========================================================= I N D O O R R O W I N G N E W S L E T T E R # 1 ======================= 19-November-1999 ==================== _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. And Welcome 2. British Indoor Rowing Championship 3. Special Offer 4. New 100,000 Meter Row 5. E-row 6. Sporting Superstars 7. Christmas Presents 8. And So To Bed _________________________________________________________________ ========================================================= And Welcome ========================================================= Welcome to the inaugural Concept II newsletter. You're one of the initial 185-strong band of hardy souls receiving this because, at some point, you've clicked a box here or sent us your address there. If you've received this e-mail by mistake, or if you receive more than one copy, then reply to the e-mail with either "unsubscribe" or "multiple" in the header. The purpose of the newsletter is plural. Firstly, and most obviously, it is to keep anybody who is interested in indoor rowing up-to-date with all the latest developments and news. Secondly, and in a way more importantly, its (possibly over-ambitious) aim is to help to foster and bind the community of indoor rowers in this country. As such, this newsletter is intended to be as much a mouthpiece for those who receive it as for us. If there's anything you'd like to see in this newsletter, whether it's a race you want publicising, a charity event you're planning on doing, whatever, then e-mail webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk ========================================================= British Indoor Rowing Championship ========================================================= Entries have now closed for the ninth Perpetual British Indoor Rowing Championship, taking place on 28th November at the Rivermead Leisure Complex in Reading. This year's championship promises to be the biggest and best yet. We've got 1410 entries, a 15% increase on last year's competition. Competitors range from 9 to 89, and include star indoor rowing names like six times world champion Matthias Siejkowski and world 50-59 record holder and rugby legend Andy Ripley. Overall there are seven world record holders competing at BIRC alongside a host of British record holders and champions. This year we are running a dedicated BIRC section to our web-site. Prior to the championship we've got full information on all the events, as well as competitor profiles, race schedules, maps, and all the latest news. On the day of the championship itself, we will be running a full results service, with the results from each event going up approximately 15 minutes after the end of each race, along with pictures, reports and hopefully the odd interview. Nip over to the BIRC section of our web-site at ========================================================= Special Price Offer ========================================================= To mark the biggest ever BIRC, we're offering a special discount on our machines. Available to anybody at the Championships, either competitor or spectator, we're knocking nearly £60 off the Model C to make them £787.25 and over a tenner off the Slide to make them £111. All prices are inclusive of VAT. This is a strictly limited offer working on a first come first served basis. To find out more or to buy one phone us on 0115 9455522. ========================================================= New 100,000m Row ========================================================= Last year's Red Nose Row was a great success, especially the 100,000 metre team row. In the Yeovil area alone, fitness instructor Neil Rhodes ended up with 23 teams of ten. Almost immediately after the RNR had finished, the teams expressed a misguided desire to do it again and so, a year later, Neil is arranging another 100,000m event. On March 11th 2000 approximately 50 teams made up of ten people each will gather in Yeovil, Somerset, to race 100,000m on Concept II Indoor Rowers. The charge is £10 per head, (£100 per team), with each competitor receiving a commemorative T-shirt. Hopefully the event will be fully sponsored by some local companies, which will allow all the entry fee monies to be given to charity. There will be trophies for the fastest men and women's teams, gym team, school team, FE/College team, services team and rowing club team. To date, without the event being advertised, there are already 34 teams booked so anybody interested in taking part is advised to hurry. For more information contact Neil Rhodes. ========================================================= e-Row ========================================================= Anybody watching the Tomorrow's World spin-off 'Web-Wise' a while back would have come across rowing living legend Steve Redgrave taking on rowers in eight different countries over the Internet. Now, finally, the technology to do that is available to everyone. Those of you with a PM2+ can download the latest version of our e-Row software from our web-site and row against anybody, anywhere in the world at anytime. To row in cyberspace, simply go here: http://www.indoorsportservices.co.uk/v4/software.htm ========================================================= Sporting Superstars ========================================================= It's been a bit of a mixed time for indoor rowing sportsmen and women in the last couple of weeks. On the plus side Mika Hakkinen won the Formula One driver's championship and Richard Burns swept all before him in the Australian Rally, while Ian Walker and Mark Covell, British Olympic yachting hopefuls, took fourth place in the Pre-Olympic regatta in Sydney, qualifying the country for the Olympics proper. On the downside, Mick McCarthy failed to take the Irish through to Euro 2000 as they lost a decidedly passionate match in Turkey. ========================================================= Christmas Presents ========================================================= Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. Keeping in tradition with most of the world, Concept II is proud to start celebrating Christmas at the end of November. Firstly, to remind you that if any of your geese actually are getting fat, one surefire way to stop 'em is to get a hold of our new matching training guide and training log. They also make the perfect Christmas gift for that Indoor Rower in your life. Available for £10 and £5 respectively in the printed version from Concept II, the training guide is also available to download for free from our web-site (at http://www.indoorsportservices.co.uk/v4/training_prog.htm ) as is the training log (http://www.indoorsportservices.co.uk/v4/dist_award.htm ). Our second Christmas present to you all will be a Christmas quiz. To be launched at the beginning of December, the quiz will consist of about twenty to thirty questions and there will be a glittering array of prizes to be won. And, in the best tradition of Trevor MacDonald, finally. Tired of that dull green computer desktop prescribed by Bill Gates? Fancy an amusing Concept II Christmas cartoon? Then pop along to http://www.indoorsportservices.co.uk/v4/wallpaper.html where some of the finest cartoons of Christmas Past are waiting to decorate your computer. ========================================================= And So to Bed ========================================================= Like what you read? Dislike what you read? Too much about us? Then tell us. If you'd like to see anything in here then make sure you drop us a line at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk . See you in fourteen days. __________________________________________________F E E D B A C K We're eager to hear what you think of this newsletter. E-mail us at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk _________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________S U B S C R I P T I O N If you're on this mailing list by accident, reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" as the subject header. If you're receiving multiple copies of this e-mail, reply with "multiple" as the header _________________________________________________________________