Notes on Outrigger Starts - from Forum with Jason. Jackie's Comments from Water Time

We had an open forum for Q&A with Jason, and one topic we discussed were starts. Here are some hasty notes...

1. This is the most critical time to be "on top of" the blade - and pole vault forward.
2. Get up to the maximum boat speed at your low gear (a slower start rate), then switch gears (a faster rate) to get your boat moving even faster.
3. The first 4 - 5 strokes (for him) are a slow, deep, hard stroke. Then switch gears and rate up. Be sure to get your weight onto the paddle so that you lift weight off the boat and help it pop.
4. He usually does 3 - 5 hard strokes at less than maximum extension, then does 6 - 10 transition strokes, then does 10 to even 20 quick strokes, then settles into race pace. He usually waits until race pace for switches.
5. During the start, you can afford maximum intensity. You will be in anaerobic alactic (sp?) mode - in other words, the start strokes are for a short enough period of time that you are not creating lactic acid buildup during them, assuming you switch to a regular race pace that is maintainable after them. The damage from these strokes in a very short sprint section are at a nervous system level, but lactic acid isn't created. So these are "free" strokes for you - they have no affect on your performance later in the race. Give them everything you've got and take another boat for "cheap" here instead of fighting lactic buildup and taking it later in the race.

While we out in the water on the dragon boats, Jackie also talked to us about her metaphor for starts.

-- It's like we have a motorcycle and we turn it upside down. We want to spin the tire. Instead of lots of fast slaps with our hands to get the blade turning, we start with a shorter, slower slap. The next slap is a little faster and a little harder. We continue to build until we have a nice fast spinning wheel. But there is a maximum that the wheel will spin, and slapping it faster won't help it move faster. Focus on the right application of your power at the moment when it will do the most good to move the wheel.

-- Also realize that there is a point in the apex of the wheel where your hand still being attached is no longer helping the wheel to spin, you're just getting stuck at the bottom of the apex. This is a bit like getting stuck at the back of the stroke.

-- She extended the metaphor to suggest that we think of the wheel as having knobs on it. You want to grab each knob at the ideal moment and slam it downwards - you watch to catch it and push the wheel down by applying pressure. The catch is like this - there is a moment when you want to catch the water and firmly apply pressure, to have the best effect on forward momentum.