Coaches conference reflects on past four years in rowing

On the back of their most successful Olympics ever, British Rowing’s women’s coaching team – Paul Thompson, Robin Williams and Paul Reedy – talked about the flow-on effect of this success. Great Britain has seen a huge increase in those signing up to learn to row. They also described the rowing facilities available in the UK and the technical side to rowing using analysis of their athletes.

Germany’s high performance director Mario Woldt talked about their two most successful Olympic boats, the men’s eight and men’s quadruple sculls who both won gold at London.

Describing a small but very successful rowing programme, Thomas Poulsen talked about the Danish lightweight rowers. Poulsen said that, with so few rowers, the national training centre in Copenhagen is like a club. This means national team training is centralised with all national team members going there to train. Denmark won gold in the lightweight men’s double and bronze in the lightweight men’s four at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Panel discussions followed these presentations which gave the delegates a chance to ask questions to the different speakers.

The German rowing team psychologist Annelen Collatz talked about the different personality types of coaches and thus, from this personality, they way they will coach. Collatz also looked at the personality traits of elite rowers and how this is useful knowledge when putting together a team.

Former Irish Olympic rower and World Champion Gearoid Towey described the transition to life after rowing. Towey used the Kuebler-Ross model of the five stages of grief to help describe what athletes often go through following retirement from rowing.

A highlight of the conference was the gala dinner where the 2012 World Rowing Awards were announced and presented. Male Crew of the Year, the South African lightweight men’s four, collected their award in person as did Anna Watkins, one half of the Female Crew of the Year, the British women’s double sculls – Watkins’ rowing partner Katherine Grainger was unable to attend. World Rowing Distinguished Service to International Rowing went to Great Britain’s Di Ellis who is the chairman of British Rowing. Ellis was at the gala dinner to receive her award. World Rowing Coach of the Year, Dick Tonks of New Zealand was unable to attend.

Chair of the organising committee, Kieran Kerr said: “Our aim was to run a good quality event with a distinctive Irish flavour,” and with the gala dinner held in a castle with a programme of Irish songs and dance, this was achieved.

For more information on the presentations, click here. 

For photos of the Awards Ceremony, click here.