Club Committee

2012 - 2013 Manifestos

Ali Abbasi - Men's and Overall Captain

Barely two weeks ago I won the first pot of my rowing career having rowed for First and Third for over 18 months. As captain of First and Third I would do everything to make sure future generations of rowers will not have to wait this long.

Rowing for First and Third has been an incredible experience, which has taken me through some of the toughest moments of my time at Trinity, but also through many of the proudest. Together we have gone through a difficult two years. I am running for captain to get us back where we belong.

First and Third has incredible assets in its athletes, the wealth of experience of former rowers and its mindset that second place is never good enough. As captain my priority will be to promote a spirit of competitiveness, hard work and unity to get us back to the top.

Competitiveness can only be gained through race experience. I will use races, within the club as well as on- and off-cam as a motivational tool and as a way of assessing our performance. Off-cam we will enter Head of the River, Four's Head, Bedford and Henley.

Hard work is the basis of any successful campaign. I will lead by example, pushing myself harder then ever. I hope to elevate the technical standard of rowing in the club by extensive sessions in small boats. I will use my experience from the CUBC development program to implement more professional training with a training plan being outlined at the start of term and continuously adapted. In addition to the usual start of Lent term training camp, I would also introduce an informal camp at the start of Easter term, aiming to compete in the Small Boats Regatta.

Unity is what makes or breaks a crew. There is no greater feeling than crossing a finish line, knowing that together, you have given everything. The most important mentality I will transmit is a sense of being one unit, of working together.

I will work hard to develop future generations of M1. Now is the time to focus on building a solid pool of ex-novices and schoolboys. Having started rowing at Trinity I know how important it is to devote attention to M2 and the Lower Boats and I will very much be involved in running both as a captain. To retain more talent I will assign each novice to a mentor from the upper boats to take them along for some of the land training and give advice on technique.

Coaching is the most important issue facing the club. I will do the best to get funding and ensure we have a paid coach for at least a few weeks in Michaelmas and Lent and throughout all of Easter term. To provide continuity I will rely on former rowers and coxes who are still a big part of the club.

Those who know me will attest that I am incredibly diligent and efficient. I have a wealth of experience in organizational positions so my emails will be brief and make it easy to spot key information. For important issues I prefer meetings in person for which I will devote open-door hours every Sunday afternoon.

Personally I am running for the Men's and Overall Captaincy of First and Third because rowing is the most exciting thing I know. There is nothing like the excitement rushing through you at the start of a race, like the tingle running down your spine when you see the opposition disappear into the distance. I want to be captain to implement changes that will make the club succeed, to ensure rowing is exciting and fun and to get more people enthusiastic about our sport.

Please take the time to look through some of the technical aspects of my manifesto outlined below and turn up to vote on Sunday.

Ra Ra Ra First and Third.

Training plan
- I plan on doing 4 outings, 2 weights and 2 ergo sessions a week for the start of each term. Moving closer to the races one weights session and possibly one ergo will be replaced with an additional water session.
- Productivity has been an issue this year. I will publish a training plan at the start of term, so people know what's coming. Development will be closely monitored and adjustments made to make sure every session is productive.
Coaching
Probably the most important issue facing us is coaching. Ideally there would be a paid coach all year round; however, there is a chance that we will not have the funds to support this. Where we stand now the funds we receive from Dr. Kingsbury will be enough for approximately 4 coaching sessions a week.

Coaching consists of two main roles. Firstly a coach should provide continuity. Having the same coach for every outing with a clear training plan will make training a lot more useful. This will allow the crew to cement changes and develop in the long term. Secondly there is the technical side. Ideally we would have a coach who can cover both those roles, however if we do not have the funds to support this I would separate the two roles.

For continuity I would work hard to get a former rower/cox excited about the club and ask him for help with the training plan and coaching. On the technical side, I would bring in a paid coach for a few weeks towards the end of Michaelmas, then for multiple two week periods in Lent, especially running up to Lent bumps. By saving a few weeks during the first two terms it should be possible to bring in a technical coach for all of Easter term.

This will make sure we get our money's worth by allowing us to periodically test coaches throughout the year, before we commit to him/her for the long run.

We will train and race in small boats much more

Lack of awareness has been a big issue this year. Small boats allow rowers to feel technical changes more than the eight. I personally learnt a lot from going out and racing in a pair with Fordy just a few times.
For the first half of Michaelmas I will put out 2-3 fours and an eight (for less experienced rowers). The fours will not be ranked straightaway, but rather assigned at the start of each outing. Combinations will be slowly settled in time to compete in University Fours, with the possibility of a top boat competing in Fours Head.
Side-by-side competitive paddling and racing will be done throughout the year to promote a competitive spirit, gain race experience and simply because it is great fun.

Weights sessions will be twice weekly throughout most of the year

I intend to reintroduce a weekly circuits session. Circuits are useful as they strengthen "explosive" motions while at the same time improving the range of motion. Additionally circuits can be a lot of fun when done in a group and can be interspersed with flexibility/core exercises.

A higher focus will be put on training professionally

The current core sessions before every outing will be replaced with a short (<10 minutes) dynamic group warm up. It will include a mixture of warm up, stretching and core exercises.
Each rower will receive a few stretching exercises to improve specific areas of flexibility. There will be time during the warm-up and after every outing specifically for this.
A logbook will be kept of all ergo workouts, each rower will weigh in before every ergo, as it takes only a few seconds and is useful to monitor long-term physiological improvements. This will be particularly useful in selection.

Training Camps

Training camp in the UK will be held before the start of Lent term, as usual, details for this will be finalized over the summer to give people enough time to plan ahead. For this I will try and receive as much funding as possible from college but will outline the "worst-case" cost beforehand.
As many people are around for the Easter holidays I will hold a weeklong training camp in Cambridge before the start of Easter term (with plenty of time for revision/Pimm's!). Small boats/sculling will be encouraged, so ideally this would culminate in First and Third winning a few events in the Small Boats Regatta. This week of training will give also us a vital head start for Easter term.

A strong M2 is vital to the club's success. It allows us to develop talent for M1 and, during my time, has always been a central part of the clubs social life. Having rowed in M2 in the past I know first-hand how much of a difference the running of the crew can make. I will make clear the commitment required by outlining a training program at the start of each term with technical foci for each week. I will assign a captain from the crew and meet with him and the relevant coaches at the start of each week to assess which targets have been met and modify the training plan accordingly.
Novice Development

I started rowing in Titan, so I know how strange the world of rowing can seem at first. I will work closely with the LBCs to discover and develop outstanding novices. I aim to increase our retention rate by assigning each novice cox and rower a Mentor from the upper boats who will take them along to some of their land training and help them with their technique.
Personally I will be much more involved in the running of the lower boats, helping the LBCs with developing effective development programs and finding coaches.
Having gone through the CUBC development squad I will help spot and encourage potential trialists for CUBC and CULRC as the club has much to gain from the experience of those returning.

Races

I will make the club more competitive by providing a large amount of racing experience to crews of all levels. For the top boats this means entering all on-Cam races in an eight and in fours as well as frequent competition within the club, mostly in fours.
Off-Cam I would like to enter the top four into Head of the River Fours, 2 eights for Head of the river and two more races in Easter Term, preferably Bedford and Met. First and Third has an incredible history of winning Henley and as captain I will make sure First and Third athletes compete in the event. In fact, competing in Henley is one of my biggest personal aims. This might mean sending a four or an eight to the qualifiers, but it could also involve forming a composite with another college.

Selection will be done using 2k tests at the start of Lent and Easter term and after Uni-Fours in Michaelmas. A few (non 2k) tests will also be done at the start of Michaelmas to assess the physiological state of the crew. Additionally training in fours will make seat racing much more effective, so this will also be used for selection.
Overall Captain

If I am elected overall captain my first priority will be to network with college and the First and Third association. I'll make an effort to get on with college administration to make life for the club as easy as possible.

I recognize that the old boys (and girls!) are fundamental in supporting the club. I am enthusiastic and outgoing and would enjoy chatting to any of our alumni about the club.

I will support the sponsorship officer in any way possible and am competent at conducting formal meetings with sponsors and enthusiastically representing the club.

I will also explore ideas for long-term fundraising, such as building a commemorative boat for the 200th anniversary of FaT first winning at Henley.

My first priorities for spending any donations or sponsorship money after coaching would be to provide 8 functioning C2 ergometers and a new set of Men's blades.

As Overall Captain I will also do my best to support the women's side. I will work closely with the women's captain and help represent their needs to college.

Proposed by: Gonzalo Garcia Seconded by: Matthew Griffiths