Fuelling The Olympic Dream

My Name is Cody Bailey, I am a Rower from a small town in southwestern Ontario called St. Marys. I am 6' 8" (203cm) tall and weigh approximately 230lbs (105kg) with a wing span of 6' 9" (206cm). This is especially advantageous in the sport of rowing. I have had a very great start to my path as an athlete, being a Talent Identification athlete (TID for short) in the Row to Podium (RTP) program. I have been very fortunate to have many great strength trainers and rowing coaches work with me. I can definitely say that I love what I do, I get to push my mental and physical limits everyday, although there are always tough times. The road is long and hard, it takes passion, perseverance, mental toughness and an incredible level of dedication in order to press on day in and day out. You can read all about the  RTP program and testing involved by Clicking Here 

My Olympic Dream: My goal is to represent Canada at an international Regatta (rowing race). This would be at an Under 23 World Championship. It is within my grasp and will come shortly with some very hard work. My dream however, is to one day apply the maple leaf to my oar and row for Canada at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Japan. 

Funding: The level of time I devote to the sport on a weekly basis does not allow for a proper job. I train anywhere from 20-30 hours a week and cycle up to 3 hours a day in the summer. The winters are most difficult however. I spend up to 4 hours a day bussing to and from my various training centres to attend my workouts. In order to cover many of the expenses involved with training and competition I coach evenings everyday at the local club and odd jobs here and there when I can. I am not yet at the level of being carded as anational athlete and without this support it makes it difficult to cover many of the expenses involved. Some of these expenses include: rent, food, flights to and from competitions, transportation, physio, and other miscellaneous expenses that can arise. For example; recently I have been in need of a new road bike, but have been having trouble finding one large enough that is in my price range. 

I have been very fortunate to be funded by the RTP program. This covers the cost of my coaching, strength training and facilities,  a Sport Psychologist and Dietitian. As well as hotel or lodging for the monthly testing camps that are held across Canada.

The Person:  I am 20 years old and currently live in a small apartment/house in downtown Halifax where I spend my free time either hanging with friends or recovering in the peace and quiet of my room. I enjoy drawing and listening to music, as well as reading and watching movies. I also love being outdoors, anythingthat involves exploring/adventuring, swimmingor just leisurely hanging out in the sun. My daily schedule requires that I get up at 5:00am every morning except Sunday. This allows me enough time to make a small breakfast and then cycle to my morning workout that starts on the water at 6:00am. I have sacrificed much in the pursuit of this dream, and so have my parents. My Mom works 2 jobs to help support me, and my Dad sends me money when he can, it is not a goal that can be acheived alone.

Family: Rowing has taken me across the country. From Ontario to Nova Scotia, British Columbia and back again. This makes it difficult to see my family, but we arevery close and keep in touch.

From left to right; Mom Carrie, myself, older Sister Brittanie, and Dad Ron.

My sister beautiful sister Brittanie who is awesome and always supportive (and our dog Dawson; a big fuzzy Airedale Terrier).

The Beginning: rowing found me during my final year of high school. My volleyball coach had mentioned the program was coming to my school and I had thought little of it. It was by chance that I did not go home for lunch that day, so I figured I'd check it out. They did an Anthro test that it turns out I fit pretty well, followed by an Airdyne bike step test that levelled me. I have always been able to physically push myself pretty hard which ended up causing me to puke in the school hallway shortly after. I had no idea who these people were or what the heck rowing even was, but I gave them my contact info anyway, and late fall of 2013 I followed up and decided to give it a shot. I went out to Halifax to attend university and met my coach Patrick Cody at a Starbucks a block from my residence and never looked back.

The Athlete: The  RTP program introduces the sport of rowing at a competitive level quite early on. With all the great coaching and hard work I have progressed quite fast and have won Atlantic Indoor Rowing Championships, competed in a lower bracket final at National Rowing Championships, come second in my age category at Atlantic Rowing Championships and competed in various local competitions. I have recently come back from U23 national team tryouts, where I did not make a boat for World Championships this year, but am geared up and intend to next year.

Rowing the 24 foot Single Scull (scroll to the bottom for some info on rowing and sculling)

Coaches and Trainers: I have some really great people working with me in order to propel me to the international level. My rowing coach Patrick Cody, who works with me in all things rowing. My strength trainer Jeremy Steinbech, who organizes my weights programs. Scott Willgress, who monitors and records most of my lactate testing. Bryce Tully, my Sports Psychologist who helps me deal with the stresses accompanying the high demand of the sport. Lastly, my Dietitian Angel Dufour who keeps me on the right nutritional track.

My Coach Patrick Cody and I after a morning on the lake.

My Strength Trainer Jeremy and I at the Candian Sports Centre Atlantic.

Doing some testing related to muscle contractions and sequencing of the drive in 3D space.

Here is a couple snapshots of some of the strength training we do at the centre.

Me (in the blue) during one of the heats at U23 trials.

A little more about the sport of Rowing: There are 2 Types of rowing; Sculling, and Sweeping. I personally row the heavyweight men's single scull.

Sculling: Involves 2 oars per person and consist of the Single (one person), Double, and Quad events.
Sweeping: Involves only 1 oar per person and consists of the Pair (2 person), Four, and Eight. Sweeping can either be Coxed or Straight (no Coxswain), what this means is there is an option for a boat to be raced  with or without a Coxswain. The Coxswain is a person in the stern of the boat who is small in stature, but large in presence. They not only steer the boat, they also keep the giants in line, and fuel the fire when the time comes.
Divisions: Both men and women have two weight class divisions. Lightweight and Heavyweight. If you exceed 160 lbs (male) or 130 lbs (female) during the racing season you are considered a heavyweight. The average weight of a crew must be 5 lbs under these limits
Racing: There are 2 common types of racing; heat/sprint racing and head racing. Head racing is a staggered start often done on a non-linear course with a distance greater than 2km, it is a race against yourself to draw the best time. The person with the fastest time through the course wins. Sprint/heat races are what is done at the olympics and world championships. These take place on a boeyed course with 6 lanes. The standard  olympic distance is 2000 meters. A start is called and the boats take of in a sprint to the finish line.

Below is an illustration of the different boat types:

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Thank you for your support!