Are regattas losing rowers?

The summer racing season is here and crews will be gearing up for regattas both big multi lane affairs and more personal head to head river regattas. Coaches and athletes will be keen to attend a good number of these. However, getting a large number of juniors racing can be very difficult. Limited number of entries, expensive fees and additional charges on the day all lead to many regattas becoming more and more exclusive.  The future of the sport comes through the juniors, and many J13 and J14s are being denied the chance to race if they are not in the club’s top crew. Often those who begin in lower ranked crews continue rowing into adulthood and become staples of the university and club rowing scene, denying these athletes a chance to race against similar opposition or even race at all may lead to more people leaving the sport at a much younger age. This isn’t just prominent at the J14 and J15 level, but all the way through to the J18 contingent.

The key to retention of athletes is that they enjoy rowing, and summer regattas are the motivation to make it through the wind and rain of winter training. All of those who decide to row should have the opportunity to take part in fun competitive racing. Many schools have over 30 athletes in the younger age groups, with some having as many as 60. Most events will offer a second boat category for these rowers, and sometimes there will be an offer of a third boat event. However, these events are also the first to get either cancelled or merged with the top event. This takes away the opportunity for good close racing, meaning that the event will be over for the lower ranked rowers after one round or even a processional time trial. For most, being a long way behind a higher ranked crew in a head to head regatta is not enjoyable and would deter many from racing again; the same could be said for going to a multilane regatta and not progressing to the actual side by side racing.

However, to have a bad racing experience the crew’s entry has to first be accepted. Many junior only events claim to promote inclusivity and promote rowing for all. Yet recently a large rowing programme had 5 of 6 entries rejected for the Scullery Regatta, this is not an isolated incident, at the same event up to a third of the entries for some events were rejected, racing ended at 6pm. At Wallingford (the day before) the last raced finished well past 7pm. There was also a lack of side by side racing for many crews, something that NSR also struggles with. Offering only A and B finals for many events leaves countless crews with only a time trial result at the culmination of their season, and derigging at lunchtime to make the, often long, journey home. For a 3 day event that does not allow doubling up, NSR could take a lesson from BUCS, which offers novice, intermediate, championship, and lightweight events with finals for most athletes and allows doubling or even tripling up across the weekend. With only 18 crews making finals at NSR, coaches will have to assess the viability of entering certain crews, as the weaker crews would only race a 1000m time trial, it would not be enjoyable or value for money. At the J18 level, many schools will not be able to reach a final due to the removal of the Child Beale. Many school 8s that wish to race at HRR will not reach a final at NSR, and will either break down into smaller boats to avoid the elite programmes, many of which have scholarship rowers in to bolster their ranks. The removal of Child Beale was labelled an inclusive move by the race committee, yet has meant that there are less 8+’s being entered, and programmes that race first 8’s previously filling up smaller boat categories, meaning clubs with fewer numbers may not reach a final either.

The cost of entering a regatta is increasing massively, particularly for those at Dorney or Nottingham, some charging in the region of £200 per entry. You have to ask yourself is limiting the number of entries and charging massive fees promoting inclusivity in the sport or not. For example, races at Dorney are limited to keep the grounds in good condition and therefore those that do manage to not get rejected by organisers are charged a large fee for what could be only a 1000m time trial. The race secretaries and committees will claim this is due to the high price of renting the lake. Does Eton College realistically need the money, why are all other clubs funding one of the most prestigious rowing programmes in the country?

Making junior rowing more inclusive could be seen as a big ask, with large numbers of athletes at all ages wanting to race as much as possible, with schools and clubs trying to organise many private events for their lower ranked crews, with opposition of a similar standard. The expense of entering many events, lack of opportunity, and lack of competition could lead to many no longer enjoying rowing and possibly leaving the sport entirely for an activity in which they can compete.

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Harry Perry

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