BY ED MORAN
PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY
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Not long after the finality of the lost spring rowing season
left rowers with no place to vent their competitive drives, Concept2 started
putting together a new erg challenge.
It took a few weeks to pull the details together, but Friday afternoon, the Vermont based company known for their ergs and oars, announced that the 2020 Spring VIII Series a virtual team challenge was set to go and would begin April 6.
According to Concept2’s Meredith Breiland, the new challenge
will work the same way all the company’s online challenges work, but this one
is designed for teams of eight. Anyone from anywhere in the world can pull a
team together and participate.
The challenge will last for five weeks and consist of five different workouts that the team members do on their own and then submit the results to the Concept2 Online Logbook.
“We are sensitive to the fact that many teams are
losing their season, and we have a lot of empathy,” Breiland said. “And
while we know that not a lot of teams are eager to jump back on the erg, we’re
also a really lucky community that we have this tool available, and for those
who can access an erg at home safely, we want to encourage them to have a sense
of community with their teammates.”
Breiland said the challenge is open to anyone that wants to
take part, including people that don’t necessarily row.
“This challenge is made to be a response for the rowing
community, but we will invite others as well, so if there are CrossFit boxes,
or YMCAs, or other groups of individuals or alumni that want to build a team,
they are definitely welcome.”
“Anyone, anywhere in the world is invited,” she
said. Breiland said that school teams, collegiate league teams, alumni teams,
are all welcome and can enter as many teams as they have athletes that want to
participate.
“You can have as many teams as you want,” she
said. “I’m a Cornell Alum, so if Cornell wants to create an A, B, and C
boat, they are welcome too. There will be men’s and women’s boats, heavies and
lightweights.”
