Held on the Thames from the University Stone at Mortlake and finishing at Putney Pier, this year’s was held in September instead of the usual chillier December day.

Putney Town masters rower Mary Mortimer was taking part in her third Scullers Head. Read on to hear how Mary’s race campaign went…

“In 2017 I overcame my fear and entered the Scullers Head for the first time. I just wanted to get down the course without freezing to death, falling in or being overcome by the need to deal with over-hydration. In the event, I was on the water for three hours.

“The 2018 race was cancelled due to inclement weather and in 2019, I had a positive wintery experience, but with no medals.

“I am therefore excited at the thought of competing this year, in what is predicted to be balmy conditions. No bobble hat or bin-liners this time!

“The transition from summer sprints to the preparations for the head-race season was put on hold this year whilst I was a volunteer at the Sea Forest Waterway for the Tokyo Olympics, assisting with the rowing – pictured below.

“The fantastic opportunity to observe the best of the best, on and off the water, certainly spurred me on to continue my journey in the women’s masters F single sculls. I just needed a little time to allow my knees to recover from the effects of standing and running around in hot and sticky temperatures for prolonged periods of time.

“On my return, training started in earnest. With knees back in the land of the living and after several UT2 outings down the course, plus the odd time-trial with a coach to encourage that sense of jostling for position on the water, I was on my way. What a bonus to be allowed to row under Hammersmith Bridge again.

“The wind against the tide made everything challenging and I clung onto my blades for dear life, as I struggled from Barn Elms to the finish”

“A land-training plan which included the weekly 60 minutes rate 20 and high intensity training ergs plus weights and core was in the diary and enabled me to get back into shape. The official season starter at kicked off on 11 September with masters and senior women doing a 1k rate 24 test all together. It was very empowering, noisy and sweaty as our buddies cheered us on. It was so great to all be back training together again. This was followed by a 14k water outing on both Saturday and Sunday and a monster 30 minutes rate 20 power erg early in the week before tapering off in preparation for the race on Saturday.

“On race day, the sunglasses and factor 50 were on and I was destined to go off as crew no 381 out of 402 scullers competing.

“So, I lurked in the foliage somewhere near the crossing point of the race, surrounded by a cluster of fellow masters F scullers; necks craned as we inched our way for 90 minutes towards the start line.

“With marshals encouraging us to keep to the centre of the river, all went well until after Harrods Depository. Here, the wind against the tide made everything challenging and I clung onto my blades for dear life, as I struggled from Barn Elms to the finish, desperately trying to avoid capsizing or having my number knocked off!

“The dwindling euphoria helped propel me as far as St Paul’s BC. Then wild exhaustion and monumental glute-ache kicked in, and even diving into the bag of jelly babies didn’t lessen the slog back to Putney Town RC with the setting sun behind me and mirror-like water all around.

“However, at the end of the day – and back on dry land – the sense of personal achievement is huge after completing the race in 28:16.66 – sixth in my category.”

The post Racing in the 2021 Scullers Head appeared first on British Rowing.

Last September, 28 athletes from and achieved extraordinary success at the in Hungary – winning a haul of gold medals from five events and finishing second overall to Ushakov Rowing from Moscow. Pictured above are the medal winners from Star and Bedford clubs.

So, with the turbulent times that have followed, what next for these dedicated masters?

David Sogan, Men’s Masters Coordinator & Performance Director at Star Rowing Club, shares some insights into how the squad have been training over the last six months.

“Following our successful 2019, the Bedford Star masters squad decided to have a few weeks off from intensive training in October and November with the aim of having a nine-month season peaking for the [now postponed] in Linz.

“A couple of squad members were not prepared to make the sacrifice again but across the two clubs we still have about 32 men and eight women in the elite Bedford Star masters squad.

“Our return to serious training in December was followed by the most disrupted winter training and head season anyone can remember due mainly to high winds and flooding.

I am a great believer that moving a sculling boat efficiently benefits sculling and sweep in all boat types

“By the time we got to March, the squad had only competed in two heads all winter. The lockdown could not have come at a worst time for the squad. We were about to send an F eight to complete in the Heineken Roeiviercamp in Amsterdam on the 14 March, which was cancelled the day before we were due to fly out. Plus, of course, the Vesta Vets Head was cancelled the following week, where we had entered three crews and were defending two titles.

“It became obvious that competitive rowing was likely to be over for the season and no one could say when we could get back in boats.

“Most of the squad were keen to keep training to keep their sanity and to be ready for the lifting of the lockdown. Our squad does not have a coach, but training guidance is provided by a couple of the rowing group members, with Kevan Armstrong leading on technique and myself on general fitness.

“We decided to treat the lockdown as an extended winter season. I suggested some broad guidelines for the squad, with a focus on building their aerobic base with minimal stress on the body to also keep their immune systems healthy.

“This meant polarising the training, with 85% of the training at low intensity (heart rate capped at 70%) and just 15% at high intensity, usually variations of short and high-intensity interval training.

“Long ergo, cycles or runs of between 30 minute and 90 minutes have been encouraged. The low intensity allows for quicker recovery, so more sessions and more volume can be achieved, leading to a more pronounced training effect.

Shirl Musselle (our oldest member) did a 10-mile run on his 76th birthday

“It’s amazing how much mental discipline is required to keep to the prescribed heart rate and not “overcook” the sessions. I think masters rowers are particularly prone to doing most of their training at just below flat out, which is not a smart way to train.

“Most of the squad are training five to six days a week. Initially, with no access to rowing, it was interesting to see people trying forms of exercise which they had not done for many a year. Many squad members are now cycling and running every week and cross trainers, bike ergs and weights are also proving very popular.

“Some of the standout performances posted by the squad over lockdown were Shirl Musselle (our oldest member) doing a 10-mile run on his 76th birthday; Pete Isaacson doing a 60-mile bike ride in a little over three hours and Colin Hunt relentlessly pumping out morning workouts on the erg.

“Many of us see the lockdown as an opportunity to do things you wouldn’t normally be able to do. For me, personally, I mixed a high volume of low-intensity fasted workouts with a low carb diet and intermittent fasting to shed 8kg of weight I’ve been carrying around for the past 30 years. That’s not something I could have done under normal training circumstances.

“Other members focused on weight training to build up their muscle bulk or tried something completely different like Lisa and Andrew Thompson who completed the 60-day Insanity fitness programme.

Perhaps next year we can go one better and win the victor ludorum at the World Masters!

“As lockdown has eased about two thirds of the squad are back in sculling boats and again this is a unique opportunity for those members to fine-tune their single sculling skills which, ordinarily, the squad would not get time for as we spend so much time training in eights.

“I am a great believer that moving a sculling boat efficiently benefits sculling and sweep in all boat types. The same training regime applies, with an emphasis on long outings at rate 18 to 20 with heart rate capped at 70% of max to build the aerobic base.

“Masters rowing at national and international level gets more competitive every year and to keep winning you need to work on every aspect.

“The squad has been positive in using the lockdown as an opportunity to experience new ways of training and interacting. I believe we will emerge from lockdown mentally and physically stronger, which will lead to improved performances when we get the chance to race again.

“Perhaps next year we can go one better and win the victor ludorum at the World Masters! You’ve got to have ambition.”

The post Bedford Star masters train for the 2021 Worlds appeared first on British Rowing.

The women’s masters E have developed a close bond since taking up rowing three years ago, with friendships blossoming around a shared passion for their new-found sport.

During the last head season, they started rowing as an eight, but all except one of their races was cancelled due to bad weather. Back in November, they managed to get in a race at Liverpool’s Head of the Float – and even won! Unfortunately, this was followed by more flooding and then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, changing everything.

One of the crew, Ann Roberts has managed to combine her two passions during the lockdown. A skilled knitter, she took on a special project – over to Ann for more details!

The project took about six weeks, knitting every spare moment

“When the lockdown came into force, I needed a project and, as we weren’t allowed to meet or row, I thought it would cheer us all up.

“I love knitting and I just had this vision of creating our crew in wool and photographing them outside the club.

“The project took about six weeks, knitting every spare moment. I kept it a secret from the crew.  There are 10 of us so we have substitutes when people are on holiday etc and we row in an eight.

“When I revealed what I had been doing, I had an overwhelmingly positive reaction from both crew and the rest of the club.

“All the crew were delighted with their woolly selves and they, and other members of the club, said they recognised everybody!

“Typical reactions were ‘I can’t stop smiling,’ ‘It’s such a morale boost,’ which was the general intention.  We also got comments such as ‘We are a tight knit crew,’ ‘Knit one, purl one row 8’.

“Pictured in the woolly crew from left to right are: Di (stroke), Kate, Anne, Jules, Jo, Emma, Lorna, Julie, Ann (me) and, in high-vis, Sylvia (bow). After 10 figures I didn’t have the energy to do our coaches/coxes but may do in the future.

All the crew were delighted with their woolly selves

“At the moment, the woolly wonders live in my sewing room at home, but I will be taking them to our first meeting when we’re allowed to get together and each crew member will be presented with their image!

“As a crew, we have kept in regular contact via WhatsApp and Zoom and have even erged together remotely and done some circuit training.

“It has been very hard not getting on the water, especially as floods preceded the lockdown and most of our head races were cancelled.

“Recently, four of us managed to get out in single sculls and were so pleased to be on the river again.

“We can’t wait to get back to our normal routine and are keeping our spirits up in the meantime.”

The post The tight-knit crew from Pengwern Boat Club appeared first on British Rowing.

masters Sam Ayers and Nick Cowan teamed up to win two gold medals at the recent in Hungary, despite Sam only learning to row in December 2016.

Sam said: “Coming away from the World Masters with two gold medals is far more than I thought possible. Our aim as a crew was to gain race experience at the highest level in order to prepare for 2020. We’d raced well at a regional level but didn’t really know where we were in the bigger picture.”

Competing in a D double, with Nick at rowing age 60 and Sam 49, the duo had a really solid row. They were probably more surprised than anyone to find they had won their event in a personal best time, especially as they were the oldest crew in the D category.

They also entered the C mixed double for race practice, and in another personal best won that race as well in an extremely tight and hard-fought finish. They were five years older than any other winning boat in the C division.

Possibly the greatest thrill for me was hearing start umpire Matthew Pinsent call our boat ‘GB’

Nick said: “It was a fantastic experience to row in such perfect conditions and against such a bunch of good boats. There were 52 countries represented and in each of our races, there were boats from eight different countries.

“Possibly the greatest thrill for me was hearing start umpire Matthew Pinsent call our boat ‘GB’ as he named each boat in the start sequence.”

Nick topped his week off with a win in the F double sculls with Andy Jaggard from Durham ARC to make it three gold medals.

Rewind to late 2016 and Sam first got involved in rowing after a hamstring injury prevented her from running with Keswick Athletic Club. After a learn to row course at Lakeland Rowing Club, coached by Nick, Sam bought her own single and custom-painted it in her fitness company’s BodyFit colours of blue and orange.

Sam added: “It’s been a fantastic journey from beginner to ‘rower’ and interesting to compare how World Masters competitive rowing compares with the equivalent in running and triathlon circles. Nick is a brilliant coach and a driven athlete and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to row with him.”

I taught Sam to row, but she taught me how to train and we have both taught each other to race

And while Nick had competed for years in his single, it wasn’t until he met fitness expert Sam that his training changed completely.

“I taught Sam to row, but she taught me how to train and we have both taught each other to race.”

Under Sam’s training regime, which she has introduced to all the competitive rowers at Lakeland Rowing club, Nick is still producing personal bests on the rowing machine as he is approaching 60.

But despite having two gold medals from the World Masters to her name, Sam still finds it hard to call herself a ‘rower’ rather than a ‘runner’ because, “I’ve still got so much more to learn and improve upon”.

She said: “However, I’m looking forward to the next few years to see how much we can progress both individually and as a crew. Whatever the future brings, the memories from the 2019 World Masters will be treasured.”

We would love to hear any stories that you have about your club or community. Why not share them with us via #YourStories.

The post From beginner rower to world masters champion in two seasons #YourStories appeared first on British Rowing.

It’s a long time since Bedford’s rowing clubs have produced world class masters crews. In March 2018, Star Club’s Kevan Armstrong kicked off a campaign to create the UK’s most powerful male masters’ squad. Eighteen months later, after moulding 28 athletes from and , the squad has returned from the FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta on Lake Velence in Hungary with a haul of gold medals from five event wins and second place in the overall Victor Ludorum to Ushakov Rowing from Moscow.

A total of 740 clubs from 52 countries – including over 80 from the UK – made the journey to the course 50km from Budapest, competing over five days.

Bedford rowers won gold medals in the following categories: men’s C and F eights plus the F, G and H coxed fours with Lenny Robertson collecting four gold medals while Kevan Armstrong, Richard White and steersman Ben Cox returned home with three gold medals each.

Dom Hawes, Star Club Captain and gold-medal winner, said: “This result shows how much strength in depth Kevan has created.

“The road to Budapest has been long but results like this make the hard yards worth it. Most of us put our lives on hold to commit to the training regime and we’ve been lucky in the support we’ve had from our families. Kevan has been a truly inspirational leader: he’s taken 30 ordinary people and turned us into world beaters.

“The atmosphere at the event was electric and it was good to catch up with so many rowing friends from around the world,” added Dom. “The event was organised superbly even if the lake was a little bit of a hike from the team hotel.”

Kevan has been a truly inspirational leader: he’s taken 30 ordinary people and turned us into world beaters

Bedford Star’s campaign began with two wins in the Veteran Fours Head and was followed up by two wins in the Vesta Veterans Head four months later. In June, the combined squad stormed the British Rowing Masters Championships in Strathclyde Park, securing the Victor Ludorum and went on to win three eights classes at Henley Masters. As Budapest beckoned, training consistency was hard to achieve.

Kevan said: “We’ve had an astonishing year beyond my wildest dreams. Getting back up and running after Henley Masters was hard, but we achieved it even though I think we lost a bit of form before the Worlds. Bedford and Star both supported my vision and I’m delighted that we delivered.”

The celebrations are about to begin – the squad is inviting the whole club to a Hungarian dinner at Star next week.

You can chart Bedford Star’s road to Budapest .

Read more about the Bedford rowers in the latest edition of Rowing & Regatta magazine.

The post Bedford and Star rowers enjoy success at World Masters appeared first on British Rowing.

Situated on the picturesque River Cam in Cambridge, unofficial motto is fun, fitness, friendship and fresh air. The club is open to the over-50s and beyond and was launched in 2001 as a GP referral scheme for people recuperating from illness. Nearly 20 years on, the club has an active membership of 120 who are enjoying the facilities of their new boathouse, completed a couple of years ago.

But Camrowers’ success is thanks to the dedication of their coaching team.

Club committee member Lesley Noblett said: “Every new member is welcomed by a coach who will provide six one-to-one coaching sessions – more if necessary to ensure that rowers are competent and safe and that they are rowing the right boat for their capabilities.

“Most members have learnt to row with the club, or have been coached to relearn old skills.”

Karen Goldstone discovered Camrowers through the and after learning to row, she decided to take it further and completed the British Rowing Level 2 coaching course.

“The course was very valuable not only for coaching knowledge but for helping with my own rowing,” she said.

Karen loves keeping fit in the open air and “the challenge of trying to improve my rowing and the opportunity to row in a double or quad or single”.

“I enjoy the challenge of coaching people with a range of aptitudes and adapting my coaching accordingly. It is very satisfying to see someone progress from a nervous beginner into a competent rower.”

Our coaches do an amazing job giving us the skills and confidence to achieve what seems impossible

With social occasions throughout the year, Camrowers also know how to enjoy themselves and the club provides a welcoming home for many of the members.

Lesley said: “We carried out a member survey a few years ago and the majority of people said that making and seeing friends was an important part of Camrower sessions. We operate year round, and in most weathers, so rowing becomes a reason for getting out of the house. Not just to row but to see friends.

“Because most of us have never rowed before, it gives you a real sense of achievement and can boost your self-confidence. One member said she saw rowing on the Olympics and thought she would love to do that, but was too old. Then she learnt, in her 70s and was so proud.

There’s no pressure, just support. Not to mention the coffee, biscuits and chat afterwards

“You see people rowing on the Cam and it seems just for youngsters. Then you discover this club that specialises in teaching old people to row.

“Our coaches do an amazing job giving us the skills and confidence to achieve what seems impossible. And then you find it’s a club where everyone is so friendly and everyone helps each other. I think the fact that we are not competitive is part of it. There’s no pressure, just support. Not to mention the coffee, biscuits and chat afterwards.”

If you’d like to try coaching then British Rowing can help support your development. Check out our courses here.

The post Camrowers thrive on friendships, fun, fitness and fresh air appeared first on British Rowing.