Join Rebecca and Marlene as they interview Monmouth Rowing Club's Tim Male as he talks about his season with the club and how they won the Victor Ludorum £1000 prize.
02:00 Interview Tim Male
04:00 Monmouth Rowing Club - the town rowing club draws people from around 20 miles away to join. 05:30 The club had talented individuals but rowed in small groups. Focus on private projects. Fragmented. Big projects require co-ordination.
06:30 Changes Tim made to the Club culture to bring people together.
Everyone rows together for regional and local events.
09:15 Private Projects abandoned.
Getting value from coaching was the main draw. Subscriptions increased to pay for the coach. Improved performance from a universal structure with coaching and training structure.
11:00 Coaching has broad goals regatta dates, training in 4--5 week blocks. Each gets 2 coached sessions per week. Rest are self-guided.Tuesday + Wednesday evenings are long rows with priority given to one group each day. Sunday coached sessions at fixed times of day.
Season One, they raced one day at British Masters and finished top 5 in sweep events. Under- represented in sculling.
Season Two, decided to race both days and incorporate the dub group to step up to race the non- championship events. Anyone who has not won a championship event can race non-championship events.
17:00 Progression pathway for new athletes so they race similar skilled people
18:15 Crew selection using subjective and objective factors: 1) Technical capability 2) Team building commitment, reliability 3) Coach ability and capability to change. Allowances for frequency of training.1k Weight-adjusted ergo tests for men for choice boats.
Target was top 3 in Victor Ludorum.
Training fitness to be able to do up to 6 events over a weekend. Up to 12 races. Points mean prizes. We operated on the picket fence mentality as long as they got points towards the main challenge.
23:00 Future plans Take the club to International events like the European Masters Championships, Head of the Charles, Local regattas with unified club events, and Autumn head race targets.
25:00 Advice for another club who wants to build a competitive pathway.
Generate the culture first. With Masters Rowing there is a range of people, capability and experience. This makes crew selection tricky. Uniform rowing style so swapping crews is easier. You need a broad scope for success and developing from "underneath" (less skilled people).
27:15 Marlene's impressions of Monmouth Rowing Club's success It takes a lot of organisation, time and thought for reorganising the group and writing a strategy for managing 60 masters. Blending the groups together and mixing crews was clearly challenging. A purposeful structure.
28:20 Rebecca believes that creating a pathway was crucial to underpinning the later success. Helpful to introduce a new challenge for experienced athletes. New skills in small boats help improve the big boats as a win:win situation.
Fitness was crucial to the success. It helped having athletes who already knew how to train hard and race hard. combining with the less experienced people helped teach them how to row hard. Knowing how to race is a whole other level of rowing and the competitive mindset.
30:00 The structure of the British Masters Championships having two events also helped. They could blend the experienced with the less experienced and still win points. Tim emphasised the importance of being coachable, flexible so you can row in multiple events.
Recovery from races - he who has the best recovery between race events wins!
Rebecca likes that they support local events and sees this as a pathway to teach racing to less experienced athletes. It is a lower investment in time, money and travel.
33:00 Learn to rowers come to racing gradually. It takes a while for them to see the attraction and to get confident enough to row hard.
Read about the win on the Monmouth Rowing website article.
- What to look for in a rowing boat, how to assess wear and tear and what can (and cannot) be repaired.
Right size for your body weight is the number one consideration. Then check our podcast last week on buying a new boat - the same issues apply. What is your budget?
03:00 Height of deck relative to the water surface will show you whether a boat is the correct size for you. At the extremes of the weight ranges you should check carefully whether it will fit you.
04:30 Find the serial number of the boat you are interested in. When did serial numbers start getting added to rowing boats? Serial Numbers Post 1992 Barcelona Olympics it became standard practice based on FISA (World Rowing) boat standards.
Call the boat builder what was the build weight? Year built? What hull shape was it designed for. History of the boat - how many owners has it had?
08:30 What questions to ask the vendor.
10:00 What comes with the boat?
If this is your first boat purchase - rowing electronics, slings, oars to set you up.
11:00 What will make it the way you want it?
Consider the wear and tear on parts. Shoe size may be wrong but isn't a reason not to buy a boat. e.g. oarlocks, slides, seat wheels, shoes, canvasses made from canvas all can be replaced.
14:00 Red flags which you should be alert for
17:00 What repairs has it had?
Did it go back to the boatbuilder to be fixed? If it's painted over you cannot see the repair. Major repairs are a red flag. Any repair will add weight to the boat. Does this matter to you?
Look at the V-splash saxboard behind the cockpit - wobble them with your hands and see how robust they are. Also stand next to the cockpit next to the shoulders/knees where the riggers attach - hold the sides of the boat and pull your hands towards each other. A broken shoulder lowers the value and needs repair
For wing rigger boats - check for hairline cracks along the flange where the riggers mount. You might need a bow ball, the number slot, scull grips. Find out how much these cost.
21:00 Respray the paint and your boat will look like new. Hull integrity is the key consideration.
Marlene refurbished her own first single. Rigger holes - check they aren't flogged out and enlarged. This means there is play in the rigger - you will need to get these fixed. Over-tightened rigger bolts / nuts can add indentations to the shoulder and you can add a large penny washer to hold the rigger more securely.
22:30 Haggle on the price. Any purchase is a negotiation. Ask the vendor to suggest a price reduction if there are things you want fixed. And ask the boat builder what they think it could be worth (ballpark figure). Some boats hold their value well if taken care of. Ask the vendor to suggest the price first.
Exciting times - how to find the boat that's right for you. Top items to check from budget to accessories. PLUS bonus - how to test a boat on the water.
01:15 Buying brand new - start with your rowing plans?
What will you use it for?
03:00 Boat size for your weight. You should choose a range of weights to reflect your needs. A 15kg range is normal - from below and above your mid-point. The test is can you get the oars out at the finish while rowing square blades? Different boat builders have multiple hull shapes - mid weight and heavyweight hull shapes.
05:00 Your physical proportions Have you got a long or short back?
06:00 Price budget for your new boat.
Things that cost more and add to the overall price
08:00 Accessories add cost.
Here is a list of things which you can add Shoes; electronics, carry slings, oars (blade design), a boat cover.
11:00 if you know the hull you want ask the manufacturer for different priced materials which use the same hull mould and cost less. You can make custom seat tops (Carl Douglas); adjustable height seats, buy your riggers direct from the rigger maker. Durham Boat make carbon sweep riggers and Carl Douglas makes side-mounted (Euro) riggers.
14:00 Storage and transportation Where will you keep your boat - is there a rack at your club? Or at home? Is there a waiting list for club racks? Consider a roof rack for your car. Can you lift it on top of your car? Tim Crooks and Burnham Boat make car carry racks. For outside storage consider getting a boat cover or boat bag to keep the UV rays off the hull.
Make your own roof rack using a ladder - the span of your car roof alone is insufficient to support a 7 meter long single scull. Can you slide your boat up onto the car roof rack when loading it unassisted? How heavy is the boat with its riggers - can you lift it above head?
19:00 Ordering your new rowing boat.
Contact the boat builder and ask about lead times. How long do you have to wait? Their estimated time needs a cushion - align with your seasons. Order in October for a March delivery. Extra lead time may be worthwhile. Do they require payment - what are the payment terms - deposit, up front, payment plans may be possible. The earlier you tell the boat builder of your intention to buy - will put you onto their build schedule. It's exciting putting in your boat order.
22:00 How to test a boat to find what's right for you.
Measure your current boat first - know what you are used to. The length of oars and inboard, the span, spread, the footstretcher position in front of the pin, the seat to heel cup, the oarlock sills height above the water surface (measure when sitting in the boat).
Ask to try out someone else's boat. Adjust the trial boat to match your normal rig. Footstetchers are particularly important when testing a boat. Make the height washers reasonable for you. This affects your perception of the performance of the boat you are trying.
24:15 Comfort is the first consideration.
Every boat rides a little differently. How does it feel? Listen to the sound of the boat as you row it.
Test rows what to cover (have a speed measure with you).
Do a normal warm up.
How do the balance, height, blade grip at the catch, seat and slide feel like?
Do some pieces in the boat 500m or 2 minutes at 24 (firm pressure) and 2 minutes at rate 30.
Row in the same direction if it's windy so your speeds are comparable.
Do some racing starts.
Record your speed measurements so you can analyse the results afterwards.
Testing a recreational or coastal boat - you may not get as high stroke rates. Try different types of water - choppy water, open water, get into the waves, get some flat water too. Can you manage the boat alone? Does it beach launch well? Where to store life jacket, a dry bag and your water bottle?
29: 00 Try as many brands as you can. Camps who supply boats can give you opportunity. The manufacturer's representative can introduce you to local owners who may loan you their boat to test out.
31:30 Customer service. Ask other owners how good the service is. Ask about popular spare parts - does the dealer carry these locally? Who do they recommend for repairs?
Racing is happening - do you need to improve your steering before the big day?
01:30 Steering a buoyed course - there are hazards you must overcome.
Kim Brennan's Rio Olympics final - she gets moved by wind and her oar goes over the buoy line. It could have cost her the gold medal.
04:15 Notice you are off course You have to be able to go straight off the start - practice not steering during the start.
Know how to manage wind. Invent a way to practice this at your home waters. Practice lining up with other crews as well - part of the jeopardy of starts is you don't know what other crews will do. Is it you who are off course?
Train your consciousness to notice - watch your stern and the wake ripples, watch the parallel lines of the buoys. Use your peripheral vision to judge your course.
07:00 Whose job is it to notice? Stroke is the person who can judge alignment best.
08:00 Steer gradually is usually best.
If another crew is coming into my lane, Rebecca tries to hold her course. This takes confidence in your ability. Don't steer away from them. If they overlap with you concentrate on getting your oar in and out without clashing. Make it clear to the umpire / referee that you aren't at fault.
09:00 If you are doing the calls - warn your crew.
Let them know something is happening, don't look around, just do it. "Feather high" or "Pressure port". Tell them when you are through the hazard and want them to row even pressure by calling "Even" or "Straight".
11:15 Bow can also steer with pressure without telling the crew to join in.
Pressure steering can enable the crew to keep rhythm and length much better.
How to correct using toe steering - first correct back till you are in the middle of your lane, then correct back the other way to get the boat straight in the lane. That often affects inexperienced steerers.
Watch the video to see the pen demonstration.
Practice steering off a point on your home course if you can. Travel to a buoyed course to practice.
Rebecca uses the call "straighten up" - note that the 3 seat is well placed to judge when the boat is in the middle of the lane.
The boat pivots around the mid point of the hull, not under where stroke sits. Start the correction before you get to half way across the lane.
If you impede another crew you risk disqualification. Know what flags the referee / umpire holds and what they mean. When the stroke didn't tell cox what a red flag meant... we got DQed.
Equipment damage or breakage or lose an oar if you hit a buoy. Rowing a greater distance if you don't go straight. It adds distance and time to your race.
18:30 your crew can lose rhythm & length- they end up concentrating on the wrong things as they focus on the steering not working hard. It's a huge distraction.
20:00 Benefits of learning.
It is a worthwhile skill to learn. You will be a desirable person in every crew if you can steer. It's a bigger risk having an inexperienced person steering. Borrowed boats aren't necessarily set up right. Check the fin is straight. And check the rigging. Button/collars can slip on the oar.
22:30 New book - the Female Body Bible by Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith (the Well HQ).
https://soundcloud.com/rowingchat/steering-a-buoyed-course
Learn from each event you do so that you can personalise your pre-race preparation.
01:00 Pre-race checklists - how to prepare before the regatta and how to improve through the season. Ritual of things to do to get ready for competition.
One day before, get everything you need together. Add elements of structure by packing and folding your clothes.
03:00 Do repairs to equipment / adjustments before you leave home.
At the regatta there are so many distractions and it's easy to make mistakes. Take enough food with you. Your normal food and additional snacks. At a new race course, know where the bathrooms are, where to get water, how long it will take to walk your boat to the boating dock.
05:00 Equipment checklist - car rack, boat, seat, riggers, oars, slings, electronics, bow marker numbers, tools, seat pad, spare fin / collar / oarlock, duct tape.
Clothing for whatever weather you might get - row suit, tights, pants, wind shirt, sweatshirt, socks. Also have an extra bag of clothes if you might get wet.
08:00 Copy the checklist for each regatta, copy it and update for each event. Nerves and excitement mean you can forget things. Have your GPS and road map, hotel room, entry confirmation, know how to get to the race course, a pop up tent to rest between races.
09:45 What to do immediately Where to put your boat, rig it, tie it down. Know who else is using the boat and knows where they are and the oars. Organise your "pad" and your trailer.
11:15 How to assess after the race.
Look at the entire 24 hour period before the event. Write down 10 things which went well for you. You nailed these! Sleep, eating, boat readiness. The warmup, the start etc. They can be subjective or objective.
Then look at 10 things which could be better for the next regatta. Note these and decide what needs to go on the checklist and what needs to go into your training programme for the next race. Consider the big picture. Then reflect on this at the end of the season.
15:00 Ten things we wish we'd learned before going to race overseas. A new article on the Faster Masters blog.
16:00 Racing overseas with a time difference - plan for this ahead of time. This takes an adjustment. If you arrive and can race within 48 hours of arrival, that's will work fine. If you don't and it's longer than 48 hours you need 1 hour per day to adjust to the new timezone. Also consider altitude and its effect on you.
If your race time is significantly different from when you normally train, try to schedule practices at the time of your race. Learn how to manage your meals and your body.
To set clear objectives for your upcoming year you need to dedicate some time to look at your past season. For masters and club rowers, November and December are the transitional months from the conclusion of the summer and fall competitive seasons into the preparatory phase for the following year. Scholastic rowers will want to review last spring’s season but some can have the added advantage of having raced in the summer or autumn head races to give more perspective to the whole picture. To adequately analyze your performance characteristics you must look at your response to a variety of training factors to determine your level of success. An honest analysis of what you achieved and what your limitations were plus setting goals based on those observations provides a valuable tool for establishing new objectives for the upcoming season.
You need to first look at how well you were prepared physically. Did you build adequate stroke power, aerobic endurance, and speed to perform at the level that you had intended to? Review your races to identify areas that you improved on and others that need further development. For example, you might note that your final sprints were more effective this season so your anaerobic speed was better but you still need to improve your endurance for the third 500-meter segment of the race because in every race you slowed considerably at that point. Review your logbook for consistency of training sessions and track your weekly training volume. Look at what type of workouts you thrived on and which ones you avoided. Ask yourself what type of workouts helped your fitness and racing capacity the most and what didn’t you do enough of?
When reviewing your technical preparedness examine individual elements of the stroke- your catch, drive, release, recovery. Consider the quality of your bladework, oar handling, your ability to row at varied stroke rates, or hold form at under high stress. To what extent do you feel that your technical abilities affected your overall performances? Catching a boat-stopping crab with 100 meters to go in a semi-final, knocking you out of the final, because you were over-gripping and your forearms locked up, is one of those situations when better skill would have advanced you to the next race because fitness may not have been the limiting factor. If you made technical changes in your training were they positive or negative? Prioritize the technical elements that you feel will improve your standard of rowing or sculling.
Evaluate how you were able to handle the problems and challenges of actual racing. This includes steering, race plan execution, racing strategy, and your psychological preparation for competition. These represent tactical areas that you can improve. If you were racing your single and you rowed out of your lane in every race, causing you to go many extra meters, you need to put time into correcting your steering so you are not rowing farther than everyone else in the race and disrupting your speed by having to correct your course multiple times. For the races that you would rate as peak performances, where you were in a state of flow and everything came together, write a one-page description of how the race felt and what were the positive factors that you think contributed to such a great race. How were each of these factors reflected in your best races of the year?
Once you have listed your strengths and weaknesses, you need to set new goals to work towards. Your goals can be stated in simple language and be based on your past performances, rate of improvement, competition dates, and priority of training factors such as physical, technical, tactical, or psychological elements. Coaches will want to determine goals for their teams, as well as, helping athletes set individual goals.
Set both subjective and objective goals.
Subjective goals are more open by nature such as: becoming more aware of lateral pressure into the pins throughout the entire stroke, developing a better sense of swing at higher stroke rates, improving the ability to keep the shoulders relaxed in the second half of the race, or gaining more confidence for the start of a sprint race.
Objective goals are measurable such as: place in the finals at US Masters Nationals, qualify for an automatic entry for next year’s Head of the Charles, improve anaerobic threshold demonstrated by improving 6k erg score from 1:45/500m to 1:43/400m in three months, or train 5 days per week for 90% of the weeks from December to April.
Write your goals down in your logbook stating three main subjective goals and three main objective goals for the upcoming season. Always begin your goal with a verb. Then spend time to draw up a plan. You need to make a road map of how you will get from where you are today to where you want to be next season. Setting short-term weekly or monthly goals will help break your goals into achievable steps. Review each goal and determine what you need to accomplish it. Set yourself up for success at each stage in order to build confidence to reach your long-term goal. You cannot row a 2k erg score in 1:59/500m unless you have accomplished 2:00/500m. Take small steps.
A good coach can give you valuable advice along with informed perspective. Helping you to determine realistic goals and outlining a plan together are benefits of good coaching. Be flexible throughout the year. After you outline a plan, keep in mind that it is just an outline. There will be times when outside stresses interfere with your plans or your response to training may indicate that you need to adjust your plan. You will have to incorporate more rest or more work depending on whether or not you are adapting positively to your training.
It is important to make wise daily decisions that are based on your goals. You must prioritize training elements especially when juggling the demands of school, work, family, and friends. Spend time on those elements that improve your rowing the most and keep you motivated to do better.
We've just got back from an overseas trip to go to a regatta. Great fun and lots of new experiences.
We met a club with the same name as ours!
What do we wish we'd known before going?
Steering is hard to get perfect. Learn the key issues as we get ready for racing season. positioning the foot, roles in the boat, how to steer and how much.
01:00 Who steers - bow or stroke? Considerations - bow for head races, stroke for a straight, buoyed lane course.
02:15 How to set up the foot position. Make sure the steering wire is set so you get equal steering to both sides. Set the shoe to the mid-point. Get a shoe with a snug fit.
04:00 Looking around - on a straight lane course, you don't look around. For head races - look round when you need to.
On a head race depends on the course and how many bends it has and how well you know the river/lake. Know the places where boat positioning changes. Have a mental map of the course, or print out a map to take in the boat. Know the 'next thing' coming up on the map.
Break the race down into segments.
08:00 Steering with your toe without over-steering. Know your equipment as boats differ.
Check the wires attached to the T-bar over the rudder - set them wider or narrower depending on how much turning circle you need.
Check the rudder is straight before tightening the shoe nut clamping the wire. Are the wires attached to the t-bar wide or narrow to the midpoint? This can be adjusted.
11.30 You can make the boat turn without steering, especially in a sweep boat. Keep the boat level while steering - use lateral pressure into the pins.
Steer corners in the fewest possible strokes. Always look before you steer so you know where you are relative to the next bend.
14:00 Roles in the boat. Who does what?
It is possible to steer, call and stroke all at once. But can you cope?
In a four person boat you need a stroke, someone to do the calls and you need someone to steer. Who can read a race best in your crew? They must know what to do as the race develops and what trick to "pull out the bag" to respond to every situation. Three seat can act as guide for stroke - give them reminders - monitors how stroke is going.
17:45 What can go wrong?
Try to stick to the race plan but also respond to what's happening in the race and to our crew so you make adaptations on the fly during the race.
Know what you will do if
19:30 If you drift to one side of the lane [look for the vanishing point on the buoy line]. Make your steering adjustment gradually to go back to the middle of the lane.
20:15 In head races what goes wrong is
Steer towards something solid (like a bridge pier rather than the arch).
How close you dare steer is based on your sense of risk, your crew's confidence and. your confidence in them. How does the crew respond to a quick, urgent steering requirement? What words do you use when you need pressure on one side?
23:30 Practice during your training sessions. Make notes about the course and the advice in this podcast.
Know your boat and know your crew. Be confident making decisions on the fly. There will be errors and you will mis-judge things sometimes.
Animosity within the crew kills ability.
Know how to get back on track. Practice them. It's fun refining your skills and seeing yourself get more confident.
Head racing rowing stories for you to learn the best tactics for overtaking, starting, fending off another crew, maintaining form, race plans, and sprinting for the line.
5 Tips for head racing
01:50 Head Racing is fun - we are going to share one tip each for five critical parts of your race. Firstly, the key rule is to practice everything beforehand. DON'T do it in the race for the first time.
03:30 Clarifying your understanding of every call - what it means and how to do it. It's essential everyone in the crew has identical comprehension of the cox's calls.
04:00 Starting the race
- Be at race speed as you cross the line - do a moving start (half, half, three quarter, full full slide).
- Start close to the crew in front - try one and a half lengths. Position the boat hull to avoid wake from the boat in front's puddles as they come under your riggers.
06:30 Overtaking
- Pay attention to your blades if you are on the side closest to the other crew. Avoid clashing blades - adjust your timing so you place yours into the water in between their oars. Watch your oar and try to put it in behind theirs. Don't look at the other crew if you aren't on that side of the boat - your job is to keep the boat level while overtaking. Use a little lateral pressure on the gate.
- Get close behind the crew before starting to overtake and then steer late. Try to hold your line as long as possible and hope the other crew steers away first. It's like a game of "rowing chicken".
09.20 Fending off another crew from overtaking you.
- As you watch them coming take long strokes. Try to increase stroke length by one inch a stroke.
- Steer late and hope they steer around you first.
2:30 Maintaining form
- Have several "one word mantras" which are your key to row wall. This could be "legs" or "swing". Simple commands because the athlete's brain is oxygen-starved and not good at comprehending when tired.
- The coxswain should take control of the technique and tell the crew how to do the change they want e.g. "lift your hands to the catch" or "Length in the water".
15:45 Sprinting for the line
- Agree one landmark you will use for the finishing sprint
- Go for home early by gradually upping the rate.
So you're going to do CRASH-B or another erg race. We share our checklist of things you should (and should not) do before the big event.
02:00 Erg races coming up.
04:00 The week before your event. You have started the taper recovery week on your programme.
06:30 Practice your warm up every day. Know if it works. When you do your high rate workouts, are you warm and perform well?
Routine and focus avoids distractions. It will calm you down.
09:00 Have a routine for your workout. - Layout clothes the night before. - Pack your bag the same all the time. e.g. water bottle in the same pocket. - Be mindful as you pack your clothes.
17:45 Once on your competition erg adjust foot stretchers and drag factor.
Then the referee sets the race screen. [You may not be allowed to do this.] Choose a drag factor that works for you - do you like to feel more powerful or do you prefer to get more of a high rating/freewheeling feel on the pickup?
20:00 Balance the stoke rate with drag factor to give you the best score.
Rob Waddell [Former world Indoor rowing Champion] chose his drag factor so the drive time in the boat and on the erg were the same,
Join our community and get our exclusive Faster Masters Rowing Magazine, packed with tips, techniques, and inspiring stories. Includes four new articles monthly.
