One of the core differences between youth and adult rowing is physical. Adults rarely have robust, flexible and strong bodies. We’ve been through a lot of “life” and that means that we may be carrying old injuries, we’re likely doing seated jobs and so our flexibility is compromised and it may have been many years since we were last physically fit and strong.
This does not matter one jot, except that you need your athletes to be able to get into the correct physical positions for the rowing and sculling stroke.
All coaches know that getting a crew aligned with parallel blades and bodies moving together is a huge achievement and a thing of beauty to watch. So how do you do this when masters aren’t physically capable?
Physical compromises
It’s best to start out testing and checking whether your athletes are capable of sitting still in the catch and finish positions in the rowing boat. You may also want to do a bit of testing so you know what mobility and flexibility they have got. And of course, many will be carrying a bit of extra belly fat and so may be impeded by their own body mass.
When you understand their current physical state, you can decide if this is permanent, capable of improvement or alteration or not.
Rigging adaptations
The rowing and sculling shell has a lot of moving parts which can be adjusted in order to accommodate the range of physiologies you are coaching.
The foot stretcher can move towards the bow for shorter or less flexible athletes or towards the stern for taller and more flexible athletes. The oarlocks can be raised or lowered based on athlete weight and how large the boat they are rowing in is relative to the total weight of the crew. And seats can be raised using seat pads.
The full list of adaptations and a simple easy – medium – hard grading is in this article, Adapting Rowing Rigging for Masters Physiology.
