Now we are well and truly into the winter months, and the dark mornings and evenings have settled in, head season has kicked in. The longer races and often tougher conditions mean many rowers have a love-hate relationship with the racing this time of year. Having spoken to a few people it’s clear head season is more unpopular than regatta season, unsurprisingly mostly because of the weather. However, head season helps to prepare us for regattas. The longer distance builds endurance and gives everyone a chance to get back into the swing of racing. Racing against the clock means you must push yourself throughout the race as unlike regatta season and you can’t tell whether you’re in front. Therefore, you must be giving everything you can over the longer distance. However, there are definite cons when it comes to head season.
For one thing, the waiting at the start line is always a struggle during head season. After warming up there is a considerable amount of waiting for other crews to start. I remember waiting in line at fours head when racing for Liverpool University for around 2 hours. It was incredibly difficult to be in the right head space, by the time I was meant to race the whole crew was cold and all needed the bathroom. This is a common issue that rowers have faced during head season. The weather can provide an extra challenge as well, the 2019-2020 season was tough as race after race was cancelled and even when races went ahead the conditions were incredibly difficult to row in. This challenges athletes to not be dictated by the conditions and is an extra layer of preparation needed when training for these races. During the winter months it is massively hard to keep up motivation to train- it’s cold and dark and kit seems to be permanently wet, but as I’m sure many of you have heard your coaches say, these adversities build character and a strong team spirit. Despite the hard training conditions, head races are very beneficial in keeping up moral and breaking up the winter. They split up the winter months and mean that there is something for athletes to aim for. This is helped by the fact that head races are quite regular, so boat clubs get a chance to regularly race across the country and this means there is always something to train for.
The negatives during head season do however have a considerable number of positives to combat them. Athletes must learn to keep their heads when things go wrong that are out of their control. This not only creates a resilient team and brings people together, but it is excellent practice for the tense summer races. Being able to keep your eyes in the boat on the Tideway in the cold and often difficult conditions is helpful when you line up at a regatta start line with six crews around you- it teaches you how to focus the mind properly. It is not only the races that are messed up due to adverse weather, but training is also. Therefore, often rowers must face spending more hours on the ergo and this means that throughout this season teams must work together to keep up moral and a positive environment.
Another positive is that the courses are more interesting in head season which gives that chance for coxes and steerers to gain experience. This is again very beneficial when the regattas roll around, if you’ve had to cope with complicated courses during your head reason, then steering in a straight line feels much less daunting. It also importantly means that novice university rowers get used to racing prior to regatta season. With massive events such as BUCS regatta being the first event in the season, head races are a great way to gain understanding of racing and what is required of you as an athlete.
Lastly, head season provides some of the largest annual races in the rowing calendar. HORR and WEHORR are both two of the biggest races of the year and in some part because of this they are always great to be a part of. With WEHORR being one of the biggest women’s only races in Europe and in recent years, it has outweighed HORR with number of entries, which shows how such an event like this can encourage growth in women’s rowing. Moreover, these events are inclusive and provide a rare chance for junior and novice rowers at all levels race at the same event as Olympians and representatives of national teams.
There are many highs and low during this long winter but overall, it important to make the most of the racing season. Races during head season require dedication, grit and resilience all of which are important skills to take on to the summer months. After all, regattas are won and lost in the winter.
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