News

Posted: 19 September 2024

17 Scottish athletes took the trip to Brandenburg, Germany to race at the 50th World Rowing Masters Regatta on the 11th – 15th of September. The World Masters event takes place annually, attracting athletes from across the world to compete in the 5-day event. 

This year there were 3 Scottish Clubs represented: Strathclyde Park Rowing Club, Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club and Loch Lomond Rowing Club, and 3 Scottish club members representing non-Scottish clubs (Royal Air Force Rowing Club and Carlow Rowing Club). There were Scots featured in an impressive 48 crews ranging across all boat types.

Photo Credit: Laura Graham

Kicking the regatta off strong Ailie Ord and Gillian Connal from SPRC brought home the first Scottish medals of the regatta in Final 3 of the Women’s D 2x, the only crew in that event to achieve a sub-4-minute time. Ailie and Gillian went on to continue with their success throughout the event. Ailie won 6 events overall in the: Women’s D 2x, Women’s F 1x, Women’s E 4x, Women’s F 2x, Mixed G 2x and Mixed G 8+. Gillian won 4 events overall in the: Women’s D 2x, Women’s C 8+, Women’s C 4x and Women’s C 2x. There was also a win for Eva Ranking of LLRC in the Women’s H 2x. An impressive 10 wins overall, congratulations! 

There were some strong second and third position finishes too. Unfortunately, due to some windy weather a few of the races were cancelled. Check out the table below to see how everyone got on.

Photo provided by Eva Rankin

Laura Graham, Scottish Rowing’s Director of Coaching, and Captain at SPRC says -
“World Masters is a fantastic event. It is highly competitive but also accessible, plus it usually takes place in really beautiful locations. Taking part gives clubs a chance not only to compete alongside the best in the world in their age groups but also to spend time with teammates, enjoying the local sights and hospitality (and food, which was amazing in Germany!). It’s also an excellent opportunity to network with other clubs, both in Scotland and further afield. Our members this year rowed in multiple composite crews - with fellow Scots, with neighbours from south of the border, and with international friends.  
Our German hosts were fantastically welcoming and warm, we are so grateful for their help, support, and good humour, and we are really looking forward now to next year in Banyoles. I would wholeheartedly encourage other Scottish clubs to get involved and to consider making the trip next year. It doesn’t matter if only a small number from your club are interested, we can band together and form composite crews, it’s a great way to build links between clubs. If you’d like to understand more about the event, please do get in touch with me (laura.graham@scottish-rowing.org.uk) and we can work together over the season to build a really strong Scottish entry for next year. See you in Spain!”

*Represented RAF but rows for LLRC domestically.  
**Represented CBC but rows for CARC domestically.