How a world champion head teacher is preparing for the British Rowing Indoor Championships

In between lessons, Fergus Mainland spoke with Matthew West about a showdown with James Cracknell, a teachers ergo race, and how he’s gearing up for BRIC 2025

As a head teacher, time is in short supply for Matthew West. Bouncing between commitments and surprises that come with leading a school would leave anyone exhausted but for Matthew, his day will always end on the rowing machine in his garage.

Chatting on a Tuesday afternoon in between duties, it became clear how passionate Matthew was about sport, which is why he has always found time for it ever since he was 16.

Having played both rugby league and rugby union to a high level, the former PE teacher was looking for his next challenge around the time that Great Britain’s Men’s Coxless Four was preparing to conquer the world down under. It was a moment that inspired Matthew as much as anyone else in the country.

“I got to the 2000 Olympics, the Steve Redgrave one, and I was absolutely obsessed with the TV show, ‘Gold Fever.’ I had a videotape of it and used to watch it all the time,” said Matthew.

“I was coming towards the end of my rugby career, and I went to the gym one day and there was a sign-up for the, as it was back then, British Indoor Rowing Championships. It was in Reading at the time; this was 2000, and I thought I’d sign up and have a go.

“I went down there and I went into the changing rooms and they were too busy, so I found some other ones at the back of the arena. I walked in and I’m tying my shoelaces and I looked up and it was James Cracknell and I thought, ‘Oh my god!’ This was maybe three or four weeks after he had won a gold at the Olympics.

“We chatted, I got a picture with him, and then I got in the race and was up against him. I then trained for the whole year, committed, and at the following BIRC, I got on the front row of the competition. It was the famous race between James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent. I was six down from them. There was the British Olympic team there and me on the end! But it was a great experience. I rowed for two or three years, got my 2000m down to about 6:13, and then hit my thirties and life took over.”

Like so many others, Matthew took a step back from rowing, spending time with his young family but also dipping his toe into marathons and triathlons. However, the rowing machine was ever present and the machine that he ends his days on in his garage is the same one he bought 10 years ago to keep himself fit amongst a busy head teacher’s schedule.

Seven years ago, the school he runs participated in a junior indoor rowing programme in Leeds. When it came time for the teacher’s race, he dutifully answered his Head of PE’s challenge, storming to victory in the two-minute race with no preparation. Following his stellar preparation, Matthew got stuck back into the training before the pandemic hit, allowing him to fully immerse himself in training and virtual competitions.

“I started doing all of the online competitions, got involved with an online club, and that’s how I got back to it,” explained the British, European, and World Champion.

“Since then, I’ve had loads of success winning online competitions during the pandemic, when everything was virtual, there were the Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and British events, and you could just pick all these up, and it was great, you really felt part of a community. It’s a complete contrast to this job, and it’s great to tell the kids that I’m a double world champion.

Since the pandemic, Matthew has kicked on and stamped his authority on whatever race he’s been a part of, specialising in the 500m distance. In 2023, he was crowned British Champion, and the next year he won the European and World Championships in the same event.

“I remember going to the World Rowing Indoor Championships in Prague, and you follow these people on Instagram and you get to know them over two or three years. When I bumped into Luke Wollenschlaeger, who was second in our race, I’d never met him in person. I saw him in the queue, and we both ran up to each other and hugged.

“We went out afterwards with a load of other people for a meal and drinks, and you speak about families and things, and it was fantastic. When you’re older, you’re happy to be there, there’s a lot of mutual respect, and it’s a good community to be a part of, so I’m very lucky.

“As you get older, you realise that not many people our age are still doing it, and those people who are still doing it are pretty good. I have nothing but respect for the people I race against”

Following some time off due to injuries, Matthew is midway through a big block of training preparing him to race at this year’s British Rowing Indoor Championships.

What started as six months of power lifting has transitioned into a training block focussing on sustaining his power in the closing stages of the race. Having participated in some HYROX events in recent years, his sole focus is on BRIC in a couple of months’ time.

“I got in touch with an online coach who put a programme together for me. It’s now week eight of that. I wasn’t too sure what I was doing the first three weeks, and then the last two weeks have been fantastic with some good stats and good scores.

He’s trying to work on my weaknesses, which is the back end of the race, the last 150 200m. I’m ok out of the blocks, I hit 300m feeling good, but it’s a case of hanging on. I’ve done less power work in terms of top-end speed but a lot more work on sustainability, and I’ve loved it.”

Fitting training in around a packed school schedule is always tough and becomes more challenging as competitions get closer.

“In the back of my mind, I’ve always got the 2012 Olympics, where they talked about athletes washing their hands in school, and I’m constantly washing my hands! The week before a race, I won’t shake anybody’s hands, which is difficult as a head teacher because you meet loads of people and lots of parents, but I’m looking after myself. Fuelling is good, nutrition is going ok, and training is fantastic.”

With no chance of fitting training in the lunch break, mornings and evenings have become crucial for Matthew and his preparations for BRIC.

“I’d go in for 5:30 in the morning, get the power lifting done for an hour, shower, change, and into work. As a head teacher, your demands are great after school, but having gone back to rowing, I really struggle doing it in the morning because I’ve fasted. Lifting is fine, I can get PBs in the morning with a bit of pre-workout and maybe a gel, but I cannot deal with lactic acid in the morning, so I have to do it at night.

“Last night, I had a governors meeting, normal stuff for school leaders, which finished about 19:15. I got home, spoke to my wife, put the boys to bed, and then went into the garage and got on the rowing machine. I finished around 20:45, which isn’t daft, but you’ve then got to have your tea, and get yourself ready for the next day. Tonight’s session is only nine minutes long. It will have a 15-minute warm-up and a number of sprints, but if I did that this morning, I don’t think I’d be able to go to school, but tonight, I’ve eaten well during the day, I’ll go home, warm up, and I’ll be ok.”

The British Rowing Indoor Championships will take place 6-7 December 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham.