July 21, 2009
UOIT ROWER TAKES PART IN RACE OF A LIFETIME
LEEUWARDEN, Netherlands - It seems that the 2008-09 rowing calendar just was not enough time on the water for University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) varsity rower Justin Vanden Bosch (Frankford, Ont.) as he recently traveled to Leeuwarden, Netherlands to compete in the world famous Elfsteden Rowing Marathon relay race.
The 25th edition of the Elfsteden Rowing Marathon relay race featured 94 teams and over 1,100 crew-members. The teams raced 200 miles through 11 cities around the province of Friesland in northern Holland, starting and completing the race in Leeuwarden.
Beginning at 8 p.m. on the Friday night, the race would not be completed until Saturday afternoon. The format would consist of three rowers (two rowers and one coxswain) racing at one time, with the other members travelling to the next checkpoint, where the team would then switch rowers. Checkpoints would approximately come every 10 km, where the team would come together and switch the rowers out of the boat very quickly.
Aptly nicknamed "The Viking" by his Ridgebacks teammates, Vanden Bosch learned of the race while rowing in Germany while participating in a foreign exchange program.
"I joined a rowing club while in Germany and have been training daily to prepare for the upcoming varsity season," said Vanden Bosch. "I was asked by another member of the club if I would be interested in participating in the race. I decided that it would be a once in a lifetime experience to row through the canals of Northern Holland. It was a little difficult at first learning all the boat commands in German but I soon got the hang of it."
Vanden Bosch's crew (Karlsruher Rudernklub Alemannia) completed the race in a time of 19:08:09, finishing sixth in their field and 18th overall. Although he has plenty of experience rowing as he trains 12-20 km per day in the summer, Vanden Bosch gained a lot of valuable experience from participating in the event.
"I learned a lot from the race including conservative rowing," he added. "I could have easily given it my all in the first leg of the race but that wouldn't leave anything for the rest of the race. I had to manage my power and calculate how much I had left to give and when to give it."
With the different style of racing format, Vanden Bosch had plenty of obstacles to overcome to do so well in the race.
"It was a challenge rowing on such little sleep." said Vanden Bosch. "The race started at 8 p.m. and went until the next afternoon. The entire time everyone on the team was either in one of the chase cars or in the boat. It was an amazing experience but definitely one of the most difficult races I have ever done."
UOIT Rowing head coach Rob Millikin was excited for his crew member to take part in such a big event and is looking forward to next season.
"Justin is going to be one of the key heavyweight men rowers for UOIT over the next couple of years," said Millikin. "He is very fit, and dedicated to the sport, from a coaches perspective a ideal crew member."
For the 2009-10 season, Vanden Bosch will be entering his second year on the UOIT varsity rowing team while studying automotive engineering. At the third annual UOIT Ridgebacks Athletic Banquet, he was named the men's rowing rookie of the year.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
The 25th edition of the Elfsteden Rowing Marathon relay race featured 94 teams and over 1,100 crew-members. The teams raced 200 miles through 11 cities around the province of Friesland in northern Holland, starting and completing the race in Leeuwarden.
Beginning at 8 p.m. on the Friday night, the race would not be completed until Saturday afternoon. The format would consist of three rowers (two rowers and one coxswain) racing at one time, with the other members travelling to the next checkpoint, where the team would then switch rowers. Checkpoints would approximately come every 10 km, where the team would come together and switch the rowers out of the boat very quickly.
Aptly nicknamed "The Viking" by his Ridgebacks teammates, Vanden Bosch learned of the race while rowing in Germany while participating in a foreign exchange program.
"I joined a rowing club while in Germany and have been training daily to prepare for the upcoming varsity season," said Vanden Bosch. "I was asked by another member of the club if I would be interested in participating in the race. I decided that it would be a once in a lifetime experience to row through the canals of Northern Holland. It was a little difficult at first learning all the boat commands in German but I soon got the hang of it."
Vanden Bosch's crew (Karlsruher Rudernklub Alemannia) completed the race in a time of 19:08:09, finishing sixth in their field and 18th overall. Although he has plenty of experience rowing as he trains 12-20 km per day in the summer, Vanden Bosch gained a lot of valuable experience from participating in the event.
"I learned a lot from the race including conservative rowing," he added. "I could have easily given it my all in the first leg of the race but that wouldn't leave anything for the rest of the race. I had to manage my power and calculate how much I had left to give and when to give it."
With the different style of racing format, Vanden Bosch had plenty of obstacles to overcome to do so well in the race.
"It was a challenge rowing on such little sleep." said Vanden Bosch. "The race started at 8 p.m. and went until the next afternoon. The entire time everyone on the team was either in one of the chase cars or in the boat. It was an amazing experience but definitely one of the most difficult races I have ever done."
UOIT Rowing head coach Rob Millikin was excited for his crew member to take part in such a big event and is looking forward to next season.
"Justin is going to be one of the key heavyweight men rowers for UOIT over the next couple of years," said Millikin. "He is very fit, and dedicated to the sport, from a coaches perspective a ideal crew member."
For the 2009-10 season, Vanden Bosch will be entering his second year on the UOIT varsity rowing team while studying automotive engineering. At the third annual UOIT Ridgebacks Athletic Banquet, he was named the men's rowing rookie of the year.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
