News

Posted: 21 March 2025

The first Coastal regatta of the season kicks off in just a few weeks’ time at East Sands Beach, St Andrews. Not only will this exciting event offer both Beach Sprints and Coastal Endurance disciplines but will also give athletes the opportunity to race in solo’s, doubles and quads in each event.

The Saints Coastal Regatta is an important event for athletes who are looking to race internationally in the Beach Sprints discipline, as it forms an early ID event for both the Scotland Rowing Team and the GB Rowing Team. The regatta will offer an opportunity for athletes to show their talent for navigating the sea conditions in a sculling boat, and as is common with beach sprints, boats are provided by the organiser, so just bring yourself, your boat handlers, and a pair of sculls!

For more information on the regatta, including how to enter, follow the link below: 

Saints Coastal Regatta

Don’t forget entries close at 17:00 on Monday 31st March!

Photo credit: Snapper Ron

Megan Hewison and Gregor Hall (Team Captain) on their way to winning the Senior Mixed double at HIRBS 2024.

Scotland Rowing Team

The Scotland Rowing Team will compete at the HIR Beach Sprints Regatta in Country Donegal, Ireland, in September – looking to build on their success in the early iterations of the regatta. The HIR Beach Sprints team will consist of four senior athletes (CM1x, CW1x & CMix2x), two under-23 athletes (U23CMix2x) and four junior athletes (CJM1x, CJW1x & CJMix2x).

Scottish Rowing are also excited to announce that we intend to send a team to the Commonwealth Rowing Association Beach Sprint Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados, this November. While the event schedule is still to be confirmed, we are expecting events to be run across Senior, U21 and U19 categories.

The Scotland Rowing Team Selection Policy for the HIR Beach Sprints Regatta is already available on the ‘Rowing for Scotland’ section of the Scottish Rowing Website and highlights the recommendation from selectors to race at the Saints Coastal Regatta. The Selection Policy for the CRA Beach Sprints Championships will be published in due course once we have confirmation of the event schedule by the organising committee. The Selection Policies also include information regarding ergometer assessment as part of the selection process, which are in line with the GB Rowing Team Trials processes.

Rowing for Scotland webpage

GB Rowing Team

There are many opportunities for Senior and U19 athletes to compete for the GB Rowing Team this coming season and this year the Selection Policy has outlined several domestic coastal events in the season for athletes to show their performances and potential to row for GB in the Beach Sprints discipline for Phase One of the GB Trials process. Saints Regatta is the first of these events, and the only one taking place in Scotland offering a unique opportunity for Scottish athletes to gain an invitation to Phase Two of the GB Trials process and take part in the GB Beach Sprint Selection Trial in July.

To be eligible for the Beach Sprint Selection Trial, athletes must complete the online registration process, compete at a Phase One selection event, and submit ergometer assessment scores as per the Selection Policy (the ergometer assessments are in line with Scotland Rowing Team submissions).

Registration information for the GB Rowing Beach Sprint Team will be sent to those who have signed up to the mailing list using the following link.

You can find more information about the GB Beach Sprints Pathway and the Coastal Competition Calendar using the links provided.

International Events

A list of international opportunities available to athletes has been summarised below:

Photo credit: Ben T / British Rowing

The Great British mixed quad winning Gold at the 2024 World Finals, with three Scots onboard. Heather Gordon - Inverness rowing club, Cam Buchan  - Edinburgh university boat club, Ryan Glymond - University of St Andrews boat club, alumnus.

For further information on either the Scotland Rowing Team or GB Rowing Team trials process, or for information on how to get involved with more Beach Sprint & Coastal sculling, please get in touch with Scottish Rowing’s Beach Sprint Pathway Coach, Iain Docwra