Top Emerging Rowers Head for Outward Bound

A group of New Zealand’s top emerging women rowers will be pushed to their limits next week, as they participate in a specially designed Outward Bound course aimed at strengthening their skills and unleashing potential.

This Sunday (28 March) the Woman’s Under 23 Eight and their coach will head to the Marlborough Sounds to attend the 10-day intensive course developed by Rowing NZ’s Sports Psychologist and Outward Bound’s Curriculum and Learning Manager.

Rowing New Zealand High Performance Manager, Alan Cotter, said the course covers four main topics: positive team culture, self development, feedback and values. It also intends to set the athletes up both individually and as a team for the challenges that lie before them.

“One of their biggest challenges that they are preparing for is the Under 23 World Championships which will be held in Belarus in July.

“Following the World Championships, we’ll be looking for these athletes to take the next step up to the elite level so that we can build our base of athletes that will take us through to the Olympic Games in London 2012 and beyond. A number of our current elite squad members have already benefited from the previous four courses that we have held in partnership with Outward Bound.”

Outward Bound Chief Executive Officer, Trevor Taylor, said the programme had been custom designed to meet the specific developmental needs of the participating athletes and to present a number of challenges that could provide opportunities for their personal growth.

“Among other things, those who have taken part in the programme come back with a sharper mental edge, superior teamwork and leadership experience, increased self-awareness and motivation – all qualities required of an athlete in order to be able stand on the dais.

“Gruelling training sessions, commitment, self discipline and sacrifice are central to becoming a top athlete. Because of these competing demands, many rowers are unable to reach their full potential, so it’s important that they are both physically and mentally prepared for the hurdles ahead.”

Former World Under 23 Champions and 2009 Lightweight double scull World Champions - Peter Taylor and Storm Uru - took part in the 2006 course.

“Outward Bound gave me the opportunity to find out how to extract the best possible rowing performances out of myself. It was an extremely enjoyable experience where I gained many skills to develop myself as a rower and as a person,” Storm said.

Trevor said Outward Bound is delighted to again be working with Rowing New Zealand.

“We view the partnership with Rowing New Zealand as endorsement of the important role Outward Bound can play in building robust relationships and understanding between team members, as well as increasing their drive and motivation to be the best that they can be.”

Outward Bound also collaborates with Swimming NZ and Bike NZ and is committed to enhancing sporting potential amongst New Zealand athletes.