Connecting the Masters Rowing World

The masters rowing community is thriving worldwide. While the racing brings them together, it’s the friendships, reunions, and shared experiences that make each regatta so much more than just a competition. Across continents and generations, masters rowers continue to find joy both on and off the water.

Hayley Biddle has jumped on board as a member of the World Rowing Masters Portal. The Australian native started rowing as a 13-year-old at high school.

“As a kid, I always dreamed of becoming an Olympian, that competitive spark has always been part of me,” says Biddle.

She left the sport for what she calls “a long break”, to raise three daughters, but then found her way back to the water joining a learn to row group four years ago.

“I was quicky hooked by the thrill of racing again,” says Biddle. “I took up single sculling for the challenge and personal accountability and now train from my home on the Gold Coast.”

Biddle recently took up the gold membership. “The new masters portal looks fantastic. It’s lovely to see World Rowing investing time and resources into making masters athletes feel seen and valued. We might be juggling families, careers, and all the curveballs that come with this stage of life, but many of us still train incredibly hard. I think it’s great that we have our own space to connect online, view results, and find potential crew mates.”

For Biddle regattas are about reconnecting with friends and seeing familiar faces year after year.  She will head to the World Rowing Masters Regatta in Banyoles, Spain in September for the racing, but also to be part of the masters community.

“It’s such a special atmosphere, and these events really remind me why I love the sport. We all get a little older, but we still show up, give it our best, and cheer each other on.”

Across the globe in Lake Tahoe in Nevada, USA, Thomas Darling is helping to get an aquatics centre going after many years of rowing in Boston on the Charles River. He is a two-time Olympian, with an Olympic silver from the 1984 LA Games. He went on to compete in sailing in the Americas Cup before coming back to rowing as a masters in his 30s.

“It’s been my social life to row masters,” says Darling. “I get up early, row, go to breakfast after. It has established my friends. These are the people I need in my life.”

Darling has not (yet!) competed in a World Rowing Masters Regatta but has joined the masters portal with a gold membership; “Because I didn’t want to be related to silver any more!” he jokes.  He likes the perk of getting results and is hoping to do more “exotic” travel as he comes into retirement age.

“I worked for US Rowing for seven years in para rowing and got familiar with World Rowing and I’m impressed. I’ve benefited from World Cups and World Championships, so I know how effective they are.”

Darling has targeted the Euro Masters Regatta in Bled, Slovenia. He remembers racing there in 1979 at the World Rowing Championships. It was his first international race. “I was just reminded of the cascading waterfall of fireworks over the castle. It was so beautiful.”

Darling has a coach that sets him a yearly programme and when he’s in Boston there’s four to five on water sessions a week. He also does yoga, some cycling and weight training. Darling adjusts the programme to fit with his racing schedule so has been doing high-rate workouts to prepare for 1000m racing.

To enhance this strong sense of community, World Rowing has launched the World Rowing Masters Portal, a dedicated platform to better connect and support masters worldwide. This portal comes as a result of feedback collected over years by World Rowing’s Masters Commission, with the aim of strengthening connections, improving fairness, and enhancing the athlete experience within the masters community.

At the core of the portal is the World Rowing Masters Membership, now required for all masters wishing to compete in the World Rowing Masters Regatta from 2025 onwards.

Visit masters.worldrowing.com to learn more and become a member today.