When in Seville....

So I have just returned home from GB Canoeing’s almost ritualistic March Seville training camp and apart from myself and the rest of the 1000m men’s team experimenting with our feminine side, (all part of growing up I’ve been assured!) what else did we do in the warmth of Southern Spain?

Well we trained. Lots. There were a lot of very
tired bodies making their way back to the UK by the end of the two and a half weeks with hopefully some good gains made.  This camp was all about bringing the miles down (slightly!) and trying to bring the speed up, which made for some very painful lactic full sessions. We also began work on potential crew boats for the coming year, for me personally this meant jumping in seat number three of a K4 with fellow Wey boy Dean Terry and teammates Matt Bowley and Matt Robinson. We had some good sessions in the boat and hopefully it is one that can produce some decent results over the coming year. Other Wey athletes on the camp were Rachel Cawthorn and Liam Heath who were both looking like they are very ready to continue their assault on World and European Championship podiums alike over this coming year.

 And what of Seville itself? Well anyone who has been there will surely agree with me when I say the city centre is a beautiful place; plenty of grand architecture to keep the history enthusiasts happy and some of the finest Tapas around for hungry athletes to feast upon. Go further to the outskirts, and the more traditional Spanish building is replaced by the weird and wonderful buildings, built for Expo in the early nineties. Now abandoned and unused, there is a bit of a ghost town feel to it.

 Of course the main thing which keeps Europe’s canoeists going back there year on year is the warm weather. This year certainly wasn’t as hot and sunny as I’ve known it to be on previous visits, but I can hardly complain when the rest of you have been stuck in the freezing grip of a British Spring time! 

Now after returning home and having a few days much needed rest from training it is time for everyone to crack out the pogies again and crack on towards the first regatta in April in just two weeks time!

 Best of luck to every Wey member racing. Hope the winter training's paid off!!

Matt Welch