The Cutting Edge

One of the most difficult decisions for a coach is when it is necessary to cut a paddler from a crew for an event or from a program. Even a well-formulated group of crew selection criteria do not make the task much easier; this is often because the paddler in question has both weaknesses and strengths. And this can be said of every paddler in a program; each have weaknesses and strengths.

If the selection process were simply about finding the 6 fastest paddlers the issue of who makes the cut could be resolved by time trials and seat pulls and there you are. But it is not. We select a crew and not a group of individuals. The fastest 6 may not (are often not) the fastest crew.

Consider the following:

1. The crew members need to be fit for the distance.
2. The crew need at least one competent steerer and at least one and preferably 2 capable alternates in case of injury or illness or to sit in seat 5 in rough conditions.
3. We need at least 2 stroke seat paddlers who are not only good strokes individually but are not dissimilar in style. Both must be good changers in distance events because they will be getting into and out of the canoe as many as 12 or more times during the race.
4. The strokes ideally are smaller physically than the meat seats. Similarly with the steerers and 5 seat paddlers. The weight goes in the middle to prevent the canoe from pitching (hobby-horsing) in waves.
5. We need 3 good 2 seat paddlers to rotate through that seat. They must be compatible with the strokes, and must be skilled in varying water conditions, and must be able to get along and communicate with the stroke and with the rest of the crew. These people are often your 5 seats too so they ought to be able to steer or know to help the steerer....
6. We need at least 3 meat seats and ALL of them should be able to call changes, read water and call for pushes or otherwise bring the crews strategy to the event. They should also be good motivators.
7. We need BLEND!!! The paddlers all must complement the paddle stroke of the crew and not detract from it. A blended smaller crew will challenge and likely beat an unblended stronger crew.
8. We need adaptability to varying conditions.
9. We need people who are mentally tough who will draw on that strength when their body is beginning to fail them in a long event.
10. We need for everyone to be self-sufficient AND good team members; able to ensure that they are each individually prepared for the event and to take care of themselves in the race, and to keep a watchful eye on their fellow paddlers. We need people who are dependable, prudent in their before event behaviour so as not to get sick or injured, and who will show up where and when they need to in order to ready themselves and the canoe for training or for racing.
11. We need for people to get along with each other, and preferably not just get along but be selfless in their commitment to the crew goals and highly supportive of their fellow paddlers.
12. We want people who show up.

The absence of any one of these characteristics does not exclude you and the presence of any of them does not include you. There are only 6 (or 9 or 10 or 12) seats in the events we take part in. We try to take the best group we can for the benefit of everyone.

There are lots of other things that we look for and some things we cannot know. Some paddlers chronically underperform in practice but are hell-raisers on race day. Some paddlers always underperform in a race but are otherwise solid in practice. Some are unpredictable. When racing an event that is new to the crew, we cannot know how people will manage and we have to make an (educated?) guess. I know of two instances in which solid experienced men's paddlers who had done the race before became so cramped at Molokai in the crossing that they could not be in the canoe, and one of them was out of the race and the crew paddled with 8.

Remember that if you are vying for a seat in a canoe, and there are more paddlers than seats, someone or more than one paddler will be left off the crew. If you are the cut paddler and you think you should be in the crew, you must replace another paddler. In other words, to get into the crew you have to be better than one of the paddlers on the crew. It is likely that paddler will think he or she is better than you. If crew selction is made and you are not on the crew, be prepared to argue why some one paddler in the crew ought to be replaced by you.

Before you are critical of another, be sure that you know what is like to be in that position. If you are arguing in favour of inclusion in a crew, be as objective as you can be, even if you are the affected party. Prepare a list of your strengths and weaknesses and that of the crewmember you think you should replace. And know that you will have to justify your inclusion and the exclusion of another. Think of it this way; if you are in someone else is out; why should you be in instead of that other person?

Welcome to crew canoe racing, ladies and gentlemen. Nothing about it is easy. And therein lies much of the reward.

Brent