Race day comforts with Kirsten McCann

On board with Row SA superstar Kirsten McCann who gives us a little insight into what goes into the World Rowing Championships which took place earlier this month and how her Plantronics headsets assisted her in reaching prime performance. 

World Rowing Championships takes place over 8 days, where each boat class races every second day. For me, as an athlete, this racing format suits me perfectly. After a race, the adrenaline is still pumping and you have this incredible high of emotions and energy. Sometimes it’s a high of happiness and elation and sometimes it is a high of loss, sadness and devastation.

At the 2018 World Rowing Championships, our lightweight double placed first in the heat which allowed us to progress straight through to the semi-final. This meant I had 3 days and 4 nights between racing. What is vitally important is to keep the focus both mentally and physically.

Personally, I prefer this race format yet it can be challenging because the sole focus is to still keep training, balancing do the right amount of mileage in the boat as well as the right amount of intensity. Our coach worries about that aspect of the week. The aspect that is solely up to me, as an athlete is keeping the mental focus. Having the opportunity to own and use a pair of the Plantronic Wireless Sports Headphones is the perfect way to keep the music flowing, the sound from movies going and to help keep me and my ever so powerful mind in the zone and on the right track. The Plantronic headphones are so easy to carry in my bag, and the battery life is excellent which means I can really just turn them on and listen to my music.

On race day, as a lightweight we move and wait around a fair amount. From arriving at the course we have to walk to the Weigh-In area, waiting for our designated time slot. Post Weigh-in involves packing in the food and liquid and gives us 90 minutes of keeping the mental focus before we got the water for our warm up. The Plantronic headphones allow me to whip the headphones on and off quickly when getting on the scale to weigh in as well as putting them back on when I need to re- focus. They also allow me to stay focused whilst waiting for racing, allowing me to listen to my best mix of music to get me fired up and keeping me calm before racing.

The Plantronic headphones have brought a new dimension to aiding in keeping the focus and helping me prepare for my racing off the water. I am ever so fortunate to have this opportunity to use the head phones to help keep me focused.