Orcas Island Rowing Club Throws Down the Gauntlet for This Year’s IMIRF: Let’s Prove Who Is the Fittest!

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It’s official, the gauntlet has been thrown down. The challenge is out. Orcas Island Rowing Club (OIRA) challenges Orcas Island and the rest of the world to show who is the fittest at their indoor rowing competition IMIRF (Island Madness Indoor Rowing Fest). Actually to win this contest you must be fit, physically strong and strong willed. It takes a lot of drive to maintain the kind of output necessary to win. Fortunately it takes little skill to use the rowing machines commonly know as “ergs”. Health clubs and gyms all over the world have rowing machines. They are the most efficient workout exercise. OIRA thinks they have the fittest individuals and the fittest team! Can you show them otherwise? Pick up the gauntlet!

OIRA has held IMIRF annually  for the last three years. It’s mostly been an internal event. This year the club is challenging the rest of the world to a contest to see who is the fastest on a rowing machine over 2km (2 kilometers). Every individual, every sports team, club, health club, any group or individual of any kind is challenged to come compete at IMIRF (Island Madness Indoor Rowing Fest). 2km takes between 6 and 10 minutes depending on the individual. To win this competition you have to be strong, fit and be able to drive yourself hard.  This year the event is being held at the Odd Fellows Hall in Eastsound at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday February 5th.

The same day as IMIRF a massive erg race is held in Seattle called Ergomania. Ergomania is huge with 1000’s of entrants including some of the best athletes in Amercia. That event is huge and prestigious and open to all. The following weekend an even larger and more prestigious event is held called “The Crash ‘B’s”. The The Crash ‘B’s are the largest, most prestigious, and the original  such event held anywhere in the world. It is open to all who can meet the tough qualifying times over 2k. One of Orcas finest Tina Brown who is the head coach at OIRA won the women’s collegiate category at The Crash ‘B’s in 1988.  Orcas intends to send a team to Ergomania next year (2012) and if anybody qualifies to The Crash ‘B’s. So if you compete in IMIRF you can compare your times to those of the best in the world in your category. How do you measure up?

Individuals and especially teams are encouraged to sign up in advance. Contact Martin Taylor at martin@ednagallery.com or 376.6935 for information or to sign up to compete. There is no charge for entry although donations of $5 or more per entrant are encouraged to help cover the cost of the event and support the junior rowing club.

There will be trophies in a number of categories including best man and woman overall, best junior boy and girl as well as the team that has the best average time. Teams can be mixed in age and sex, but must have at least five members.

This event is a serious challenge, but it is well worth entering even if you only intend to maintain a pace where you can keep smiling  all the way through. Erging is plain good for you at any pace and OIRA is a fun group to be around.

By the way this event is being held the day before Super Bowl Sunday (SBS). So it is a great opportunity to immunize yourself against the food you trough on SBS. Also it’s a great excuse ingredient: “Honey, I’d love to get you a beer from the fridge, but I am too tired after ‘creaming the competition’ at IMIRF”.

The event is also being held the same day as the Orcas Island 50k & 25k. So entrants in that event can also compete in IMIRF for a truly “head bangin'” weekend . It is also a good alternate event for the friends and family of runners to compete in. Nutritious snacks and drinks will be available at the event for refueling.

For information or to enter : www.orcasislandrowing.org, martin@ednagallery.com or 376-6935.

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