Whilst the top end of club rowing is a strong as it's ever been, there has been a dramatic drop off in depth over the last 5+ years. There are likely many factors that have played their part, such as the rise in cycling and triathlons accounting for many an ex-rower.

However, in my mind there has also been a reduced number of good quality student oarsmen joining clubs out of university. This may be down to an element of burnout from the likes of Brookes, taking the next step and joining a full time program such as Leander, but also the rise of alumni crews, be they school or university.

In principle I think alumni crews add value to club rowing as they often keep people involved within the sport who might otherwise walk away from the 10-12 sessions a week many top clubs demand these days. However, when they are used as a vehicle for what is essentially a composite student crew full of athletes it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth and also discourages genuine club athletes who have been training all season to race their peers.

I do hope the Steward’s apply their rule re. athletes racing at a high level for their university being ineligible for club events in the same year. However, ultimately it is for the Steward's to decide what is deemed acceptable and 'in the spirit' of the events. I just hope that they take the responsibility of how their decisions will influence the shape of club rowing in the UK for years to come seriously.
Finally, good luck to all ‘genuine’ club crews at HRR, especially anyone who ends up drawing one of the aforementioned ‘questionable’ entries. I for one will be cheering you on!

I love ringers, I was one

If you can't even commit to rowing for one club for two months then you could be described as many things but a club rower is not one of them.

Stopwatch wrote:

Footplate wrote:

Stopwatch wrote:

Only event they were eligible for? How about the Plate? Or the Visitors? Or the PA? Rounding a bunch of students up and cramming them into a "Club" 8 doesn't pass the smell test.

Team Keane (awful name for a rowing club) are very new on the scene, have been keen (sorry) to present themselves as being different from other clubs, developing their own talent, engaging with the community etc., so it's a pity they have shot themselves in the foot so quickly by delving straight into the murky side of things. Don't know whether this is naïve on their part or whether that was the plan all along and they now think they are being exceptionally clever.

They want to race an eight, I'm sure, and the Plate is above their level. As a rower who competes for a club all year round, I'm thankful for crews like Team Keane entering the field. It raises the standard and makes clubs other than the likes of Thames, London and TSS realise that they should up their game. IMO the sport is about racing similar speed crews and a TK entry in the Thames Cup would be a step towards that. Henley is not there as a platform for any old crew to race in, it should be a proper spectacle and involve a diversity of good quality outfits. 

Can't say I agree. Club and student events were split for a reason, and an entire boat full of students who haven't represented a given club all season but then turn up at hrr as their "club", simply doesn't make sense, it's trying to circumvent the split that the Stewards put in place.

The other argument that is often used with such crews is that they would get hammered at intermediate level. Well tough, it's not the Stewards responsibility to ensure that everyone has a good chance of winning, if your crew is only eligible to race at inter level but would get hammered at inter level, that's just the way it is, deal with it rather than trying to pot hunt.

The same logic applies to these loyal club rowers that want an easy ride to a henley medal. The standard of club rowing is piss poor right now, schoolboy crews can challenge most of them, it needs to improve and a few crews that do that will get everyone to pull their fingers out and stop thinking that they're owed anything by the stewards because they class themselves as honest club athletes. Why don't you just deal with the fact that this happens every year and get on with it.

Anonymousrower wrote:

Stopwatch wrote:

Footplate wrote:

They want to race an eight, I'm sure, and the Plate is above their level. As a rower who competes for a club all year round, I'm thankful for crews like Team Keane entering the field. It raises the standard and makes clubs other than the likes of Thames, London and TSS realise that they should up their game. IMO the sport is about racing similar speed crews and a TK entry in the Thames Cup would be a step towards that. Henley is not there as a platform for any old crew to race in, it should be a proper spectacle and involve a diversity of good quality outfits. 

Can't say I agree. Club and student events were split for a reason, and an entire boat full of students who haven't represented a given club all season but then turn up at hrr as their "club", simply doesn't make sense, it's trying to circumvent the split that the Stewards put in place.

The other argument that is often used with such crews is that they would get hammered at intermediate level. Well tough, it's not the Stewards responsibility to ensure that everyone has a good chance of winning, if your crew is only eligible to race at inter level but would get hammered at inter level, that's just the way it is, deal with it rather than trying to pot hunt.

The same logic applies to these loyal club rowers that want an easy ride to a henley medal. The standard of club rowing is piss poor right now, schoolboy crews can challenge most of them, it needs to improve and a few crews that do that will get everyone to pull their fingers out and stop thinking that they're owed anything by the stewards because they class themselves as honest club athletes. Why don't you just deal with the fact that this happens every year and get on with it.

This is so disjointed. The standard of club rowing is actually pretty high. At Met when the wind died down c.50% of club crews were below or around the 6.15 mark which is significantly quicker than equivalent scores a decade ago. Schoolboys beating them? The standard of schoolboy rowing is incredibly high. More money and resources are poured into the top end of schoolboy rowing every year, something that the average club can never hope to match. It is only really the top 6-8 schools that are quicker than most club crews as well, Eton, Radley, Pauls, Shrewsbury etc, and they regularly match most temple crews as well. 

What we see in club rowing is the disappearance of many smaller less equipped clubs from competing at Henley. The likes of Staines, Mortlake, Sons of the Thames, Bradford, Weybridge, Broxbourne, Grosvenor, Curlew have all struggled to qualify boats in the last 5 years, and the loss of diversity in the club events is something to be concerned about. 

Pull their fingers out? I am not sure how much more training, time and finances most club crews could put into their rowing. It is this attitude that makes club rowing unsustainable for most, and increases the turnover of athletes at clubs. 

It is about creating a level playing field where athletes of similar backgrounds and commitments can race against each other. Problem is that unlike school and student events the qualification rules for club events are far more of a grey area, and it is these that the stewards need to look at.