New Year's Eve

Exactly three years ago, back in 2003, Peiwen, Cheeling, Ah Peng, Serene and I did an insane thing to ring in the new year.

We called it the New Year's Eve Run. Sounds simple enough. We met at Siglap for dinner first, then everyone came by my place to deposit their stuff before we started our run. The initial plan was to run down East Coast Park to watch the ships shoot their flares at midnight. But we decided in the end to go further and so we ended up running from home to Bedok and all the way to Changi. Yup, Nasi Lemak Changi.

Yah what was i thinking right? Running with a bunch of the fastest and best runners in the team. The Changi area was gruelling, coz it's just stretches and stretches of never-ending road. At that section, I went into the "What the hell am i doing here?!" mode. They knew that when i get into that mode, i grow very quiet. So they kept telling me, reaching already, reaching already. I knew better than to believe them. After goodness knows how long, we reached Changi and sat down to pig out on Nasi Lemak and other rich goodness we could find there.

After supper, we headed to hail a cab to fetch us back... We weren't crazy enough to run back after stuffing ourselves full. I remember walking out of the food centre, it was then I gave Serene, the incoming captain for the new calender year my word that I would stay in the team the next semester.

And so i signed myself up for another 6 months of aches and pains.

The first 3 years

Peiwen and i were the only ones from our batch to last the full 3 years.

I made a collage of pictures for her as a farewell gift when she left the team and graduated in 2004.

I think if someone were to ever make one for me, it'd probably require a mega-sized frame to fit all the pictures!

Random fact #557

At the June 2004 race, SRC sent down supporters and cheerleaders for the PM Cup event. That year, supporters came by the bus-loads. They were given free t-shirts from which a sea of orange emerged. Many of whom were exchange students. The ang-mohs fascinated by the dragonboat races whipped out their video cams and started recording. The Chinese students must have thought we were some celebrity rowers in school coz they kept stopping us, wanting to take photographs with us.

It was the first time SRC had come out in a big way to show support for the rowers. No doubt, there must have been the intention on their part to show off and intimidate. But we rowers don't really give a hoot, coz we just look forward to getting the free t-shirt.

The following year, NTU sent their supporters down as well. And since then, each June race, there'd always be a contingent of orange and reds (NTU's school colour). See who bigger and louder only loh...

Chasing away the study blues

Right in the middle of studying for the exams, we celebrated See See's birthday. One of the oldest big sisters in the team, we couldn't let the ex-captain off simply with just a cutting of the cake. The result was a huge war of flour-showering at the SRC squash court area. Which explains why some of us ended up looking pasty and white.

Oh and that broom on the floor... we had to use it to clean up after the whole saga was over.

Not childish, just plain playful... Thank goodness it was a Sunday and the SRC was pretty empty then.

Same race, different visions

Jacq got us to draw out what our race plan looked like.

Hui Bing, my rowing partner and I compared notes... Evidently, the way each race looks is unique to every single one of us.

But of course, the fundamentals are all the same.


*for obvious reasons, parts of the race plan have been concealled...

Logistics nightmare

Each race is a logistics nightmare. Coz we not only have our own paddles to take care of, there's also the butt-pads, life jackets, medicine balls, water coolers, glucose containers, water, bread, bananas and sometimes packet lunches. Oh and not to mention our personal belongings. If that's not troublesome enough, imagine bringing all that overseas. Packing our paddles with bubble wrap for cargo when we went to Penang in 2005 itself was a big challenge. Thank goodness, things were made much easier in 2006 with the introduction of large paddle bags which could store up to 12 paddles each with ease.

With so much going on at the race site, it's amazing that over the years, nothing major has been lost.

Bad mix

Dragonboaters and alcohol....

Not a combination i would strongly recommend.

Shoulder press graduation

The shoulder press is my most hated machine. Whoever invented that torture device should be shot in the head! In fact anything which involves the working out of the deltoids is disgusting. And when gym circuits* or endurance training come round, it practically leaves my deltoids paralysed with the build up of excessive lactic acid. But what you hate most, you just gotta do more. So whoever who partners me for gym training, they know that that's the first station i attack.

*gym circuits are carried out for endurance training. Means you do lighter weights, but for an extended period of time. It consists of a series of up to 8 stations done consecutively. There's a specific way in which the stations line up after one another. But not giving any trade secrets away here. *heh*. The only rest time you get is for switching in between. Even then we gotta move fast, if not the captain's gonna start nagging. If you think gym circuits sound painfully gruelling, there's still the ultimate Gym Deluxe Combo. But again, not revealling anything here!

Race traditions

Regardless of the race result, it's always been a tradition that appointment holders are given the toss in the air after the last race of each semester. Kinda like a "Hip Hip Hurray" for a job well done.

The toss usually takes place after the medals have been given out, after the looooooooonnnnnngggg debrief's over. At the go of a secret signal, those standing nearest will grab hold of the appointment holders so that they don't run away while the rest move in to get ready.

It's all a game of maths. The lighter ones get tossed higher, the heavier ones don't. Either that or more manpower is required for the toss.

Swensen's treat

2004 June Race, David promised us a Swensen's treat if we won the IVP gold.

He didn't get to see us race that day, coz he was coxing for the event just after our IVP women's. But as he walked up the walkway from the water after his race, the whole team was already standing by chanting "Swensen's!!! Swensen's!!! Swensen's!!!".

It was then he knew that he was about to burn a big hole in his pocket.

The race which caused the obsession

Rowing at the Marina Promanade is always exciting coz of the choppy waters. Choppy waters also mean that when the boat is hit by a wave, it rocks. It'd be a double whammy if the inside of the boat is filled with water, coz a slight nudge by a wave will send the water rushing to one side, in doing so, badly tilting the boat.

2002 was a memorable June race, a couple of times we tilted so badly coz of the excess amount of water in the boat that for one of the races we practically rowed the last 20m on the left side. The problem??... We were splashing too much water into the boat. And so began the obsession with attempting to reduce the splashing. People were forced to change their techniques and subsequent batches were reminded of the dreadful consequence of getting into the habit of drenching the person behind them.

Well thank goodness races today are held in the calmer waters of the Singapore River and Reservoirs and no longer held at the choppy Marina Promanade.

Random fact #29945

The 2003 Singapore Dragon Boat Festival was originally called off due to SARS. It was later reinstated last minute. So instead of being held at the usual Marina Promanade, this time it was at Kallang Basin. And rather than the usual 800m, all races were pegged at 1km. Only Opens events were held, so for the first time, there was no IVP honours up for grabs.

The race course started from the duck tours launching point and ended near the shoreline of SDBA. Which meant that the boats had to do an "emergency brake" upon crossing the chequered bouy in case they go crashing in the wall.

The men's PM cup went on as usual that year. NTU put up a superb fight beating our guys by a boat length, and might I say the largest win ever in PM cup history. And so began another 3 year cycle*.

*the PM cup cycle lasts 3 years. Whichever team is able to win it 3 years in a row gets to keep the trophy. Till then, it'd just be a game of passing it around.

Creative theft

Let it be known that in 2005 in Penang, I was the first person to suggest that the butt pads be strung up with rope so that it'd be much easier to move it around. A technique still used today.

HA! I'm such a "cheap thrill"...


_______________

Actually back then i got the idea from seeing another team do the same...

it's not plagurism, just creative theft...

The piggy-back culture

Ok if there's one thing i don't understand or cannot explain, it will have to be the piggy-back culture in the team. The fad probably began a couple of years ago. The popularity of the piggy-back syndrome is just beyond me. Perhaps it's the display of female prowess?

For fear of breaking someone else's back, i've never tried it.

Maybe i just should one day.

Lucky 7

We've always had the habit of using locker 7 at SDBA to store our valuables. Valuables range from watches to wallets to laptops to cameras to pineapple tarts. Each locker cost $1. Which is kindly contributed from a random wallet which the person locking the locker picks up.

Why locker 7 you may ask? Maybe it's coz it's the Lucky 7. But seriously, I think it's just coz the locker is convienently located at the eye-level.

Pre-training rituals

There's always alot to do before training starts. Filling of bottles, tying of rudders, back in the day it included the collecting of bailers and paddles for the whole team.

Underlying all this, it's always an issue of politics. Coz somehow, the same few always end up carrying out the pre-training rituals for the benefit of the whole team. They are the ones who quietly go about moving things around so that after warm-ups, all we need to do is just pick up everything and hit the water. And those who arrive later or on time always get away with not contributing. Which sometimes can irritate and piss the quiet sloggers off. But the guilty ones most of the time get their asses moving with a little nudging and explict telling off... now you know it's not always lurrrveeee lurrrvveee lurrvvvveeee in the team.

Oh and not forgetting, after we get up from the water, the whole process is repeated... only in reverse.

Vitasoy pamperings

Post training Vitasoy drinking started in Mong-na's era. After each training, we are all treated to a carton of Vitasoy, courtesy of the team fund. Except for those who have adverse reactions after gulping down the room-temperature soyabean milk, a bottoms-up is expected of everyone. I must say the soyabean drink is best served chilled. But after gruelling trainings, it being the first thing that we gulp down to quench our thirst, it is usually a welcomed treat by all.

The protein supposedly is good for post training muscle recovery. But i say it's excessive pampering of the people loh...

Morning traditions

It's always been a tradition that we have our breakfast together on race day at MacDonald's. It's always the branch at Boat Quay for regatta and the one at Marina Square back when june races were at Marina Promanade. A) Coz they were near the race site B) Air-conditoning, what's not to love.

These days, even if there's no MacDonald's near the race site, there's always the delievery service. MacDonald's staff came in a cab when we ordered breakfasts from them this July, coz there was no MacDonald's near Bedok Reservoir. We were actually expecting to see a whole entourage of motorbikes come into the car-park. Smart of them to come in a cab, and oh delivered the 26 breakfasts on a trolley to our tent... damn spoilt or what?!

I've always been pretty confused with the whole MacDonald's tradition. Considering the fact that the pre-race food ban does not encourage fried food, it's pretty ironic that we smash the abstinence rule the morning of the race by chomping on deep-fried hash-browns. Which leaves that oily feeling in my throat... bleh. The solution... Eat in moderation they say. So since Mong-na, captains have been imposing the 2 people : 1 hashbrown rule.

Traditions will always be traditions. MacDonald's breakfasts will probably remain as race day must-haves. With the exception of that ever shrinking piece of hash-brown.

Cult Meeting

When nothing else works, it's time to count on divine intervention
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the bizarre things we do during races... arhahaha!

Stretch stretch and stretch

In my opinion, i always thought we have a pretty long sequence of warm-ups/cool-downs. Sometimes the guys team start their warm-ups later than us, and then when they finish, we are still not done.

The warm-up sequence begins from the head down to the legs, always starting with the left side... yes we are darn systematic. One thing's for sure, it always ends with jumping jacks. Every 2 jumping jacks, we count. Don't ask we why favour the even numbers more, coz it's always been done this way. Unless the sun has risen from the west that morning, you are never gonna do less than 60. With "last 10" being the only instruction, you never know how many you are gonna end up doing. 2 crucial elements when doing jumping jacks. Make sure the hands touch above the head and count loud. Coz if these 2 aren't fufilled, numbers will sky-rocket in no time. Who can forget the morning warm-up at SDBA where mong-na pushed the figure up to 200 coz the 20 of us were counting just loud enough for the little ants on the ground to hear.

Cool-down sequence starts from the legs up, and as usual, left sides first. Needless to say, the cool-down sequence is equally long. Which can get me pretty bored and impatient coz the end of cool-down marks the end of training, and sometimes you just hope training would end soon. So you can guess i'd always be damn happy when the captain says "neck stretch, left".

I can safely say that the most suspense-thrilling moment of water training cool-downs has gotta be just before it starts or the time between the quads stretch and back stretch. Coz everyone knows that if we are gonna do any push-ups, that will be the time. And with water training just finished, you always pray that that magic number is as small as possible. Once again, the only instruction given is "last one", so you are left having mind battles in your head anticipating how many you are gonna do. But experience will tell you that it's best just to let your mind go and do it. Coz the mind games is just gonna make you feel more miserable, needless to say, it's not gonna make the number smaller anyway.

Numbers range from 10 to infinity, depending on how many people were late that training or just the mood of the captains. With the most unforgettable being 30th October 2003 when Peiwen dished out a total of 100 push-ups, only allowing a short minute break at the 50 mark for people to catch up. On days when there are no push-ups, captains sometimes add a pregnant pause between these 2 cool-down stretches, just for the added suspense... cheap thrill or what.

The warm-up and cool-down sequences have pretty much stayed the same since the beginning of time. With the exception of added "bonuses", it's prehaps one of the most predicitabe parts of training... or so we are made to believe... heh heh heh!