2009 World Outgames – Day 7 & 8

The last day and the sun is out!  Some rowers have already left, are leaving today, or will leave this weekend. Everyone is catching up on last minute sightseeing and for those who can afford the prices, some shopping. The Danish design stores, be it the department stores, the lighting stores, or the furniture stores are a marvel. They really know how to create such great, visually appealing furnishings. Even the kitchenware looks totally hip.

The all-night revelers are slowly stirring after the SML party that started Thursday night at 23:00h and stretched on until 06:00h.  Some rowers have returned to the Danske Studenters Roklub to help unload and stow the inrigger boats from the Head of the Harbor race.

Friday evening brings everyone together athletes of all interest for stories, Facebook and phone number sharing, flirting, and final farewells at the Oscar Café.  The small bar is overwhelmed so most of the Outgames athletes stand outside, under a small tent or just in the street.  Taxis and bikes fight to get through the crowds as everyone relaxes and drinks beer in open containers [Oh my, such immoral and shocking conduct on a city street!].

At the airport [CPH], gays and lesbians populate the security line with knowing looks of yes, we’re family and no, those kids are not ours.  Boys are reportedly enjoying their last flings in the secret corners of certain airline lounges while their boyfriends, oblivious to the hidden passion, relax and sip juice.

As the rowers head home, medals packed, it’s a good time to reflect on what brought this regatta together: a dedicated regatta organizing committee, lots of volunteers, the support of the Danish National Rowing Federation, and easygoing, good humored referees.  The one concern is the lack of GLRF members in the regatta. Of the 157 registered Outgames rowing participants, only 64 are members of GLRF.  As much as GLRF worked feverishly to promote the 2009 World Outgames Regatta, many rowers still do not see the value in membership.  GLRF members from Canada, the Czech Republic, and Norway top the list with 100% GLRF member participation.  Unfortunately, the numbers decrease from there: United States – 65%, Denmark – 54%, Brazil – 50%, France – 50%, Ireland – 33%, Deutschland – 23%, Australia – 21%, United Kingdom – 11%, and Switzerland – 0%.   What holds these rowers back from GLRF registration? Is it the lack of perceived value? Is it the cost of registration (free!)?  Is it a general lack of interest in creating a worldwide community where all rowers can keep updated on gay and lesbian rowing activity?  Certainly questions to consider given the amount of time and effort involved by GLRF to promote rowing.

2009 World Outgames – Day 6

The weather doesn’t look good. In fact it looks dismal. There’s no way we can race in 80 kph (48 mph) winds and the chance of rain is 80%. Wait, the forecast has improved. Now the winds are forecast for 50 kph (30 mph).  Ugghh, it’s pouring rain at 10:30h Thursday morning. There goes the race. Wait, the sun is coming out and the wind is less at 12:00h. Okay, we better head down to the boathouse and hear them cancel the race. Walking, biking, riding the train – the sun is out and it actually looks pretty good. There are still strong winds but at least it isn’t raining. This was the 18-hour outlook that preceded the Inrigger 6km Head of the Harbor race.

We all begin to gather for the coaches and coxies meeting at 14:30h at the SAS Roklub in the downtown Copenhagen Harbor. The nearest metro stop is islands brygge .  After an extended roll call with stragglers arriving from all points of the city, the race brief is underway.  The race organizers seem confident that the races will go off in a timely manner but many of us wonder how they can marshal this armada of large inrigger boats to the starting line on time.  Okay, it’s official: a flying start.  The course is explained in great detail because there are multiple opportunities to veer off course and end up in a blind channel off of the main harbour.  The 6km course is actually a stake boat race in theory, down the course for 3km with a slight dog leg to the left (American cliché for a slight left turn in the course – we had to explain this to our Danish coxie Kirsten), around a buoy and back up the course for another 3km.  At least the blowing head winds will be at our tails on the return portion of the race.  See the pics at the GLRF flickr page .

In a miraculous dance of large and ungainly trailers, people, ramps, and large boats, we all launch with amazing grace and efficiency. The race is underway and boats are being called to the flying start in rapid succession. Wow, this must be how all of Danish National Rowing Federation runs their regattas!  Exactly how do you plan a headrace in an inrigger boat? Some crews hit the high rating engine immediately, which seemed crazy since they were heading into gusting winds. Other boats turned to slow and steady but as the crews behind began to gain ground, up went the rating.  With the high free water line, the huge white caps and waves are not such a challenge as the crews’ oars skim across the tops of the waves. Wait, what is the Danish crew doing? They just switched out their crew in mid-race: coxie to port, port to starboard, and starboard to coxie. Now they’re gaining ground and passing boats as if they have an external motor launch. Amazing!  In the end, they changed positions 4 or 5 times.

The turn around the buoy in an inrigger boat is not graceful. The boats don’t turn at all and a river turn barely makes a dent in the rotation. In the end, it was a combination of standing on top of the buried oar, power strokes to starboard, and a heavy lean to port in the boat. The Danes must have a trick for the maneuver.  On the return trip, boats struggled to regain speed but found it easier to increase the rating with the strong tailwinds pushing the boats along.  Suddenly the horns blow and the boats row under the bridge to the recovery area.

Exhausted but satisfied, the crews row another 2km back to the SAS Roklub for the boat recovery but drinks and foods greet the tired rowers.  The medals ceremony is hosted outside the Outgames friendship booth on the harbor canal waterfront, very picturesque with the blazing afternoon sun (what rain?).  Then it’s off to dinner, drinks at Oscar Cafe (the designated watering hole for all Outgames athletes), and then about half of the rowers have plans for the SML party [read leather].

2009 World Outgames – Day 5

Rower’s hump day! Before everyone’s sensibility is completely twisted in translation, hump day is an American cliché that refers to the middle of the workweek. With two rowing events still to go, most of us still have some races to row.

Today is the inrigger 1000m sprint races, held at the Danske Studenters Roklub in the northern end of Copenhagen harbor. The sun is out and the weather is mild – perfect for rowing. The inrigger races are being held separate from the racing shell sprints due to logistic and time constraints. Each wooden inrigger boat weighs around 200 pounds (91 kg), and since there were only entries for two events, it didn’t make sense to move the boats all the way to Lake Bagsvaerd. Given the weight, the boats need trailers and ramps to move, launch, and recover – even more equipment than a regular trailer load. The oars are the normal sweep hatchet blades.  Of course, since the boats aren’t racing shells, their time on the course is much longer.

The two events are the men’s open 4+ and the women’s open 4+.   Both were direct to final with four entries for the men and two entries for the women. The events came about due to a programming error in the Outgames central reservation system. However, the inrigger class afforded the more inexperienced crews an opportunity to compete in the regatta.  The men’s race was  close and the women’s event showed some open water but were still hard fought. The racecourse was in a protected breakwater marina along the Kalkbraendenrilobskaj provided flat-water conditions.

Following the sprint races, rowers who had signed up were formed composite boats to compete in several friendship races. Finally, everyone jumped in the coxed pairs and coxed fours for the harbor canal transit to the Head of the Harbor race location in front of the Danish Royal Library in downtown Copenhagen. Many of the rowers discovered the Danish tradition of switching crews while rowing: cox to port, port to starboard, and starboard to cox. It was an initiation to maneuver in a pitching boat with large waves in the middle of the open harbor. Along the way, crews were taken on sightseeing side trips to the Little Mermaid, and down the canals of Christianshavn . Picturesque is the word here and see these pics !

You have to love the Danes. They tie a social aspect into everything. When the crews arrived at the staging area at the SAS Roklub , drinks and sandwiches were waiting. By now, the Aussies, the Germans, the Dutch, the French, the Canadians, and the Americans were all getting connected, and some new romances were obviously blossoming among the Danes and the visiting rowers …

2009 World Outgames – Day 4

It’s rower’s day off for most of us except Supermen like GLRF member Ray B. who raced the previous day and was getting ready for the 100m. swimming relay today.  Most of us headed to the streets to see what Copenhagen looked like after three days of focused practice and competition.

The weather was nice – party cloudy with the sun making a quick celebrity appearance from time to time.

GLRF organized a pub crawl to Malmo, Sweden so most of the afternoon was spent scurrying around Copenhagen trying to find a good gay city map. Everyone said they had one but wait, no, they couldn’t find it but “we know the Men’s Shop has one” and then “well, we usually do but talk to Lars at our gay pride booth, he’ll know…” The result was lots of walking and layers and layers of maps and guides that slowly revealed all the gay bars in Malmo would be closed on Tuesday evening.

In the process, we came across the Outgames Women’s Space. If there is one event that should receive the award for the most successful event, this had to be it.  Women jammed the three-tent area set up alongside the Frederiksholms Kanal in Copenhagen. A café served food, lounger chairs had chicks relaxing along the canal seawall and music purred from inside where women danced arm in arm.  It was perfect and everyone was smiling.  View the pics of the Womens Space .

After a quick run home to change shirts, we all met under the clock at 20:00h in the Copenhagen Central Station for the Malmo Pub Crawl.  With just 2 minutes before the hour, not a soul was in sight. Walk away for a minute and suddenly 22 GLRF members and rowers were everywhere. Rowers from Hanover, Melbourne, London, Guernsey, Washington, and a couple of water polo hotties from Atlanta and Dallas showed up.  Faced with the news that there wouldn’t be any gay bars to invade, the group decided to give it a go for adventure’s sake and besides, any pub would be a gay pub within seconds of our arrival.

The train ride was smooth and quick although kind of anticlimactic as the train traversed the underside of the famous suspension bridge to Sweden. The ocean electric wind farm was the big topic of discussion as it slid past our windows and then we were in Sweden. No passport punches, no surly customs officials, not even some tourist promotion booths. Just quiet, serene Malmo.

There were a few “are we there yet?” comments from the group as the crawl got underway but soon we were upon our first destination that was listed as a gay friendly pub in the Swedish QX magazine . So friendly, in fact, that it was closed!  But to no avail, and off to the pub next door for food and drink and drooling over the water polo hotties. Then off to the next pub, nearby, and soon the water polo hotties and a few DC Strokes peeled off (it makes one wonder why and just what got peeled off…) but the promotion of rowing digresses … unless the water polo guys were convinced to take up rowing.  Fatigue set in and we were heading back to the train station but fate played her lesbian hand … no train for at least another hour so off we went for another beer. Then home and who knows what or with whom things were peeled.

2009 World Outgames – Day 3

This morning’s coach and coxie meeting had many empty seats. To accommodate the full complement of races, the meeting started at 08:00h. so it was  understandable that some couldn’t get there right on time.  To the enjoyment of everyone at the meeting, the chief referee had a wry sense of humor and he would slide in comments to break up the formality of the regatta rules: “…50% crew changes are of course permitted except of course in a single…”

Using a super complicated excel spreadsheet, it appeared that there would be no race conflicts but soon the ugly truth came out: some crews had to scratch or move to other heats in order to make the quick turns.  With a limited supply of boats, crews had to ‘hot boat’ with entire teams jumping out and in of a boat at the dock.

The weather in Copenhagen and Denmark for that matter is kind of like Chicago, only more dynamic.  The usual phrase of ‘…don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes…’ turned into ‘wait wait, it’s going to be rainy, windy, stormy, sunny, um … well it’s nice now.’  The forecasted building strong winds did hold for part of the day as boats fought to back into their handheld starts.

There was one very long restart, after the mens master double had reached 500m, all crews were called back for another start.  The reason: one boat was on a collision course for the shore and two other boats barely missed a major collision.  There was one carry over from the previous day, the men’s double open which had be called the previous day due to equipment problems. Fitting the race in sounded easy but it became a case of nope, nope, nope. Finally, the LA solution appeared: everyone else wait, we’re going.

The mens and womens open eight finished the days competition and the medal ceremonies bounced around from silvers to golds to bronzes but everyone had fun and the GLRF announcer commentary kept some faces in a continual state of bright rouge.  As a community, some rowers have shared a few intimate moments with one or more …  View the medal pics .

After a quick clean up and a row to stow event by an all-hands effort, crews headed home to primp and dress for the evening’s celebratory Sailor Splash party at the Danske Studenters Roklub .  It was amazing how many donned various styles of Naval uniform to get a free drink. The club was decorated like a setting from a Harry Potter novel.  Bars with hot bartenders served strange sounding drinks while wearing very little.  A small choir enchanted the dinner guests. Decorations adorned every corned of the club.  Once the buffet was cleared away, the party guests began to pour in.  Pulsating, multi-colored lights shone across the open boatyard as rowers and guests gathered for some open air dancing which headed inside at midnight and continued until 5 am. Those Danes really like to party.  See the party pics .

2009 World Outgames – Day 2

It is the first day of the 1,000m sprint races at Lake Bagsvaerd. The coach and coxies meeting began promptly at 10 am. The referees and the regatta organizing committee seem to have addressed every possible detail and boat and crew conflicts have been sorted. GLRF member and Regatta Chair Adrian T. is looking might suave in his white Cambridge rowing club jacket with coordinating tan board shorts.

The day’s weather varied from sunshine to some winds and an occasional light rain shower. After a colorful opening ceremony led by the incomparable Comtesse de Large, crews took to the water at 13:00h for two hours of preliminaries followed by finals and direct to finals. There were a few cancellations and a few ‘dns’ but overall the races, on 10-minute centers, stayed on schedule.

The atmosphere of the regatta is markedly warm and friendly, in contrast to the somewhat antiseptic feel of the 2006 Montreal 1st World Outgames Regatta. At the finish line, a café tent with tables arranged inside and out brought crews together. A wonderful catered spread of sandwiches, coffee, beer, and non-alcoholic drinks offered athletes a chance to refresh while relaxing and watching the races battle for gold. See the pics on the glrfcentral flickr page .

Due to the generosity and kindness of the Regatta Organizing Committee, GLRF was able to set up a table inside the café tent where participants could shop for GLRF gear: the hip and fashion forward Luv2Row shirt, the GLRF dictionary definition Bisweptual shirt, the LA muscle sleeveless bi-hoodie (sweep and scull) shirt that is a hit with the chicks, the bright red Rowing in every language shirt, and select items from our Rowers Gone Bad partners.

The mens and womens master eights crowned the competition as the final race of the day. GLRF took over the announcing duties from the control tower late in the afternoon. Be forewarned is all we can say. No rower, dress, hat, or hot body was spared in the nonstop GLRF commentary as referees, rowers, and spectators roared with laughter. In a twist of award medal ceremony protocol, the final eight winners received their medals but then only the gold and bronze medallists for the rest of the day took to winner’s podium. Sorry silver will get you later.

2009 World Outgames – Day 1

It’s interesting to read some of the other blog posts about the World Outgames .  The American point of view is full of comparisons. Certain ‘sports’ sites offer a very slanted outlook, with the bloggers focuses on ‘surprising to find’ this or that.  Rowers simply embrace.

On Day One, that meant training at Lake Bagsvaerd , outside of the City Centre.  Crews took out the assorted boat styles and learned the course. The lake is the site for the national Danish team training centre and also the venue for World Championships.  The equipment for hand held starts, buoyed lanes, and a finish tower is all in place.  Bleachers at the finish are grass-lined steps cut into the hillside.  The Danish weather showed its true colors, brilliant sunshine, windy, blustery, and some rain.  The boats are super high quality.

Following an exhausting all day training, rowers returned to the city for the start of the opening ceremonies.  The parade of nations , 98 in all, showed the scope of the participation, with long pauses as the UK and Germany walked the catwalk, and loud cheers as the three or four participants from Nigeria proudly waived.  The speeches were short and the entertainment was breathtaking as dancing couples, same and opposite sex, and aerial artists took to the stage.  The outdoor event held in the main City Square reflected the Danish culture of access to all. Thousands of Danes watched the Jumbotron as well as watched remotely as electronic displays in other parts of the city showed the event.

The first races start at 13:00h Sunday, 27 Jul with preliminaries and a few direct to finals.  The masters events will offer delayed starts to encourage course competition.  Weather forecast seems to change hourly but the consensus is for afternoon sunshine.

Banyoles, Banyoles, Banyoles!

For those who don’t know, Banyoles is one of the finer rowing spots in the world. Located approximately 120 km northwest of Barceona in Spain’s Catalunya province, the area is a favored training sport for European rowing teams. It has played host to the FISA World Championships and the FISA World Masters.

Jordi Robirola, the events manager for the Banyoles Rowing Masters Fest, just sent us an announcement about the 15th International Rowing Masters Regatta in Banyoles, 18 – 19 Jul 2009.  Organized by the Club Natacio Banyoles, the regatta has come to be recognized as one of the classic masters rowing events in Europe.  The first day of competition culminates in the challenge for the 8+ Masters Trophy followed by a party for all the participants and friends.  The second day features a Cocktail Regatta featuring 8+ boats with festive character costumes and mixed rowers and mixed clubs.  Their website does not offer any relevant information so use these links to get your information: handicap schedule , Masters Fest Trophy , and Registration Form .  This is also a great way to warm up for the Outgames , if your team has the time and resources, and not to mention, a great way to prep your tanlines (or lack thereof …) before the Outgames.

But wait, there’s more! Looking to train this June or this Fall? Get your club, a squad, or a group together and stay at their hostel or hotel in Banyoles.   Use the GLRF Rowing Camp program to promote the event or organize it on behalf of GLRF and save the promotion fee (all attendees have to be OnTheWater members).    Once again the website is not up to date so click on this link for more information .

Paris rowing regatta deadline nears – 30 Apr 2009

GLRF France member Gilles F. of Paris sent us an email this weekend to say that rowers don’t have much time left to register for the rowing stake boat race to be held in conjunction with the Tournoi International de Paris 2009. The event, scheduled for Sunday, 31 May 2009, looks like it will be well attended. Already, there are registrations from Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia.

The relay race will be held at the Base Nautique de Choisy-le-Roi, a suburb of Paris. Here is an aerial view of the 1800m. rowing course.

The deadline to register is Thursday, 30 Apr 2009. Click here to register. The fee to register is Euro 35.

So whether you are looking for a good warm up for the 2009 Copenhagen World Outgames or just a wonderful afternoon in Paris, jump on this before it is too late! For questions, contact Gilles: gillesf [at] gmail [dot] com

DSR II: Adrian and the rise of the evil erg

It was night two for more erg pleasure at the Danske Studenters Roklub, this time with delish Danish rowing god Adrian leading the regatta organizing committee through a pre-meeting erg session of three sets of 6 on, 3 off. Then it was off to the tank for more training. Finally we all headed upstairs to dive into a most satisfying buffet dinner before retiring to the King’s room for a meeting of the regatta organizing committee (yes, there is a painting of his highness’ back side in his trou on the wall). Apparently he was a member of the club and his wife (that would be the Queen) swings by the club once a week to work out as well.

The two hour meeting covered most topics that you would expect in a planning session: practice schedules, insurance, registration numbers, boat availability, volunteer training, hosted housing, arrangements for the Monday night party, the regatta cultural components (to be announced), and who would eat the last piece of cheesecake. Check out the GLRF Outgames web page for updated information and visit the GLRF ALL OARS special Outgames forum for additional discussions and insights.