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A dream to represent New Zealand Rowing

  • Week 11 - Leaders

      20 June 2015
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    The elites traveled to their first World Cup in Italy this Thursday, leaving us in charge as the oldest age group at the Rowing NZ high performance centre. The under 18, 'Juniors' joined us this week. From Thursday the wind picked up and we had a taste of the strong headwind we should expect at the course in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The wind and waves proved to us we're going to face a large challenge ensuring the boat stays balanced and we continue rowing with proper technique. The main difficulty with the headwind is squaring the blade before the catch. The wind blows against the oar, creating an upward force which our arms need to counteract. The forearms and shoulders became impressively tight by the weekend.

    Throwback to my roots. I'm proud and honoured to have made it this far with my passion for rowing. The biggest heart warming thanks to Hamilton Boys' High School rowing and the amazing people who have helped put me on the right track.

    Keep the pain and gains coming!

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  • Week ten - Alignment

      7 June 2015
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    Using the force gates, we were able to find a major issue causing an offset in our boat balance and a discrepancy in our stroke lengths. We moved my feet (where we strap our feet into the shoes) backwards 3cm and Louis's feet forward 6cm. This effectively means I get more length in my stroke and everyone catches the water at the same angle. We went from tipping to bow side (left) a tenth of the time to being able to sit the boat up with only minor tips to either side. This change has made it significantly easier for me to hold a comfortable rhythm for my crew to follow. I feel this change will allow for more productive training's and racing at the next Winter Series in 3 weeks.

    We started the week off shattered from an intense and taxing Winter Series racing. We built back into training due to our major fatigue. To be bombarded on Thursday with a massive 30km morning row followed by a long 20km row in the afternoon. Friday we sat the boat up with the best balance I've ever felt in a rowing boat.

    The force gates help show us exactly where in the stroke each of us are applying force. Whether we are catching the water with full length and finishing the stroke with efficient length. Graphs produced visually show how each of us in the crew compare to each others stroke. This has made identifying differences and making the required changes much simpler and quicker!

    This week has seen us make the biggest step ups of all! Onwards and upwards!

    Credits to Steve McArthur for this image from Winter Series 2 racing.

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  • Week nine - Acceleration

      7 June 2015
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    Jam packed full of improvements. We had the force gates installed on the boat again to measure our force and stroke length. With Winter Series 2 starting Friday, we eased our training session as the weekend got closer. Come Friday's race we were pumped and with a stomach full of Sodium Bicarbonate, ready to go out and smash it! Sodium Bicarb makes the blood stay at a more alkaline level before being swamped with acid from muscle use. Meaning we are able to push for longer without getting sore legs. We had a crew meeting after an average first race and decided on some big changes. Saturday, we came out of the start much faster and stronger than usual which left us in the lead for the whole race. Going into Sunday we agreed on holding the same start and race pace, with more technical control. The result: A massive sprint off, leaving a larger gap between us and second place. Dropping our fastest race time from last Winter Series of 6:19 to 6:16!

    We're gonna crush the next Winter Series in 4 weeks!

    Big thanks to Elite Meats Hamilton and Bunnings Warehouse for helping me fund-raise through BBQ sales and cheers to those who continue to support me!

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  • Week eight - Gains

      7 June 2015
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    We’re smashing our catches! Each stroke the blade enters the water with less resistance and friction than last week. There’s minimal technical issues slowing the boat now. We’re at the point where we are tweaking the last few percentage of available technical changes. This Saturday we prepared for the week ahead, the Winter Series 2 regatta. The squad session was 5x 2km races at differing ratings from 24 to open rate (maximum, e.g. sprint pace). We beat our bench mark elite opposition crews in all of the 5 races. A step up from last time round where we dropped on the last race to come 2nd. Most exciting personal news of the week: we had our skin fold tests (measure of body fat) on Wednesday with the nutritionist. I went from 41mm to 43mm, so no new fat while managing to stack on 3kgs in 1 month and 10 days. Goal: do it again!

    Cheers for following my campaign! Here’s a shot of our crew from Press day, credits to Hamish Burson | Photography

    From left: Corey, Cam, Louis and I. With our coxswain Sam in the front.

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  • Week seven - Effortless

      18 May 2015
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    We stepped up our game, smashed out a 9/10 week! In the weekly squad sessions on Wednesday, 3x 3km, and Saturday, 2x 4km we topped the prognostics (% of World Record time) for the u23 crews. The boat sits up near perfectly with small balance issues to fine tune. Effortless, the word to describe the feeling of the boat during training sessions. I come off the water knowing I’ve pushed hard, with an efficient effort. I more comfortably hold the rhythm for the crew. I’m looking forward to continual improvement and being able to maintain perfect balance for longer.

    Huge thank you to Safari Biltong and Payless Supplements for the sponsorship. Cheers to all who continue to support me through my journey to Worlds!

    The road ahead will have obstacles to overcome!

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  • Fundraiser Sale 16th May

      15 May 2015
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    Hello everyone,

    Please come and support us at the Hamilton East Village market on Grey Street this Sunday. We will be selling cupcakes, banana bread, fudge, truffles, biscuits and koeksisters. We will be there from 9am till 1.30pm. Come grab a Sunday munch!

    All proceeds will go towards supporting my campaign in Bulgaria for the u/23 World Rowing Championships.

    Thank you kindly for your support,

    Yolande? and Drikus?

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  • Week six - Explosive

      10 May 2015
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    We've made huge progress this week! On Tuesday, Cam Webster and I were chucked into a pair with him stroking for a change. Following someone else took a while to get used to. We made a large improvement when we decided together, to push immediately when our blades (part of the oar that goes under the water) were fully submerged (the catch). On Thursday morning we rowed alongside the elite pair (Hamish Bond and Eric Murray) up to the bridge and back (22km) in the four. We transferred the explosive push at the catch to the four. The best row I've ever been on! We held the pair at 17 rating (17 strokes per minute) compared to our usual 19 rate. Going forward I'm confident we'll see a huge increase in our prognostic scores!

    A big thanks to my sponsors Safari Biltong and Payless Supplements. Thank you to everybody that has donated, I appreciate the generosity immensely!

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  • Week five - Racing

      4 May 2015
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    Five weeks, time flies. We started the week off working hard and started easing Thursday for the racing in the weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we raced each day as part of the Winter Series 1 regatta. We raced against the elite men’s pair, elite women’s quad, elite men’s double and elite men’s lightweight double, all with a similar world record time. Each day we built on the previous day’s race and on Sunday were 15 seconds off the world record with a time of 6:19. Our coach, Dan Kelly, was happy with the result. Our crew agrees there is plenty of room for improvement coming into the 2nd four week block of training. My legs are in for a treat, week 6 is full on!

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  • Week four - Technology

      29 April 2015
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    Four weeks gone. We had force gates (the gates hold our oars in place) installed on the boat which measures the force over each stroke. The force gates provided us with a curve which showed the force over the angle of each stroke. These curves helped me a great deal to improve my technique and overall force produced each stroke. The technology available is essential for our growth and development towards becoming an international crew. I'm loving every minute of the journey!

    Please email me if you'd like any questions answered - dhreex@gmail.com

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  • Week three - Strength

      20 April 2015
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    Three weeks complete. Saturday was a great morning for racing. The rain pouring down kept us cool and full of oxygen! We smashed our 2x 4km at 28 rating and 32 rating. I’ve made massive improvements to my technique. We did our strength testing on Friday, I’m happy with my scores giving me the top power to weight ratio in the boat. Looking forward to another challenging week ahead!

    Spark my Potential is involved with my cause and are matching the next 20 donations I receive $ for $ up to $1500! Please check it out: http://sparkmypotential.co.nz/cause/rowingfornzgold

    Great view out onto the lake!

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  • Week two - Rhythm

      13 April 2015
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    Week two check. The crew has had a massive leap in the right direction, with the rhythm required in reach. Highlight of the week would have to be getting the top prognostic of all the u23 crews in the squad 4x 4km races on Saturday. A prognostic is the % comparison to the World Record time for our boat which is 6 minutes 3 seconds. The flow and rhythm was definitely strong and alive! I slept like a rock Saturday night, feeling refreshed for the week ahead!

    Thank you for the generous donations! Spark my Potential has become involved with my cause and are matching the next 20 donations I receive $ for $ up to $1500! Check it out: http://sparkmypotential.co.nz/cause/rowingfornzgold

    Another wet and wonderful week here at Lake Karapiro!

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  • Week one - Unifying

      7 April 2015
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    First week down. Our coxed four is sitting up nicely, with improvements still available. Highlight of the week was pacing against the elite pair, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray. Their world record 2km race time is a few seconds slower than ours therefore we aim to edge away slowly over the 20km session. My legs are sore, hands tender and energy-less, I’m loving the feeling!

    Thank you all for your generous donations!

    The golden radiance at the end of the enduring road! My cycle path every beautiful morning.

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