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The three stages of masters rowing and a checklist of the skills learned in each stage - Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. Timestamps 01:00 What will happen next for me? When learning to row you move up through experience and grades. Beginners - learning to row and getting familiarity with the boathouse, equipment and people. Be open to different frequencies showing up and learning styles. Progress is varied based on how much practice they do. 02:40 Clubs miss opportunities with intermediate rowers. Intermediate - often very keen to assist and engage with running the learner group. Include them in the learner program so they're included as tutors / helpers. Challenge them to try something new like being in stroke seat, small boats, toe steering or doing the calls for the crew. New horizons make rowing more fun and challenging. 04:00 Advanced The number of athletes is quite low - but does your coaching accommodate their needs? These people need specific training if they are racing - a program which builds up

How do you develop sculling ability in those who show potential but aren’t skilled enough to go in tippy singles yet - and how do you do this without over-using your team's skilled scullers who would like to have good solid training rows rather than always teaching others in the double. Timestamps 01:00 A classic masters rowing problem! There is a 'pay it forward' mentality for many masters rowing clubs. What beginners cannot yet do - consistent hand heights - handles nested at crossover - poor timing - squaring is variable - following skill - little sense of weight in the hand affecting boat balance 03:00 What you can do Firstly put them into single sculls with pontoon floats - Revolution Rowing sell them. They give stability and balance to the single so they can learn quickly because all the boat movements are due to you. Very quickly they realise what's needed to get the boat balanced. - Teach the stationary stability drill - Squaring early - Pause drills - Legs only rowing - Square blade rowing - Back

Meet Jonathan Drake who teaches rowing using Alexander Technique methods. Timestamps 01:00 Jonathan is an expert in rowing, Tai Chi and the Alexander Technique. His awareness of his co-ordination issues comes from being an Alexander teacher. Insights into how adults learn. His book is Rowing from the inside out: The art of indoor rowing with on the water in mind. https://amzn.to/4hCYAGz What is it like to scull on the water while you're learning to row indoors? 05:00 The Mind Body Connection Understand how rowing is "in your head" and how to connect this to what your body does. Ingrained movement habits are hard to change especially as you get older. Move more lightly, freely and less movements creating tension. 06:00 The origins of the Alexander Technique Pulling your neck forwards and downwards creates tension in the rowing stroke. Feel how the dynamic opposition of one part of the body connects or separates from another part. Using your body changes through the rowing stroke. In the power phase the spine

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? Timestamps 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 you're the 'worst' in the crew. Competitive people want the best possible crew. 02:30 Coach selects lineups 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. 05:00 Racing Priorities In local regattas your racing priorities may be different. The more experienced people can race both with less experienced (mixed ability crews) as well

Three innovations to improve your learn to row classes and prevent drop-outs. Time to get your club organised for LTR 2025. What's new that you could do this year? Timestamps 00:45 Innovations in adult learn to row Clubs do these to grow their membership. New joiners are an investment in time and effort - it takes time before that pays off. Around one third of all masters rowers started to row as adults. There are two pathways into masters rowing - people who started in their youth and then come back later in life, and those who start as adult beginners. 02:00 How to run a good adult learn to row class. Buy the book Masters Rowing by Nolte & Fritsch - the chapter on how to structure and teach LTR is really good. Masters Rowing – Training for fitness, technique and competition – Volker Nolte & Wolfgang Fritsch https://amzn.to/3sYSXJB 03:00 First Lesson Experience The experience of your first lesson is very important to the success of the program. Can paperwork be done ahead of time? Rebecca starts with an i

Researching masters physiology - aging from 50 to 70 affects your rowing. Timestamps 01:00 Guests from Athlone, Ireland Lorcan Daly and Paul Gallen Lorcan is a sport science researcher starting with his grandfather, Richard Morgan who was an erg champion. Uniquely he was sedentary for most of his life, was a smoker and at 73 took up indoor rowing. He was tested aged 92 and some of the tests were on a par with a 30 year old. Three world champion indoor rowers were his next test subjects https://www.rowingireland.ie/why-masters-rowing-is-a-game-changer-for-healthy-ageing/ 04:00 Testing Paul Gallen Dennis and Ken were recruited after winning their divisions at the 2024 World Rowing Indoor Championships. The tests were done over 2 visits - diet, lung and muscle function and sporting history. 06:00 Paul Gallen rejoined masters rowing He took 30 years out of the sport and his first event back was the Head of the Charles Regatta. Learned to scull aged 60 and indoor rowing competitions. His 8s crew includes school

Is biggest fear you have doing a rowing race for the first time? How to prepare, what to expect and the aftermath. Timestamps 00:45 Fear is real First races and how you can help your crew mates facing their first race. As adults it's unusual to get into a situation we've never seen before. Children are different. Kim Mulvey wrote to us saying "I'm not ready to race." The first race fear is mostly about the unknown. You feel out of control and it triggers the flight-or-fight response. Practice in training The way to overcome this is to get familiar with the situations you'll encounter in a race. One way to do this is to practice in training. - Do workouts in the crew lineup you will race in. - Know your seat number, which are your oars? - Know where you adjust your foot stretcher to. 03:15 Practice the racing distance find a simulation as close as possible - how long is it and how intense will it be? Practice being alongside another crew as you race. Discuss the race plan within your crew - how to approach t

Daunting? Hell yes. Listen to our guide which shows you what "tricks" you need to have and how to use them with your crew. Timestamps 00:30 2 essential calls What's expected of you - steer the boat to the best possible route. The straightest route and when you steer, make as tight a turn as you can without disrupting the rhythm. Think of the river as if it was a road and you are driving a car. In general you want to be in the middle - judge the distance between the tip of the blades and the bank on both sides of the boat to see if you are positioned well. Going round a corner to your right side - the deeper water is on your left side where the current has scoured out the bank (a slip off bank on the right and an undercut cliff on the left). The fastest water is nearer the cliff. So position your boat towards the left hand bank and get one third of the river between the boat and the left hand bank, two thirds of the river on your right hand side. After the corner you're on the straight - re-position the boat

Boat weight classes across your fleet can be assessed against members' weights. Timestamps 01:00 your boat fleet should match the needs of your group. Many masters group 'inherit' boats but for optimal club alignment match the boats with the membership needs. Assess the current fleet - look for the manufacturer's label - serial number, year of construction and athlete weight. Log these for your whole boat fleet. Different boat moulds accommodate the water displacement for heavier and lighter athletes. Variations can be built in by lowering the deck or the saxboards. When my club did the survey we added in a "state of repair" for each boat. Some are used more than others. And the frequency of boat use - we have some which are favourites and get used a lot more than others. 05:45 Athlete weight survey All members were asked anonymously what their weight is in kg and if they are men or women. We had fallen into the habit of calling boats "mens boats" or "womens boats". This was erroneous - we had men and women

Why the blade pathway from crossover to catch is so different between the left and right hands. If you aren't going straight, three things to check. Timestamps 01:00 What generally causes difficulties? Beginner errors are straightforward to work out if these are affecting you. 1 - squaring late 2 - balance issues 3 - missing water at the catch 03:30 Know if you are going straight Look from your stern to the horizon and line up your stern with a fixed point (house, power pole, tree) and watch the wake off your stern. You can see if the vee is symmetrical. 04:30 Blade extraction - are the blades coming out at the same time and are you pressing down symmetrically? If one blade drags that affects the boat course. 05:30 Blade crossover - from extraction to handle crossover it's important the boat is level. The rig is left higher than the right - your handle heights have to reflect the difference in oarlock height. Ensure your hands are "nested" close together. 08:00 Blade catch - the handles have to be symmetrica

As a developing sport, there are aspects of masters rowing which we need to improve, change and adapt. Three signs of dysfunction and four solutions. Timestamps 01:00 What are the symptoms and cures to move our sport forward? Most clubs now have a masters group and a good waiting list of people wanting to learn to row. 02:00 Signs of dysfunction Rowing is designed to take a beginner towards higher performances. As we age we generally have diminishing strength each decade. Many of us love rowing but don't want to compete - so masters rowing is different. 1 - Cliques - people who only row with the same other people all the time. This is a long term limiting factor for the whole club group. Isolationism is antithetical to a successful masters group 2 - Club Priorities are Inflexible - they focus on juniors and young people. This means boats cannot be shared, it's hard to get a trailer to go to a regatta. Combining juniors and masters is an innovation. 3 - Skills Progression - if you think you aren't making pro

Go on rowing camp! The pros and cons of going on training camp. You'll either love it or hate it. Timestamps 01:00 Going on a camp refocuses your attention on rowing. Are camps useful? There are lots of different types of camp - training camp - selection camp for racing crews - finishing camp before a big regatta 02:20 Three camp benefits You don't have to go with your whole club. Doing a camp at your own club has disadvantages - people keep their other life commitments and so tend to rush off after the workout. So you lose one of the good aspects of going away to camp which is the luxury of un-pressured time. 1 - gives you focus 2 - sense of purpose 3 - make decisions 4 - refresh your attitude to the sport and your involvement. 03:45 Coaching on camp Athletes get a lot of individual attention on camp compared to home training. There's time for debriefs, for mini tutorials, one-on-one time, sit next to coaches at meals and pick their brains. Coaches get a captive audience of athletes and can get messages

A key concept needed for sculling well, this challenging skill is essential for setting up the recovery. One drill to practice which helps teach how to control the oar handle heights. Timestamps 00:50 Teaching a singles course for those who can already row and want to try single sculling. There are 4 key concepts for essential skill in rowing and sculling. Weight in the hand is the most challenging key concept. 02:15 What is weight in the hand? Hold your handle and keep downward pressure on the handle to keep the oars off the water. It starts by controlling the finish as you extract the oar using a downward "tap down" of the handle. Use the outside hand in sweep; use both hands in sculling. Keep stable at the finish and keep pressure on the pin. If your button comes away from the oarlock at the finish you have not got this control. Facilitate the transition from body weight into the bow towards body weight towards the stern on the recovery. 04:15 How do you know if you can do weight in the hand? If you can d

Meet Chair of the Indoor Rowing Commission, Filip Ljubicic and hear about the future of indoor rowing including an exciting announcement about the e-sports Olympics in 2025. Timestamps 01:00 The global World Rowing strategy for indoor rowing - rules, events, innovations, collaborations with erg manufacturers, digital apps and new tools. Indoor rowing is important - around 20-25 million people use a rowing machine at least once a year. A pathway or goal is part of the strategy for all participants. 2018 was the first Indoor Rowing World Championships. 03:30 The goal is to do both physical in person events and virtual events. Being able to compete is an opportunity for those who cannot travel. A new format for 2025. All the age categories are offered in addition there will be a World Champion for Indoor Rowing for the first time. It starts with open heats where everyone submits a time. Top 150 in each continent plus top 10 age category races progress to local timezone races the next weekend. Expect more tact

Hear how people deal with an illness but keep up their rowing. Overall advice is "do what you can". Timestamps 01:00 Many masters try to keep on rowing after a major illness or trauma diagnosis. Getting out on the water feels good - the challenge is around what is possible for you. 02:00 What is possible? Cancer treatment often has regular chemo and radiotherapy and you know the frequency of each session. One solution is to go rowing immediately before the hospital visit. Row when you can with a supportive friendship group. For surgery - muscular rehabilitation and strength training follows a simple pattern over weeks. After a stroke - lingering physical restrictions continue months afterwards. 05:00 Rowing with adaptations As we age our bodies may require us to adjust / adapt our stroke. For hand tremors difficulty holding a thumb on the end of the handle was hard. Suggestions include occupational therapists advice, gloves which tape onto the handle, hand exercises using old grips at home, para rowing has

Midlife brings challenges. Rowing is a pathway for getting your spark for life back. Join bestselling author, Rachel Marie Martin for tips and to hear her journey. Timestamps 01:00 Rachel has a long background in technology and she uses this to communicate her message about life, motherhood and the ups and downs that life has dealt her. 04:00 the overnight success takes 8 years. Be diligent and keep on trying. Get your spark back book is about Rachel's realisation that she'd lost her spark for life. What made her realise that life wasn't sitting 'right' with her. During the pandemic she said she didn't know who she was any more. Were was "me"? She was uneasy and went on the journey to re-find her soul without realising that was happening. In mid-life how to find your soul's journey. As a runner Rachel had to push past uncomfortable. 07:45 What were the clues? When you're young you have all the time to do something in the next decade. Looking at her friends and parents she realised time is finite. She couldn'

How the catch placement changes with the oar angle. Why an acute catch angle with the oar is easier. Ways to adjust your catch technique as the boat speed changes. Timestamps 01:00 Catches and boat speed When the blade goes into the water at the catch, it needs to be buried rapidly and the curved face of the blade needs to grip the water. the early lock on point is hard to achieve - it depends on how and where you place the blade. 02:45 Blade face to the water The boat is a single unit moving through the water - water molecules are moving past the boat parallel to the length of the boat hull. The ideal oar placement should have the smallest surface area possible to the direction of travel. At half slide your oar is around 90 degrees to the boat length. It's slow to place the oar. At the catch, the face of the work facing the water is reduced to around 15 cms compared to half slide. At the extreme, if the oar is parallel to the side of the boat - this reduces to about 1.5 to 3 centimeters width. 07:00 The sm

Your boat speed depends BOTH on the power phase and the recovery phase. You've done the work - now get the benefit. Timestamps 01:00 Get more speed Your net boat speed is the power you put in to the power phase and the amount the boat slows down when the oars are out of the water. Rowing boats surge through the stroke cycle. 03:15 Simplicity is key to the recovery Keep the movements sequential and well-organised. Maximum boat speed comes after the extraction at the finish and as you transfer your body weight onto the feet. A key point is when you can get weight on the feet. As your arms straighten and your body follows - then the boat gets an extra burst of speed if you can sequence this correctly and smoothly. 05:00 4 focus points. 1 - Keep the slide seat wheels moving, rolling towards the stern and full compression. 2 - Poise and relaxation, both are needed. Keep your body lifted and in a fixed state so you sit high on the front of the seat along with relaxation. 3 - Muscles get tired when they aren't get

What "should" a masters rower be able to do? Training frequency, training volume, training intensity. What is the next big change in YOUR rowing training you can expect as you age? Timestamps 01:00 When masters start rowing we are likely here for a while. Longevity in the sport is longer for masters than juniors or young adults. We come back to rowing thinking we are the same athlete as we were when we last were in a boat. Article - Rowing and Aging Each Decade https://fastermastersrowing.com/rowing-and-aging-each-decade/ 02:00 Physiology certainties Once you age past a certain point you will not be as strong as you were in your youth. This is inevitable - yet it can be delayed with careful training. This is a hard reality check. 03:15 in your 20s and 30s an athletic lifestyle can be achieved within work/family life. Many endurance sports peak in their 30s. You may be able to do 6-9 sessions per week. In your 40s this is a decade where time is often limited. Time constraints mean your goal is to get adequate

Reflections on the 2024 Older Athlete and Aging conference learnings. Timestamps 01:00 My learnings from Al Morrow Al Morrow on developing a good "eye" as a coach. Demonstrated the importance of being able to look at your athlete and see where they way they row doesn't line up with the model you are using. First you must have a good model of rowing to compare with. 02:45 Books on sport - most have the first chapter on grip. We don't check and instruct athletes on this frequently enough. It affects your posture and efficiency. Shoulder alignment in sweep and sculling. Most masters can probably row longer at the catch. 03:50 My learnings from Greg Benning Greg Benning on the power of reducing negatives and 1% gains modelled on the Sky Cycling team led by Dave Brailsford. Review all aspects of your training and life and find places where you can make small improvements. Some are compounding and others are linear e.g. weight lifting are linear. The compounding effect of rowing in the same crew consistently gives