As we get well into the festive period, many clubs will be hosting the annual Christmas races, getting together afterwards and having some warming mugs of cheer. The temperatures drop, the rates rise and mixed crews compete over a hopefully short course. From the perspective of a coach however, these fun filled events can be a pain in the plum puddings. The smaller clubs and more seasoned squads are old hands, needing little organisation and can just turn up donning their worst knitwear and hats. However, with the younger age groups come greater numbers, less control, and worst of all, parents excited to see their little darlings storm down the track. On top of this, currently most squads are doing long miles at low rate, is a 300m all out sprint regatta the best session for athletes, or could it lead to muscle injuries and broken equipment as the athletes are out of practise. For some clubs sharing a boathouse or a stretch of river, liaising with others involved to either join in or avoid at all costs can be difficult, with clubs having to rearrange sessions and clear out parts of their space for spectators and their refreshment tables. Despite some of the drawbacks faced by coaches, the benefit of these races are definitely worth it, making money for good causes, club bonding and a good test of the lactate threshold early in the season all brought together by the competitive nature of rowers.
Many school clubs have welcomed a net influx of J14 rowers and are looking to build up a proper club atmosphere that other school sports may already have solidified in the first two years of high school. This will be one of the first opportunities many will have to see their child row and compete, as well as meet other parents and socialise within the club. Almost all will be keen to learn of their little superstar’s progress and have a one-to-one with their coach. The event is perfect for all of the things a parent would want to do in a boat club. However this leaves the coach in a predicament, having to organise an event and keep the rowers under control is difficult enough, and when every parent is trying to ask you about their child it can turn the cheeriest of coaches into something of a Scrooge. A lot of the coaching team will fight to get themselves into as much kit as possible and out on the water away from the madness on the bank. Others will say they are in a position of responsibility and not to be distracted, sitting with a laptop usually helps. When everybody is off the water and the youngsters have won a desert they are not likely to eat, the socialising can commence, but best to steer clear of talking about selection, seats or scores. Sticking to small talk is always best.
As you move up the ages or into clubs, athletes are usually more excited about the races, their first chance in months to go all out over a small distance, and mixed crews means there’s no telling who will win. This leads to close exciting races that most people love. From the perspective of the coaching team, this is a great chance to see which athletes have the quickest recovery and higher lactate threshold. However as it is getting much colder, the risk of muscular injuries is going to be rising, and many athletes who are recovering from injury or illness who see the races as a good session to return will be met with a firm no from their coach, and may be left calling them worse names than a grinch. At least, the coach will be thinking, these athletes are a lot more organised and can easily get on with their own knockout races, meaning the coaches can soak up whatever mulled wine the parents haven’t…
As the club bank balances may be getting a little low, members quitting in the winter and replacing equipment broken in the early months of the season, the pudding races give a great opportunity to top it back up. A small entry fee, bake sale, raffle or bbq will help no end, and people will likely be more generous after a mulled wine or two. If the club is in a good financial state it makes sense to give any money to charity as it is the season of giving, it also means that if the numbers are huge, you can collect payment earlier in the week to organise crews before there is a pile of junior rowers huddled like penguins in the boat bays fending off the cold. This does mean however, letting volunteers into the boathouse, decorating and setting up stalls, this can be frustrating when space is limited. However a free cup of hot chocolate and a bacon sandwich when you are out in the cold officiating will make all of these thoughts disappear.
Overall the coaches may moan about the festive races, yet the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. The coaches may secretly enjoy wearing fancy dress and dishing out plum puddings, but if you point this out, you may find yourself on an ergo rather than the boat. There is one person that you can be certain will not be a fan of the races, and this is certainly the boatman. Usually the grumpiest in the club, side by side races with a high possibility of clashes, crashes and crabs, they will be dreading the day and happy if there is nothing to fix afterwards.
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