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It’s time. We need to call it, and we’re not talking about the election. The Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation has come to the conclusion that the 2021 Sin City Erg must be canceled. This decision was not taken lightly, and it is particularly difficult just as we were starting to create momentum for the Sin City Erg event. 2021 would have been our second year to run the competition and it is unique in that our erg competition, focused on lgbtq+ participation, includes men, women, and non-binary categories, and we offer both individual and team competition. A team category allows clubs to compete amongst each other (in 2x and 4x) as well as providing an opportunity for teammates to support their LGBTQ+ club members by participating in their squad or team.
We do plan to host 2022 Sin City Erg in Las Vegas, United States on 16 January 2022, and we encourage anyone interested in learning more about the event to subscribe to our email list for updates and announcements.
Although there is a set of decision making protocols published by various national rowing federations for rowing competitions, our concerns about the 2021 event began to develop with the publication of an article on 02 April 2020 in Science Magazine, suggesting that the coronavirus spreads through the aerosolization of the virus.
As rowers, we all know how hard we’re breathing when doing a piece on the erg. Then more news began to emerge about super spreader events at choral events where people are exhaling forcefully. Over the next few months, the media and the focus of the coronavirus spread turned away from touching infected surfaces to wearing masks to avoid catching or spreading the virus. The issue culminated with the American president, Donald Trump, contracting the virus, and no mention in any media article was made of him or anyone around him having contracted the virus from touching an infected surface or from touching their faces or eyes. To us, it doesn’t seem like an indoor rowing event is well suited in the current Covid-19 environment.
Certainly, clubs do have outdoor erg sessions, even before the emergence of the coronavirus. To safely host an outdoor rowing event, competitors would have to be spaced at least six feet apart, and given what we now know about the aerosolization of Covid-19, the ergs would have to be spread much further apart. A recent article in MSN News published on 13 October 2020 does support the possibility of hosting an outdoor event. However, an erg competition requires that all the rowing machines be wired together and to a computer. There is a minimum distance from the computer to the first rowing machine and also between the machines.
The competitive fervor of the event comes from the close side-by-side proximity of the competitors as well as the visual display of progress of the competitors in a racetrack-like display projected on a screen. It is difficult to project the race display indoors and to try to display the video outdoors would be extremely challenging.
If an outdoor rowing event is pursued, then there is the weather, either too hot or perhaps too rainy, which in both cases is probable in Las Vegas in January. Finally, there is the issue of masks which seem antithetical to rowing fast on an erg, and even if we could hold an event with masks, the burden of ensuring everyone, spectator and competitor, is wearing a mask [properly, over nose and mouth] makes the event extremely challenging, potentially a liability for GLRF, and turns the event from enthusiasm into unpleasant enforcement.
We held out hope that perhaps a vaccine would emerge that would allow the Sin City Erg to proceed but three media articles spread really cold water on that arousing hope:
a Marketwatch interview on 01 August 2020 with Dr. Michael Osterholm, epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, who states that the virus will be around for our lifetime and that effective vaccines are a long ways off.
a Politico article published on 25 September 2020 that predicts how the Pandemic will finally end, suggesting that a return to normal will take place around November 2021.
a Wall Street Journal interview published on 07 September 2020 with the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, who projected that workers could return to work around six months after a vaccine had been distributed. His statement implies when corporations will feel comfortable having people congregate closely, something that is a fundamental part of an erg event.
We also have subscriptions to daily email updates from the New York Times Coronavirus Briefing and the Los Angeles Times Coronavirus Today. The news in the past few weeks has been extremely discouraging as the rate of new infections has risen at an alarming rate. Two recent media articles about the rise of the infections helped cement our decision to cancel:
a MSN News Intelligencer opinion article dated 12 October 2020 that predicts “a fall and winter could make the cornonavirus not just more infectious but more lethal likely…”
a Wall Street Journal article dated 15 October 2020 that looks at why Covid-19 is spreading again, and points to an issue the LGBTQ+ community can totally relate: being safe fatigue.
Finally, we found this Motley Fool article dated 06 October 2020 that paints a bleak picture of how Clark County and the City of Las Vegas are embracing a virus-safe environment.
All of these factors point to the possibility of infections among spectators, volunteers, and participants. For us, even one infection is too many.
As most rowers are aware, a cascade of rowing regatta cancellations has occurred in the past 30 days around the world.
GLRF has been monitoring the Eurogames 2020 website for any updates. On 16 April 2020, the Eurogames 2020 organization announced the postponment of the event with no proposed or published future date. If you read the news announcement, it implies that the Eurogames 2020 organizing committee is hoping to bump their event into 2021, thereby pushing future Eurogames events further out.
Of equal importance is the legal terms of the status of the event: postponed and not cancelled. This affects any athlete who has registered and paid. In effect, it delays or prevents the automatic issuance of refunds. The language of the Eurogames 2020 announcement about refunds appears bewildering. They state that while the event is in the postponment status, there is no effect [change] on potential refunds. However, if you read their earlier news post, Eurogames 2020 did change the terms and conditions such that the regular cancellation deadline has been moved back to 30 June 2020.
Still confused? If we are correctly connecting the dots, an athlete who has registered may request a cancellation refund, if they want, between now and 30 June 2020. Reading the Terms section of the website, section 7, Cancellation Policy:
if you cancel by 30 June 2020, you get a 50% refund of the 'participation fee' which is Euro 80 for EGLSF members and Euro 100 for non-EGLSF members. The terms do not address the sports fee, which for rowing is Euro 20. The terms seem to imply that sports fees, similar to purchased tickets, are non-refundable.
if you cancel after 30 June 2020, you can get a 50% refund but only if you provide proof of illness.
if the event is cancelled by Eurogames 2020 organizers, a refund of at least 70% of all fees will be made (implying that the refund could be more, and since they say "all fees," that might include the sports fees.)
Obviously, an event cancellation means a huge loss of income to Eurogames 2020 and that explains their deliberate use of the term postponment. This is no different than the San Diego Crew Classic which canceled their event this spring. In the Crew Classic email that was sent to vendors, they asked vendors to forego a refund and receive a 50% discount on a vendor booth for 2021. The Crew Classic organizing committee, while not sharing the actual financials, implied in their email that the event cancellation would have a massive financial impact on their organization and their ability to host the event going forward.
The Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation is very excited to announce our partnership with Rowing The World. This rowing travel company specializes in trips for rowers in many destinations around the world. Because many gay and lesbian (LGBTQ+) travelers enjoy an opportunity to travel with like-minded members of their community, we thought it would be brilliant to create an LGBTQ+ focused rowing tour.
The Rowing The World tours are full package vacations (holidays). The first LGBTQ+-focused trip will be magical Lago Maggiore in northern Italy, with a 7-day rowing tour beginning 27 September 2020. http://lgbtrowingtour.glrf.info Everyone is welcome to enjoy the trip. You certainly do not have to be a member of the Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation. However, one of the benefits of our partnership with Rowing The World is a CDN$100 discount for GLRF OnTheWater members for the trip.
Although GLRF OnTheWater members do receive a tour discount, there are no revenue sharing arrangements with Rowing The World. All participants, including GLRF staff, pay the same tour price. For GLRF, the partnership creates an additional benefit for its members, to enjoy rowing in a recreational format with a community-focused environment. Note that Rowing The World offers a further discount if five or more members join the tour from one club.
If you or any of your club members have any questions, please contact Rowing The World at https://rowingtheworld.com/contact/ and you can also use this link to sign up for their general email list.
Here is a link to the poster promoting the rowing tour. We hope you will post it at your club or forward it along to your members.
Ciao!
Rowing The World has published a special discount for rowers interested in the Lake Maggiore LGBTQ+ rowing tour. Here is the excerpt from their most recent newsletter.
Fantastico!!!
Meraviglioso!!!
This just in from Marlene Royle!
The 2018-2019 Florida Rowing Center Season's online registration is now open.
Opening day: Friday, 21 December 2018
Closing day: Sunday, 28 April 2019
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Read about the Florida Rowing Center's Professional Coaching Staff.
Tuition includes:coaching, videotaping with critique, use of Florida Rowing Center's equipment for the on-water sessions daily hot breakfast with the coaches and other students a Florida Rowing Center T-shirt. A 10% discount is applied if booked one month in advance. We also offer group rates.
For program questions please email: info@floridarowingcenter.com
211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast PO Box 3588 Lantana, FL 33465
The Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation hosted a booth at the 2017 World Rowing Championships, 23 September – 01 October 2017. This was the first time GLRF has hosted a booth at a world championship elite event. Examples of elite events would be Junior, Under23, and Senior championships, as well as the Olympics. In non-Olympic years, the World Championships features 21 boat classes. The event spans nine days, with the first day officially counted as the Opening Ceremony, and the competition then follows for the next eight days. To be present for 9 days would have been too costly, so GLRF hosted a vendor booth on the final Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of competition, 29 Sep – 01 Oct 2017.
Sixty nine countries (yes, we know …) brought teams to compete at the event. Although this was the first GLRF experience at a World Championship event, it appeared to go well beyond a high-profile regatta - more like a festival or regional fair. The number of food and non-food vendors, beyond rowing, was amazing. The vendors would change every day, and many folks had nothing to do with rowing. This is understandable in that Sarasota County wanted to involve as many local businesses and residents as they showcased the new rowing venue to world.
Built specifically as a world championship rowing venue, the Nathan Benderson Park rowing facility is the first new rowing venue in North America since the Long Beach Marine stadium was built for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. The venue was built specifically to World Rowing specifications, with 8 competition lanes, and separate warm up and cool down areas, separated by an embankment.
On the first day, the GLRF booth was located in what we described as the Family Fun area. Although there were people and rowers walking by, we really didn’t have the visibility we wanted. The booth was behind the grandstands and all we could do was listen to the screams and cheers. With the encouragement and initiative of the GLRF booth neighbor, Strokeside Designs, we both moved our booth locations to empty booth locations directly in view of the rowing course, and viewing tents. Located exactly at the 1750m. mark, the GLRF booth was perfect to watch the final sprints of some spectacular races. View the booth pics here.
The reception by World Rowing and the regatta committee towards was absolutely professional. We wondered what the reaction might be from the local community and/or the coaches and the athletes. The former were super friendly, and the latter, mostly uninterested. The fact that athletes didn’t mob the GLRF booth isn’t a surprise. Most come to race, and leave. Some coaches studied the booth, and a couple of the coaching staff stopped in for a shirt or two. Even so, having the opportunity to be visible to countless athletes and their coaching and national staff entourage was worthwhile.
The weather in Sarasota was incredibly hot and on some days, unbelievably humid (muggy). A few entries dropped out from the heat. Yes, it rained. The highlight of the event was the opportunity to step out of the booth and talk to the athletes. All of them seemed very accessible and very nonchalant about their elite status.
Rowers will be able to register for the rowing regatta for the Paris 2018 Gay Games starting on 04 September 2017.
Since the regatta is being presented within the Gay Games multi-sport event, rowers will need to register as a participant for the 2018 Gay Games. This means each competitor has to pay a participant fee and a sports fee.
The participant fee is a fixed fee that provides your pass to the Gay Games event, and is currently listed at Euros 160. That fee is time and subscription based and will increase to Euros 175 on 01 Oct 2017 or earlier if subscription levels reach the next benchmark. Even though rowing is only now being opened for registration, Paris 2018 has said rowers must pay the current participant fee of Euros 160 instead of the initial participant fee of Euros 120.
The rowing fee will be offered at a discounted fee of Euros 70 from 04 Sep 2017 - 24 Sep 2017. After that, the rowing sports fee will be Euros 90.
It is important to note that the rowing page of the Paris 2018 website indicates the maximum participant level is 250 participants. Update 19 Sep 2017: this maximum participant setting was originally posted at 100, and in typical right hand/left hand fashion, the web programmers inputted that as a maximum of 100 when the regatta committee had tried to communicate that number was a minimum. The
Initial indications are that boat rental fees will be included in the rowing sports fee. However, that may change and competitors need to be aware of that fact.
The Paris 2018 website lists exchange rates that are out of date. Listed below are the current exchange rate for rowers. Keep in mind that credit card companies will charge a higher exchange rate than what is listed here, for their profit:
Australia: EU 1 = AUD 1.51
Canada: EU 1 = CAD 1.517.44
Denmark: EU 1 = DKK 1
New Zealand: EU 1 = NZD 1.6
Sweden: EU 1 = SEK 9.50
United Kingdom: EU 1 = GBP 0.92
United States: EU 1 = USD 1.19
The regatta will be held on the Lac de Vaires-sur-Marne (otherwise known as Lac de Chelles-Vaires). The venue, originally built as part of the Paris 2012 bid for the Olympics, will be the site for the 2024 summer Olympics rowing, canoe, and kayak competitions.. The site is currently under construction to add a 250 meter white water slalom course, media spaces, and accommodation for athletes. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
The Paris 2018 regatta will offer events in open and masters categories in the following boat classes:
single (1X)
double (2X)
pair (2-)
quad (4X)
four (4-)
eight (8+)
GLRF members can join the All Oars group for Paris 2018 - http://paris2018regattagroup.glrf.info
Craftsbury is nice but there are some other sculling clinics that are pretty nice. London in the summer is nice. Combine a Tideway Summer Sculling Course with a vacation in England, Scotland, or Wales, and well, you have a very nice getaway planned.
But wait, you haven't tried the grey stuff - it's delicious, ask the dishes! Yes, airfares to Europe are super cheap, and the Brexit effect has made spending in the UK affordable.
What's not to like?!
Tideway Scullers School
Summer Sculling Courses On the Tideway at Chiswick
The Alec Hodges Courses are week-long intensive courses at Tideway Scullers School, the country’s foremost sculling club.
Courses are open to athletes of any sculling ability, both rowers and scullers, adult and junior, including beginners.
Summer course 1: 31 July-4 August
Junior advanced course: 7-11 August
Summer course 2: 14-18 August
Summer course 3: 28 August–1 September
The students will focus primarily on single sculling, working with a team of professional coaches, several with international-level experience. The curriculum will include video analysis, basic rigging, navigation on the tidal Thames, and racing (both time trial and side by side).
The price for the week is £360, if payment is made before 31 May (£375 thereafter). For more details please go to the Sculling Courses page of our website, http://tidewaysculle...cullingcourses/
and download an application form and the introductory membership form, which include the details of how to pay.
For any queries, email us at scullingcourses@tidewayscullers.com
On 06 April 2017, the organizing staff of the 2017 Miami Outgames made the difficult decision to cancel the rowing regatta planned for the 2017 Miami Outgames. The executive committee and the board of directors took the action after comparing the current and projected registration numbers with the fixed costs involved in hosting the event.
Since the event was not being hosted organically by the Miami Rowing Club, the Outgames staff was forced to rent the rowing club facility from the City of Miami Beach. Additionally, the cost of setting the course in Key Biscayne Bay was significant. The organizers had also hired an experienced rowing coach to assist with running the regatta.
In a phone call with the Miami Outgames sports director, Jordan Sellers, GLRF was told that the decision by one, large rowing club to withdraw from the regatta made the regatta appear to be economically ill advised.
The Miami Outgames was particularly saddened to make the decision after having worked so hard to properly structure the regatta after consultations with GLRF. The event had received sanctioning from USRowing, boat rentals had been secured from two US boat manufacturers (a logistical task that was already underway in moving boats from the West Coast to the East Coast), a full jury of referees had been secured, and the event had been registered with Regatta Central (one of the US electronic regatta registration systems).
Rowers who had registered with the 2017 Miami Outgames will be able to receive full refunds, for both the participant fee and the sports. Additionally, boat rental fees paid through Regatta Central will also be refunded.
GLRF hosted a vendor's table at the 2016 USRowing convention. This was the first year that GLRF has hosted a vendor's booth/table at the convention.
The impetus for the display was the promotion of the GLRF Global Inclusion and Acceptance Campaign. The display table included the 2017 Gods of Rowing Calendars, the Rower's Pledge t-shirts, beanies, hoodies, and the new Rower's Pledge sticker. Much like a safe space sticker, the Rower's Pledge sticker is meant to be displayed at boathouses and clubs to indicate the open acceptance of gay and lesbian rowers.
The Rower's Pledge theme is meant to be a straight/gay neutral shirt that promotes the inclusion and acceptance of gay and lesbian rowers in any rowing programme, and complements the Inclusion and Acceptance Campaign.
USRowing is the national governing body for rowing in the United States. The convention meeting moves around each year to give attendees a chance to see other rowing venues. This year, the host was the Pioneer Valley Rowing Club. They host three programs: a junior's program, a master's program, and a dragon boat program.
