Accommodations

This is a four star, quietly luxurious hotel purpose built by a rower to take advantage of the "perfect" rower's lake. Designed to sit lightly on the land, the structure almost disappears from some directions, while the interior has been carefully planned to maximize the vistas of the surrounding hills.

 

 

The rooms are all on the ground floor, nestled into the landscape, with a personal terrace, AC, and a large screen TV. Each room has it's own modern and well designed bathroom with shower and/or tub.

 

A "scenic", of course, dirt path leads down to the dock, boat storage area, and the lake. There is no need for a car, as everything we need is right on site. There are a few bikes and kayaks available for your spare energy, and the hotel will provide a car if you wish to go to town (Avis, the town,is a little over 1 km away). Should the Weather Gods not cooperate, there is a spectacular and modern gym with all the ergs we could wish for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a beautiful pool for your non-rowing hours,
as well as an outdoor massage tent where you can schedule massages to ease your aches (separate fee applies).

We will also offer stretching and restorative yoga sessions for after rowing relaxation.

 

 

Portuguese food is wonderful, fresh and delicious, and there is a nice selection at every meal, including breakfast. The cook is used to cooking for athletes, as national teams from all over Europe train here in the winter. In the Rowgue tradition, local wine (or beer) is included at lunch and dinner, of course!

 

 

 

Coaches and Boats

                                                          

We will be coached by Luis Faria, Luis Fonseca, and occasionally the training center owner, Luis Ahrens Teixeira. The coaches are all portuguese national team rowers. They will be working with you individually to improve your stoke and efficiency through the water. We really think they are wonderful coaches and are delighted to return, year after year, to their thoughtful and perceptive review.

With 9 World Championships under his belt, including bronze in Indianapolis in '94 and again in the World Cup regattas of Poznan and Munich in '04, and 12 years of rowing at the highest level, Luis Ahrens knows what makes rowers go faster and how to acheive it. As the creator of the Avisaqua training center, and past president of the Portuguese Rowing Federation, he knows what athletes are looking for when they come to a training camp.

As you can imagine, they are all three charming and speak beautiful english. Plus you can call them all Luis...

 

The camp is focused on getting better at going faster in the 1x and 2x. This is a great opportunity to come with a double partner and turn yourselves into a team. Alternatively come by yourself and work on your technique in a single. The training is highly individualized, and responsive to your individual concerns. A combination of great coaching, regular video review and miles will help you reach a new level in your rowing. Please view the typical schedule for more details regarding each day, or call us if you have any questions.

The facility is providing us with very high quality racing shells, Empachers, Filippis and equivalent.

 

Location and travel

Our camp is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal, approximately two hours northeast from Lisbon. Branching in three directions, the lake (it is actually an agricultural reservoir) always provides flat water somewhere! Since there is little or no development, there is no motorized traffic. Frequently used by european national teams for training, there are many, many (52 actually), scenic kilometers of open water, supervised on a regular basis by herons, and not much else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You would fly into Lisbon airport, and then access to the camp is by car, a trip of about 2 hours. The hotel will provide a group pickup on the first morning of the camp, free of charge. At other times the cost of the pick-up is 80 Euros. When you know when your flight time is we will help you coordinate this.

The area is magnificently rural, and though the town of Avis is charming and quite close, shopping for sundries may be limited, so be sure to bring anything you need, like specific suncream, hat, advil,bandaids, etc!

 

 

 

 

The details...

As anyone who has done camps with us in the past knows, we like to eat well and be comfortable. We take care of all the planning details for you. The cost is $2900.00 per rower, all inclusive of housing, meals, yoga, coaches and boats. We do not include your transportation to and from Avis, though the hotel will provide a group pickup on the first day of camp, and a group return on the last day. The cost for a non-rower, sharing a rowers room, is $1400.00, with no deposit required.

Payment schedule:
	Rower	Non Rower, in rowers room
Deposit (due on sign-up) :	$500	0
First payment (due 01/01/2016)	$1200.00	$700.00
Final payment (due 03/01/2015)	$1200.00	$700.00

 

 

Avis trip deposit	:	Rower Non rower

 

Because even waitlisted rowers cannot change plans at the last minute, and most of our costs are fixed and paid in advance, we encourage you to protect your trip with travel insurance.

Cancellation Policy:

Your deposit saves your space until the first payment, and cannot be refunded.
If you need to cancel after the first payment has been made, we will attempt to find a replacement for your spot. If we can find a replacement, we will credit your first payment. If you need to cancel after the second payment it is not reimbursable. Please call us if you have any questions.

Please download the Waiver and send it to us before or with your final payment.