Masters regatta closes 2013 World Rowing season

The number of athletes was the biggest entry the Masters Regatta has ever seen with competitors coming from 633 clubs in 454 cities and covering 40 nations.

The beautiful Italian town of Varese turned on sun and flat calm waters for the four days of competition and the good weather was reflected in the mood of the thousands of competitors, supporters and local spectators who flooded the Lake’s waterside boat park. There wasn’t an empty seat to be found in the grandstand for the duration of the regatta as spectators watched more than 550 races with first-place medallists being awarded for each race.

Amongst the competitors was a large contingent of Irish rowers who were making their annual trip to the Masters Regatta, the highlight of their season. “The standard of racing here is really high,” said Commercial Rowing Club, Dublin’s Liam Gleeson. “People often think that it’s easy to win here but it is competitive. It is not just about turning up,” he explained.

 Coming to Varese was a welcome reprieve from the rowing conditions they face in Ireland. “The weather is fantastic, there is no wind and the water is flat,” Eoin Wilson of Old Collegians Boat Club described, with crew mate Enda Bracken adding jokingly, “we’re baking in this heat!”

Travelling abroad to compete is always more enjoyable when you have some familiar faces to cheer you on. Perched under a tree to get some reprieve from the sun, while still watching the boat park action were three wives of Dutch Olympians from the 1964 and 1972 Olympic Games. The Olympians were racing in Varese. The wives were overwhelmed by how welcoming the Varese locals were. “Even the police here are friendly!” Trix Kieft commented. The helpfulness of the local volunteers, mostly students from local schools, did not go unnoticed by these supportive fans.

Coming all the way from Australia, David Ellis, Steve Pennington, Jon Lovejoy and Rob Skipp enjoyed some post-race relaxation at the Filippi hospitality area and recalled their highlights of the regatta. They described the 2013 regatta as, “the best organised regatta – both on and off the water,” that they had ever been to.  “Varese has really set a new benchmark,” Lovejoy said.

Over 11,000 boat seats were occupied over the duration of the regatta with many rowers entering up to ten races. The final day consisted of mixed races and became the talk of the regatta as people spent the days leading up choosing combined crews of male and female rowers to battle it out in doubles, fours and eights.

For every seat raced, one euro of the entry fee went to the FISA Masters Youth Development fund which supports the growth of the sport in developing nations.

Ballarat, Australia will play host to the 2014 World Rowing Masters regatta from 2-5 October 2014.