Why not take up rowing?
Rowing is a great all-year-round sport, which you can take up at almost any time of life. You don't need to be super fit to begin rowing, but you will certainly become fitter! You must be able to swim 50m in light clothing, but no other experience is required.
What's involved?
Firstly you should enrol on a starter course (click here for more information).
The starter course will teach you to scull which may be a similar technique to what you will have seen and maybe tried in a normal recreational rowing boat where you use two oars. Part of learning to scull is learning to balance the boat!
Making progress
It will normally take 3-4 months to learn to scull confidently. After that, both adults and juniors can continue with sculling, either for recreation or to the highest levels of competition. However, once you can scull, you can also learn to row in a sweep rowing boat. (Juniors must be 14 (for boys) or 15 (for girls) before they are allowed to row).
For rowing, each person in the crew has a single oar. Rowing boats are known as pairs, fours and eights. This refers to the number of people in the boat, which for rowing is therefore the same as the number of oars. Pairs and fours may have a cox or be 'coxless'. The cox steers the boat and 'encourages' the crew during the race! Eights always have a cox.
Competition or recreation?
Guildford RC welcomes people who want to scull/row competitively, or those who want to take part to improve fitness or just for pleasure. Most recreational members scull rather than row, simply because it is something you can enjoy alone, or with someone else (in a double-scull). If you want to compete, you can join in various activities to improve your fitness and technique, including circuit training and ergo training (an ergo is a rowing machine). You can also get coaching within a crew of people at a similar level of ability, and go rowing on the Thames or at Dorney Lake, which is a purpose built 2000m rowing lake near Eton. Once you've reached a competitive standard, you'll be able to take part in your first regatta or 'head' race, depending on what time of year you have your first competition!
Regatta Racing
A regatta is like the rowing you see at the Olympic Games, where 2 or more boats race each other side-by-side. The race distance is anything from a 500m to 2000m. Regattas are very exciting races, with the season running from May through August.
Head Racing
'Head' racing (head is short for 'Head of the River') is more like bicycle time-trialling in concept. A large number of boats (hundreds, in the biggest head races) start one-at-a-time over a longer course, from 2000m to 5000m or more, usually 10 or 20 seconds apart.
The fastest boat of each type over the course is the winner in their class (for example, fours don't race against eights, because the eights would always win). Most of these races take place from October through March.
Q: I've never rowed before and I'm worried that I'm going to make a fool of myself if I give it a try.
A: Everybody who rows has had to learn, whether it was when they were at school or later on when they wanted to take up a new sport. Our coaches will teach you the basics on rowing machines before taking you out on the river.
Q: I never had the chance or wanted to row when I was younger, I'm now on the wrong side of 30, have I left it too late?
A: You are never too old to learn how to row, our beginners ages range from 18 to over 60.
Q: I used to row at University and I like the idea of getting back into a boat but I don't want to go back to 5.30am morning starts and training 7 days a week.
A: The earliest our top senior squads will boat is 7.30am, we all have lives outside the club and row because we enjoy it. Training for top crews is normally 4-5 days a week.
Q: How big is your club?
A: We currently have around 200 members.
Q: What facilities does your club have?
A: We have a clubhouse with male and female changing rooms and showers. We also have an area for weights and rowing machines and a bar for our social events.
Q: How often will I have to train?
A: In order to be competitive, senior crews are expected to train 4-5 times a week. Casual rowers tend to train when they feel like it. If you are interested in attending a beginner's course then click here
Q: What do I wear?
A: When you first turn up all you need is trainers, shorts and a t-shirt. Cycling shorts are preferable to baggy shorts, as they don't catch in the moving parts of the boat. The club sells specialist-rowing kit in the club colours that you will have to wear if you start racing.
Q: I would like to take up a healthy sport. What do I need to do to improve my general fitness?
A: Rowing is great for the musculature and cardiovascular system, rowing is also a non-impact sport and good for the joints. With complementary stretching exercises, ergo and weight training, it makes for a healthy fitness regime.
Q: Rowing sounds quite expensive, how much will it cost?
A: Currently membership will cost you £145 per year.