Coaches improve their skills at World Rowing training camp

Run by the World Rowing Federation, FISA, the camp was aimed at teaching coaches how to run a successful training camp for their athletes.

“It is the first time the camp has been run in this format,” says FISA development manager, Sheila Stephens Desbans who described the camp as teaching the full package for organising and running training camps including the administrative side.

Initially the camp was designed to focus on coaching the coaches but then group of 26 athletes from developing nations were invited not only to help their training skills but act as an integral part of the coach teachings. Thus many of the athletes already had strong technical skills. Athletes and coaches came predominantly from Latin America and African nations.

Seville has become a regular venue for training camps due to its favourable weather at this time of year, the ease of coaching with good access to the water and also the availability of a weights room and testing equipment. The Spanish Rowing Federation was fully behind the training camp and the Development Programme benefited from the full range of services and support staff provided by the Centro Alto Rendimento.

The camp was structured so that each day there was on-the-water coaching in the morning and afternoon with classes during the day as well as meetings with the athletes to review their results.

The training camp was fortunate to have Dr valery Kleshnev of BioRow on hand to run biomechanics testing on many of the athletes. This measured athlete technical rowing efficiency and was followed up with on-land reviews and evaluations that helped coaches and athletes with recommendations and understanding on how to improve their stroke.

Thor Nilsen, FISA development director, led the camp along with Penny Chuter, former rower and British rowing coach. Their emphasis was on simple but effective tools for coaches and their athletes for the evaluation, development and improvement of rowing and overall team programmes.

Stephens Desbans says that the feedback from the camp had been very positive from coaches and athletes alike. She added that it had been beneficial in improving FISA’s standardisation methods.  

Nations that attended: Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Iraq, Mexico, Moldova, Paraguay, Peru, Tunisia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Uzbekistan and Uruguay.  

The camp was under the management of FISA’s development staff with assistance from Penny Chuter of Great Britain.