Masters rowers are often the bedrock of most clubs, towing the boat trailers, coaching, umpiring, volunteering, and largely increasing club committee numbers. Their Olympic dream might have already sailed, but that doesn’t mean they are not competitive and enjoy having opponents to race.
As Masters are split into age categories and have handicaps to even the field across up to three age groups, it can sometimes be difficult to get enough opposition registered at a local regatta to stage an event. Juniors and Seniors take it for granted that they will get a race at a regatta, provided they get their entry in early enough.
For those not yet familiar with Masters rowing, Masters categories span from A (age 27-36) to K (age 85 an above). Not every regatta is going to attract opposition in every age band and boat category, meaning Masters often pick a regatta and enter an event only to find that they have nobody to row against. The only options are to either enter a Senior race – but these can be rather one-sided – or sit that regatta out. Then, they find that other crews in the same category got rejected for the same reason from another regatta, which is incredibly frustrating!
Their Olympic dream might have already sailed, but that doesn’t mean they are not competitive and enjoy having opponents to race.
Putting Henley Masters, Masters Championships and the big Thames events aside, those Masters rowers who want a challenge have to ignore where the rest of their club is going. They have to actively seek out their opposition and trek across the country, often with the boat and blades on their roof rack. Once they’ve found events rich in Masters rowers, the task is to network with these rowers to work out where they’ll be completing later in the season. In the West Midlands and Wales region, there are regattas available almost every weekend, so working out where the competition is going requires some serious networking.
It can sometimes be difficult to get enough opposition registered at a local regatta to stage an event.
However, there is a nugget at the end of the season: the August Bank Holiday weekend. Gloucester Rowing Club Regatta offers Masters races on the Saturday (along with Juniors, with Seniors following on the Sunday), while Ross a few miles away has their regatta on the Sunday and Monday. For Masters rowers, that’s a fantastic season finale! Last year, Gloucester’s Women’s Masters E/F doubles event had seven crews competing. With the opportunity for three days of Masters rowing, camping, and end of season cheer, opponents came from as far away as Maidstone, Totnes, and Cambridge to compete.
This only leaves the task of getting a row during the rest of the season.
A few years ago, a couple of rowers from Evesham – Karen Sexton and Richard Evans – had one too many entries rejected for the reason of “no oppo”. They knew that rowers from other clubs were having the same issue, so they created a Facebook page called “Masters Rowers Seeking Competition” and tried to drum up followers by putting flyers on cars at events. The aim is to coordinate Masters rowers in the same age categories to compete at the same events, rather than risk not getting any races all season. Initially, the group was confined to the Midlands area, but has since grown to cover races nationally and even internationally.
Putting Henley Masters, Masters Championships and the big Thames events aside, those Masters rowers who want a challenge have to ignore where the rest of their club is going.
Essentially, if a Masters crew is planning to attend a certain event, a simple post in the group lets other group members know, the aim being to coordinate race entries to reduce the chance of events being cancelled and increase the chance of a multi-opposition event.
For regatta hosts, this is a boost. Having trailers rather than boats on roof racks turn up makes the trailer park easier to manage, and competitors and supporters stay for longer than just the one event, bringing in much-needed revenue. Many umpires are also Master rowers, so will compete in one division and umpire in another. With dwindling umpire numbers in many regions, visiting umpires can make all the difference.
The Facebook page mentioned above now has a worldwide membership, so if you are indeed a Masters rower seeking some opposition, check out Masters Rowers Seeking Competition.
Featured Image Credit: Nikola Boysova
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