish you safe travels and look forward to your arrival in Racice.

Take care,Mark.