A spotlight on lightweight rowing: Vicky’s experience

TW: this article discusses weight and weight loss

The first two parts of this series examined elite lightweight rowing and the impact of the recent decision to remove it from the Olympic programme. While much attention has been paid to this area of the decision, very little has been said about the lower levels of the sport. In the penultimate part of this series, Lily Nguyen looks at the Cambridge lightweight experience.

I spoke to María Victoria Rodriguez Noci, a medical student and member of the victorious 2023 Cambridge Lightweight spare four.

Vicky started rowing at her college boat club, Newnham College Boat Club, with a training plan made up of five water sessions, two ergs and circuits each week. But, there was no weights programme. 

In the third year of her undergraduate degree, she was involved in the Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) Development Squad. 

Even so, Vicky found the step-up to a full time CUBC programme in September 2023 challenging, with a minimum of two sessions a day and a lot more weights sessions than she was used to at the collegiate level. 

The high training load, an unfortunate back injury, and balancing rowing with a medical placement in Kings Lynn left her, at times, feeling overwhelmed.

She would leave for Ely at 5 am each morning, return to Kings Lynn for placement, and then go back to Cambridge for an evening training session.

Vicky said: “I was really really struggling to get the most out of my training and the most out of my clinical placement, but it’s doable. I passed my exams and I learned a lot but it requires a lot of discipline and mental strength.”

The squad was mainly made up of rowers who had learned to row through the college system. A few dropped out due to the volume of work, but most stayed for the whole season.

Vicky hit a rough patch in late November. She felt it was too much, and she wanted to drop out to focus on her degree. She began to think she couldn’t do it any more, but she was persuaded to continue what had been a tough journey so far.

So what support was actually on offer?

Vicky said she did get support from her coaches and nutritionist. 

“There is definitely support from a lightweight perspective, but simply because everything is more difficult as a lightweight, but I think there could always be more. 

“There was support from our coach – who was really caring and considerate – alongside a nutritionist that provided advice to each rower.”

“I started the season above the required weight, eating whatever I wanted to, not really paying attention to it. When the idea of cutting weight is put on you, it’s very stressful.

But for Vicky, it was the support of her fellow rowers that meant the most.

She said: “I cannot highlight enough how much of a team we were, and I don’t think that happens every year. I think our year was a bit of an anomaly, a good anomaly, because everyone was so invested in each other. 

“For example, if someone had to do a sweat down, people would come and join to support them. The lightweight squad of my year was incredible for that.”

Another part of the CUBC experience was the “one club” system, while at the time Oxford had four different clubs. 

The one club system allowed the Cambridge lightweights to have better funding, friendships, and facilities, but there was and is still a necessity for more coaches who focus on lightweight rowing.

I had some moments where I was too hungry to even concentrate on my work and other moments where I would eat too much and feel guilty.

And what about making weight?

Vicky said: “I started the season above the required weight, eating whatever I wanted to, not really paying attention to it. When the idea of cutting weight is put on you, it’s very stressful.

“I had to cut weight, but also didn’t want to under-perform. I was really stressed during term time because I had to go on all these placements. So throughout the season my weight went up and by Christmas, I was heavier because I had put on a lot of muscle.”

After so many weigh-ins and sweat downs, Vicky said: “You learn a lot about yourself. There’s a lot to take into consideration in terms of your menstrual cycle and your stress levels.

“But it’s really hard. I had some moments where I was too hungry to even concentrate on my work and other moments where I would eat too much and feel guilty. I’m a very self-aware person and I no longer think about weight. I did things wrong despite advice, and that’s no-one’s fault. It just comes with experience.”

Some of the lightweight squad had to cut weight, meaning that the rowers were quite open about it.

Vicky said: “We had the opportunity to talk to coaches about it. We built a relationship that allowed us to share that kind of information without feeling judged. You learn that at the end of the day, this is rowing, and weight is just a number, and if you don’t make weight, it’s not the end of the world.”

And what about the International Olympic Committee’s decision to cut lightweight rowing from the Olympics?

Vicky didn’t think the decision would impact people coming into the sport later.

She said: “I came into rowing because it’s a social sport and involves a lot of teamwork. People at Cambridge in the college system are not thinking, ‘oh, you’re too short to row in a crew, or you’re too tall, or you’re too wide, or too thin.’ No one cares about that.

“And I know we’re always so focused on the high-performance athletes, like those at Henley, and the Olympics, but we ignore the side of rowing that exists every day in places like Cambridge where people row no matter what.

“There are no categories for lightweights at the lower levels, so I don’t think it’s going to stop people from trying rowing. However, I do think it’s sad because, even though it’s hard, when you do it properly you can be competitive against people of a similar stature.”

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