Hello Houston Heaters!

What a turn-out for 2008's Kick Off! I believe we had well over 50 people come out on a chilly morning turned gorgeous! .

Hopefully, some of you are sore in areas you thought you never had. For our experienced paddlers, it's common but just getting the muscles to churn again is not easy. I'm sure the pain is overshadowed by the fun experience dragon boating brings.

Now, onto other announcements. The coaches have mentioned that there will be different categories/classes within the structure of our Club. This is an indication that we're growing and are looking to achieve goals for all different levels of competition/goals. Our classes will be indicated by COLORS :

What does that mean?

Yellow(Primary Coach Loc)- Recreational paddlers are those who want to come out and enjoy the social aspect of dbing yet still want to experience a weekly work out. There really is no time commitment to this sport but the coaches know you come to practice leisurely. This may be an introduction for some but can include people who have paddled for years but just do not want to put too much time into the sport (hopefully, during this period you will CONVERT)

Orange(Primary Coach Bao)- Competitive paddlers are those who can commit to paddling at least once a week throughout 75-80% of the season. These paddlers will go through a more rigorous work out and go over technical aspects of 'the stroke'. There will be "highly recommended" assessments for paddlers to keep track of progress. This level will be for people who are more serious of the sport but have time limitations throughout the week or for those who don't quite make it to the next level.

Red(Primary Coach Minh)- Premiere paddlers are those who commit to paddling a minimum of 2 paddling sessions a week but can increase throughout the season. A monthly assessment and a weekly land training regime are required. There will be minimum assessment criteria in order to considered so look out for them in an upcoming forum post . Technical tweaking, finesse, and power will be heavily emphasized.


These classes are NOT established to discourage any paddler in any means. If anything, it is here to encourage you to become better paddlers.

I want you all to just start reading and understanding these COLORS so please feel free to ask questions. All the coaches will have Assistant coaches who will be in attendance throughout the season to mimic and fill in when primary coaches are NOT available. This is definitely a TEAM effort is all aspects.

Thanks for reading and happy paddling!

Ice

Where do I fit in? All I want to do is sit at the front of the boat and drum and catch flags.

Red Cats,

Hello. I will be recording monthly Land Assessments for category Red. If you are interested in being in this category, you MUST pm me or email me at minh@houstonheat.org.


Time Periods
Location: Memorial Park Stretching Area
Date: Sunday March 9, 2008
Time: 8:30AM

Location: Memorial Park Stretching Area
Date: Monday March 10, 2008
Time: 7:30PM



Recording Minimums:
Males
-One minute Push Ups (42)
-One Minute Sit-Ups (35)
-# of Pull-Ups (5)
-One Mile Run (Under 8:30)

Females
-One minute Push Ups (20)
-One Minute Sit-Ups (35)
-# of Pull-Ups (2)
-One Mile Run (Under 9)

Please don't be discouraged about the minimums. These are slightly above averages from prior Land Assessments. I have been emphasizing training over the off-season and expectations for this level should be higher than normal .



Ice