In conversation with Naomi Ashcroft: “Once you’re a rower, you’re always a rower”

Fergus Mainland catches up with the Henley Women’s Regatta Chairman ahead of the British Rowing Masters Championships

As the rowing calendar goes, it doesn’t get much busier than June. Rivers up and down the country are jam-packed with racing, the three 2000m venues across the UK are booked up, and thousands of athletes start to rack up hundreds of miles getting in as much racing as possible in the (hopefully) sunny days.

In the middle of the month, we can look forward to two blockbuster weekends, first up in Nottingham for the British Rowing Masters Championships. Then less than a week later, crews from around the world will travel to the hallowed waters that flow between the booms for Henley Women’s Regatta.

For Henley Women’s Regatta Chairman Naomi Ashcroft, it’s set to be quite a couple of weeks as she prepares not only to host the premier event for women’s rowing but also to take to the waters at the Masters Championships.

“I always say once you’re a rower, you’re always a rower and race because we enjoy the sport,” explained Naomi who will be racing in a Masters D double scull with Rebecca Sadler as well as a Masters E quad with Judith Burne and Helen Mangan.

“I met Helen when I moved to Runcorn in the early 1990s when she was already in the Great Britain lightweight sculling team and she’s been quite an inspirational athlete who strongly motivated my training! I was following in her footsteps a little bit so after all these years it’s quite nice to be still sculling together and sit in the same boat rather than chasing each other down the river!”

For Naomi and Rebecca, their double is a combination that has been racing together for nearly three decades, winning HWR on three occasions, picking up several British Championship medals, as well as some success in a pair as well.

“Rebecca’s children came along but other than that, we’ve probably raced competitively most years over that time and we’re fortunate to be able to do that thanks to Rebecca’s husband Dan.

“We raced together for the first time probably before you were born Fergus in 1998 and we won at Henley women’s in the lightweight double and we’ve won it three times in 1999 and again in 2007.”

For Naomi and Rebecca, next weekend is set to be another chapter in a fascinating rowing journey.

“We want to be able to go for the racing experience. You need that to keep you on your toes and to have a training objective. I think every time we get in those boats, we just want to make the boat go as fast as we can. It’s an age-old old thing.

“You focus on the process and the results will come so we’ll be looking to make the boat go as fast as possible and we’ll also be hoping for flat conditions!”

While looking ahead to racing coming up in Nottingham, the 2002 World Champion also found herself reminiscing about some ventures into sweeping.

In 2006 the duo left a blade behind and teamed up with Guin Batten to give the pair a crack.

“Let’s just say there was quite a steep learning curve,” said Naomi with a smile.

“We went from a fairly average performance in Ghent in early May to then winning at HWR in 2006 so it was good because it was a challenge for us and Guin. I think whenever crews are racing it’s about the journey and how you arrive on the start line and if you win or lose, if you’ve raced to the best of your availability at the time then I think crews need to be really pleased with what they’ve achieved.”

Along with Naomi, many of the other volunteers who make up the HWR Executive Committee will be racing at the Masters Championships as well as other events up and down the country, which goes to show that rowing truly is a sport for life.