So, here we are again. Another year, set against the raging backdrop of rampant inflation fueling an unheralded cost-of-living crisis and inescapably loan-bending monetary policy. Even though this is a piece focused on rowing, it feels important to acknowledge the wider issues that continue to drive the macroeconomic and societal narrative – sport is so often an escape from those problems, a chance to invest in something bound in solitude and unaffected by the broader contentions that dominate newspaper inches. Even sport is not immune to the conflict our society faces though – higher costs and a vastly-depleted treasury leaves less money to be poured into grassroot communities. Rowing, often wrongly prejudiced as the plaything of the super-wealthy, will also feel the squeeze.
On the water, we can expect another year of winners and losers, of unwinding stories and unpacked melodrama. The rowing calendar doesn’t really change but the people do, which is what keeps the racing fresh and the tales untold. 2022 was a fantastic year for rowing, particularly in the UK – the return of a fully-fledged Henley Royal Regatta, after two years of COVID-related disruption, was a sight to behold whilst Team GB had a sensational World Championships with 12 medals to boot.
On the water, we can expect another year of winners and losers, of unwinding stories and unpacked melodrama.
So, what does 2023 have in store for rowing almanacs up and down the country? January signals a long, cold period of training without the refuge of racing to spice up programs. February will bring with it regional heads, the next installment of national trials and the first faint whisper of Boat Race crews stirring on the Thames.
March represents the culmination of all the post-September miles as thousands of athletes take to the Championship course in pursuit of headships. After a frankly outrageous Fours Head showing for Leander, Oxford Brookes will be out in force at both HORR and WeHORR to unseat the pink palace. On the junior side, expect showdowns between all the usual suspects – St Paul’s and Radley look to have had the best of the winter so far for men’s sweep, with prominent displays at both Fours and Pairs Head. The eternal battle rages on between Henley and Headington – the latter put 30 seconds into their rivals at Wallingford Head of the River after Henley had triumphed in every junior women’s category on offer at Fours Head. The end of March will see Oxford and Cambridge meet in Putney and reconvene in Chiswick some 20 minutes later as winners and losers of the University Boat Race. Can Oxford wrest back the women’s title after five straight defeats?
May will see the return of the national regattas; BUCS for students and the National Schools’ Regatta for juniors. Champions will be crowned although the relative predictability of the top table for both junior and college-level rowing leaves the neutral seeking a shake-up. The World Cup series begins in earnest as we turn the screw towards the 2023 World Rowing Championships and a chance to book your seat on the plane to Paris.
Then, we land on familiar shores – the Henley series, beginning with the Women’s regatta in mid June and culminating six weeks later with the Town and Visitors event. For many domestic athletes, those six weeks represent the pinnacle of competition and the summit of a slow, often monotonous, climb.
It is my belief that rowing must strive for change in how competition is metered out, to remain relevant to both participants but also circling commercial sponsors whose interest the continued existence of rowing depends on.
There’s much to be said about a racing calendar refresh; the events we have offer relatively little to a newcomer and keep incumbents in tow largely due to a collective acceptance that this is the way it must be. As wonderful as the sweeping lawns and sunny climes of Henley Royal Regatta are, it is my belief that rowing must strive for change in how competition is metered out, to remain relevant to both participants but also circling commercial sponsors whose interest the continued existence of our sport depends on.
Beyond the politics of rowing, sport remains a coping mechanism for millions across the world. When you step outside, press through that first pedal revolution, draw your blades across the water, you leave behind whatever has been casting shadows in the gloom of a new year. Even if just for a moment, a minute, an hour, you can channel all of your effort and focus and thought into one thing – back and forth, up and down, to and fro. Invest in the power of sport and it will usually return a handsome physical, mental and emotional dividend. In this world of turmoil, conflict, contest and calamity, it’s often what keeps us tethered and that’s what I expect from sport in 2023.
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