Results 2012 World Rowing Master Regatta

The 2012 World Rowing Master Regatta held in Duisburg, Germany, which started on 6 September, ended today.

You will find all the results are here.

Below is a list of the age categories:

A    Minimum age 27 years or more
B    Average age 36 years or more
C    Average age 43 years or more
D    Average age 50 years or more
E    Average age 55 years or more
F    Average age 60 years or more
G    Average age 65 years or more
H    Average age 70 years or more
I    Average age 75 years or more
J1   Average age 80 years or more
J2   Average age 85 years or more

2011 World Rowing Masters Regatta Results

Last Sunday, 11 September, the World Rowing Masters Regatta ended in Poznan, Poland. Here is what FISA posted on their website, slightly edited (link to all the results at the bottom of this entry):

After 400 races, the 2011 World Rowing Masters Regatta is completed. Masters rowers, those 27 years and over and out of international competition, spent four days racing on the Malta regatta course in Poznan, Poland. The rowers came from 37 countries and went up in age from the youngest category, ‘A’, right through to ‘J’-category which included the oldest man who is 92-years young, and the oldest woman who is 89-years young.

To get through this hefty number of races, officials started a new race every third minute and with some rowers taking over five minutes to complete the 1,000-metre course, a lot of tolerance and juggling had to come into play. In the ‘I’ men’s single, 81-year-old Stanislaw Soldatov of Russia’s Dymano Moscow club, took 5:32.52 to finish the course. Soldatov’s race was won by Germany’s Karl Trager, 78, of the German Ruderclub Rossleben. Trager’s time was 4:34.34.

At the other end of the scale, Lars Bo Andersen of Sorø Rowing Club, Denmark, took 3:36.95 to cover the 1,000-metre race in the ‘B’ category single. Andersen is 45-years-old. This was just one of the events Andersen raced in as he, like many of the competitors, choose to race in a number of races. Former Olympian, Pauline Bird, 54, of Great Britain, raced in six events, including a number of different age categories as it is possible to row ‘down’ in a younger age category.

As the racing format does not include semifinals or finals, each event has a number of heats with the winner of each heat receiving a medal. The handing out of medals is thus a full-time job for the organising committee.

On the final day, Sunday, competitors joined together in mixed gender boats for 150 races.

For complete results, please click here.

(Photograph from FISA's Worldrowing.com)

2011 World Rowing Masters Regatta Starts Today

Photo: Niksa Skelin - FISA's website.

Today the 2011 World Rowing Masters Regatta starts on Lake Malta in Poznan, Poland. From FISA's website, HTBS got the following:

The Lake Malta regatta course, located near the city centre of Poznan, Poland, will play host to 2,503 boats from 37 nations at the 2011 World Rowing Masters Regatta, from 8 to 11 September.

Following on from the success of last year’s World Rowing Masters Regatta held in St. Catharine’s, Canada, in which nearly 3,000 rowers participated, the Poznan waters are already thriving with the refreshing mix of experience, competition, friendly rivalry, and Olympic history.

Germany has entered the greatest number of competitors, boasting a healthy 698 boats. Great Britain is the second biggest nation represented here in Poland, with 299 boats. Poland, the United States of America, Denmark, Czech Republic and Australia also have a large fleet of over 100 boats. Organisers have also noted that entries from Brazil, Argentina, and Finland have grown since previous years.

Masters rowing begins at the age of 27, for those who no longer row at the elite level. Competitors range from former Olympians through to those racing for the first time. Races are divided into age groups going through to the recently added “J” category for the over 80 year olds. In this regatta, the eldest male competitor is 92, and the eldest female is 89 years old, proving that age truly is just a number.

Some competitors have already caught the eye of those here in Poznan. Miroslav Knapek, the father of newly crowned World Champion in the women’s single sculls Mirka Knapkova (CZE), will be racing in the “E” men’s double on Friday.

Similarly to last year, the men’s “C” age group is the most subscribed, with a total of 360 boats, 118 of which will be racing in the single. Masters rowers are allowed to enter more than one event at this regatta which means organisers already expect 7,043 “seats” to compete. For instance, Debbie Bregenzer “the cox” of Switzerland will cox a total of 13 boats. Sunday’s racing programme is composed of mixed crews and competitors can make entries during the event for these races, so the number of seats will most certainly rise before the entries deadline on Friday.

The weather for the regatta looks slightly unsettled, with a little bit of wind, rain, sun and cool temperatures forecasted until the culmination of racing on Sunday.

The masters regatta also contributes to a fund to help junior rowers. Last year, 8,176 Euros were raised through the donation of 1 Euro per boat entry fee.

Racing is held over 1,000m with races starting every three minutes. There are no finals, only heats, with the winning boat in each receiving a medal.

Live streaming is provided on the Poznan Organising Committee website here.

Please find the regatta programme here.