Australia. For most people, thinking of Australia means thinking of beaches, surfing, and deadly creatures. It’s a country on the bucket list for many, especially from the UK, and is incredibly popular as a gap year type destination. For rowers, we know that Australia is an international powerhouse in the sport, as evidenced by the recent Tokyo 2020 results – placing second in medals to New Zealand, and notably crushing the British dynasty in the M4-. I began to wonder then – what makes Australian rowing work?
It is important to address the differences between the UK rowing scene and the Australian. The most obvious immediate difference you’ll notice is the season structure; of course, due to being in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite to the UK. When I arrived in November 2020, we were approaching the heat of the summer and coming to the end of the Head racing season, running from September through to December. The main regatta season then proceeds through from the new year to the end of March, culminating in the week-long national championships. There are a series of master’s regattas from April through to June, which again finish with the national championships at the beginning of June. There is not the abundance of racing opportunities that we are used to in the UK, and most races are run by the central state rowing organisation, Rowing Victoria, in my case.
All regattas I have attended in Australia have had buoyed-up courses, something of a rarity in the UK. Most regattas I have been to have taken place at the state equivalents of Nottingham and Dorney lakes.
There is also a lack of historically significant races in Australia; there is nothing here that packs the same punch as Henley Royal, Horr, the Boat Race or other rowing events with long histories. The histories of these events make them prestigious, which drives people from all over the world to enter. Henley and HoRR also cater to all levels of competition, junior, student, club and open. The closest things that Australia has would be the Head of the Yarra, a HoRR parallel held in Melbourne that attracts nearly 300 entries annually, from juniors through to masters from all over the country.
There is nothing that compares to Henley Royal, to the detriment of junior, student and club rowing in Australia. At the Australian National championships, there are only four club events. 2x and 4- for men and women. This fails to inspire competition for club rowers who don’t have the aspirations or abilities to row for the national team.
There is very little racing that takes place through the winter; rowing here is generally still regarded to be a summer sport. Most of the schools that run rowing programmes expect their students to participate in a winter sport in addition to rowing, though this tends to drop off through J17 and J18 years, as exam pressure and rowing commitment ramp up. Coaching is equally seasonal, at least until you find yourself in a position to head your own well-funded programme. This makes it a solid option for gap year employment!
It would be fair to say that most junior rowers in Australia row for their school, though clubs are still present. There are strong school programmes in Sydney and Melbourne, where the schools compete
at several schools-only events, often in preference to nationals. Last season I was coaching crews at the Head of The School Girls regatta, which is the largest female-only sporting event in the southern hemisphere. It is HUGE. The girls take over the place for the day, hanging banners from the bridges over the course and screaming school chants as their friends come down. Usually, non-rowing students are bussed down to the river to support their schools, generating huge crowds, especially for the finals.
During covid, even without the extra support, the atmosphere was colossal. It was bizarre watching the WJ14 4x+ F final but hearing cheers that would be hard to beat at an Olympic final.
In Melbourne, there are 11 Associated Public Schools (APS Schools), and they hold a 2km regatta in March. There are similar groups of schools in other states. These schools are subject to restrictions in the type and number of sessions they can train in a week, leading to some tight competition, but for the 2021/22 season, these restrictions have just been removed. It’s going to be a fascinating season for the APS. Most years, they put out some excellent hype videos if you find yourself with a spare moment on YouTube! One thing you notice is the very specific style that comes from each school; it is not always technically beautiful but reminds me of the fact that a crew rowing badly, identically, will beat a crew rowing perfectly differently nine times out of 10. I find it interesting that there is no cohesive Australian style taught to the young juniors – I believe that these differences cause some difficulty when the juniors step up into University and Club rowing.
Overall, races are more serious here. There is little in the way of the short two-lane summer river regattas that were my bread and butter as a junior in the UK. I believe that this is mostly because Australia is such a big place. Travelling upwards of 4 hours to a regatta is quite normal in Australia, as is staying overnight at accommodation near the course. For nationals, a lot of competitors will choose to fly to the state that’s holding it whilst the trailer is driven to the course – sometimes taking multiple days.
When considering the massive travel component, it makes sense that regattas are more serious. If you need to commit all that time and effort just to turn up at the start line, wouldn’t you want to make it a serious race? Unfortunately, the higher commitment needed for travel in rowing also reduces the draw for more casual rowers. Unless you are a serious, competitive athlete, there isn’t really a platform for you here to compete and have fun – certainly not for young people out of school.
On a more personal note, I have loved coaching out here, and the commitment that most athletes here have to serious results is impressive. The Australian system suffers from a lack of competitive depth, stemming from several issues, but it’s a fascinating rowing culture to be part of, a very different one from what I was used to and one that has definitely taught me a lot.
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