Bydgoszcz 2023 European Universities Rowing Championship is fast approaching! On this occasion we spoke with Mr. Lech Olszewski, coach of the rowing team of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, about how preparations for the event are going. We also asked about the importance of the coach's role in preparing for such competitions, the organizational work before the championships, and the chances of the organizing university’s team.

European Universities Rowing Championship is just six months away, how are the preparations going?

The period from autumn to spring is a preparatory one for rowers, during which, due to the weather conditions in our country, training on the water is very rarely carried out. During this period, training takes place mainly in the gym, rowing ergometers and also outdoors (walk/runs or training on cross-country skis at winter training camps). During this time, the goal of training is to raise one's exercise capacity to a higher level, mainly stamina, strength and strength endurance. With spring, training on the water will resume. It can therefore be said that preparations for this year's competition already began last autumn.

You are also a member of the EUC Rowing Organizing Committee, maybe a few words about the organizational work before the championships.

The whole Organizing Committee of EUC Rowing including the activist of KU AZS UKW, representatives of Bydgoszcz rowing clubs and umpires community, has been working in full swing for a long time.

Many matters require prior arrangements. To name the most important: accommodation and board for EUC participants, transportation, medical services, technical service on the regatta course, the possibility of renting rowing boats, timing and scoring, online broadcasts, opening and closing ceremonies, etc.

We are in constant contact with EUSA. In October last year we were visited by the EUSA Rowing Technical Delegate - Lionel Girard, who consulted the preparations for the championship.

What is the role of the academic coach in preparing for the European Universities Rowing Championships?

A group of Kazimierz Wielki University students who are candidates to compete in the EUC Rowing train on a daily basis in their local Bydgoszcz clubs (mainly Lotto Bydgostia and the Bydgoszcz Rowing Association) under the supervision of their club coaches. In the starting season preceding the EUC Rowing, our students are yet to compete in club regattas, including the Polish Youth Championships and the Polish Senior Championships, and a couple of them will compete in the Polish national rowing team. My task is to coordinate activities on the line club-student-university and cooperate with coaches. An important task is to select the university team for the Polish Universities Rowing Ergometer Championships, the Polish Universities Rowing Championships (which, as a university, we have been organizing for years) and, of course, for the EUC Rowing. My duties before and during these championships include coaching and organizational care.

How do you assess the chances of the Kazimierz Wielki University’s rowing team?

Students of Kazimierz Wielki University, with considerable success, have been competing in the European Universities Championships and the European Universities Games for many years.  From most of these Championships they have brought back medals, sometimes several, so I keep my fingers crossed that this year our representatives will maintain this tradition.

There are only six months left until the EUC Rowing. Preparations for the event are in full swing. Already in September, athletes from all over Europe will compete for medals on the Brdyujście regatta course.

See you in Bydgoszcz!