Taking Olympic-style rowing to Malta

Malta has been a regular destination for rowing enthusiast Joe Speck from Germany. Since 1978 Speck has been frequenting  Malta as a holiday destination.

“I like the island for its interesting history and the outstanding friendliness of the Maltese people,” says Speck who became interested in rowing on the island. Traditional rowing, which Speck witnessed in Malta, also sparked his interest. “Since 2012 I have been in close contact with Stephen Paris, then President of Klabb Regatta Bormla,” explains Speck. “I travelled to Malta to attend several regattas and was fascinated by the ambition and skill of the young rowers there.”

That is when an idea sparked for Speck. He organised to send young and talented Maltese rowers to Germany to introduce them to Olympic-style rowing at Speck’s rowing club in Leipzig, the Akademischer Ruderverein Leipzig (ARVL).

“Leipzig is a city with a long-standing sport and rowing tradition,” explains Speck. “The city also hosts a National High Performance Rowing Centre.”

“At the Maltese regattas in March and September of 2014 I had a closer look at the performance of some younger participants,” says Speck. After discussing his observations with Paris, they decided to invite Romario Brignone and Maximilian Mamo for a week-long training camp in Leipzig. Brignone (18) and Mamo (20) were the 2014 Maltese Champions in the traditional Kajjikk boat class.

Preparations were launched and logistics organised. Funding was granted through private sponsorship from the German-Maltese Association (Deutsch-Maltesische Gesellschaft) and the Maltese Honorary Consul for Saxony, Detlef Bischoff. The Leipzig Rowing Club provided accommodation while free lunches at the Leipzig University Sports Faculty canteen were sponsored.

Speck led the coaching aspect, with assistance from Daniel Bruederle, also a licensed rowing coach. The two Maltese rowers were accompanied by Paris.

“When they came to Leipzig one could clearly see they were skilled and had few problems switching from traditional Maltese rowing to Olympic-style sculling and sweep-rowing,” says Speck.

Each day of their one-week training began with a session in the rowing tank at the Sports-Science Faculty of Leipzig University. After a rigging introduction, they progressed on the water from the coastal single sculls to the single sculls, then the double sculls and on to a coastal coxed four. They were accompanied and filmed from a launch. Together with rowers from the club, they also went on longer outings in the four.

In addition to safety and capsize drills, Brignone and Mamo received theory lessons in rowing technique and were shown best practice videos. Not least, they also were given a crash course in the German language at lunchtime every day.

At the end of the training week the Maltese rowers had mastered the double sculls and, as sweep-rowing comes closest to the Maltese rowing technique, also a coxed coastal four.

“We very much enjoyed training with Romario and Maximilian,” says Speck. “As I see it, the interest and talent of the young Maltese rowers as well as the ideal stretches of water in the Grand Harbour and Three Cities area clearly speak in favour of establishing Olympic-style rowing in Malta alongside the spectacular traditional version of our sport.”