Given that rowing has been at every Olympic games since 1900, it might seem that it’s place on the programme is grandfathered in. However, with the IOC ever-looking to modernize and diversify with sports that appeal to a wide range of viewers, no sport (except maybe athletics) is safe enough to rest on its laurels. Can rowing be developed, ensuring it can keep its place for another 120 years?
Being British, and living in a golden era for GB rowing, it’s important to remember that, even amongst non-rowers, interest here is much higher than it is worldwide. Rowing needs to have international appeal, especially in markets like China and India (so the recent successes of China’s rowers are probably good for the longevity of the sport).
Whilst it’s important to acknowledge improvements such as gender parity amongst Olympic events, and the introduction of coastal rowing, there are still ideas which need exploring.
The separation of men’s and women’s sport is seldom far from the news these days, especially with the recent publication of British Rowing’s guidance on transgender rowing (a subject this author is not qualified to comment on), but perhaps rowing’s future lies in bringing the two sexes together.
One area seldom explored is mixed boats. The separation of men’s and women’s sport is a historical precedent, a relic of an era where women were not allowed to take part. However, this poses a question for the modern day: Why do Open and Women’s events need to be kept separate, given that the standard and training intensity is equally high? I’m not suggesting that men and women race each other, but perhaps it’s time to see them in the same boat.
Already embraced by Masters, Coastal and Para-Rowing, the mixed 2x or 4+ has proven itself to be a practical and high class event. Whilst it might not give any more in terms of rowing spectacle, it would certainly allow for some interesting athlete stories. Perhaps we could see the first ever male/female married couple to win gold rowing in the same boat at the Olympics? Perhaps British Rowing would take initiative and put the Ford siblings in the same boat for a shot at familial Olympic glory?
So often the grassroots rowing scene is dictated by what is stipulated at an Olympic level. Lightweight sweep events, for example, have become increasingly more scarce since the phasing out of the Olympic LM4-. But perhaps in order to exact the change rowing needs, it is grassroots events that can lead the way. If mixed boats become a common sight in the summer racing calendar, perhaps this will spearhead their ascent onto the Olympic calendar. However, in order to meet the attention of the IOC, an event needs to join the biggest (non-Olympic) stage of all: Henley Royal Regatta.
People might question whether such a traditional event as Henley would be receptive to such an idea, but perhaps an answer can be found from outside the sphere of rowing. Mixed doubles in tennis is always a crowd pleaser, held at Wimbledon since 1913. Perhaps HRR, another British summer institution, could follow suit, and pave the way for the radical change rowing may need to survive?
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