07 Dec 2011
Hamburg Shines for Masters Worlds
Racing from sunrise to sunset in Hamburg
© FISA
One thousand and forty-six races later the FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta wrapped up in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday 5 September. Touted as one of the biggest rowing events in the world, 3,500 rowers from 40 nations enjoyed the fine weather and hospitality of the European continent’s original home of rowing – the Allgemeiner Alster-Club.
An extra afternoon was added to the standard three day programme to deal with the high volume of races with six boats leaving the starters hands every three minutes. It therefore took careful planning to see former Olympic Champion Thomas Lange sprint by on Saturday in race number 234, heat 15, of the men’s ‘B’ double. With partner Jens Burow, the duo clocked the fastest time of the 18 heats.
Hamburg organisers show off their rowing skills
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Racing wound up on Sunday with the mixed ‘F’ eight – the race for crews of four men and four women (plus coxswain) averaging 60 years of age. In a tight two-boat race a close tussle was fought between a composite United States crew against a composite German/United States crew which included former Olympian and perennial US Olympic team coach Ted Nash. Only one second separated these two boats at the finish.
The weather turned on the charm for all four days of racing. However it began with some apprehension. Chairman of FISA’s Masters Commission Peter Morrison expressed some pre-race anxiety when he arrived two days before racing was due to start. “On Tuesday last week the course was barely rowable because of the wind,” says Morrison. “But from Thursday to Sunday (race days) the site was blessed with perfect sunshine.”
The high performance center of Hamburg-AllermöheIn accommodated the event combining the boat park, the rowers, the stallholders and over 800 campers in a festive atmosphere along the 1,000 metre course. On Saturday the atmosphere was joined by large numbers of Hamburg locals who came out to add to the spectator crowd that is usually made up of in-between-race competitors.
Of the few complaints the most heated issue was about people cheating on their age – older being better. Events are divided into eight age categories starting at the ‘A’ category where the minimum age is 27 and moving through the alphabet to ‘H’ where the minimum average age required is 70 years.
Spectators watch continuous racing
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Officials took the complaints seriously but found nothing untoward. “In every check we did, including some random checks, nothing irregular was found,” says Morrison.
Highpoint of any masters event, the Saturday night party, was held in a warehouse in the Port of Hamburg – the Kaispeicher A. A lively band kept some rowers dancing until the following morning and then going straight from the party, back to the rowing course, for more races.
At the end of racing Hamburg handed over the honour of the World Masters Regatta to Strathclyde, Scotland where crews will reunite, reacquaint and reevaluate their fitness a year from now in September 2005.
For all one thousand and forty-six results click here.
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