The Regatta Event
Orlando Rowing Club Hosted 2nd Annual Florida Masters Regatta to Benefit Breast Cancer Care and Research at
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando Through Women Playing For T.I.M.E.®
May 16, 2009
The Regatta is part of the Florida Masters spring and summer racing season. This year, through a partnership with Women Playing For T.I.M.E, the event at Lake Fairview Park raised funds for local breast cancer prevention, education, care and research at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando.
Orlando Rowing Club (ORC) rowers, including cancer survivors and their families, along with rowers from more than seven other Florida clubs, participated in a number of competitive and recreational rowing events.
Spectators from throughout Central Florida were encouraged to come out, learn more about the sport from Regatta volunteers and cheer the rowers on. This year’s Regatta concluded with a Corporate Challenge 500M dash, including teams from Orlando Health, First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, Women Playing For T.I.M.E. and others. For the Challenge, no prior experience was needed, and evening lessons were available. Corporate registration was $1,500 per boat with $500 of the registration fee going to benefit Women Playing For T.I.M.E.
The Chairwoman
Karen Wetteland has been rowing for the Orlando Rowing Club for four years. Her interest in rowing dates back to watching high school regattas in Ormond Beach, FL. Today she is up at 4:15 a.m. and rows six mornings a week. It’s a true commitment and her team is bonded to the boat, the club and to each other.
Karen knows it takes time and practice to learn to synchronize movements on and off the water. In a year and a half’s time, three out of the eight rowers battled cancer and some rowed through their treatment and recovery. The women who fill the seats become very bonded and committed to each other. Much like the other women at WPFT, they know the value of teamwork to succeed at a cause.
She now rows in a four-person boat and they continue to move each other along, striving for balance within the boat and in life. Karen believes in the power of movement and play to heal and connect us with the world around us and rowing is an essential part to her living well. Karen reports that she is happy and honored to be asked to act as the liaison between the Orlando Rowing Club and M. D. Anderson - Orlando through WPFT and looks forward to many partnership regattas in the years ahead.
The Results
The first place team received a trophy and the 2nd and 3rd medals respectively.
First place - First Presbyterian Church of Orlando
Second place – Orlando Health
Third place – Women Playing For T.I.M.E.
We all win as we move closer to a cure for cancer. Please join our efforts! For more information about how you can organize a community event or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, volunteer work or donating to Women Playing For T.I.M.E., please contact Lynda Canatay at 321.841.2272 or click here.
Find your passion and help find a cure for cancer. Get involved today!
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando Employees Learn To Row
August 8, 2009 - On a bright, breezy summer day, Orlando Rowing Club hosted over 35 members from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando for a morning Learn To Row class. After a quick tour, a few minutes on the erg machine and some shoreline instruction the M. D Anderson – Orlando crews were ready to row. Floating 4 eights, it didn't take long for the crews to start "locking it in" by 4's and then by 6's. To close the morning, some fun race pieces were run to test the rower's new skills. As the pictures show, the Learn To Row was a lot of fun for all with smiles all around! Orlando Rowing Club appreciates the opportunity to partner with Women Playing For T.I.M.E. to benefit the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, and the important work done by the people there.
Partnership Announcement
It is exciting to announce that Women Playing For T.I.M.E. has partnered with Orlando Rowing Club. Not only is rowing a great steady cardio exercise that can be enjoyed as a recreational or competitive sport but it is also an excellent exercise for breast cancer patients. Studies have shown that it builds upper body strength, is beneficial in the recovery process, and good for lymphedema prevention.
"More than an ancient form of capital punishment, more than an antique pastime for bygone elites, more even than a strenuous undergraduate sport, rowing is a mental discipline whose paradoxes illuminate." -Kevin C. Murphy, Harvard coxswain, ‘97
How Rowing Can Benefit Your Company
Providing an experience unique to Orlando, ORC offers energetic rowing sessions on Lake Fairview, Orlando’s local ‘boathouse row’. Participation in this program is a great way to provide a day of fun, bring your employees together, and promote true teamwork.
The discipline of rowing has direct applications for your team outside of the shell. In a boat, all crew members must pull together to achieve the boat’s greatest speed. Rowers must learn to communicate effectively and efficiently from the moment the first command “hands on” is given. Rowers must trust each other fully as they follow one another and rely on the coxswain’s voice to guide them in perfect unison. This exercise in trust, cooperation and achievement has genuine impact long after the boat is off the water.
This year’s Florida Masters Regatta took place on May 16th, at Lake Fairview in Orlando. Proceeds from select races benefited M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando. Corporate crews had four weeks to prepare for the Corporate Challenge Race, a 500 meter sprint.
Program Description
Your organization can sponsor one or more boats of eight (8) people for $1,500 per boat. $500 of your entry fee will be donated to the M. D. Anderson - Orlando though a partnership with Women Playing For T.I.M.E. Each entry includes a four-week training and team building for your crew to prepare for the challenge.
Organizations may enter as many boats as they would like.
Schedule
Teams will meet two weeknights per week (days to be announced) from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm to prepare for the regatta. The official start date is April 6th, 2009.
Please contact the Head Coach, Laura Riekki, at lriekki@gmail.com or 407.342.5353 to set up an appointment or to discuss scheduling options.
FAQ's
Team Waiver Forms: Each individual participant must fill out both waiver forms found on the website and bring full funds on the day of the program.
Additional Fees may include the following at the discretion of your organization: Custom team shirt, motivational speakers, corporate tent.
Rowing Attire: Rowing attire should be soft, stretchy, breathable, and fairly form fitting. Loose, long shorts and T-shirts can get caught in the slides under the moving seats, so avoid basketball style shorts or warm-ups. Loose tops can get caught in the oar handles, so avoid bulky jackets or sweatshirts.
Shoes: An old pair of sneakers is best. You will use sneakers on the indoor rowing machines and will be barefoot while walking the boat to the lake. Tuck a pair of socks in your rowing shorts, so that you will be able to use them in the shoes that are mounted in the boat.
Program: After the regatta, all participants will have the opportunity to continue with the Orlando Rowing Club as novice members.
About The Orlando Rowing Club
ORC started in 1968 as a way for local high school and college rowers to join together in the summer to focus on local regattas, national championships, Canadian Nationals and Olympic Trials.
Dennis Kamrad helped build the original boathouse in 1968, and the program launched in 1972. Early participants were Winter Park, Edgewater and UCF, and called themselves Florida Athletic Club (FAC), with multiple levels and coaches. FAC won the Olympic Sports Festival, Canadian Henley, Miami International, multiple Head of the Charles medals, international races in Mexico and England as well as representation in the Olympic Trials.
The current boathouse and location is dedicated to the memory of the late Charles Kenneth Corkery, who sadly passed away just before he completed it. Ken was a great friend to rowing and he was active in the sport as a competitor, coach and national referee of US Rowing.
The Orlando Rowing Club is now a masters club, though there still is a program for a summer rowing program for students 18 and up. In addition they have numerous community programs and learn to row days to make rowing accessible to all of Central Florida.
We all win as we move closer to a cure for cancer. Please join our efforts! For more information about WPFT events or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, volunteer work or donating to Women Playing For T.I.M.E., please contact Lynda Canatay at 321.841.2272 or click here to send an email.
Find your passion and help find a cure for cancer. Get involved today!
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