How London Rowing Club strategised to win at the British Masters Rowing Championships for the second year in a row.
Timestamps
British Rowing Championships winners of the Victor Ludorum trophy sponsored by Faster Masters Rowing were London Rowing Club. Hear how they prepared for the event and to defend the title they won last year.
01:00 James Sexton-Barrow is Captain of London Rowing Club he is talking about their Victor Ludorum Trophy win - they won more points than anyone else at the championship regatta. It is more special as the whole club got involved.
Masters groups can change a lot from one year to the next. Staying on a podium is harder the second year. We went straight into planning the next year's racing after the regatta in 2024. This year we realised other big clubs could copy our strategy.
We needed to be better athletes and performing at a higher level than the prior year. Two other clubs had more entries than we did this year - we got more medals showing that the standard of performance was higher. We won 8s and 4s which got more points as big boats.
The club was very proud of our achievement last year - this became a driving force for the impetus to keep going and to improve, bringing in more participants to train regularly.
The age range is from 36 to over 75 within the club so the coaching plan had to be flexible and reflect the different abilities and time availability. We could not mandate everyone to row on Sunday mornings or to erg on Tuesday nights as work/life balance was so varied within the group. Any good masters group h as to acknowledge the vast differences between individuals' ability to train. The approach is that there are times in the week when we try to get as many people on the water as possible and coaching will be available e.g. Sunday mornings. We aim to get as many boats out as possible then for side by side pieces - get value from togetherness. We ask those who cannot make it to go out at another time to make up the session. For land based training we put out a schedule and we don't dictate which day you have to do it - flexibility enables more participation. Fit in training around your own diary.
Selection was focused on several regattas - Henley Masters, Brit Masters - selection was "age banding" and also availability for both events. We started in March/April with a squad meeting and to do early lineups. We reviewed erg performances over winter, race performances in head races, age-banding for selection. Last year we were too strict in crew selection and left it a bit too late. Last year it was when we did the entries - we didn't look back at past training performances, it was only based on age. Training in a unit together for a long time contributed to better success.
We have our second peak regatta next weekend. World Masters is following and some of us are going there too. It feels like a 'bigger machine' this year. We also love going to local regattas like Kingston and Molesey. The website has a masters page londonrc.org.uk/masters if you want to join. The rest of the club is more respectful because we won there is a growing sense of this group as a serious entity within the club.
LRC was founded to win medals at Henley Royal Regatta - which we did this year this is the club focus. We are a big club and the masters play a big role in running the club organisation. Prior to last year's win the masters were left to "do their thing" and as long as the masters are happy then that's OK. The club doesn't put a big emphasis on the performance of that group.
A big change this season is now the club sees that we can win, are noteworthy and are out there making a name for themselves. There is recognition that the masters are going faster, and that they should be supported adequately, with equipment, coaching, training and access to trailers to go to regattas. We have had huge support this year and we hope it continues. Winning it 3 times would the real trick!
Handling varying levels of dedication to the sport in masters clubs. How do you give the both the person who wants to practice once a week and the person who trains daily a meaningful race situation?
01:00 This is normal for masters rowing. Training and practice commitment isn't an issue usually until it comes to racing. When going to a regatta you want to be in a crew where where you're the 'worst' in the crew. Competitive people want the best possible crew.
In most youth rowing clubs the coaches do selection - this takes the emotion out of the lineups. Types of race - in your calendar there are local events and bigger events like the masters national championships. Each year you will have 2 or 3 peaks which help you manage your training load. Typically most masters will do 3 + races in a single day.
In local regattas your racing priorities may be different. The more experienced people can race both with less experienced (mixed ability crews) as well as their own regular training group. To get the racing priorities accurate, the single scull is the best measure. The outcome is up to you alone.
Regatta organisers can enable a pathway into racing for masters - novice - new masters - age group. Differentiate based on rowing experience, not age for the first 5 years of racing.
Aligning can be challenging. Fitness matters a lot in racing; bladework skills are also important. Enabling compromise as part of your lineup selection can help give a meaningful experience. The fitter athletes find compromise less palatable rowing when with less experienced people.
There is satisfaction to be had from a mixed ability crew. Skill judging stroke rate and technical calls through the race is a worthwhile endeavour. "That was harder than childbirth". Achieving the best possible outcome for this crew.
Can you mentally set yourself up to see satisfaction from both types of races with experienced people and less experienced people?
Folks who always train together means there is no way in for a newcomer. Club priorities can enable coaches to make selections and validate their choices with the Captain (who's independent). A goal could be to enable your groups (elite, intermediate, new masters, novices) to all have at least one event in which they stand a chance of being competitive. I've found this is a method which helps to bring on less experienced people so that in future years they advance faster than if you just leave them to race in their skill group.
17:00 The art of compromise is discussion without emotion. Rebecca invites people to choose a priority crew which she tries to guarantee that race. Everything else is secondary. This means some events are "sub-optimal. The competitive spirit drives racers to selfish outcomes. This is an attribute of successful racers. It can be hard for athletes to accept their perception of being put in sub-optimal crew lineups. Independent lineup confirmation and discussion of compromises helps to frame these decisions. Balance our priority against the opportunity of this one regatta.
The club is the entity which should set the goals (3-5 years) and how this impacts regatta entry choices. Tell us how your club manages their crews for regattas.
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
Join our community and get our exclusive Faster Masters Rowing Magazine, packed with tips, techniques, and inspiring stories. Includes four new articles monthly.
