Broken Oars Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Launched during Lockdown 1.0, Broken Oars began life as a fun, informative and occasionally factually accurate podcast curated by two rowers who like talking about the art and practice of pushing boats down rivers backwards.

You might think that there’s not a lot that can be said about that, but the Broken Oars team (one Southern One, one Northern One) have begged to differ. Aided and abettted by stellar guests from the world of rowing, elite sport and coaching, alongside journalists, subject-leading professionals, and adventurers, episode by episode the podcast has shown that there are as many stories, anecdotes, insights, perspectives and takeaways as there are participants in this wonderful sport of ours (and beyond).

From addressing hot-button issues with sensitivity and nuance (athlete welfare, HP programmes, performance, training, racing, where funding goes, athlete transition, Trans sport) to asking the questions no other podcast does (’Would you rather have Matthew Pinsent or Beowulf in your Fantasy Eight?’), Broken Oars has been described by some as the original and best rowing podcast; by British Rowing as ’the one podcast out of all of the other podcasts out there that we don’t actually listen to’; and by its founders as ’a public act of standing outside the tent directing the flow both in and out while also shaking it all about ...’

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The Northern One reads Ed Waugh's classic life of the north-eastern legend, Harry Clasper.

After a week away in the North Yorkshire Dales recuperating, your favourite Northen One returns with part three of this autumn's deep dive into art, paintings and songs about poo.

In this episode, we'll talk and learn all about how William Frith's work spawned a craze for 'representative' scenes of modern life, why the term post-modernism is adolescently arsy, pictures as 'texts' to be read, and the commercial possibilities that occur when the 'vulgar mob' (F.W. Fairholt) sees itself positively expressed in your work - which is why critics don't know what they're talking about, Oasis sold more than Blur, and the sound of the sixties wasn't Dylan but Helen Shapiro and Englebert Humperdinck.

We touch on Victorian hypocrisy by noting that all ages are caught between their public faces and private actions, point out that all children are legitimate, mention Harry Clasper again, and come to the birth of the cities that still inform our view of Britain.

And Mancunian exhibitionism.

There's no exhibitionist like a Mancunian exhibitionist.

Look up Frith's The Railway Station (1862), Many Happy Returns of The Day (1856), and For Better, For Worse (1880), George Elgar Hicks' The General Post Office, One Minute To Six (1860), and William Logsdail's The Bank and the Royal Exchange (1887).

Take notes.

And buy us a coffee.

It's your favorite Northern One, coming back with episode two of our deep dive into how artistic representation began to change and why.

In this episode, we sing songs about badgers; and the Northern One goes back to the early Victorian period to look at how the invention of the daguerreotype triggered an artistic revolution: when artists no longer had to strive for photorealism (because a photograph could be taken), they began to move from representing the rich and powerful to capturing and intensifying the world around them. For the first time, plebs appeared in art! And hookers! And pickpockets! And poor people!

To follow along, please look up Edward Frith's Ramsgate Sands and Derby Darby day; Cruikshank's London Comes to Town; and Rodgers, Hammerstein, Hart, Gilbert and Sullivan's celebrated South Sea Badgers musical.

Fact.

Buy us a coffee - and we'll stop doing this stuff.

Maybe.

In our continued effort to bring you, the BrokenOars viewer and listener, valued information, the Southern on has spent the last five weeks mildly toxifying himself in pursuit of a faster ergo score.

There are numerous substances that promise a legal method to greater performance and in this video takes a wonder through a few of them and examines one rower's experience of trying them out.

But not creatine, that stuff is filth.

Better watched than listened to this one I am afraid. But give it a go.

https://youtu.be/eiL5tYGEdHc

Hullo,

Can't sleep?

Me neither.

The Northern One returns with a follow-up to last year's Summer Shorts series. Inspired by a chat with a medical friend about the advances in technology in their career, your favourite Northern Monkey takes a spin through representative art, and representation in art, and how it evolved in the nineteenth century in response to the new.

Starting off with one of the nation's favourite paintings, Turner's The Fighting Temeraire, he reclaims it for all Northern Monkeys.

Like this pod? Stand us a coffee.

x

Did you miss us?

Of course you did!

We're back with Robin Parisotto, the scientist behind the on / off EPO test to discuss the history of doping in sport, why testing regimens are set up to show there is a testing regimen rather than to create clean sports, and why clean sport will never happen in the current systems.

Apart from British rowers.

We're clean.

Get some!

Bowside? Do some work. Strokeside are fixing their mascara. Again.

After the glory and the dream that was our crowing achievement (talking to Sir Matthew Pinsent), Aaron and Lewin return in typical Broken Oars fashion.

That's right.

We watch Olympic races and talk about them as they're happening and then post the episode after the Olympics has finished, but before the Para Games begins.

Oh, and it looks like Podbean took all of our episodes down and dumped them back on the stream so it looks like we were really busy on the 9th August. Apologies, but look at all of the goodness you've missed in the last four years!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Knight of the Realm, Four-time Olympic Champion, ten-time World Champion, Boat Race Winner, Henley Winner, greatest stroke of his generation, Henley Steward, Henley Umpire, Boat Race Umpire, BBC Investigative Journalist, Documentary maker, passionate advocate for sport, the reason The Northern One started rowing and The Southern One has such a fierce 2k pb ...

Sir Matthew Pinsent.

Our work here is done.

(Mic drop).

Order a copy of 'The Mystery of the Cambridge Bow' - an original Broken Oars Sherlock Holmes adventure written to celebrate the Oxford / Cambridge Boat Race:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/ai-jackson/the-mystery-of-the-cambridge-bow/paperback/product-m222pkn.html?q=the+mystery+of+the+cambridge+bow&page=1&pageSize=4

We return!

We return in time for WEHORR (what's left of it); the Boat Race; and a summer regatta season just around the corner with the perfect episode ...

Why?

Because we return with Lucy Denyer - whose Telegraph article on returning to rowing at York recently went viral. Extolling, as it does, the reasons why we row, the joy of moving a boat through flat water and still air (and occasionally in the UK through lumpy water and air that's basically an upright sea with slits in it), and the importance of exercise, community and just getting out there and getting on with it ... ?

Well, we just had to sit down and have a chat.

So join as Lucy takes us through her early rowing experiences on Tyne, the Tyne, the mucky Tyne the Queen of all the rivers with NUBC; and her subsequent shift into life, and an American sojourn that led to a career in journalism that culiminated in an editorial role at The Telegraph (one of the few broadsheets to cover rowing, tbf). Staying active all the while, while dealing with the things all rowers deal with when life starts getting in the way of rowing (work, marriage, children, moving around for career), Lucy talks about her decision to come back; going freelance; rowing and identity; getting on the water again at York (we've all binned a single, right? Right?!?!); and rowing on a river that Lewin I once charged down for Agecroft, complaining that for somewhere that floods everytime it rains it's a very narrow river for an eight to steer down, and the fun she's had since.

And then AI generates some totally random pictures of our interview that gives Lewin and I abs again ...

And it's out in time for the drive to WEHORR, the weekend's events, and the drive to the boathouse tomorrow?

We're too good to you!

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The world's greatest rowing podcast makes a further claim to be regarded as the world's best sporting podcast by returning with yet another world-class practitioner.

Honestly, how many have we had now?

Hundreds. If not thousands. Hodge. Eric. Sally. Drew. Jack. Jezz. Pete ... the lists are long, the tapestry of episodes and insights vast, colourful and eye-catching.

And following on from Professor Andy Jones, the beetroot guy, we're back with Professor Andy Lane.

A competitive boxer and athlete who transitioned into sports psychology, Andy has been a leading-edge academic and practitioner for over two decades - a man whose work with athletes, academics, and programmes has identified the mental strategies all athletes develop on their journey through their sporting careers and refined how they can be developed, implemented and used by all of us at any stage.

We talk about Andy's own trajectory - his life as a competitive athlete, continued competitive nature, his academic career, work with outlets like the BBC and luminaries like Michael Johnson and James Cracknell, and deep dive into concepts like associate / disassociative training strategies, visualisation, pros and cons of music as a training stimulus, when too much data is too much data, the powers of false positives, the necessity of ownership of process, journey, engagement and outcomes ... and the automation of the sports psychology process.

It's basically your one-stop stop for everything you'll ever need to develop mental strength as an intrinsic part of your physical training programme.

A fascinating and wide-ranging chat with one of the best in the business?

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Enjoyed this episode?

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This discount code will allow you to buy the book at a 15% discount - and enjoy one of the great rowing stories!

Buy us a coffee, download a training plan, and support us so we can carry on making Broken Oars Podcast, the best rowing podcast in the world: www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsd

Please buy us a coffee so we can carry on making the best rowing podcast in the world, Broken Oars Podcast!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsd.

Thank You!

The world's greatest rowing podcast returns - and it couldn't be more timely.

As some of us head back to school (quite literally) and all of us head back to the water at the start of the new rowing season we are joined by Dr. Michael Cannon to talk about balancing resources against ambitions impacts on rowers, rowing and rowing clubs.

(Right at the start of the season?

When every club in the land is setting its season goals and agenda?

Thank you, Broken Oars and Dr. Cannon! You're the best.

Yes.

Yes, we are).

Beginning rowing while at The University of Durham, Dr. Cannon went on to row, coach, and captain, helping out at college and university level before going on to teach and coach at schools level before moving on to row at and for Staines, Eton Excelsior, Maidenhead and Vesta.

One of nature's natural organisers and administrators, Michael's journey through the sport has taken in the side of the sport without which we wouldn't have a sport: the running and administering and organising of clubs, squads, boats, fleets, heads and regattas.

And while this all might sound about as fun as watching paint dry, not only wouldn't we have a sport without the Dr. Cannon's of this world, but it (and a quick look at the books on offer at Companies House) raised the question:

What happens when clubs start raising their ambition levels above the levels of their resources?

(Or to put it more bluntly, what is UK rowing's current obsession with making Henley Royal Regatta costing clubs?)

We talk about the costs of running and maintaining clubs, membership levels and running a fleet. We discuss the perception of what a 'club' is supposed to provide and offer to its members, talk about how some clubs have gamed that and the current system to provide 'successful' programmes, look at what 'success' might mean, and what that means for the UK-wide representation within the sport. And we look at the impact of 'professionalism' on a volunteer-run and led sport, before addressing the realities of member turnover in metropolitan areas, and how cost-of-living / housing / work changes over time has impacted the sport as a whole.

Yeah.

We are the original and best.

But that's because our guests are.

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Bow Four! Provide a sunk-cost analysis by the end of this piece, or swim home.

Producing Broken Oars Podcast costs time and money. Please buy us a coffee so we can carry on making the best rowing podcast in the world.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back to Broken Oars Podcast!

It's often been said, usually by us, that Broken Oars Podcast is the home of world-class rowing and rowers on the web ...

... and we prove it yet again in this episode as we are joined by the one, the only, the incredible ...

Elizabeth Gilmore.

For those of you have been living under a rock, Eli is the world-class rowing athlete who has been tearing up the record book since starting in the sport barely two years ago.

Eli joins us for a chat about her sporting background, how she got into indoor rowing, and her transition to the water. Hardly covering ourselves with interviewing technique glory, Lewin and I basically fanboy gush over an incredible person and athlete who had smashed several world records immediately before our conversation. We touch on the vital importance of good and supportive coaching in Eli's journey, the pressures young athletes face regarding body image, weight and performance, and look at where Eli's rowing journey might take her next (we suggested Henley Royal and Henley Women's, but that's just us ...).

We've always been blessed with amazing guests on Broken Oars Podcast, but that's largely because we talk to rowers ... who are, basically, amazing people.

And Eli is one of us.

Just considerably faster than most of us.

Get some!

Producing Broken Oars Podcast costs time and money. Please support us so we can carry on making the best rowing content in the world by buying us a coffee.

Buy us a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsD?new=1

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Two of the Big Beasts of the Sub 7 Indoor Rowing Club sit down with us for a good old Trans-Atlantic chinwag, about Indoor Rowing, Type II fun, Long Covid, the C2 Cross Team Challenge, trying (and failing) to bring others into the sport and why belonging to and indoor rowing club is good fun. Albeit Type II fun.

This is the audio version of the video we put up on YT some months ago about how to go about and what to look for in the purchasing of rowing coaching.

The Posh Southern One looks at -

Why you should and shouldn't buy coaching.

The Pete Plan
The Concept 2 Interactive Training Guide
RowAlong with John Steventon
Dark Horse Rowing, YouTube
Asensei Rowing

What types of coaching and programming you can purchase.

https://www.rojabo.com/
https://www.live2rowstudios.com/
https://ucanrow2.com/
https://www.aliciarclark.com/
https://tonylarkman.com/indoor-rowing/
https://edgerowing.com/
https://fletchersportscience.com/
https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/about-us/faculties-schools-and-departments/faculty-of-science-engineering-and-social-sciences/sportslab/services-for-teams-and-individuals
https://www.erg.zone/

What your initial interaction with a coach should be like, and the basics of managing the coach athlete relationship.

Your genial hosts, Lewin (Southern, posh) and Aaron (Northern, illiterate) returns as warriors of old who have journeyed beyond the circle of firelight to gain the knowledge that men know not wot of and return with it ...

... just in time for Henley's weeks too.

It's like we've got access to calendars and watches and diaries and the internet and stuff.

So, in this episode there is:

No poetry!

No dead authors!

A couple of living ones ...

And a brief discussion of killer hayfever; people trying to outfox the strict liability rule, the death of wonder in sports, the joy, absolute joy of small regattas, the wonder of Hexham (where Lewin wonders why our Victorian forebears decided to take representative slices of Surrey and the better bits of the Home Counties and put them as Southern embassies in the North in the case of Durham and Hexham); racing while gypsies wash horses in the river next to you; Appleby; why the correct number of boats, horses and guitars is always 'one more ...'; and why Women's Henley could now be considered as 'proper' Henley now that Henley Royal has become a superslick paean to elite athletes and clubs ...

But because it's us, we don't leave it there, diving into the cyclical nature of success; the art of commentary (and why we both want to do more of it); where stockpiling elite athletes in HP programmes like America and Russia stockpiled Nazi scientists after WW2 does not lead to global armageddon but does cut down on the pathways to rowing at uni that many of our best and brightest and stalwartest came through ... before we do something amazing:

We invent a whole new regatta.

And it's the regatta you've always wanted to do.

Oh, and buy us a coffee. We don't charge for this podcast, but it does take us some time and effort to produce, edit, resource and so on so the odd hot cuppa and biscuits wouldn't go amiss!

Get some!

Try listening to us with a coffee - and if you're feeling generous, stand us one.

Buy us a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsD?new=1

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Having previously examined the science informing the debate around Trans inclusion in Women's categories in sport, Broken Oars Podcast returns with an updated look at what remains fast-moving, ongoing and highly-contentious issue.

During a recent conversation, Lewin and I turned again to discuss what had happened since our first discussion of these issues, particularly with regards to highly-contentious issue of natal-men being allowed to compete against natal-women in sport; the pressures faced by NGB's to promote a sport-for-all approach in the face of quite incendiary activism on the Trans side and pushback on the women's side; and the questions of fairness and inclusivity that must be at the heart of every discussion.

Upon reviewing our intiial conversation, we decided that, on occasion, we had been too flippant about what is a serious subject. You will know, as regular listeners, that we take very little seriously, including ourselves, and treat everyone as fair game, including ourselves.

On this occasion, however, we realised that given how inflammatory some of the rhetoric, language, case-making and arguments have been in the discussion to date, what was needed was a sober look at the facts and realities of Trans biology, inclusion, and the current policies of rowing's regulatory bodies - and what they mean for the current state of play.

So here it is ...

Full Crew. From backstops. The first movement is down and it doesn't have to be fast. You aren't grabbing the last sausage roll at the party. Attention ...

Welcome back one and all to Broken Oars Podcast - the Rowing World's best and most informative podcast (bar Crossy's Corner - we'll hear no bad words about that man. He's a legend).

As you know, while the Southern One finishes up a professional qualification the Northern One has been taking his brain out for a spin to talk about poets and poetry.

(Yes, it does sound remarkably like listening to paint drying, doesn't it ... ?)

But fear not, this is the Northern One - a man incapable of uttering a snooze-inducing sentence, finding a subject he can't make a quip or point about, or being boring generally. And it is in that capacity that he's created the perfect series for people to dip into while the nights are long, the air balmy, and the weather perfect for sitting out in the garden and doing some culture.

Yeah.

Cultchah!

Having whistle-stopped through Thomas Hardy and A.E Housman, detoured into how a Brian called Geordie (should that sentence be the other way 'round ... ? Ed) is to blame for guitar heroes and all of their widdle, and then leapt back to look at Charles Dickens ... a theme is emerging ...

That's right:

How did we get here from there.

Or to put it more simply, why Britain today is largely the same as Britain then?

(Isn't this fun? We're learning all about caesuras and enjambments and what happened when and where and to who and asking cool questions! Who said no, when's the rowing stuff coming ... ?).

In this episode we engage with one of the most problematic writers in the canon: Rudyard Kipling.

An Anglo-Indian, with a deep apprehension of the realities and mythologies of Empire, Kipling was more famous in his day than Steve Redgrave (largely because Steve Redgrave hadn't been born then) but is rarely read now.

We learn why; explore why it's a short step from denying or revising books to burning them; and look at why should and what we can learn from engaging with a racist, and imperialist ... and the most important English writer since Shakespeare. We explore how Empire was not a benevolent force for good, or a civilising mission but instead always and forever an economic enterprise; and illustrate how its expansion ran alongside technological expansion - something Kipling was keenly aware of.

Examining Kipling's status as an Anglo-Indian, and thus a second-class person, we look at the way he explored and exposed the myths of Empire to show its realities: the overt racism of The White Man's Burden, the sham of Britain standing alone given its reliance on its connections to the world in Big Steamers; and the people who work alongside or create the technology that sustains the whole endeavour in McAndrew's Hymn and The King. We reclaim Mandalay from Boorish and see how Kipling's wide-ranging work in poetry, short stories, children's stories and novels should be engaged with if we are to overcome our cultural amnesia and beliefs about the missing 300 years of our history that we don't talk about or teach.

And that's before we get to Tommy - as pertinent now as it was then.

And it's out in time for the weekend? And there's a rowing episode coming out too?

Get some!

Bow? You're a jelly-bellied flag-flapper. Take a tap.

Broken Oars Podcast returns with its celebrated Summer Shorts series.

After the glory and the dream that was Thomas Hardy as social climber; the weirdness that was A.E Housman inventing England; and an exploration of how a Geordie called Brian invented the guitar hero (true ... ), we dive back to the early Victorian period ...

*Why?

That was you, wasn't it, three? It's always three ...*Because a theme is emerging, something that might loosely be called the condition of England. This is a term that hasn't been in fashion since before the First World War, but it's helpful in understanding why Britain is the way it is in the third decade of the twenty-first century if we also understand that many of the things we struggle with today were things we struggled with then ...

Step forward, Charlie boy!

Pour a glass of something nice, put your feet up, and we'll get into why imaginative leaps forward rarely come from elites; if the British national character is defined by a tension between the drive to be modern and the urge to look back; why Britain hasn't changed in 200 years; what literature was considered to be back then; how Charles Dickens, through luck as much as acumen tapped into a new audience; and in doing so, how his belief in the fundamental kindliness of human nature, embraced by his audience, helped to balance the undoubted issues and iniquities of the age by doing some good.

We're told to be kind to ourselves nowadays - and being kind to others wouldn't hurt either.

Back soon with more rowing!

Get some!

Yes, I know he's not a poet, three. There'll be more poetry soon too.

I (Northern One), have thought of so many ways to introduce this:

The finest rower of his generation is joined by Drew Ginn, Andrew McNeil, Anthony Bergelin and Lewin Hynes to ...

You know - that tongue-in-cheek quippy thing that you've come to expect from your Northern Correspondent while your Southern Correspondent (Lewin) does all of the science-y bits and the intelligent questions.

Or, something like:

The world's finest rowing podcast (Crossy's Corner excluded. We'll not hear a word said against Martin. He's a living legend) returns and gives three unknowns from a land down under a chance to talk about shovelling a boat backwards down a river ...

You know - the self-deprecating / self-aggrandising stuff that we do so well on Broken Oars Podcast (while also being, you know, the best rowing podcast in the world ... ).

But I can't.

Because, ladies and gentlemen (and children of all ages), we bring to you:

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN ROUNDTABLE!

It's our first ever roundtable, and we're not sure we'll ever be able to top it. Why? Not just because it's taken over a year to organise, but because your genial Southern One (Lewin) and your genially-grumpy Northern one (Aaron) are joined by Anthony Bergelin, Andrew McNeil and Drew Ginn.

Yes, this is an absolute brains trust of rowing and performance, and you, like us, get to join in with one of the best conversations about rowing you're every likely to hear, but unlike most in the field, Berge, Drew and Macca come at these elements from the refreshing perspective of engaging with and enjoying what you're doing first, and connecting who you're doing it with ... because if you tick those boxes, the first two will surely follow.

So, strap in, buckle up, and tune in to hear about the early years, why culture is not something you write on a piece of paper but live through your values; why lightweights are bitter and twisted; why the club system is so, so important; about how connection is all, not just to the water, but to those around you: how you build trust by empowering people to have a voice; why why is the most important question you can ask (and if people say 'because I say so' you're in the wrong place); why feel beats data in rowing when data in rowing doesn't also feel; why more mileage doesn't equal better rowers but buying a frisbee just might; how great coaches give of themselves, while lesser ones might take or look to over-control; that being fast going in straight lines is great, but rowing on rivers where there's a beer and bbq waiting for you at the end might just be the thing you're looking for; how jumping in a boat with the juniors or the masters lads and lasses doesn't take away from you as a senior (believe us, if one of the greatest to ever do it is not just willing but vocal about diving in with a mate's daughter and enjoying it, you should be too ... ); music, patterns, rowers vs. athletes, the athletic mindset, running thought experiments on yourself, and training back in the curiosity and love of life you had trained out of you by the 'this is how you do it ...' approach.

Seriously, get a notebook, get a pen, get a cup of coffee and take notes.

Berge, Macca and Drew are about to change your lives.

The Broken Oars listenership is a generous and giving one, so if you could follow back to vsk.org.au, and support their and Drew's work, we'd appreciate it. Cancer will hit 1 in every 2 of us at some point in our lives, so if it doesn't hit us, it's likely to affect someone close to us ... so let's get in this fight and push back.

And hit the guys up on Twitter with your comments, thoughts and feedback - or just to let them know how much they absolutely SMASHED this:

@Bergeonline @drewginn @andrewsmcneil Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you: THE GREAT AUSSIE ROUNDTABLE!

A year in the making?

Totally worth it!
(Redgrave, Pinsent, Cracknell ... ? Or more likely Hodgey, Pete and Alex? The ball's in your court ... ).

Stern four? Quiet. Bow four. Easy oars. You're in the presence of greatness.

Welcome back to Episode Three of Broken Oars Summer Shorts Series.

Try saying that quickly six times ...

In this episode, we shift from talking about poets working in one form (poetry, obvs ... ) to the man who invented the guitar hero. This poet of the instrument, responsible for refiguring the guitar from something with six strings into a mystical weapon in the hands of its practitioners, was a man called Brian

And he was from Newcastle.

No, seriously.

This isn't the Northern One's having one of his occasional flights of linguistic fancy.

It's all true.

So turn on, drop out and tune in to find out how Brian from Newcastle not only invented the guitar hero but also inspired every act of sonic magic created by six strings that happened thereafter. We'll talk about how its girls who rule the world while boys always remain boys - and why it's this reality that's responsible for the legions of spods and corksniffers who came along post-Brian to make the guitar, guitar music and guitar culture the heritage industry it is today.

But mostly it's about Brian, from Newcastle, who changed the world.

You're welcome, world.

Try listening to us with a coffee - and if you're feeling generous, stand us one.

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Welcome back to Episode Two of Broken Oars Summer Shorts Series - the book club for rowers where no books about rowing are discussed ...

(And that's a promise ... ).

Instead, to fill the golden dawns and endless twilights of summer, we're taking a whirl through some poets and poetry, leavened with the odd observation about the things that the Northern One used to know about before Covid and Long Covid bollocksed his brain: culture, history, why everything is an art, why artists are as full of crap as the rest of us, self-narration, why squaring early helps with developing a good catch ...

You know ...

Bowsider stuff.

In this episode, following on from our first episode deep dive into Thomas Hardy (and yes, we know: a deep dive into a native of Dorset is not a thing to be taken likely. We speak from experience when it comes to that, but it can be very rewarding, especially if you like rough scrumpy and cold sea swimming as the sun comes up. No, these are not metaphors ... ) we get stuck into the life and work of A. E. Housman.

A late-Victorian Classicist who caught the uneasy mood of late-nineteenth century Britain, Housman's first collection, A Shropshire Lad, appears, on the surface, to reflect the beliefs of his era: the vigour and promise of youth; that England's authentic spirit is held in her landscapes, particularly those of her countryside; and that perhaps something eternal and intrinsic has been lost in Britain's race to invent the modern world.

All of those themes are there, of course. The late-Victorian period is, after all, when the Victorian's literary obsession with little girls as symbols of purity and innocence gives way to celebrating young boys and men - fittingly enough in a culture that suggested that martial prowess had won Britain the empire.

But there is a deeper, resonant melancholy in Housman's work. On one level, this reflects the then-held sense that although British Imperial power had never been greater, there was a feeling that the best had past; that the only way to fulfil youthful promise was to die young and enshrine its potential rather see that potential failed to live up to; that something, indeed, had been lost.

On the other, it speaks more potently of Housman's own unrequited passion for a fellow male undergraduate; what he felt he had lost; that the golden promise of his own youth as manifested in those feelings had not been realised for all his professional success. From this perspective, the landscapes of the blue-remembered hills, read as England's lost pastoral spirit remaining in the land by some, are actually the internal landscapes of the heart, and what Housman himself had lost.

Sounds weird? Yeah. The Victorians were, as the youth of today say, completely mental. So pull up a chair, get a glass of something cold and good, or hot and steaming, and let's dive into an object lesson of how they might be our ancestors but they might as well be aliens for all we have in common with them.

Except for the idea that Britain's best days are behind her - that one's a hardy perennial thrown out regularly by everyone from scoundrel politicos to offshore press barons alike. Plus ca change, eh ... ?

Try listening to us with a coffee - and if you're feeling generous, stand us one.

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Summer is upon us, the regatta season is in full swing and with both come the merry sound of everyone in the sport of rowing going 'Crap! It's x regatta next week. We need to start thinking about a start pattern ... '

And so the Northern One returns with the observation why didn't we start working on it last September, at the start of the season, given it's, you know, a technical skill to develop.

In this episode, we talk about why technical work should be as hard and engaged with as fully as physical work (because it's free speed, dummies ... and yes, I am quoting what Kev M once said to me, why do you ask?); and why we should all treat drills as being as important as mileage: rather than being things we charge through to get to the rowing,

THEY ARE ALL THE ROWING.

Broken Oars throws out how just getting moving during an outing can be used as a litmus test of where we are and what we need to work on, as well as the standards we're prepared to accept, and then gets into the magic of getting boat moving. We talk about Head Race starts and Regatta race starts, and the differences and similarities between them before getting down to it:

How to pick up a boat from a standing start, accelerate it to its top sustainable speed for the distance and hold it there.

What we're looking for in terms of feel, what we're doing in terms of technique, why we do the 3/4, 1/2, 1/2, 3/4, 3/4 dance, why it's precise brutality we're after; why we use wind and drive as calls, why the backs in call comes in later in sequences and what terms like 'swing', 'transition' or 'push into rhythm' mean and should feel like.

And why you should never, ever call 'settle.'

We're rowers.

We never settle.

Except for coffee.

We like coffee.

We'll settle for that.

Feel free to buy us one: www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsD?new=1

Try listening to us with a coffee - and if you're feeling generous, stand us one.

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Welcome back to Broken Oars Podcast - and the first in what we (I, Northern One, oppressed ... ) am calling our Summer Poetry Series ...

What is it, I hear you cry (perhaps very faintly).

Well, it's me, taking a whistle-stop tour through some poets, their lives and works - perfect listening for long summer evenings, lazy holidays, long drives, rambles through the countryside, mornings sleeping in, getting the barbeque going, or chilling in the garden with a glass of something ...

Why are you doing it I hear you ask, and will there be any rowing in it? (rather more pertinently).

Well, perhaps I'm doing it because your Northern Correspondent is a bowsider by training, nature and temperament - you always find the wilder, freer spirits on the oar to the left. Perhaps I'm doing it because I'm a seven-man for the same reasons - all sevens are essentially stroke but with a brain. But mostly it's because I fancy using that brain again to see what's left of it after Covid and Long Covid.

What better way of doing that than seeing what I can remember about dead people who used to write stuff?

Exactly. Think of it like a book group for rowers.

(Really, I'm doing it because I love talking about stuff and learning. Unless we're in a boat, where our steering is impeccable, we are, like the GB Tokyo Four, a rowing podcast determined not to stay in our lane ... ).

Unlike the episodes on the Romantics, which was heavy on the theory and light on how much smack Coleridge actually did, this will be a user-friendly whirl through lives, works, loves, foibles, themes and the odd reading of a decent poem or two.

So, pull up a chair, pour a glass, and let's start with Thomas Hardy, the peasant who ended being buried in Westminster Abbey but who sent his heart to Dorset. Hardy was as famous in his age as Kim Kardashian was in hers, but unlike Kim he turned to poetry later in life after the savaging of his novel 'Jude the Obscure.' No, Kim's bum does not qualify as poetry, and although reams have been written about it, nor does it qualify as timeless prose (although the implants will probably outlive us all). We'll take a turn around Hardy's life and work, and I'll probably throw in some contrarian observations about why English Literature is a bust; why you should read what you like to read; and answer the question 'can we still enjoy the art when we know that the artist was a twat?'

(No, in case you're wondering).

And there'll be some rowing along shortly ...

If you enjoy this, or listen to the podcast regularly, support our work by buying us a coffee:

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GET SOME (POETRY)!

Try listening to us with a coffee - and if you're feeling generous, stand us one.

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Welcome back to Broken Oars Podcast Coronation Special - special because we say nothing, literally nothing, about the coronation.

There is only one King - he's called Tom: he's got the hair, he's got the chin and by God he's got the 2k score too. When Charles can tick any of those three boxes, come back to us and we'll talk.

Instead, hear us roar about:

Rowing in movies and why the epic nature of the sport has never been successfully translated to the screen; what happens when Nicolas Cage takes it on (he produces The Boy in Blue and does his own sculling); is it because rowing can only ever be itself the reason why books about rowing can only describe it by analogy; how much introspection do elite athletes have, and is this why Redgrave's Homeric against-all-odds journey and success was rendered in prose that's a guaranteed cure for insomnia; the return of Mark Hancock to a boat; why waiting for coaches to praise you is like waiting for societal and cultural change in Great Britain (it hasn't happened for 1000 years, stop holding your breath); why rowing with women civilises men and why they move the boat better, or at least don't get in its way - which leads to better outings; and Lewin and Aaron's recent trip to Lake Bled for a paddle together for the first time in a decade ...

Get Some!

My cousin Cath passed away recently, following Ovarian Cancer.

This is a brief remembrance of her and some happier times.

The moments we have are too few. The time goes too quickly; and we lose sight of what's really important and worth treasuring while we put emphasis on or pursue things that don't actually matter. Our families grew up together before, as tends to happen, we grow apart and into our own lives. In the end, the moments, though, are all we have. I'm glad I had some with you, Cath.

Thanks to Lewin for listening.

Easy Oars ...

Broken Oars Podcast, and your genial hosts Lewin (Southern, oppressive) and Aaron (Northern, oppressed) return ...

... and you'll notice that we're practically fizzing with glee as we do.

Why?

Because we're joined by Peter Holmes.

We are no strangers to hyperbole on Broken Oars Podcast. Our episode blurbs are masterpieces in the art of all of its forms: hyperbole, repetitive hyperbole, deflationary hyperbole, inflationary hyperbole and (our favourite) the sort of hyperbole Han got out of the Millennium Falcon only done with oars.

(Give me ten on the legs and horizon this bunch of sadsacks, now ... ! is a call neither of us have ever used (much)).

But in this instance, we are somewhat underselling it when we say that Pete is one of rowing's great coaches, thinkers and communicators.

Beginning his rowing journey at Latymer, and continuing during his time at Cambridge, Pete's engagement with rowing developed in tandem and conversation with his younger brother, Andy - an individual who remains one of the undersung heroes of British Rowing despite being a double-Olympic champion, fierce and committed competitor and an outstanding oarsman who, among others, inspired the young Matthew Pinsent to take up the sport.

Applying the insights about boatmoving that Andy was learning, applying and developing while working with Spracklen and Redgrave as he moved on to teach and coach at Eton, St. Paul's, the University of Manchester and Agecroft, Pete developed a coaching ethos centered on empowering athletes to own and take control of their development and progression by understanding and embracing what actually moves a boat.

In this freewheeling, insightful and essential episode we discuss what actually moves a boat - pressure against the pin against the blade - and explore what the logical outcome of this means for the rowing stroke: it is the application of maximum pressure through the arc of the stroke from beginning to end that moves the boat the most efficiently.

Breaking down how we can translate that to the actual practise of rowing leads to a fascinating conversation on avoiding coaching mood music; the importance of avoiding fads and fashions; why the first step in any squad journey must be standardising equipment so that it can then be individualised to the rower later in the programme; the importance of knowing why you do the drills you do; why the search for magic bullets is part of human nature but ultimately unproductive ...

... and why the most important question a rower can ask is 'why' (because it leads to the understanding of 'how').

Some of this might be counter-intuitive to modern orthodoxies; it might challenge some preconceptions, but this a masterclass on a par with Drew Ginn's much-heralded episode on Broken Oars. Pete puts a lifetime of knowledge on the art and practice of moving a boat well in this podcast, coaching, what makes a rower, what makes a crew, training, and more beside ...

And he's currently not coaching?

Someone snap that man up for their programme!

Get some!

All Eight? Drive the legs like you're kicking a burning dog off you.

Holmes and Watson have travelled to Cambridge to investigate the apparent suicide of a college student.

When they get there, however, they discover both a Priest's Hole and an abandoned button. Are they something or nothing?

A visit to the college boathouse leads to conversations with Mr Pitman and Mr. Muttlebury and it is discovered that Mr. Martin, the deceased, had just been told he had been selected for the final crew for the forthcoming boatrace, beating out a Lord Denby ...

Find out the final shocking truth in The Mystery of the Murdered Bow!Get Some!

We return as the mystery deepens!

Holmes and Watson have been called from their chambers at 221b Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade to investigate the apparent suicide of a young gentleman at a Cambridge College.

On arriving, they find Mr. Martin, the deceased, in his chambers, slumped over his desk, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. The door had to forced by Mr. Potter, the porter, and no-one else was found in the room with him at the time of his discovery.

Investigating the scene, Holmes finds a priest's hole, common enough in the older Cambridge colleges, and a button.

Are they something? Or are they nothing?

Further investigations lead Holmes to the college boathouse where he learns from Mr. Pitman, that young Mr. Martin had just been awarded his seat in the bows of the Cambridge crew for the Boat Race. Mr. Muttlebury goes on to explain the intricacies and appeal of rowing to Mr. Holmes ... and the vital importance of the bow oar in any boat.

As they walk back to Cambridge, Holmes mulls over what he has learned ...

... is it something, or is it nothing?

The mystery deepens ...

(In last weekend's men's race, the press / media liked the Parrish brothers having a father who rowed for Cambridge. Maybe turns out the more significant help was having a mother who had been a very good @ULBC cox ... ? Just saying ... ).

Welcome back our friends to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside ...

We're back, the original and best rowing podcast and this episode ...

We celebrate the magic of BUCS, the importance of knowing your responsibilities on and off the water and staying safe; why youth is not wasted on the young but why you only realise the aphorism is right once you aren't anymore; why Alan Rickman's diaries are unreadable; why you should keep a diary and what you should put in it; when and where it is appropriate to use the N-word ...

... and then we get to when a rower should give up their dream, whether that is a Henley run, making the squad, or just getting out in a boat ...

NEVER!

Did you miss us?

We missed you.

Accept no substitutes, we are the original and best ...

(... and support the podcast by buying us a coffee. We both drink it: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsD )

Bowside holding, strokeside blades ... we duel at dawn!

Get some!

Welcome back to Part Four of the celebration of Head of the River and the Boat Race that is our exclusive all-new Sherlock Holmes adventure, the first and only one to feature that noblest and greatest of sports, rowing.

The Mystery of the Murdered Bow - Part Four.

Called from 221b Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade's urgent summons, Holmes and Watson have made their way by train to Cambridge.

A young man is dead.

Self-murder is suspected.

On arrival, the evidence initially suggests that the facts fit Lestrade's conclusion: Mr Martin was found alone in his room, with a single gunshot wound to the head. But there is no pistol. And as Holmes examines the room, he finds a priest's hole and single button.

Do they mean anything?

Lestrade thinks not, but Holmes is not sure. His investigation leads him to the college boathouse where a conversation with Mr. Pitman and Mr. Muttlebury, both rowers and crewmates of Mr. Martin, provides new information.

But is it relevant?

Get some!

In celebration of Head of the River and the upcoming Boat Race, the team at Broken Oars have put together a Boat Race special - an all-new Sherlock Holmes adventure:

We give you:

The Mystery of the Murdered Bow - Part Three

The year is 1886.

A young man has been found dead at King's College, Cambridge.

Self-murder is suspected.

Holmes and Watson have been called from 221b Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade.

When Holmes and Watson arrive, the evidence suggests that Lestrade's conclusion fits the facts.

But as Holmes begins to investigate, is there more to what otherwise appears to be an open-and-shut case?

Listen on to find out!

Long drive to HORR? Training tomorrow? Spectating tomorrow? We've got you covered!

Get some!

Broken Oars Podcast, the original and best podcast about the art, practice and people involved pushing a boat backwards down a river, returns with ...

'The Mystery of the Murdered Bow.'

A new Sherlock Holmes adventure written especially for and just in time for Head of the River and the Boat Race.

The year is 1886. All is well in 221b Baker Street. After a long winter, as February slips into March, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are called to Cambridge by Inspector Lestrade one morning ...

The reason?

An apparent self-murder at one of the oldest and most venerable colleges at one of the world's oldest and most venerable universities ...

... but is all truly as it seems?

With new episodes building up all of the way to Boat Race Day, follow each twist and turn and find out ...

(No Coxswains were hurt in the making of this story. This might not be the case in real life).

As promised, Part Two of our three-part deep dive into those crazy opium-eating loons in their flouncy shirts with their consumption and their poetry.

In this episode, we look at the main themes of the age, discuss how the idea of the new day inherent to revolution manifested in the poetry of the time, but also how a theory of literature, in producing a literature to either confirm or deny that theory, exposes the reality that there is no final resting place or resolution.

With added Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley, a load of French and German philosophers ... and a Roman.

Yes. we do have rowing stuff coming ... just as soon as we can actually meet up and interview our guests!

Get some!

Hullo and welcome back to Broken Oars Podcast! As The Southern One wrestles with life and the Northern One wrestles with ... well, life too, while we look for an opportunity to recovene, the Northern One has grabbed a chunk of time to put up another Broken Oars University Episode.

This time it's on the Romantic Poets - on the grounds of why not, it's a New Year, let's get into something fresh and interesting.

But don't worry.

We'll be back to talk about rowing again soon.

So, in this part one of three, we have a chat about those crazy loons from two hundred and odd years ago who decided to start writing about feelings and perception and the inner landscape ... and who in so doing gave rise to Love Island, influencers and rampant narcissism.

We look at what the Romantics were in terms of period, poets and poetry, what they aren't, what went before them, how they self-defined and how we went on to define them. And next week, we'll get into the poetry.

All because Stephen Graham referenced Beowulf recently.

Blame him!

Despite being the world's best rowing podcast (after Martin Cross, anyway) and having had stellar years so far in terms of amazing guests and people annoyed, Broken Oars Podcast have never essayed an end-of-year review.

Well, that stops now.

Here is is, just in time to keep the twelve days of Christmas going and set you up for the New Year. As usual, we throw ourselves into it with our usual gusto, so on this episode, we talk about:

Free speech, the Northern One's alcohol tolerance levels (so small as to need a microscope to view them), how the development of the pocket Jezz Moore App is going; free speech (yeah, we know ... ); and then we got onto our best pod moments, best rowing moment, best workout, best outing, best race and best events of 2022. Oh, we cover them all. Don't let our usual bonhomie-laden style fool you into thinking we haven't thought about any of our answers. This pod is the product of deep, deep research and thought. Small Ergs, Big Dreams falls off our Christmas list for the crime of being young, good-looking, unfeasibly talented and young; the virtues of pudding are discussed; and that's why, even though it's nice to see the British Squad return to winning ways, we choose Claire Court's victory over Redwood Scullers at Henley 2022 as our race of the year.

Because that, ladies and gentlemen, was rowing as it was meant to be done.

That's right.

In a sculling boat.

GET SOME!

In Episode Two of Broken Oars University, Broken Oars Podcast's Northern One explores fundamental equivalences between being a rower, and the discipline, practice and craft of rowing and being a musician, and the discipline, practice and craft of music.

Looking at the cultural location and narratives of both, this episode looks at how we self-identify with what resonates with us; the learning trajectory of both disciplines; the importance of mechanical practice and how that leads us to states of grace in both.

Taking in figures in both arenas from Eric Murray and Helen Glover to Maxim Vengerov and Eddie Van Halen to Johnny Dawes and Eugene Ysaye, although it does get into aspects of the psychology of the self, emotional response and spiritual ground, the idea that being a rower and rowing and being a musician and playing music possess core fundamental equivalences is not as big a reach as you think; and it's not as woo as you might fear.

If you've ever been in a boat when it's really moving, if you've ever played in a band when it's really cooking ... ? You're feeling the same thing and you got there the same way.

Get Some!

This episode of Broken Oars has no swearing in it, and is safe to play around children.

(Please click the link here for the Two Set Violin and Maxim Vengerov masterclass, which starts at 31.26 in their clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsbA5KDChZw

Harry, the spare to the heir (his own words), has been in the news recently following the Netflix show that he and Meghan have launched.

The show has attracted brickbats for many things, including its appropriation and misrepresentation of other footage.

But we aren't going to put the boot in. After all, we all know that it will be Tom George who ascends to the throne when the time comes. He has the hair, he has the erg scores, and he has the jawline. Instead we're going to stand up for Harry - specifically his musical ability. Many have decried the picture of him playing the guitar with Meg in attendance, suggesting that the chord he's fingering isn't one associated with sweet music. In this, mercifully, brief episode of Broken Thoughts we say 'Au contraire, mon frere' and we salute Harry for his use of the minor sixth in courtship music. Bold.

We return as strangers from foreign lands with tales of wonder and woe - or, to be more accurate, like two people who've been incredibly busy and decided to use the excuse of recording a podcast to catch up and check that we're both still alive. Are you all still alive? Good. Keep it that way. In this episode, we discuss that most fundamental of rowing experiences, the Head Race. Giving the historically accurate defintion of a Head Race (literally, a race for Heads (ahem)), we try and identify what makes a great Head Race, talk about some of the ones we've done, give shout out and honourable mentions to those we've also done or would like to. I (Northern One) sing the glory that is Rutherford Head, the best HR in the country by a mile; Lewin (Souther One) makes a strong case for Bedford, and we give props to HORR 2010 as it was one of the most glorious, brutally physical performances we've ever been involved in - and we rowed for Agecroft: brutal physicality is where we lived. Feel free to tell us we're wrong and nominate your favourite Head. Remember, the judging criteria are:

1) It needs to be a real waterman's or waterwoman's course. No drag racing. It has to be challenging.

2) It needs an element of danger. Seals, polar bears, tricky bends and bridges ... all considered.

3) It has to have scenery - we've all done (insert name here), and the only thing worse than rowing through a flat, featureless landscape is living in one.

4) Has to have an element of being able to win something or scalpability (claim scalps).

5) Sure there was a five, can't remember what it is, though.

Perfect listening on the way to the boathouse, or on the long drive to the next race on the calendar in these cold, dark winter days.

Enjoy!

Stern four. Start doing some work, please!

'Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside ... '

A new branch of the Broken Oars tree, Broken Oars University was dreamed up over the summer as an occasional series for your two stalwarts to explore some things other than rowing ...

... 'What?' I hear you cry. 'There are no such other things!

Well, ordinarily we'd agree with you, but the Northern One is working through some processes at the moment that mean that the subject matter of this one is pretty close to hand and heart ... and the best way to learn anything is to try and teach it, because then you're forced to break it all down.

The Broken Oars University tag was inspired by so many of our friends on Twitter et al heading off to University - which is an expansive experience, not just in terms of the teaching and the course, but also the new perspectives and understandings it can bring. We (he, Northern One) hopes that the Broken Oars University will be a similar experience, giving some fresh perspectives perhaps on some things that might be new to some.An occasional series, it'll introduce ideas that we're working through in our professional and other lives that might entertain, inform, tickle or make you throw things at the screen. It took a while to get to the starting gate, because the Northern one has been dying, again, but plus ca change ...

(Remember: He's the Northern Uncultured One. Never let the fiddle playing and Latin tags disabuse you of that notion ...).

So, in Episode One, the Northern One talks about stories in an age where narratives no long end but roll into the next content output.

In his usual fashion, he will self-deprecate his expertise in this area to the point where you'll think 'who the hell is this person', but essentially this opening episodes touches on the following points:

Expertise: what is it, why is it more defined by knowing what you don't know rather than what you do.
Polymaths: what are they, why he isn't one, and neither is Stephen Fry.
Narrative: why stories have a beginning, middle and end, and why it doesn't matter what order these elements come in.
Why this isn't a discussion of the pathetic fallacy of individuals and their output.
What Netflix buying up Roald Dahl's Intellectual Property means and why they've done it.
The 'Exploring the x Universe' idea: why it's a nonsense and a fallacy.
Why the fact that stories have a beginning, middle and end is important for structure, motive drive, engagement, immersion and imagination.
What happens if you disregard this and start endlessly colouring in the map.
Tricks, licks and conceits - how and why they don't work if the narrative's motive force are lost, or the internal logic and consistency are lost.
Why platforms need content, but content doesn't need platforms.
Why we now live in the age of the never-ending story as a reaction to market mechanics. We're looking at you MC universe / DC universe / Tolkien Universe / never-ending everything universe.
How a never-ending story leads to audience disengagement, a fall off in quality, and diminishing returns in all senses.
Why stories that have a beginning, middle and end (in whatever order) are more emotionally and intellectually satisfying and more culturally representative - and why, as I work through my projects, I'll be keeping this very much in mind.

And if you're thinking 'wtf!', don't worry. There'll be some rowing along soon.

Get some!

Why is Broken Oars Podcast the world's best rowing podcast (Crossy's Corner excepted ...)?

Because no other podcast can move from grumping to an analysis of the status statement piece that is the Skillrow to the emancipation of rowers in the South East of England to the Wombles to the Second World War and escapism for wounded minds with such grace, elan and diablerie.

And we would take the time to point out that whilst not exactly unbiased this is a genuine review, based on the posh Southern one paying to go to a gym that has a Skillrow, and giving it a thrash a couple or three times.

That's why.

Get some !

Probably best viewed on YouTube but...

The Posh Southern one heads out on a journey to examine the biggest winners and losers in the Indoor Rowing and Rowing channels on YT, on YT. Amongst theses luminaries are Cam Buchan , Scots Sculler Extraordinaire, Austin Hendrickson's Training Tall, Shane Farmer's Darkhorse Rowing, British Rowing's own criminally underinvested in Go Row Indoors videos, The Awesome Asensei, and the even more awesome RowAlong from John Steventon.

Cam Buchan - https://www.youtube.com/c/CameronBuchan

Training Tall - https://www.youtube.com/c/TrainingTall

Dark Horse Rowing - https://www.youtube.com/c/DarkHorseRo...

British Rowing - https://www.youtube.com/user/britishr...

asensei - https://www.youtube.com/c/asensei

RowAlong - https://www.youtube.com/c/RowAlongFre...

These are all good, the last two are awesome Oh and Ame in a Van, only has 175k subscribers. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoX...

Its Isabel Paige, who spends a lot of time looking "Wistful" in the wilderness on a very hi def camera that has 3/4 million subs. https://www.youtube.com/user/pinsandn...

Your Northern correspondent returns with the third and final chapter (and last word on rowing technique and rowing well). What some are calling a work of timeless genius, others are calling how you move a boat and yet more are calling what happens when you let a Northerner on the mic without the calming presence of a Southern Overlord, this is the third instalment of the original two-part series.

Another writer might have titled it 'Concerning Rowing and Rowers ...' but Tolkien was never much cop on the water and had a crap 2k score, so let's only refer to Tollers when we have a question about Beowulf or Asterisk Realities in Philology.

So, never, then ...

This final episode kicks off with a mea culpa. Having played the cheerful and moronic Northern One to Pip's scientific genius, your correspondent has finally grown a set. No-one knows a set of what, but they're currently being biopsied and we're hoping for something edible. However, in Part Two, I said something to the effect that it doesn't matter what you do in a boat the most important thing is that you do it together.

Now, that episode was posted in summer, and I've been considering that statement since. And now I'm rowing back from it (see what I did there?) - because ...

It's just plain wrong.

Here's the thing: it doesn't matter how together you are if you're learning or reinforcing bad habits. That's point one. Point two is that after saying there is room in rowing for different stylistic approaches, I was wrong. There isn't. There's only one way to row a blade (and thus a boat) and that way is hard, skilfully and with reference to the actual physics and mechanics involved.

As I've been saying all along.

The point is that if that's the case, the technical approaches we take and language we use is all about getting us back to the point where we move the boat well.

And that's where this episode comes in. Rowing is a feel sport. We all know what it feels like to move a boat well, either for one stroke, or ten, or one hundred, or one outing, or race, or training block.

The technical calls and drills and language only exist to prompt us to make changes and develop the skills that get us consistently back to that feeling.

So, with that in mind, we go back to the importance of clarifying technical calls and drills to identify what they mean and what they are supposed to do rather than playing coaching and crew mood music.

Talking about the importance of precise language and understandings in a feel sport; we move onto boat physics; why talking to your boatman is vital (Hullo Duncan ...); set up; first principles; only changing one thing at a time; giving those changes time to work through; arcs and angles; and then we look at some of the fads and fashions that have come and gone in rowing ... and why mileage, ultimately, makes champions:

It isn't because it makes you fit enough to row well (although it helps). It's because mileage allows us to identify the feeling of moving the boat well, learn it, remember it, chase it, and become more and more efficient at doing it.

If you listen to these three episodes, and then do the work, you'll never, ever have to watch another Youtube video again promising to make you a better rower; and you'll be able to call bs when your coach is talking bollocks.

Always a win in our book ...

Get some!

Ladies and Gentleman,

When we're in the presence of greatness, we sometimes do one sentence introductions, like this:

Harry Brightmore - World Champion, GB Men's Eight.

And to be honest, we could leave it there and we'd be justified in doing so.

But we can't, and it isn't just because the Northern One who writes our episode descriptions has a tendency towards sesquipedalian logorrhea (Leave him alone! He's bought these words! He's going to use all of them!).

No, it's because after a difficult last cycle culminating in Tokyo and lots of people, not all of whom were qualified to do so, pointing fingers in all directions (and you'll notice that yes, we did some finger-wagging, but as athletes we came down heavily on the side of supporting and backing the people who actually put their bodies on the line rather than getting involved in managerial flame wars), British Rowing has bounced back in some style.

The entire squad basically used the recent World Champions in the same way rock stars use a sold out arena venue - as a stage and a chance to show off the performances they've been working on in private: The British athletes put in stellar displays across the board, capped by the GB Men's Eight storming to Gold.

Now, anyone who has ever rowed will tell you that an Eight is only as good as its Cox. Seriously, try getting eight strong-willed, opinionated driven individuals to get the boat off the rack together (let alone send them down the track like a scalded cheetah) with a drafted in bored junior who'd rather be elsewhere and then come back and tell us how long it took you to get on the water and how crap the outing was as a result.

As we continue to be allowed to make episodes, Lewin and I realise with every passing conversation how lucky we actually were at Agecroft - not just in terms of facilities, culture and oustanding coaches and rowers, but in terms of having Coxswains like Maddie, Lucy, Valerie and Liz as part of our crew. Their word was law, their calls were actioned without question (on the water), their outings were meticulous, so were they and we were and became better rowers and crews as a result.

Believe us: Thanks to them, we know that coxing is an art, and a science - just like moving a boat.

And great as they are, with Henley medals in sock drawers, Harry Brightmore is next generation and next level.

Now, we're always guilty of saying that our latest episode is the best thing we've ever done ... because usually it is.

However, this one is a must for any rower, coach, manager or individual who is really genuinely interested in maximising themselves and those around them. It's a truly fantastic deep dive, not only into Harry's evolution from promising young footballer to World Champion cox, but also the pressures and practices that drove and shaped that development.

We talk about how early disappointment was translated into inner drive; how that became passion when we found rowing; and then how a clear-eyed assessment of his own personal psychology and identity helped spur his development and coxing practice.

Lewin and I have occasionally cavilled about British Rowing's lack of transparency about certain things, but Harry takes us through the processes and paradigms that inform the life and work of a GB elite athlete - resulting in a frank, insightful and illuminating conversation that really is essential listening.

Get a pen. Take notes. We did.

(To follow Harry and GB's journey, catch up with him on:

@brightmoreharry

@harry_brightmore

www.britishrowing.org/athlete/harry-brightmore/ )

All Eight. Meet Harry.

Get Some!

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After the doom and gloom of the Doping in Rowing episode, Broken Oars Podcast returns with a spirit-lifting, life-affirming perfect episode and a spirit-lifting life-affirming guest to accompany the start of a new season - a time of new resolutions, new energy, and new adventures.

Tony Larkman is one of the best coaches currently working - as well as being a fierce competitor to boot. His training plans are legendary for delivering results; and his own history as a rower and coach, frankly, put Lewin and I in the shade.

We caught up with Tony while he was visiting his folks for a fascinating, in-depth chat. Delving into his start in rowing back in the good old days (pre-Jurgen), we talk about the importance of mentors and environment in our rowing journeys; old school training methods (pull - now pull harder); being within touching distance of the squad; balancing training and being young; winning and balancing life and goals.

Covering Tony's shift towards Indoor Rowing (and yes, we at Broken Oars think that if you indoor row you're just as much of a rower as anyone who gets on the water. We're in the twenty-first century here. Let's get with the programme lads and lasses ...), we get into the nuts and bolts of targeted training.

There are a lot of people offering training plans online and working as personal trainers - and without naming names (hullo 99.9% of instagram influencers!) there are a lot of shysters and BS artists out there.

Tony is one of the best in the business, with a track record of success with clients from the couch to the elite level as well as personally showing the proof in the pudding. It was fascinating and deeply informative to hear him break down how to use goals and targets to backwork a training plan; and then how to structure that training plan.

Highlighting the importance of using fitness tests to establish baselines before designing a programme that progressively builds, Tony was insightful in explaining how training in blocks builds over time to create successful gains and results. Breaking things down into building the base (using weights and training to build muscle and correct imbalances, establishing a strength base, looking at minutes rather than distances to put the foundations in) Tony explains the shift to pre-competition and increasing intensity. Talking about the vital importance of keeping it mentally and physically fresh and using cross-training, Tony explains why although you might be slower in tests following a periodised training plan early in the season, the science and progressive loading of this approach means you're more likely to hit your target in the event that matters - whether that's doing your first 5k Park Run; nailing a 2k PB; or making Henley.

Speaking as a Northern Monkey who thinks 'a little bit of slow, a little bit of fast, a little bit of throwing heavy stuff around = fitness' it was and eye-opening and insightful deep dive with a coach and competitor who truly knows their business.

Catch up with Tony here:

@tonylarkman

www.tonylarkman.com

All eight? Prepare for 16 weeks of pain ...

Get some!

Usually Broken Oars Podcast returns with a spring in its step and a song in its heart - we love doing this podcast, because we get to do what every rower everywhere does when they're in the company of another rower: talk about rowing, and rowers, and water, and boats, and training, and racing, and cake, and seals, and otters, and ... when we were at Agecroft ...

When we were in the war ...

Shut up, Granddad. Get hep to the new sounds going around, Daddio!

However, we're returning with somewhat grim looks as World Rowing has returned a positive drug test for an indoor rower called Christopher Bailey and sanctioned him to a ban.

This is in itself a major blow for our sport.

If you're an indoor rower you're just as much a rower as a water rower.

However, what made the blow doubly depressing is that Lewin got in touch with Christopher Bailey - and the long and the short of their conversation was that Christopher Bailey doesn't feel he did anything wrong as he wasn't using the PED's he tested positive for at the time that he failed the test.

Not that he didn't didn't use them.

That he wasn't using them at the time he was tested.

That Christopher Bailey was up front and honest about the fact that he used the PED's; and that he was upset that he has been labelled a drug cheat because HE WASN'T USING THEM AT THE TIME HE TESTED POSITIVE is significant.

It's significant because it highlights the chilling cultural difference between sports that take PED use for granted and accept it, like body building, power lifting and fitness influencing, which is Christopher Bailey's background ... and sports that say if you take PED's AT ANY POINT you are a drug user and drug cheat ... like, well, like every other sport really, but especially rowing.

So, in this episode, Lewin and I get deep into the weeds about Christopher Bailey's positive test. As well as talking about how to make an otter by taking a seal, some dog hair, and some Pritt Stick, we get into the science behind what Christopher Bailey took (Masterone); we talk through the effects of Masterone; what it's used for as a PED; and what it means in terms of performance - in body building, physique training, and endurance sports like rowing.

We discuss Christopher Bailey's position (I'm not a cheat, because I wasn't taking them at the time I was tested and competing) and tease out what it means for rowing if sportsmen and women from sporting cultures that accept, encourage, condone or support drug use, whether tacitly or explicitly cross over via the gateway of indoor rowing competitions to rowing itself - and what that means for a sport whose culture is explicitly and tacitly that 'we don't take PED's. Ever.'

We look at how the narcissism of the screen age fuels PED use; and how that has fuelled an the acceptance of PED use among influencers and related sports; before expressing our fears about how this acceptance can potentially cross over into all sports - and what that means for rowing, where the culture depends on acceptance and trust in the collective and the individual.

We can usually find the good in most things and generally there is very little that we can't make a quip about. But on this occasion, we definitively state that although we want people to come into rowing and stay in rowing, if you take PED's to make yourself fitter, faster, stronger, more muscular, or for other personal internal pyschological reasons ...

Find a different sport.

(And in case you think we've gone all serious, we also invent Anna Bolic, a steriod-addled fitness influencer who keeps crapping her liver out. It won't go in The Beano, so dear Viz, please get in touch. We've got ideas for storylines. We also talk about meeting things with a plum and the Battle of Richmond).

All eight? Don't get some!

Our trial period with Manscaped continues, so you can still get 20% off all Manscaped products by using the promo code 'brokenoars' at the manscaped website. Get smooth and smell beautiful with Manscaped and Broken Oars.

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Broken Oars Podcast is, for all of the back-and-forth of Lewin and I about North and South, fundamentally apolitical.

You row, we row, we all row together.

We take and give ribs and jibes in good heart because we believe that the things that unite us as friends, and in a wider context, as people, as communities and as a country number far more than any differences we may have.

We believe in discussion, in compromise, in agreeing to disagree and that, overall, most people are fundamentally decent human beings who are doing the best they can in the circumstances.

'I was down by the river watching Dan and Tyne United's rowers out on the water when the church bells started tolling up the valley. Church bells in Britain only ring out of time when war has been declared or when a Monarch dies. So, when I heard them, I knew that the Queen had died in Balmoral.'

That is the first paragraph of something that I wrote for my girls when I got home on Thursday night to help them make sense of what will happen over the next few days and weeks. Below is the rest, and while I would never think to speak for Lewin, I think it probably stands for us at Broken Oars and might both help and be a palliative for Thursday's news.

'I am not, fundamentally, a Royalist. You both know that the reason that we have a King or Queen is because not too long ago, one person stabbed another to death on a muddy field and said ‘I am King now.’ Kings and Queens take and hold power at the point of a sword.

But that does not necessarily mean that I am anti-Monarchy. Britain's institutions have evolved over time to help four nations of some seventy-odd million individuals broadly manage to rub along together collectively. Although they have been quite deliberately attacked, challenged and undermined in my lifetime and yours, the Monarchy is part of those systems of checks and balances and compromises. Those system are by no means perfect, but they are as good as some and better than many.

The death of a member of the Royal Family in Britain is always accompanied by lots of flag-waving; and soundbites about ‘service’, ‘continuity’, Britain’s ‘glorious history’, ‘coming together’ as a nation and all of that jazz. Remember, Rudyard Kipling, an arch-patriot, said that wrapping oneself in the flag was the last bastion of a scoundrel. He called them 'jelly-bellied flag flappers' who knew nothing of the country or its people and who only waved the flag because they didn't know what it actually stood for. And he was right. Boris Johnson did it, and he was a liar; a cheat; a scrounger; and a bully.

Try and remember that the Queen was a person, and a Mum, and a wife, and a Grandma, and a Great-Grandma first. She was a human being who loved and was loved by her family and will be missed by them – in the same way that we loved and miss Uncle David and Great-Grandma Smith; or Berry and Dylan.

If you feel sad at her death, feel sad for those reasons.

People come and go in Britain but its institutions survive. The Monarchy will continue. Charles will now be King. Time will roll on.

But it is actually people who are important. People don’t remember if you were a King or Queen; or if you were rich or poor; or if you won a Gold medal or if you didn’t.

People remember if you lived a rich and full life; and if they enjoyed your company; and how you made them feel.

That’s what important.

Remember that.

I love you both.

Dad.'

Full crew? Easy Oars.

Your dynamic duo return with an episode heralding the new season.

Lewin (The Southern One) talks about the David Villers memorial 2k, letting slip that he at 46 can come within one second of what Aaron (The Northern One) could do at 36 - damn his freakishly freakish genetics. We talk of salmons and seals, establishing that not only was Henry Williamson a Fascist, but he knew nothing of the salmon Jurgen Grobler lurking off Tynemouth for his returning charges.

Come on, Salar! Let's see those leaps!

We ask if dolphins are really cute and brainy or if they're just dead-eyed 500lb killing machines with good propaganda? Hint: if your family ever invites you to share a dolphin swimming experience, be afraid, be very afraid!

We talk about the joys of racing, training side by side, and why Zoe and Anna of Tyne United are names to remember!

We then herald something of a development for Broken Oars Podcast as we welcome our first sponsor to the pod. Manscaped is a Californian company specialising in highly-designed, highly-effective male manscaping and hygiene products.

For those watching on Youtube, and those listening, we do our first unboxing and trial runs of the Manscape Performance Package. Lewin gets smelly with sandalwood and citrus and Aaron tries the best pair of boxers he's ever worn as we try everything they sent us.

It's a trial period between ourselves and Manscaped, lasting from 12th September to 12th November to see if we're a good fit for each other - during which time you'll receive 20% off all Manscaped products and free shipping using the promotional code: brokenoars at the manscaped website.

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Get some!

The Northern One, or as we like to call him when he's writing the podcast blurb, the technically flawless one, returns with Part Two of An Alien's Guide to Rowing Well - The Revenge. This Time He's Back, and He's Read the Manual.

You know the premise - if aliens capable of travelling interstellar distances in spacecraft capable of warping our perceptions of space and time ever came to Earth and wanted to get in a boat and pull hard on an oar, this primer would take them through the basics, breaking down each element of the rowing stroke to its fundamental pieces, and talking it through with conceptual ideas, spatial triggers and technical drills that would help them beat us in a winner take all 2k race.

Yeah. We're rooting for the aliens ...

In this episode, we recap the key points of the first, and then get right into it:

In this episode, we talk about:

The stretcher / footplate - and why it's vital to understand what it does, and what you do to it.

We talk about talking to your boatman, and the tears that may ensue when you do.

We get into squaring, and why squaring early and positively is a good muscle memory habit to get into.

We talk about raising the hands to the catch and why your partner's kidneys are a good thing in this case.

And now we've compressed down, everything is in the right position and we're poised, we talk about the catch, how it should feel, how it should look, we talk about why having Great Apes in our ancestry is a good thing, and why half slide rowing rate up twos until it falls apart are one of the best things you can do to sharpen it into a thing of lethal beauty.

We get into learned responses vs. stimulus responses and why hard, harder, hardest ideas of loading up lose out to everything all at once when you look at the realities of the blade in the water vs. the moving boat when it comes to the legs ...

But then, dear listeners, we go further, and in doing so we totally destroy our self-curated myth that we're a bunch of chancers who know nothing about rowing, because we go on to talk about:

Why rowing isn't, in fact, all about the legs, but about how the power of the legs sets up the use of the body and the body's weight to drive the oar hard against the pin, creating boatspeed and why the draw to the finish contributes to this when done properly.

We reach the finish, but not the finish of Broken Oars Technique Clinic, as next time, we'll get into extraction, recovery, ideas about gearing and rigging, watermanship and some of the fads and fashions that have come and gone.

As we always do, we emphasise that however you choose to move a boat, the best way to do it is by getting everyone on the same page doing the same things - whether you're a GB profile advocate, a Spracklen devotee, or a Fairbairn apologist. So, feel free to get in touch with us and tell us where we're going wrong.

Like you always do!

Stern Four? I said, 'play the piano! Do it now!'

Get Some!

For your delight and delectation, the Northern One of Broken Oars Podcast offers a from the ground-up look at the basics and essentials of moving a boat well.

Given that every rower who as ever rowed knows exactly how to row a boat and it isn't what everyone else is doing but them, this represents Broken Oars creating a hostage to fortune ...

... but given that hostage is Northern, he is therefore expendable, as many Northerners have found out to their cost in things like North Sea Oil and Two World Wars.

Rowing is not a matter of life and death in that regard. No, it's far more important than that.

So, here we talk about basic and complex concepts, breaking them down and looking at things we can do to improve every part of our stroke profile so that when we put it all together we create the beautiful, flowing motion that is good rowing. Think of it as an alien's guide to rowing well - if aliens who can travel across the galaxy using gravity propulsion engines that warp the laws of space and time ever decided that what they really wanted to do was to get in a boat.

In this episode we talk about:

1) Moving a boat - how an oar actually works.

2) Getting a Grip - learning to feel the difference between holding the water and weight on the face and ripping or slipping it.

3) The Best Kind of Stroke (and this is where the arguments start, but I've got physics and rowing on my side).

4) Creating the Unbroken Sequence: understanding how each part of the stroke profile informs the next and the whole.

5) Sitting at Backstops: why sorting this out starts sorting everything else out.

6) Posture: Kev was right - sit up, head up, airways clear, push the small of your back towards your belly button and ... relax!

7) Hands: relaxing the death grip and learning to play the piano.

8) The Importance of the Centre Line: learning to control your sack of potatoes.

9) Balance: can help in life; is essential in a boat.

10) Why Lateral Pressure is your Friend.

11) Controlling the Slide: Stop crashing frontstops and slamming backstops, ffs.

12) Why the Knees are Important - and not just if you want to do the Charleston well.

13) Compression: Or why 'length is good = more length is better' idea is absolute bollocks.

14) Shoulders: why everything is dictated by your shoulders.

In Part Two: if i haven't been lynched by angry coaches, rowers and broken oars listeners, we'll be talking about the catch, the drive, and GETTING YOUR BLOODY BLADE OFF THE WATER BY SORTING OUT ALL OF THE ABOVE!

So, if aliens ever come to earth, and they by some strange chance watch or listen to this, they'll be able to take us on in a winner-takes-all 2000 metre race for earth. And if you prefer to watch, we're now on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/SXuu0Y_BXmo

Get Some.

Stern Four? Bow Four? Listen to this, and don't come back until you've actually taken ownership of your rowing.

We return with a quick one after the wonder and glory that was Small Ergs, Big Dreams.

Did you really think that we'd quit?

We're rowers. The word 'quit' is not in our dictionary. In fact, owing to a tragic accident any words between 'twizzle' and 'zygotic' are not in either of our dictionaries. We possess, in fact, highly selective dictionaries.

In this episode, Lewin takes the coastal shilling and argues that going nautical is the future of community-based rowing activities, offering, as it does, a damned fine day out for the entire family, plus racing where everyone gets points and medals.

We then ponder our mortality as Lewin says goodbye to an old friend, and ask why it is that rowing, of all sports, can define points in time, enshrining and encapsulating moments, experiences, sensations and emotions in a way that not only shapes us but stays with us throughout our lives.

That tomorrow is not guaranteed is not simply an Instagram slogan but a cold, hard and awful reality. Seize the day, squeeze the day, and tell those you love how much you love them.

Finally, for the first time Broken Oars Podcast puts out the begging bowl, as Lewin asks for help to clear the Plucks Gutter river of encroaching willow trees before their stretch of water is overgrown, impassable and colonised by Eurasian beavers. If 150 Broken Oars listeners put £10-00 each into the below link, rowing will stay in Kent, and Lewin won't have to go coastal again until the next time he wants another piece of silverware. I'll start off by putting the Northern equivalent of whatever 10 pounds is in Southern money.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tree-clearance-on-the-river-stour

Middle Four, rowing on. Bow four, load for beaver.

We're blessed on this podcast.

We get to talk about the sport we love with the best and the brightest in the business. We've met heroes and heroines. We've been privileged to hear not just about lives behind the oar, but how much rowing means to people, and how it's shaped and guided lives.

Unfortunately, all good things come to end - and it is with a glad heart that we announce the end of Broken Oars podcast.

The end of Broken Oars podcast?

Yes.

Lewin and I are no strangers to great pairs. We are one, for one thing, and we both have them. We've also seen Murray and Bond and Hodge and Reed in the flesh. But we've never met a more natural pair than Ethan and Archie, the masterminds behind the best rowing social media account currently in operation, the awesome Small Ergs, Big Dreams instagram account:

www.instagram.com/smallergs_bigdreams/

In this episode, we discover the thinking behind the Small Ergs Big Dreams account; find out why they are not associated with University of Leeds Boat Club (why, UOL, you're missing a trick. These lads are social media gold); and discover why swords and bumps should be introduced to the Olympic rowing regatta. We hear about life in Leeds (apparently, we both should have done our degrees there, we missed out); find out how two people who weren't even born when one of us started rowing (ahem) got into the sport, found it at again at university and how they juggle life with coursework and rowing ambitions (Henley - incoming).

We know here on Broken Oars that at a certain age, the older generation is supposed to sneer at the younger. We're supposed to say things like 'in my day' and be sarcastic about modern youth with their TikToks and their Snapchats and their weird slang and their terrible music where you 'can't hear what they're singing' and their strange catches and their abysmal finishes.

It's part of the natural trajectory from youthful idealism to tired, shop-worn old cynicism. Wordsworth did it - but he's a poet, so sod him. Redgrave did it - travelling from fierce young iconoclast who'd die before rowing in the four in 84 to pillar of the Establishment (the rebels it can't kill, Britain simply knights).

But Lewin and I can't sneer and snarl. Because frankly, we've met the future, and it's in safe hands.

It is not often that Lewin (posh, southern, preternaturally competitive) and I (northern, illiterate, pretenaturally competitive) ever admit defeat (Green Lake only beat us because they were better than us). But on this occasion, we have to. Ladies and Gentlemen, we're laying our microphones down because we can't top this. We've met the mighty Small Ergs, Big Dreams - our work is done.

The future's golden, the future is at university in Leeds.

Stern pair? Swim for home. SEBD are subbing in.

Ladies and Gentlemen, to celebrate our second birthday, we return in the company of a man who made us both wish we had a time-machine, so we could go back and either row for him or with him.

We are talking, of course, about Jezz Moore, former Thames Tradesman and Marlow rower, former Leander coach, former Business owner and all-round deep thinker and practitioner on the subject of being your best authentic self.

Of course, being your best self is a slogan thrown around nowadays now that concepts like wellness, meditation, and mindfulness have been monetised and that outcome promised at the push of a button.

Jezz drills down into what it really means In a nuanced deep-dive that reaches far beyond rowing to talk about the necessity of challenge and change; the importance of honest self-auditing; and the need to commit to the stroke in the boat as well as life if you actually want more. We talk about the challenges of his move to Portugal; keeping a flexible and athletic mindset; and policing what informs and charges your personal and social energies. Oh, and why Henley Qualifiers is the best bit of Henley, and why it needs to go fully co-ed!

One to return to again and again for life and rowing.

Absolutely the best way to welcome in our second year - have a slice of podcast birthday cake on us!

Get some!

Bow pair, put the party hats on. That's an order!

It's fitting as we approach the summer blockbuster season that we return with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) vs. Pete. We only know one Pete, and that's the inimitable, the incredible Pete Brewer - a man among men and a God among coaches.

So there's only one winner really. All together now (to the tune of Seven Nation Army):

Oh, Pete, Pete Brewer. Oh, Pete, Pete Brewer ...

But seriously, as we approach two years in the podcast business we've finally started talking about training plans and training approaches. Lewin is largely driving this because he really, really likes numbers and details. I'm more basic in my approach but that's largely because after years of following lots of different plans under lots of different coaches I know that all you have to do is some long slow stuff, some short fast stuff, some resistance stuff and some stretchy stuff and keep doing it and you'll end up fit.

However, for those of you who want to know where and how to start, following on from Lewin's deep dive into Concept II's powerhouse resource for the rowing machine (which is easily translatable to the water), we return with a look at the Wolverine Plan vs. the Pete Plan.

The Wolverine Plan is a highly detailed university training programme from the USA that was successful for its originator. It gets granular on not just sessions but stroke rates within sessions and actual distances to complete in each block, with every element building up over the season to a progressively loaded programme.

By contrast, although following a similar loading strucuture, the Pete Plan is simpler and easier to follow - and for those on restricted time or sessions offers a nought to race approach that we generally favour, being goal-setting, goal-orientated types.

There are some quips about the current British political landscape, Mummy and Daddy falling out and making up on camera (yes, we're on video now), and all sorts of good nuggets for anyone who is thinking about training, but is currently enjoying the current heatwave and thinking 'later, lad, when it's cooler.'

Get Some!

We ran a poll asking if you'd still listen if we branched out from just being the world's best rowing podcast to talk about other things.

You said yes, you'd still listen.

We ran another poll asking what other things you'd like us to talk about. Something literary, perhaps? Or something musical? Or something something?

You all voted for something something.

So, here for your listening pleasure is the palate-cleanser of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, never before read, seen or heard.

We give you ...

The Mystery of the Murderous Doctor!

With added violins.

Yes, bow pair. If it goes well, we will write one that has a rowing theme to it ...

Ladies, Gentlemen, children of all ages ...

The only rowing podcast that matters (apart from all of the others) returns - and it does so to celebrate all that is great and good about Henley Royal Regatta - just in time for the 2022 edition of one of the world's oldest and certainly one of the world's most prestigious rowing events.

Broken Oars Podcast has earned an enviable reputation for journalistic integrity (without ever really asking for it) by fearlessly asking the questions that no-one else will (probably because no-one else wanted to). There are some who have suggested that this, and our famed lightness of touch and willingness to take the rise out everything including ourselves, might be better construed as plebeian snark; classless sarcasm; and throwing rocks at our elders and betters ... not least when we have questioned some of the goings on at Henley in 2021 and cheating in the 2021 - 2022 season.

Nothing could be further from the truth - just because we occasionally ask hard questions and get hard answers should never take away from the simple reality that Lewin (Posh, Southern) and I (Aaron, Northern, illiterate) love this crazy sport of ours; and are in the enviable position of not only being able to talk about it, its events, its programmes, and its people but being lucky enough to do so with some of the best and brightest in the business.

And at the heart of that love is a love for the joy of moving a boat through the water with your crewmates and friends ... and we have never, in our history, ever said anything other than Henley Royal Regatta is the shining palace on the hill that we all aspire to and celebrate if that is your joy in life - and while we take the piss out of our own competitive history, we know how lucky we are to have seen the elephant and gone to the circus.

So to help us celebrate it, we've invited one of our first guests back on in the form of Terence 'Tez' Chipchase. Rower, umpire, long-time part of the signals team and Henley Steward, we asked him on this special episode to sing hail glory to the chief of all regattas.

In this episode, we cover the best place to watch the action at Henley Royal; how to get yourself into a launch; what happens if a herd of bison enter the Competitor's Enclosure; some of the races to look forward to; the topography; how the Regatta operates; why coming back to Henley Royal is like coming home; Henley Royal on the water and Henley Royal off the water; why actually making it to Henley Royal is so, so important to watermen and women; the social whirl; the gathering of the tribes and how the moving parts all come together to create both an illusion and a reality where both are equally valid experiences.

On your way to the Regatta? Having a doze at lunch? Walking home after a long day on the bank? Watching the commentary and thinking 'Bloody hell, Martin Cross is a damned good commentator ...' (He is, isn't he?).

Perfect listening at any time ...

Stern four? Some of us have actually rowed on sacred water, you know ...

In a new BrokenOars Indoors series we will be going through some of the best (and the worst) training programs out there for indoor rowing (and rowing). The first, whilst no means perfect, is one of the best. The (old) Concept2 UK Indoor Rowing Training Guide V2.

Download here -

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19h3RpbMkNhsfOt5jl3BljV0vGWjn1Fe0/view?usp=sharing

Best viewed on our YouTube Channel (still add free) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUcMZVJ99uk&feature=youtu.be

This is a review of a 253 page long primer on all aspects of endurance training as it relates to the rowing stroke. There are 5 scheduled training programs from fitness, to weight loss to all out performance, 4 different weight training programs including one written by Jurgen Grobler, a comprehensive gym free training program, for your holidays, advice on nutrition, and training through the menstrual cycle and pregnancy (all caveats apply).

It also presents the claim that Concept2 UK were responsible for luring Jurgen Grobler to Britain in the 1990's and thus creating the GB Rowing gold rush of the last 25 years.

Suck it, all you people that say Concept2's don't float!

In a new BrokenOars Indoors series we will be going through some of the best (and the worst) training programs out there for indoor rowing (and rowing). The first, whilst no means perfect, is one of the best. The (old) Concept2 UK Indoor Rowing Training Guide V2.

Download here -

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19h3RpbMkNhsfOt5jl3BljV0vGWjn1Fe0/view?usp=sharing

Best viewed on our YouTube Channel (still add free) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUcMZVJ99uk&feature=youtu.be

This is a review of a 253 page long primer on all aspects of endurance training as it relates to the rowing stroke. There are 5 scheduled training programs from fitness, to weight loss to all out performance, 4 different weight training programs including one written by Jurgen Grobler, a comprehensive gym free training program, for your holidays, advice on nutrition, and training through the menstrual cycle and pregnancy (all caveats apply).

It also presents the claim that Concept2 UK were responsible for luring Jurgen Grobler to Britain in the 1990's and thus creating the GB Rowing gold rush of the last 25 years.

Suck it, all you people that say Concept2's don't float!

Over the last few days, weeks and months, Broken Oars Podcast has highlighted incidents where clubs, crews and athletes have indulged in practices they shouldn't. After they reared their ugly heads again at 2022's Henley Women's Regatta, rather than reiterating the same points over and over on various Twitter feeds and conversations, we (by which I mean, I, the Northern One), decided to contextualise and record our response to what is, bluntly, cheating.

Trying to squeeze up on someone at the start of a Head Race and push the crew behind you away on the stagger is one thing as is making someone overtake you, but deliberately manipulating crews and entries for your own advantage, or not racing within the letter of the rules and the spirit of the sport is quite another - and the modern practice of saying 'you're only picking on us because we're x, y, z' has to stop too. We're better than that as a sport, and our mea culpas should be a damned sight better and more believable than Boris's.

This takes in a lot of history, and explains why I (and I'm pretty sure Lewin agrees with me) have responded to those events the way we have. Hopefully, this episode will stop us having to endlessly restate our position on the Twitter timelines; and ultimately lead to a restatement of our values as a sport and pursuit.

Get Some!

Ladies and Gentlemen, to celebrate our fiftieth release we have brought you ...

(Drum roll ....)

The Head of British Rowing!

(And in case you were wondering, Hodge, the rest of Mark's body is still attached).

Now, the clever among you (hullo all natural bowsiders) will be quick to point out that this is actually Episode 38. But because of our numbering system and our extra Broken Thoughts and Broken Doors Indoors episodes, we have reached a podcast landmark. That's right - 50 dollops of high quality content. (You can argue about the high quality appellation among yourselves), spread over two glorious years (when most of you though we wouldn't last the week. Okay. Just us. We thought we wouldn't last the week).

We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this landmark than by welcoming Mark Davies on for a chat. Like our episode with Drew Ginn, this episode has been a long time in the making. We first had a chat with Mark about coming on back in lockdown 1.0. However, all good things come to those who wait (a metaphor for a rowing finish if ever we heard one), and this is a good thing.

A rower and successful Boat Race cox in his own right, and a founder member and driving force behind Crabtee, Mark's work in the private sector led to roles with British Archery and then the hottest of hot seats when he became Chair of British Rowing.

This chat touches on his trajectory through the sport through to this role, offering a fascinating and even-handed insight into the challenges, opportunities and responsibilities the NGB has in its oversight of the sport.

Driven by the belief that an essential part of his role is to leave the sport in a better place than he found it (which, in truth, is a stewardship responsibility we all share), he talks open and candidly about British Rowing's progress in this regard. From the essential need to balance the books to stopping the relentless churn of rowers (10,000 leave the sport every year ...) and where we might be if we could slow and then stop that to the reset opportunities that Covid provided, why rowing has been undersold in this country and the social and cultural impact the sport can have if we change that, to the Zoom Ergos revolution, the importance of community and the next four years ...

This is essential listening.

And yes, we always say that.

And yes, we always mean it.

But this is the Chair of British Rowing, who admits he and his team have faced their fair share of criticism and opprobrium talking openly, clearly and passionately about how we can all be the guardians of our sport and see it thrive.

Get some!

Head single. No. We've Already Done That Joke. We Really Are Going To Have to Chop Your Head Off. Why? Have You Seen Your Finish? Criminal.

Broken Oars Podcast returns, with your Northern Correspondent and your Southern Overlord being joined by Judith Packer.

A lifelong rower from her early days at University who then transitioned into umpiring, going on to oversee one of Hodge's last races and one of the most prestigious events in world rowing in the Women's Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, Judith then became a a stalwart of Zoom Ergos. Her sessions with Di Binley and their tours of rivers and locations became the stuff of legend as we battled the dark, dark days of the lockdowns, bringing much needed light and colour to all of us who were suddenly missing their usual connection to the water and the communities therein.

In discussing Judith's trajectory through rowing, Zoom Ergos became a jumping off point for a much-needed and wider discussion of the Mental Health epidemic that is blighting and limiting lives in every age cohort in the UK, overwhelming already over-stretched NHS services.

With 1 in 6 of us likely to have had a mental health related issue in the last week, 1 in 4 of us experiencing one in any given year and 1 in 3 of us doing so in our lifetimes, with a shocking figure of 70-75% of us not getting treatment or help, while great strides have been made in the UK in terms of understanding Mental Health, the stigmas still remain below the surface, and not enough is being done. Particularly worrying is the rise in the number of children who are diagnosed with Mental Health issues - especially as the rise in diagnosed cases underscores that the vast majority of cases won't be.

Touching on personal experiences, and talking about Bernie Hollywood's Boat of Hope campaign, we discuss the role rowing clubs can play in creating safe emotional and physical spaces for all; in providing support and signposting; and how we can go further to ensure that no-one, of any age, gets left behind.

A vital and much-needed conversation about the hidden epidemic in our midst and what we can do about it.

We return like the bad pennies we are (hey, we prefer to think of ourselves as a high-class currency, but ...), and on this occasion we're joined by Mark Lewis.

Mark Lewis is the man behind the burgeoning Youtube channel, Better Than Average - a channel which takes a different tack to the 'look at me, I'm perfect, buy my products' approach taken by the bulk of the Instafitness generation.

Through his channel, the content he creates, and the challenges he takes on, Mark hopes to inspire us to believe and go for the reality that we can, actually, be better than we already are with a bit of grit, a bit of wit, and bit of a sense of humour and achievement along the way.

Periodically, as part of his channel's varied and always entertaining output, he takes on a challenge to show the gap between what we think an elite athlete does - and what they ACTUALLY do. He first came to our attention when he, as a non-rower, who'd not been on a rowing a machine for the best part of 25 years, decided to see if he could row as fast as Sir Steve Redgrave did on his worst day on an erg - the infamous pre-Sydney 6 - 15 2k test collapse.

(If you haven't watched this video, or indeed any of Mark's content, the links are down below. We won't spoil the ending for you, but it's well worth your time).

As rowers, we knew we had to have a chat with this tall, fit interloper who thought he could into our sport, smash our records and this bugger off back to Youtube. We also wanted to have a chat with Mark because he has been very open on his channel in talking about his Testosterone Replacement Therapy medication. As individuals and a sport who has always taken a hard line against any form of drugs in sport, we really wanted to find out more about how this usage squared with his fitness goals, looking at the ethics, morality and advantages that it might give someone who is, essentially, a professional Youtuber whose success depends on his ability to work and inspire physical performance in others.

Well, we're glad we got in touch with Mark as it turned out to be a fascinating and nuanced chat. Taking in his early life and background, his trajectory into sport, we also found out about his trajectory out of it, something exacerbated by lifestyle choices and social factors we can all identify with. Openly discussing his lowest points, and also his conscious decision to put the doughnuts away and starting fighting back, Mark showed a human side not usually associated with the filtered perfection of the professional social media fitness type.

In this context, he talked about how even though he was eating better, and exercising regularly, and the weight had shifted somewhat, he still struggled with motivation and enthusiasm, going on to explain that going onto TRT was a lightbulb moment - one that gave him back the energy and the drive that he had been lacking even when he was doing all of the right things.

This is an important discussion. The UK is well behind America and Europe in terms of Hormone Replacement Therapies in both sexes; and as Mark points out, a lot of issues that are diagnosed as depression have roots in hormone imbalances that can be addressed, but aren't by an NHS that is behind the curve. We discuss morality and ethicality of his TRT use, and its implications for age-group sports like rowing as its use becomes more and more widespread. After all, what could possibly go wrong with giving a therapeutic drug that also gives you more energy and drive and recovery to a cohort who really, really like to go a bit faster than they already are?

A fascinating chat with a great guy, and an important discussion. TRT is coming, and as rowers and older sportsmen and women, we have to get our heads around it.

Better Than Average Youtube Link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dr32gbapkzgw_Eyr6VsJw

Better than Average Official Website:

https://www.marklewis.co.uk/

Better Than Average Official Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/marklewispics/

Stern Four? You've been assigned for random drug testing. Pee in a cup. Not now, Six!

We're back! Double and Trouble once again with the only rowing podcast that matters (apart from all the others).

In this episode, Lewin and I go back to our roots. With no guest, we simply chat about what's been interesting, annoying or inspiring us in the world of rowing (and indeed the world beyond) at this moment in time.

So, in this episode, for your listening delight and delectation we give you our thoughts, such as they are, on subjects as diverse as THAT Guardian article; comms speak; Eric Murray Dancing With The Stars On Ice and SMASHING IT; Tom George and the future of the monarchy; Thames and what punishments British Rowing should impose for their riding roughshod and mobhanded over the British Rowing system (no Henley this year would be a start); the prospect of an online onwater Viking Rowing Challenge League and why it should damned well happen, British Rowing ...

... and the difference between a proverb, an aphorism and an axiom.

Bow pair: a proverb, an aphorism and an axiom walk into a bar one day. The axiom says to the proverb ...

A Broken Thoughts where the Northern One goes off, perhaps ill-advisedly, on a recent article on British Rowing, asking when language became something you used for inaccuracy, infelicity and misrepresentation and what happened to holding your hands up and saying 'Yep. I got it wrong.'

And yes, I do call you Geoff, Greg.

Aren't mistakes annoying?

Broken Oars Podcast, and your genial hosts Lewin (Southern One) and Aaron (Northern One) return with what could be our most important and insightful episode yet.

Oh, you always say that, you podding scallywags.

Well, yes, we do.

And we always mean it too.

On this occasion, though, it might just be true.

We're joined on this episde by Dan Armstrong, former junior performance pathway rower, former Durham University rower, current Durham University Coach and Tyne University Head Coach. Starting with his introduction to the sport in a non-traditional rowing area (Hexham, Northumberland) and discussing how opportunity can be as important as parental or personal inclination in opening a door, we go on to look at how rowing can be identify forming in junior athletes - and the challenges that brings when it becomes an all-consuming synonym for the individual.

Talking openly and honestly about how his own experiences of trying to juggle being a High Performance athlete with family life, the demands of university, and developing into a fully rounded human being all at the same time led to his eventual burnout, Dan goes on to address how his trajectory through the sport and subsequent transition into coaching meshes with the demands and expectations placed on the modern coach; the challenges and responsibilities he feels for his athletes and the sport; why specialisation ultimately always beats standardisation and where British Rowing is heading with our Olympic slots under threat.

In tracing Dan's journey from a state-school rowing club in a non-rowing area through to his current role as a coach at one of the country's most prestigious HP programmes, alongside his role in Tyne United's community orientated approach, this episode ties together all of the threads and levels of British Rowing in a fascinatiing, nuanced and expansive deep dive into Broken Oar's Podcast's key themes and interests.

Oh, and we also define where the North begins and ends; establish the limits of sports science and the importance of data; talk about PED use in elite sport; why the stance on Modafinil use was indicative of the rot setting in; and why the Northern One has the finish of a sweep oarsman, no matter how many hours he spends sculling?

Essential listening.

Stern pair? Shush. The grown ups are talking.

Drew Ginn is a five-time world rowing champion, four-time Olympian, triple Olympic champion (and silver medallist in one of the greatest Men's Coxless Four Finals in history); member of Australia's original Oarsome Foursome, and recipient of the rowing's Thomas Keller Medal; as well as an inductee into Sport Australia's Hall of Fame.

Beyond the medals, the statistics, the awards and the plaudits, Drew is, quite simply, a legend of the sport of rowing, described by triple Olympic champion Andrew Triggs-Hodge as Australia's equivalent of Sir Steve Redgrave.

This episode of Broken Oars Podcast was a long time in the making (over a year). But we think you'll find, like us, that it was worth the wait. We sat down with an icon and ended up talking to one of the most passionate, knowledgeable, approachable and creative people we've ever met. Drew's desire to learn, share and engage, alongside his curiosity and passion, simply burns through every moment of this episode.

Alexander the Great wept because he had no more worlds to conquer.

Here we lay down our podcast, knowing that our work is done.

Full Crew: From backstops ... listen and learn.

Back once again, the renegade masters!

That's right. After our first ever hiatus to-date, Broken Oars Podcast returns.

In this episode, the Southern one and the Northern one discuss life, and how it gets everyone in the end; extended projects; bringing down the education system from within; why the Twilight series is an extended and disturbing primer on staying in abusive relationships; the Steinman philosophy of love and why Jed Bartlett isn't the President America deserves (as we all thought when The West Wing was in its pomp), but is actually a really annoying know-it all gobshite.

Sidestepping neatly into a discussion of the golden age of television; why 16 - 26 year olds tend to want explosions and gunplay over dramatic consistency; and whether MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University) are related, and if so, is MMU churning out the next generation of steriod-using hyperviolent psychotics to feed Dana White's empire, we gingerly get to the business of the day.

(And by gingerly, we don't mean that the Southern one again advances his theory that gingers excel in sport because the playground has toughened them up, but gingerly in the sense of cautiously and with caveats abounding ...).

Because this is the episode where we get to grips with the ongoing furore that is the inclusion of Trans individuals in sporting categories.

Broken Oars Podcast has previously discussed Jurgen Grobler's problematic past; doping in sport; athlete welfare; and the historical failures of sporting institutions to provide that. We've seen Bikey Twitter throw poo at us because we had the temerity to say that female athletes should be paid the same as male ones. We have also, let it not be forgotten, seen Matthew Pinsent rowed out of our fantasy eight by Beowulf.

So, we're no strangers to controversy.

However, the tsunami of opinion that engulfed us when we recently came down on the side that Lia Thomas should be allowed, encouraged and supported in competing - because we believe in sport for all - while also saying that we felt it was unfair on the women she was competing against that she was competing against them ... well, that was off-the-charts.

So the same spirit that saw us address Jurgen's past in the GDR when a bunch of trolls suggested that British Rowing's success was juiced saw us sit down to talk through the whys and wherefores of Trans individuals in sport.

And we do it gingerly because we're two middle-class, middle-aged, middlingly-educated men of a certain skin colour and nationality ... and frankly, that even discussing this seems to be an invitation to having your head kicked in the third decade of the twenty-first century is terrifying.

Nevertheless, we talk through the science, ethics, morality and transphobia of trans individuals in sport carefully and with qualifications and caveats proliferating, asking how the current situation has been allowed to evolve into such a badly-handled firestorm, and asking what the way forward is.

We're back!

Did you miss us?

Because we missed you.

(NB: This episode was recorded before the ruling on Emily Bridges had been passed).

Bowside? Pull strokeside around again. They deserve it. Lazy buggers.

So, given the back-and-forth that the 'Seriously? The pausing at backstops bollocks is still thing, is it?' post caused, a Broken Thoughts episode about it.

Without giving away the ending, essentially, the idea that we're all doing it because the 'cool kids do it' is significant, and the reality is that if you want to learn to move a boat well, the best thing you can do is get in a boat and move it ...

Lots.

Lewin tends to do the Broken Thoughts stuff, but I thought in my delirious, fevered state, what you needed to hear was a Northumbrian offering opinions way above his pay grade.

So there.

We are back, ladies and gentlemen!

We didn't actually technically take a break over the festive period. Although we were still producing what is widely regarded as the finest rowing podcast on the planet over Christmas and New Year, life adminstration meant that it remained in the vaults until now.

And boy, have we returned with a bang.

A time-served water-rower, via swimming, and an engineer by trade, Alicia R. Clark is one of the new wave of coaches who used the pandemic to explore new ways of coaching and approaching physical and mental fitness. She sat down with us talk through her ethos, exploring how be a rower can become an identity; transitioning out of the sport; finding new passions; and developing a 360 degree view of yourself as an individual before helping foster that mindset in those you coach.

Tracing Alicia's journey through sport and life to her present roles, we talk about the importance of being welcoming and patient with yourself and others; jargon-busting; creating safe spaces for individuals; establishing your own objectives; and shifting the perspective on fitness - stop treating it as medicine and penance, and start recognising it as something vital and integral to every aspect of life.

A great episode, from a coach with a host of online resources.

Stern Four? Really? You really think that's what a catch looks like?

Get some!

Website: https://www.aliciarclark.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/alicia_r_clark/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliciarclarkrowingcoach Indoor Rowing for Women group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/indoorrowingforwomen UCanRow2 Certification weekends: https://go.ucanrow2.com/a/41042/Mpc6JuM6

For anyone interested in working with Alicia, the best place to contact her is by Direct Message her on Instagram.

As you know, ladies and gentlemen, we at Broken Oars Podcast are no strangers to repetitive hyperbole, over-explanation, or using 100 words where 1 will do.

But on occasion, when we are in the presence of greatness, we just step back and say the name.

So, ladies and gentlemen:

Cath Bishop.

A fitting end to 2021 and a worthy way to enter 2022.

A few of you have drawn to our attention that Lewin (posh, southern) and I (illiterate, Northern) have strayed far and wide from our original remit of us getting together occasionally to talk utter tosh about everything and anything up to and including rowing.

Like Monsieur l'Ambassadeur in the Ferrero Rocher ads, you have said 'Oh, Northern Oik, Oh Posh Southern Overlord, with your steady diet of world-class guests giving world-class insights and hitherto untold stories about this sport of ours, you are really spoiling us ...'

So.

It's like that, is it?

Well, as the late, great Freddie Mercury once said 'this is what you wanted, this is what you're going to get' - and who are we not to take the same line as a man with a moustache as luxuriant as his voice (with a proven ability to row on both sides of the euphemistic boat).

Yes.

It is going to be that sort of episode.

What sort of episode, Monsieur l'Ambassadeurs, we hear you cry?

Well, let me put it this way:

Lionel Richie; Britney Spears; paparazzi; quality tunes; why do coals go to Newcastle and fascists to Sunderland; why all sports psychologists are basically conning their way into high-paying, high profile gigs; shameful admissions; Verona; poo in the water; heavy metals (not the sort you might think, given our history; faking it until you make it; why pretty women walk with gorillas; fine leather goods; Adele; Mardy Fish; weight loss; misery; karaoke; misery karaoke; betraying your roots live on tape; Bazalgette; social infrastructure; football; and killing the man behind you with your backsplash.

Yes.

It's that good. Probably the best one we've ever done.

Ever.

Bow four. Prepare to die. Stern four are coming in.

Joined by Justin and Stephen of Live 2 Row this is a Broken Oars Indoors epsiode that should be mandatory listening for anyone involved in any form of rowing, indoors, outdoors, or even on lakes with alligators on them.

Southern Pip and Justin and Stephen tick off a hitlist of Broken Oars mantras that have become shibboleths over the life of the podcast: why you shouldn't make people do 2k's on their first day if you want them to stay in the sport; why coaching has to be individual rather than one-size fits all; why the more volume = better rowers approach doesn't work; why ergs should be fun rather than a stroke-by-stroke re-enactment of the Passion of the Christ; and how to coach technical points that result in lasting physical and psychological improvements.

This isn't just about training on the erg. Justin and Stephen are arguing for an inclusive engaged sport that welcomes all through its doors. Focusing on individuals has an impact on all levels, from retention rates at indoor and outdoor clubs to progression to crew boats. By arguing very simply that the emphasis on suffering and rigour and sacrifice turns more off the sport than it engages, their paean for fun, engagement and inclusivity is as passionate as it is grounded and as inspiring as it is common-sense.

A must listen for anyone who wants to up their coaching and training game.

Bowside? Strokeside?

Get on the erg and have some fun!

Ah, you wait all year for a returning Olympian guest on Broken Oars Podcast and two come along at once ...

Following on from catching up with Jack Beaumont, Broken Oars Podcast was joined (again) by strawberry-blonde rowing legend Andrew Triggs-Hodge, three-time Olympic champion and finest stroke of his generation (no, Matthew, you can't argue. You were the generation before).

A late night chat of an episode due to it being recorded late at night and while Hodge was recovering from Covid, we talk about the Centurion challenge, Andy's work with London Youth Rowing, the significant challenges facing British Rowing as a participation and performance sport, the future of club rowing in Britain at a time of declining participation, the madness inherent in letting Jurgen go one year out from an Olympics, and at a time when the governance of the sport is up for grabs and the implementation of the Elite programmes still to be decided ... what next for Britain's most successful Olympic sport?

I've two words for you British Cycling. You can choose from Richard Freeman or Jiffy Bag. Stern four, coming in with Bow four, next stroke ... because we're literally all in this boat together.

Broken Oars, Episode 27: Jack Beaumont Returns!

Ladies, Gentlemen, children of all ages! Broken Oars is back on your airwaves and in your ears just in time for the drive to and from the boathouse with something of a special episode - our first returning guest!

It is true that there are only seven seats of separation in UK rowing - everyone knows everyone else and everyone knows everyone else's 2k score. The cynical might suggest that it was only a matter of time before we ran out of people to talk to and just started back at the beginning again ...

Rowers?

Cynical?

Watashi?

(Not quite the original joke, but you get the gist...).

Not so!

We are hugely proud and pleased that our first returning guest is Jack Beaumont.

Jack first came on back in the old days where we’d discuss the merits of spaniels playing international football, why lightweights need to find a sport that loves them and whether Conan the Barbarian or Matthew Pinsent would make our fantasy eight. He was the first elite athlete and British Olympian to take the plunge, just beating out Hodge, and his bravery was widely commentated on by anyone who knows us ...

But that episode remains a Broken Oars high-water mark with one of this country's finest exponents of the art and craft of sculling - a dedicated club man and a passionate advocate of all that's good in this great sport of ours.

We’ve all passed a lot of water since those days of the first lockdowns. Broken Oars has attained a certain amount of respectability in that time. However, this pales in comparison to Jack's year.

One of British Rowing's finest and most approachable ambassadors, Jack comes back to talk about Tokyo, those epic races in the quad, a Games like no other and becoming an Olympic medallist and the fallout from British Rowing's perceived 'failure' in 2021.

But it doesn't stop there.

Talking about his experiences at the recent World Coastal Rowing Championships, Jack talks honestly and openly about the future of rowing in Britain, the need for all rowers and clubs to throw open their doors, pay their subs, bring a friend down to the boathouse and change the narrative of performance and pain to one of participation and fun ...

... because otherwise we might not have a sport anymore.

A fantastic chat with a genuinely fantastic human being.

Full Crew - we are going now. And wind, and wind, and wind ...

We're back! The incredible rhyme animals, hyping like poets on a mic we show it, doh, rey, mi, for, so, lah, ti, doh it ... Wrong podcast? No! It's Friday afternoon and your genial hosts are full of fun and bounce again: yes, it's the illiterate Northern one and the Posh Southern one bringing you another slice of rowing goodness in time for your weekend. This episode couldn't be more pertinent, coming as it does as the falling participation in British Rowing across the board highlight the need for community-facing and welcoming clubs getting more people than the high-performance end on the water and into the sport. We are joined by the one, the only, the incredible and the inimitable Axel Dickinson - a New Zealand elite oarsman whose journey from the high end of one of the best performance programmes per capita in the world and into coaching reached a zenith this summer when his charges at Hinksey Sculling School went on the sort of run at Henley that makes us all believe in this sport all over again. Of course, being the class act he is Axel was quick to give the credit to the rowers he worked with. In this episode, then, we cover: the social and class differences between Britain and New Zealand and how that impacts on sporting participation; Axel's entry point to rowing, and the importance of New Zealand's outdoor and inclusive culture promoting sport for all (rather than paying lip service to it as we tend to in this Great Britain - remember how the home Olympics were going to leave a legacy of sport for all simply by spending 9 billion in London? That turned out well, didn't it ... ). New Zealand's desire to produce 360 degree people contrasts with GB's focus on pushing academic attainment as the be all and end all to children shows up in their male and female participation figures in every age cohort. With a decided emphasis on sport rather than exercise, community-facing clubs and an inclusive approach it's all about encouraging people to get amongst it. Touching on his squad experiences, Axel went on to discuss his approach to coaching, seeing at as an extension of personal responsibility and personal accountability on the part of the coach and training with intent, whatever the volume of the programme. This leads on to the against all odds Rocky-style story of Hinksey's charge to the Sunday of the Brit - done on nothing more than focus, intent, desire and borrowed boats. Let's make no mistake here. Southern Pip and I have always said that the one thing that Henley Royal Regatta held over all others as an elite sporting event was that you could start rowing in September, and if you were good enough find yourself lining up on the first day nine months later. It's a belief that has taken a bit of a knock recently with 2021's edition being a carve-up between elite HP clubs who appear to have decided amongst themselves beforehand that whoever got to the Barrier first went through to the next round ... Hinksey's achievements, told in Axel's own words, should be lauded and praised in every quarter of British Rowing. They did it largely without outside help; and they took the sniping of others around them as fuel to power them to a stellar achievement that those involved will and should remember with pride for the rest of their lives. You don't need that new Empacher, lads and lasses. You need to know what you want and you need to bloody well go and get it. Full Crew. Come forward to row. GET SOME!

As your genial Broken Oars team continue on their quest to bring the worlds of water and indoor rowing into closer harmony, we bring you a fantastic and illuminating chat with one of the UK's top indoor rowers.

Rod Chin is, as the title suggests, a man of many records. A legend in the indoor rowing community, we discuss his long journey through sport from a fast lad out on the track competing against the likes of Daley Thompson through his years and time as a rugby player until the fateful day he and his wife, herself a fantastic indoor rower in her own right, spied two rowing machines in the corner of their local gym ...

Die cast, Rod's competitive nature found its natural home in that famous piece of rowing equipment. While the old adage runs true - the Concept 2 is always waiting and always wins - Rod has struck a blow for mankind in systematically chasing down all of the records that have been set on the instrument of torture we all know and love.

This isn't just about indoor rowing, however. Rod's sporting trajectory and approach to training, setting targets, and competing is one that resonated with us as water rowers. From discussing his early days on the track to finding and working with a dedicated coach to maximise what he can achieve in the sport, it's a chat that will be illuminating, insightful and helpful to anyone with the desire to make the best out of themselves.

And it's out in time for the weekend?

Get some!

Bow Four? Winter training is coming up. This podcast is your future between now and December. Stern Four? Don't smirk. You're doing it too.

Welcome back to BrokenOars Indoors, with Frankii Newbury, CrossFit and Indoor Rowing coach, taking us on a whistle stop tour of her proud Yorkshire roots, her introduction to the sports of CrossFit and Indoor Rowing, and her own fitness and coaching journey through pregnancy and maternity.

Its all about bringing people into the sport, showing them how to do it the right way.... for them, and bringing the fun and the technique at the same time.

To follow further Frankii can be found on Instagtam doing her thing under the https://www.instagram.com/theunrulycoach/ handle and at https://www.instagram.com/dominus_crossfit/

A great chat that reminds everyone that indoor rowing can be a thing for all and everyone. And why Yorkshire is so good at sport.

As your genial hosts at Broken Oars Podcast continue their midsummer content blitz, we return to discuss Henley Royal Regatta 2021.

Here at Broken Oars, we've always believed that it's best to take the sport we love and its practitioners seriously and ourselves less so. Regular listeners will know that our tendency towards self-deprecation, flippancy and levity hasn't stopped us asking serious questions about rowing, rowers, the future of the sport both as an Olympic event and in this country as a participation sport, as well as the realities and impacts of athlete welfare, HP programmes and professionalism - all in the context of our belief that sport is and should remain for all.

In the light of Henley Royal Regatta's welcome return in 2021, we ask the question: is the world's most prestigious regatta and the aspirational pinnacle of the club sport in the UK in danger of becoming a pothunt for clubs within a 30-mile radius of its track?

We ask if HP programmes are asset-stripping talent from regional clubs, leaving them impoverished as a result; and what the implications of this, the regatta and its results this year are for a sport whose participation numbers have fallen off a cliff since 2016 and which is fighting for its Olympic life.

Tracing the historical reasons why the pyramid of British Rowing points to and funnels talent and resources towards a very specific geographic locale in the episode that might see any hope we ever had of joining the Establishment go up in smoke (probably), we make a passionate plea for the shining palace on the hill to remain an aspirational goal for all club rowers in the UK rather than it returning to being an Oz for the lucky few.

Strokeside? Bowside? This is why Broken Oars Podcast will never be allowed into Stewards.

Get some!

BrokenOars Indoors returns to your ears, looking at the future of indoor and online rowing and exercise in general.

We are talking with James Terrell, author of the PainSled App which let's you ergo your way round the Zwift Universe, spectating upon dinosaurs, dodging lava and bothering whales.

James is truly a man of the modern world and we examine his history in software design and engineering that supports exercise and sport and dive deep into the issues, difficulties of, and solutions for getting rowing machines of all brands to talk to each other.

This leads naturally onto a discussion of the future of exercise as a a game rather than a chore and how we will train for fitness in the world of tomorrow, with some exciting hints for ground breaking ideas that will make every rowing machine as great as the C2 (well almost).

Finally as a little palate cleanser James provides our water-based listeners with a parental account of the effect that the US's Title IX legislation has had on the world of junior rowing in the US and how it has tilted the balance of the sexes decidedly one way.

Broken Oars Podcast - going to the places other rowing podcasts don't dare to go in the company of amazing world-leading, world-creating guests.

Get Some!

What can we say about Episode 24 of Broken Oars podcast?

Henley Royal Regatta is in full swing, God is in his launch, and we are back!

Are we talking about the world's most prestigious regatta, Agecroft's attempt to board another crew just off the start and the apparently magnetic booms that are attracting so many crews in the 2021 edition?

Well, we touch on them.

But actually we've returned with an interview we've been sitting on for a little while which we think might be one of the best and most important we've ever done.

This is not down to us, of course, your genial hosts (Posh Southern One, Illiterate Northern One), but the quality of our guest.

Professor Stephen Seiler (https://www.youtube.com/user/sportscientist) is a world-leading academic in the disciplinary fields of sports science, physiology and training. His work has been adopted by coaches worldwide (although, as he points out, not always accurately), and he's an active figure on social media, which he sees as vital for collecting data and disseminating research findings and ideas to those who really need them: coaches, athletes and programmes.

We worked up a series of questions for Professor Seiler, and then proceeded to not ask any of them, as he took us on a fascinating journey from Texas to Norway and through the world of sports and performance.

In a wide-ranging and must-listen episode, he and we discuss, among other things:

The evolution of sporting models in Australia, Great Britian compared to the Norwegian model:
Why Norway punches above its weight in international competition.
That children should be allowed to have fun. Early specialisation does not guarantee success. Generalisation does.
Why there is no sport in schools in Norway. Or schools competitions.
How the parent-led club driven model works.
How multi-disciplinarians achieve more than specialists when it comes time to specialise.
Serendipity in life.
Chance and choice, and why both are vital for success.
His journey into the world of sports science.
Why gladiators don't always make good crew mates.
How baselines of fitness work, and how you can apply them to your training to make yourself better, regardless of level.
Why social media is the next frontier for peer-driven research.
The future of rowing in a media led market.
And why the Vikings were nicer than we all thought ...

As a resource for rowers, coaches, clubs, athletes and anyone just interested in the science of performance on a very human level, this conversation with one of the most important and respected voices in the field is pure gold at every stage.

All delivered in an accent that makes Sam Elliott sound uptight.

Not so much a podcast, as one to listen to with a cup of coffee, and then come back to with a notepad.

Outstanding.

(Professor Seiler, not necessarily us).

Stern Four - when I said apply the 80/20 model, what did you think I meant?

Broken Oars returns with the first of its excursions into the world of indoor rowing, and boy, have we got a treat for you.

John Steventon is one of its best practitioners and the founder and host of the popular Rowalong Youtube channel.

At a time when rowing in the UK and clubs are suffering a decline in participant numbers, but indoor rowing is booming post-pandemic, John joins us for a chat about his sporting journey, his entry into indoor rowing as a means of fitness and competition, and the natural evolution of the Rowalong channel.

In this episode, we resurrect our 'house-keeping' section (or as we prefer to call it, washing our dirty laundry in public) to issue mea culpas for dropping the factual ball in our Olympics round-up; we celebrate Matthew Pinsent inventing the concept of a multi-disciplinary sport and come up with a name for it; and we ask the pertinent question: is this Broken Oars Genesis / Phil Collins moment as the Posh Southern One finally strikes out in search of a solo career?

After that, John takes over, tracing his trajectory from early life as a squash protege, through cycling that saw him eventually meet his competitive counterpart in the wild and wonderful world of indoor rowing. Talking about his progression from fit and fast to fit, fast and technical in the land of big beasts, and the ethos and ideas behind the fantastic Rowalong channel, it's a wide-ranging and interesting chat for anyone interested in rowing, getting fitter, getting better and being part of a community.

Including:

Teaching people to row indoors better - Why is it important, and How?
Who follows Rowalong, and what do they get from it?
How does indoor rowing interact with Water Rowing Clubs and National governing bodies.
Is Water Rowing in danger of being eclipsed by Indoor Rowing?
What would get more people into ergos and rowing?
What would make the ergo better?

All this and it's not even a weekend yet?

Get some?

Stern Four? This is called a Concept II. You will eat with it, you will sleep with it, you will train on it. Bow Four? You're beyond redemption ...

Where your hosts genially navigate their Sunday morning tendernesses to ask if GB Rowing came home without a win due to the absence of Gingers (of course that's the reason, every boat needs a Ginger) and ask the question that seems to have escaped everyone in the shitstorm: are things really that bad? Is it all down to grandad bed-blockers not letting the young 'uns have a go in Rio? Will it all be okay in Paris?

Recorded in one take without any of our usual editing process in place, and thus with more moments of brain-fart in it than usual, we also ask:

Can Matthew Pinsent please stop telling crews he knows exactly how they feel after getting fourth place in the Olympics (A great attempt to display sympathy if not empathy, but he doesn't. He won. Every time. Sometimes by quite small margins, but still ... )
Do we need to solve a problem like James Cracknell? (No, is the short answer. James Cracknell is the watchman who watches the watchmen. And not only were no James Cracknells were harmed in the making of this episode, but we also didn't steal his motorbike).
Can anyone, anywhere, say anything bad at any time about Helen Glover?
Is it all the fault of a 70-something year-old man who had frankly already earned his retirement ten times over (aka was this all a long plot by the GDR conceived during the Cold War to bring down British Rowing in the twenty-first century?)

In setting the British Rowing world to rights with a level of nuance, understanding and bluntness plainly absent from better-placed and certainly better paid commentators, we also ask if the Posh Southern One survived being lured by mermaids to his death; the ennervating properties of salt water, and what Rick Savage from Def Leppard can tell Josh Bugaski about four-year projects, success and working with a demanding producer / coach ...

... and is a gold medal always a gold medal? (Pip says yes, Northern one says otherwise. Quel Surprise).

Strokeside? Bowside? This is unedited material with potentially a high level of bollocks being talked. You have been warned!

Ladies and Gentlemen ... !

Children of all ages ... !

The counter-intuitive Olympics Episode!

Featuring:

Becoming Masters D, meeting old friends and finding they've got bigger guns than you, being a boat tart, rhythm and timing, the difficulties of being funny AND quirky (it's tough, but we make it look easy ...), and what to do if your Chapman, your Chapman suddenly turns into your cox.

And that's all before we get to the Olympics!

What does a sixteen-month pandemic, very little out of competition testing and the invention of 'magic shoes' mean? Is Flo Jo's perfectly natural record (among others) is finally in danger of falling? What was the dirtiest games in history? Do Redgrave and Pinsent's Gold at Atlanta suddenly look like significant achievements?

Should Tokyo go ahead? Is the IOC only in it for the money? (Bears. Woods. Shit. Popes. Catholics). Should we all go and visit the nearest village with Bubonic Plague and see what happens next? (Go on, we dare you). What would have been a better alternative, and is it the Posh Southern One's conception of a global sustainable Olympic movement? (If the answer is yes, can we have some money, please IOC, even though we've just called you blood-sucking leeches?).

Then we get to the Glover Paradox: how can a woman with Helen Glover's measurables move a boat so fast? Is Fabian Cancellera making her boat? And if the answer is no, and British Rowing's coaching team can't work it out and transfer it to the rest of the squad, are they doing their jobs?

And that's before we get to how much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck ...

Nope, not that. How much training does it take to win an Olympics? If Helen can win after nine months back, is the 4-year cycle we've been told is a necessity simply there to keep coaching staff in jobs?

We look ahead to the publication of the documentaries The Mother of All Comebacks and The Road to Tokyo and ask if British Rowing has missed a trick in pushing macro-narratives in the age of micro-narratives and multiple broadcast opportunities, citing our own conversations with them months ago about getting as many athlete stories as possible out there from BRITAIN'S MOST SUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC SPORT (No, British Cycling. You don't count any more).

Oh, it's all here. The death of the belief fairy, what sport means to those who watch and participate in it, dragons on the precipitious cliffs of the North, and being on the outside of the tent pissing in.

You missed us?

Yeah. We know.

We missed you all too!

Bowside? Strokeside? GET SOME!

Literally two old rowers talking utter nonsense about controversial stuff, being able to judge the mood of your rowing compatriots from the set of their shoulders; how to get into Henley Royal Regatta by naughtiness; carpet-bagging, and how it makes the boat go faster; and a certain young lady smashing the hour record.

The one where Lewin and Aaron spitball about the pernicious influence of AAS's and other PED's on the issue of ideals of body image.

TL/DL we are against them.

Ladies, Gentlemen, children of all ages!

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends - the Broken Oars Podcast!

Well, it might seem like it's been a while, but that's only because after a year of talking about this wonderful sport of ours, we're all finally allowed back on the water.

Yes, it might only last a few weeks before lockdown number four is imposed - as it surely will be - but we've been somewhat neglecting our duties and responsibilties towards you, dear listeners, while we've enjoyed the delights of shovelling a boat backwards down a river on flat water.

You can be harsh if you like, but we're sure you've been doing the same. Is there honestly anything better?

No. We don't think so either.

However, as the Posh Southern One recovers from the horrors of Teacher-Assisted Marking and the Grumpy Northern One recovers from finding out his Northerness is terminal, we found time to get together and catch up with a chat we had with the one, the only, the inimitable and the incredible Kate O' Sullivan - deputy chair of British Rowing, Teesside alumna, and all-round amazing force-of-nature.

That's right, Ladies and Gentlemen we've gone Full Establishment!

We know that you love Broken Oars Podcast because we say the things that other rowing podcasts don't; and that we can't be bought and we won't be muzzled.

But as always happens with British rebels when they can't kill them (Boudicca, Hereward the Wake, Bagpuss), they make them part of the furniture. Look at Sir Steve - started out an upstart being told he'd never row for his country again, won five Olympic golds and ended up a Knight of the Realm.

Well, they haven't given us a knighthood.

They've given us something better - a chat with the Deputy Chair of British Rowing.

So, sit down, strap in and buckle up!

Quite frankly, we always talk our guests up because, quite frankly, they've all been amazing. After chatting with Kate and listening to her trajectory through the sport, however, and her experiences within it and without it, we can honestly say that we've come away feeling that we could be a bit more like Kate.

And it's perfect for those long 100k rows that seem to be so fashionable at the moment.

GET SOME!

Bowside? Strokeside? This is the person we want you to grow up to be. Pay attention!

As we always say at these moments, we're back!

Given that's the case, a question might be raised as to why we actually say it. After all, you know it's us, you know we're back because another episode of arguably the world's greatest rowing podcast has just popped into your inbox.* Why do we feel the need to burst back onto the airwaves with all of the energy and brio of an over-sugared toddler?

Well, it's us. This is what we do.

Also, life, life events, work and other things have meant that for the first time in our short but illustrious history have meant that there has been a longer than usual gap between our last episode and this one.

But we're back, and we bring you a fantastic discussion with Dr. Valery Kleshnev.

The founder, owner and driving force behind BioRow, Dr. Kleshnev is an Olympic silver medallist and World Championship bronze medallist. Following on from his elite-level competitive career, he carved out an outstanding reputation as a sports scientist, going on to work with the Australian Institute of Sport and the English Institute of Sport. His work focuses on the hows and whys of performance in order to make rowers and crews better and faster, using scientific analysis and feedback to achieve measurable results.

When British Rowing published the revised selection criteria for athletes on the GB Squad, Dr. Kleshnev was vocal in questioning these revisions.

We sat down with him to discuss the potential ramifications of these changes, resulting in a wide-ranging chat on a variety of topics. These include what these changes mean for selection policy; where the buck stops in British Rowing now; what good coaching actually looks like; how to blend a crew beyond looking at the data sets; the cyclical nature of performance, and whether British Rowing is reaching the end of its imperial phase; how all regimes pull down their monuments; why transparency and accountability are vital for HP programmes; and what boats are actually scientifically better than others, but how 'feel' can't be discounted.

A cracking, thought-provoking episode that proves once again that Broken Oars Podcast goes to the places other podcasts don't, possibly ill-advisedly if we ever want Leander to consider our membership ...

Bowside? Strokeside? Yes, none of us will ever work for British Rowing after this episode ...

(* we always argue that it is)

We're back!!!!

(Imagine Aerosmith's 'Back in the Saddle Again' playing in the background. It'll help).

Returning after a brief Easter Break to deal with life, Covid, the Universe and Everything, Broken Oars Podcast returns with its twentieth official episode (or 22cnd in total if we're including our one-off specials).

And have we got a guest for you?

Well, of course we have otherwise it would just be your genial hosts (the tall, posh Southern one and the short, oppressed Northern one) picking a subject and running it wildly off the rails.

Some artists (bands, groups, writers, movie-makers - pick your own poison here) can be variable in quality. For every Appetite For Destruction, there is, unfortunately, often a G n R Lies EP that should never have seen the light of day. After our last episode with Eric Murray and an outstanding run of exceptional guests, it would have been easy for us to put our feet up and do the 'What Dog Breed Would You Put In What Seats In An Eight' Episode.

Not us.

In the episode, you will find to your delight and delectation that our commitment to making each stroke as good as it can be (little rowing metaphor for you there) remains far more in place than it ever was at the end of long outings when scallies were shooting us with air-rifles.

In this episode, you will find the Posh Southern One giving the Northern One his P45; the Northern one will find that a stutter that he thought he'd successfully dealt with in his teenage years has returned, making him sound like he's being remixed by DJ EZ Rock; and the Southern One admitting that his day job involves being a character in Middle Earth.

Luckily, though, our guest Tim Morris rides to the rescue and brings wisdom to the party.

We chat about his trajectory through rowing from his earliest days as cox through to his coaching roles now; the development of the sport in that time; rowing as a toolkit for life; race strategies; composite boats and blades; how sport can develop your personality and your personality can find an expression in sport that serves in everything else you go on to do, and the future of the sport in the UK.

Designed as a rowing podcast for the people by the people with the people, this is a Broken Oars Podcast of the first rank. We've been incredibly lucky with all of our guests, and Tim is no exception. With him, as with everyone else, what's clear is that when you get rowers together, what we love to do is talk about this amazing sport of ours.

And it's out in time for the weekend!?

GET SOME!

Bowside? Strokeside? You were told this was a tidal river. You were told to bring wellies. None of you did. We will leave you stuck in this mud as a warning to others. Bow, stop crying. You brought it on yourself.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Eric Murray.

Bowside? Strokeside? Sit still, you're in the presence of Viking Antipodean Rowing God Greatness.

(And for those who need the chapter headings:

Why you should always have a beer before doing fine glosswork.
What drives positive or negative athlete welfare experiences.
What hard work actually looks like.
Losing your ego and failing in order to succeed.
There's no such thing as a paddle, you're racing all the time.
Promote yourself and your sport, don't wait for your organisation to do it for you.
Why the Kiwi Pair missed Hodge and Reed when they left.
Why you should start preparing for when you're going to leave the programme when you join it, and how.
Why if it's a choice between another gold medal and family, it's no choice at all.
How rowing can change to keep the sport vital and alive).

Occasionally, when we are in the presence of greatness, Broken Oars Podcast has announced a new episode by simply saying:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

[Insert name here].

And leaving it at that.

Given that our guest this week is Martin Cross, we would be well-justified in doing the same, but we can’t.

Simply put, we know that you all out there have reached peak Pod in these years of pandemic lockdown and isolation. Podcasts have sprouted up like mushrooms after a damp night. They’re literally everywhere now, covering every niche and fighting for your attention. Poodle-faker – the podcast for people who poodle-fake. Are you a competitive pigeon-sexer? We talk with Tobias Grimethorpe, eighteen-times South Barnsley regional champion …

We get it.

You’re tired.

Your ears are tired.

You’re looking forward to restrictions easing so you can get out into the fresh air and sunshine and crack on. You’ve listened to enough podcasts to float a battleship … and, in the words of HG Wells so memorably intoned by Sir Richard of Burton, still they come …

(Dah dah dah … Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, anyone? Just us? Ok …).

The last thing you need is another podcast.

Except if you're a rower you do need to listen to this one.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Martin Cross, chatting about everything from his early days in the sport; his route to international representation; old-school training; the importance of mentors and passing on the torch; competing against known dopers; why being politically-active and taking ownership of your ambitions benefits sportsmen and women; juggling being a full-time athlete with a full-time job; the politicking and shenanigans that went into constructing the LA Coxed Four; where British Rowing was, what it’s grown into and what might happen in the post-Jurgen era.

We at Broken Oars Podcast are no strangers to flippancy, sarcasm and the teasing of some of British Rowing’s sacred cows - but we've always come away from each interview feeling lucky to have had the conversations we’ve had with our guests.

In talking to Martin Cross we met an Olympic champion and a well-known public face and voice of the sport whom we also discovered to be a kind, thoughtful man with a lot to say about rowing past and present and a huge amount still to offer the sport he clearly still loves and is passionate about.

After a week in which Broken Oars Podcast tangled with Bikey Twitter (we said female athletes deserve equal pay … and sweaty blokes in Lycra piled on) and a professional cycling writer called Fergus McKay called us children for suggesting that being concerned about athlete welfare wasn’t guff, it was the best way to welcome in the weekend!

This is one to listen to, enjoy the conversation and stories, and dip back into for the nuggets of wisdom and insight.

Get some!

Bow Pair? Hang on. Some bloke called Steve is sitting in at stroke today …

Broken Oars Podcast returns with something of a Public Service Broadcast.

We were approached recently by the team at One Sporting World and Legacy 300 to see if we could help spread the word about their Athlete Experience Days.

These allow people to meet their sporting heroes and heroines in a sporting and convivial context while helping charities raise much-needed funds.

As you know, Broken Oars Podcast has no sponsors and no corporate ties - and we still don't, (although we are open to offers). As such, as most of you who listen to us know, we set our own agenda (and what a rambling, wide-ranging and interesting one it is too ...). So there is no kickback for us in hooking up with One Sporting World and Legacy 300 beyond the chance to have a chat with an athlete who works with them who we've always had a high regard for: Matt Langridge.

We've always felt that Matt was something of an undersung member of British Rowing's success and could never work out why, given that he is a multiple Olympic and World Championship medallist and champion; a long-time member of the GB rowing squad; and one of the few rowers to compete at the Olympic Games in both sculling and sweep disciplines.

So, when we were given the chance to sit down and have a chat with him ... well, of course we were always going to take it.

In this episode, we talk about:

Matt discovering rowing and then discovering he was pretty decent at it, actually .
How Martin Cross helped him break the J-18 record by telling him that he couldn't.
The difficulties in transitioning from being a well-regarded, winning junior athlete to being in the senior squad at a relatively young age.
Negotiating meshing the individualism and independence that had made him a successful junior international with the 'our way or the highway' demands of the GB squad set up.
The realisation that success would require giving up some ambitions in order to embrace others; the difficulties involved in that; and the trade-offs made for the pay-offs.
How shifting the mental perspective opened up the way forward; the challenges of creating crews at athletes at different stages of their journey; and the rewards when it goes right.

It was fascinating, illuminating and insightful in-depth conversation with one of the greats of British rowing.

And it's out in time for the weekend?

Get some!

Stroke pair? At some point today, I'd like you to find the rate 18 I asked you for.

Broken Oars Podcast Returns!

In this episode, you’ll learn such things as why God is no good at choruses; why the Northern one reads male rabbits; what constitutes a hymnal banger; why Amazonian tribesmen can sing Livin’ on a Prayer; why rowers don’t play in the NBA and why Metallica were right to sack Dave Mustaine …

‘What?’ we hear you say. ‘What is this nonsense? Where is the second part of the interview with the incredible and inimitable Sally Kettle, ocean-rower and adventuress, that you promised?’

(Yeah. We see you, Thames Tradesmen, at the back there ...).

Well, as you know, Broken Oars Podcast has always been the podcast that pushes the envelope of what’s possible in the podcast medium. Diving deep into his knowledge of post-modernism (so, a fairly shallow dive into a fairly shallow puddle, then), the Northern one has thrown away the usual conventions of a podcast (like an intro, a middle bit, an outro and some editing) and decided to leave in the pre-recording conversation your genial hosts were having before the clapperboard clicked.

Some would call it bold. Some would call it a tour de force extension of the podcast form. Some, like Thames Tradesmen, would call it two muppets talking smack ...

However, alongside our left-field insights, we have, as promised, returned with Part Two of our conversation with the ocean-rower, adventuress, author, motivational speaker, Active Pregnancy Charity Founder and all-round force of nature that is ... Sally Kettle.

Now, we know that some of you were holding off listening to this episode until you had both sections to listen to. Well, you now have no excuses. Get it downloaded and get it on!

Learn what sort of ocean mega-fauna you can expect to meet on your average Atlantic crossing, and why no Atlantic crossing is average.
Why thumbs and sail winches don’t mix.
Why elite athletes sometimes don’t have the time, space or perspective to be kind when kindness is what’s needed.
How it isn’t setting the goal or reaching the goal that teaches you the lessons that change your life, but the journey towards achieving them - even if you never do.
Why those journeys never run smooth; but why it’s the unexpected bumps in the road and waves in the ocean that teach the biggest lessons – even if those lessons aren’t sometimes appreciated at the time.
The importance of learning the difference between what’s in your control and what isn’t, and surrendering to the experience - and why vast natural forces are really good at making you realise this.
Why you should write your story immediately after the event before you have a chance to intellectually and emotionally self-censor.
Decompression after major life events and achievements.
Why there are no female adventuresses on TV, while the pale, male and stale rack up series after recommissioned series.
How the Active Pregnancy Foundation supports and celebrates female physicality; championing its importance pre- and post-birth, in motherhood and in life.

We always say that our current episode is the best we’ve ever recorded

In this instance, however, it is.

And it’s out in time for the weekend?

GET SOME!

Bowside? Strokeside? Sally Kettle would have rowed the Atlantic in the time it’s taken you to sort your footplates out. Go and get eaten by sharks.

Broken Oars Podcast returns!

(Did you ever doubt that we would? How dare you!)

We are delighted to be joined by the ocean-rower, adventuress, author, motivational speaker, Active Pregnancy Charity Founder and all-round force of nature that is Sally Kettle:

https://www.sallykettle.com

https://www.activepregnancyfoundation.org/

Cramming more into her life so far than most of us would in ten, Sally was the first woman to row across the Atlantic twice from East to West, once with her Mum, before going on to compete in elite sailing races in her quest for life-changing adventures. Going on to be an author, a storied presenter for institutions and audiences as diverse as BBC Radio Four and TED, Sally is also the founder of the Active Pregnancy Foundation and a Trustee of the London Sports Trust and Chair and Ambassador of the Girl Guiding London and South East England region.

We were honoured to have a wide-ranging chat with Sally, to the point where we didn't want to cut it at all, meaning this will be our first ever two-hander.

In this episode, we touch on such topics as:

The Atlantic rows and why following the impulse to radically change your life rather than putting it off until 'the time is right' can have startling consequences and results.
Why it is the challenges we face, address and overcome in going for our goals that often teach us more than attaining them, even if it might not seem like it at the time.
How the modern world has taken away rites of passage and a graded approach to risk-taking that has disenfranchised and disengaged children, teenagers and young adults, leaving them with a smaller toolkit for dealing with the challenges that all lives inevitably face.
The ways in which society disempowers girls and young women from consistent screen bombardments that promote mental health, self-worth, self-esteem and body issues to cultural mores that disengage the same groups from developing a healthy relationship with themselves and physical activity.
Why if your boat is attacked by a shark mid-ocean, you rarely stop to check which type is eating your rudder.
The importance of institutions and programmes like the Girl Guides in providing 'shaping' experiences that help develop resilience, a thicker 'bark' and a more complete toolkit.
Why kindness is more important than winning - even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.

Oh, and that's just in Part One.

Your amiable hosts at Broken Oars Podcast are no strangers to inflationary language and repetitive hyperbole, even if we pretend that we don't actually know what either of those two terms mean. In this instance, however, they'll have to make some new adjectives to describe the incredible individual that is Sally Kettle. Truly inspirational and truly inspiring.

Stern Four? A shark is eating bow pair. Leave it. We don't need them anyway.

Broken Oars Podcast returns with what might be called 'The Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Rowing Culture' Episode - if we went in for such things as informative titles.

Following a recent positive test being returned in British Rowing, rather than risk us talking about spaniels (again), we enlisted the help of an expert in the field, the exceedingly knowledgeable Dr. Phil Hurst.

Phil is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, at the School of Psychology and Life Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University. An early-career interdisciplinary researcher with specialism in placebo effects on sports performance and psychosocial antecedents of anti-doping behaviours, between 2017 and 2018, Philip worked as a research associate at the University of Birmingham where he undertook two projects commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Olympic Committee.

Highlights of his research include looking at the effects, or otherwise, of legal performance enhancing substances, the placebo effect, and the reasons why individuals might be more or less likely to use PEDs in competition.

He's also a Northerner, which is a bonus in anyone's book.

(This might explain why Lewin (the Southern one) conducted this interview alone: scared of being outnumbered by two articulate Northerner, he slipped AJ the wrong log-in time ... )

Neverthless, flying solo the fast lad had a wide-ranging and informative chat with Dr. Hurst, covering:

The psycho-social reasons why people turn to PEDs.
Why athletes and organisations use the TUE mandate to push the line on where clean sport ends and doping begins.
Why some sports have a history and culture of doping; and why sport as part of the entertainment industry may be feeding it; with the impact of living in an increasingly image-conscious world playing into the use of PEDs.
Why performance-enhancing drugs don't necessarily work, but the placebo effect they provide does - and how to recreate that by cultivating positive mindsets and pre-performance rituals to replace the mental boost PED's offer some athletes.
Why rowing globally is no better or worse than other sports, but how and why British Rowing's culture and history of hard work = results have helped protect the sport.
Phil highlights Redgrave and Pinsent's 'we work hard' approach as one that not only aligns with Olympic values, but which carried and flagged the credibility and integrity of British Rowing to the wider world of sport.
Noting the importance of cultural narratives in defining whether athletes and various sports use or don't use PED's, Phil suggests that the perpetuation of the narrative 'we succeed by hard work' from the top-down and the bottom-up has had a preventative effect that has kept British Rowing cleaner than its peers, warning that Robert Strachan's recent positive test means we can't rest on our laurels.

This episode is a must for anyone in rowing and sport concerned with protecting clean athletes and clean sport, and provides real insight into the whys, more than the hows and whats, of illegitimate performance enhancement in sport.

Bowside holding ... Strokeside's chocolate croissants until UKAD gets back to us about whether or not they're on the banned list.

Almond croissants? Rowing on ...

Doubling up after our Christmas break, Broken Oars Podcast returns ahead of biweekly schedule in this bleakest of midwinters to provide you lucky people with high quality podcast entertainment for your delectation and delight.

Now, given that we can provide none of those things if it's just the posh Southern one and the illiterate Northern one discussing, say, the etymology of fitness (you haven't listened to Episode 13? Shame on you - go and download it now. It has spaniels in it. And French tennis players snogging horses. And Robert Strachan), Jezz Moore joins us.

For those in the rowing world yet to run across this incredible man, Jezz is an oarsman and coach who has worked at every level British Rowing has to offer and his insights and ideas offer practical and conceptual insights readily applicable to every rower, coach and club.

These include

Why clubs are important, why cross-pollination in clubs perpetuates performance and a strong identity that stands them in good stead, and why we should embrace tribalism as rowers.
The differences between training for elite competition and club competition, and why the buy-in from clubs into elite training methods is counter-productive.
Why eight athletes will always beat eight rowers, and what that means for current approaches to training.
Why the effort lever in British Rowing has been maxed out, and why it's time to start looking at technical and mental approaches - and how adopting flexible, cross-pollinated approaches to training will stop the talent drain away from rowing.
What the future might hold for British Rowing now there is a Jurgen-shaped hole in the landscape.

We at Broken Oars Podcast are no strangers to hyperbole (even if we don't know what it actually means), and we always say that our latest episode is the best we've ever recorded. In this case, however, it might actually be true.

If you don't believe us, we can only put it like this: after talking to Jezz, we both wish we were two decades younger and could row for him. A fascinating, insightful and highly-motivating chat with a wonderful individual.

Bowside? Strokeside? Oh, what Jezz Moore could do with you lot ...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the airwaves, Broken Oars Podcast returns, following a Christmas break in which the Big Lad had his leg off at the knee and the Northern One stayed in bed with Long Covid (the less-fun relative of Long John Silver).

After the vision and the dream that was Episodes 1 through whatever (we lost count. It wasn’t rate-capped), you told us you wanted more interviews with elite athletes like Jack Beaumont (Episode 11) and Andrew Triggs-Hodge (Episode 12) and more engaging guests like all the ones we’ve had (that’s right: all of them).

We listened carefully to what you told us, took it onboard, and then in our usual counter-intuitive fashion, decided to go back to our roots.

That’s right, us, talking about the first things that come into our heads.

Episode 13 is like Episode 1 and 2 but with editing and without the inflammatory references to lightweights, the Democratically Elected People's Republic of China, and each other.

By some miracle of timing, happenstance, luck, and sheer talent, however, we’ve hit on the perfect combination of topics to welcome in 2021.

Join us, if you will, as we discuss the following:

How French Tennis players use the ‘horse on cocaine’ excuse for doping pings, and why it doesn’t work.

Robert Strachan and his recipe for cleaning floors and fish pies.

Who you should trust with your wallet, your whisky and your (wo)man when in Scotland.

Why you never see spaniels representing their countries at the highest level as centre-backs in international football.

New Year’s resolutions: what is fitness, why has it become a thing; and what does it actually mean.

Why Boris Johnson gets a bad press and why it's completely undeserved.

(Ahem).

All in time for 2021?

GET SOME!

Strokeside? Bowside? You're all sacked.

Broken Oars Podcast, Episode 12.

Ladies and Gentlemen …

Hodge.

OBE.

Bowside? Strokeside? Sit still, behave. You’re in the presence of greatness.

Returning for Episode 11 after mistakenly declaring that Episode 10 was Episode 12 (hey, we’re rowers. We can only count in stroke rates and splits), Broken Oars Podcast is pleased, proud and excited to welcome its first Olympian: Jack Beaumont!

A current member of the GB National Squad, as well as the Captain of Leander, the world's oldest and most prestigious rowing club, Jack is an Olympian in his own right having made his Olympic bow in the quad at Rio 2016. Building on a sterling (and ongoing) club career with Maidenhead, Jack has progressed to become one of the UK's leading scullers, having won gold and bronze in the 2017 World Cup regattas and bronze at the European Rowing Championships before going on to take silver in the quad at the World Championships in the same year.

He’s also one of the nicest and most forthcoming individuals you could hope to meet in any walk of life, so when Jack agreed to come on (to our eternal surprise and his eternal credit), we settled down for a far-reaching and very enjoyable conversation about life, sport and rowing.

In this episode, which begins with us starting recording midway through a chat about his Olympian father, Peter, (Seoul '88 - Men's Eight), Jack talks about how being introduced to rowing and his early stop-start years where other pursuits were also allowed to play a role were crucial in allowing him to develop his love and feel for the sport at his own pace.

Framing a welcoming and supportive club structure as central to this, Jack outlined how Maidenhead provided a point of focus, release and enjoyment when he was growing up, and how he still returns there when his schedule allows.

Touching on the ways club and world-class start routes towards the GB Squad can respectively shape a rower's journey, Jack went on to discuss his role of Captain of Leander, exploding some of the commonly-held myths about the famed 'Pink Palace' to show it’s a welcoming club on many levels: most rowers would recognise the rowing set-up from their own clubs; and the club has evolved to accomodate many different types of members in a deliberate strategy to represent the diverse communities it is part of.

Jack even suggested that your hosts might get through the door if they applied.

(Although he was noticeably silent on how long we might stay through the door, however …).

In a world where sport and its elite practitioners seem ever-more professional, process-and-goal orientated and serious, we went on to talk about how to retain a sense of fun, enjoyment and sense of personal fulfilment when in engaging in sport.

Discussing these as vital in maintaining a healthy perspective given the demands on elite sportsmen and women, Jack talked about how the fun and excitement of his early years in the sport have remained a key part of his journey to the elite level - and his plans to go on a tour of the UK to tick off all of the regattas and heads he’s always wanted to do and his plan to scull the length of the Thames on his retirement from the squad.

Returning to the importance of British Rowing maintaining good, interconnected club structures and a positive and inclusive culture to ensure the long-term future of the sport from the grassroots to elite levels, the future of rowing as an Olympic sport came up, in which racing on rivers, Olympic bumps, mixed crews and other hobby-horses familiar to regular listeners to Broken Oars Podcast were taken out of the stables and given a run out again.

Surprisingly, Jack agreed with some of these ideas (we and he put it down to his strong roots at Maidenhead and having grown up rowing on rivers). Jack also agreed that more community overlap is needed so that the grassroots and national squads have more contact with each other.

Noting that he hoped that someone at British Rowing was listening to us (chance would be a fine thing!), an early podcast idea (that members of the national squad should have to do a certain amount of provincial heads and regattas each year) was given an airing. Jack said he'd happily turn up at an event and jump in someone else's boat for fun ... as long as displaced crew members then formed a scratch crew so they could still race.

Things got a bit out of control at that point, ending up with three of us agreeing to row together in a quad at Durham Regatta as soon as circumstances and Jack’s schedule allow.

All we need now is another rower to sign on ...

Any takers?

Our conversation with Jack was something of a gear change after our recent episodes with Tristan Mayglothing and Jennifer Sey, but the same key themes emerged. Fun, engagement and awareness are all intrinsic parts of a successful sporting culture and fulfilled sporting life, and Jack is the living embodiment of someone doing what they love in life - and where that can take you.

A wonderful and enlightening conversation ... with a wonderful guest.

And it's out just in time for the weekend!?

GET SOME!

Bowside? Strokeside? Both of you holding ... each other under. Again.

Broken Oars Podcast returns in Episode 10 with Jennifer Sey as our guest.

Starting as a competitive gymnast at the age of 6, Jennifer went on to become a seven-time member of the United States national team and World Championship competitor before leaving the sport. Going on to become Head of Brand at Levi Strauss & Co, one of the world’s iconic brands, her account of the abusive behaviours and pressures she suffered as an elite athlete in a high-performance environment in Chalked Up (2008) was part of a growing groundswell of former and current athletes speaking out against abusive coaching and cultures and for athlete welfare.

As part of the production team behind Athlete A, the award-nominated documentary that followed the investigative journalists from The Indianapolis Star as they broke the story of team doctor and paedophile Larry Nasser’s repeated and sustained assaults on female gymnasts within USAG, Jennifer has been a positive force for change, acknowledgement and accountability – not least from the organisations and bodies charged with protecting athletes who signally failed to do so.

Broken Oars Podcast was honoured that Jennifer found time in her busy schedule to talk to us about all of the above, as well as touching on current questions surrounding athlete welfare in UK Sports; the need for change and the ways forward.

At times harrowing and difficult to listen to (but far easier to listen to than live through), Jennifer powerfully articulated the need for joy and happiness to be central to the way children participate in sport, and for that to be nurtured and maintained at all ages and at every level of participation and performance.

Like the little train that could, Broken Oars Podcast returns with its long-awaited, much-heralded Episode 9. Slotting neatly in after Episode 8, it features your genial hosts Lewin and Aaron and Rory Copus.

Great and gimcrack philosophers alike have said that you can judge a man by the quality of their friends. In the world of podcasting, this translates as 'you can judge a podcast by the standard of its guests.' Broken Oars has been blessed in this regard. From Di Binley to Tristan Mayglothing, we have had guests who have been outstanding, rising above the quippage, light badinage and searingly well-researched commentary that would otherwise be our stock-in-trade.

Rory continues our unbroken run of great guests. The result is another fantastic episode.

Coach at Abingdon School, product and shaper of the Oxford Brookes production line of talent, Henley winner and that rarest of things in the rowing world, a coxing icon thanks to THAT performance against Belmont and THAT viral video of THAT performance, Rory sat down with us for a chat about all of those things.

Giving thoughtful and informative insights into the demands and requirements of high-performance programmes and how success sets the bar ever higher, Rory examines the factors that have contributed to Oxford-Brookes success from getting that first win to how geography can inspire rowing approaches, as well as reflecting on his own schoolboy career at Abingdon.

Going on to talk about the role of the coxswain in all of this, Rory offers perspectives that might come as a shock to those of us who have ever thought that a cox is just a small shouty person getting a free ride up at the pointy-end. Emphasising that a good cox knows each of the athletes they work with intimately and coordinates the complexities of each session so that the individual and the crew collective get the best possible performance outcomes as unobtrusively as possible, Rory goes on to talk about how that all came together in THAT iconic performance vs Belmont – and how winning that duel led to winning Henley Royal.

Balancing his honest perspectives on the demands of HP programmes, Rory talks about how those demands translates into the world of schoolboy rowing, illustrating that Abingdon’s programme is ever-mindful of the whole individual rather than just the rower. While achievement is on the menu, so too is the holistic development of Abingdon's students.

In the meantime, we continue our subscription to the equally valid adage that you can tell the quality of a man by the quality of his enemies by winding up the great and the good; AJ suffers a failure of kidney and finds it means a completely different thing in the twenty-first century than it did in the eighteenth; and Lewin fails to tease his partner-in-pod about his epic return to the water at Ebchester.

It was a return to the water …

… and it was epic.

Our constipated British attitude to good manners, not showing away and self-aggrandisement means that we couldn’t possibly say that this is required listening for anyone with an interest in rowing, rowers, boats, water, smacking it down a river with your friends, coaching and performance …

… but it is

… and it’s out in time for the weekend?

Wonderful.

Meatwagon? Rowing on. Stern and bow pair? Watch and learn.

After the wild surmise that was Episode 7, where we made Matthew Pinsent seat-race Conan the Barbarian for a seat in our Fantasy Eight (what? You’ve not listened to it yet? Go and download it now and we’ll say no more about it), Broken Oars Podcast returns!

Here at Broken Oars, we’ve developed an outstanding reputation for breaking vital and important stories at the moment when they’re most needed. Some have wondered if we have inside sources. Some have suggested we use superb and incredibly well-honed journalistic skills to craft carefully investigated and nuanced episodes that discuss everything from doping in rowing to why lightweights should pick another sport.

Others have suggested we’re just lucky, and that what we do is basically chat about stuff.

(Hint. The answer is: we’re just lucky and we chat about stuff).

Episode Eight is no exception.

That's right.

It's us, chatting about stuff, but doing so yet again in an incredibly timely and pertinent way.

As the decade-long questions about athlete welfare in British Olympic Sports continue to be asked, with almost daily revelations about British Gymnastics coming to light and British Cycling continuing to be caught in a horrifying slow-motion car-crash, we are joined by the coach, rower and researcher Tristan Mayglothing.

A scion of the Mayglothing rowing dynasty (yes, we admit that the fantasy language of Episode Seven is lingering a little bit …), Tristan has dedicated his life to creating positive and productive coaching cultures and is now taking that expertise into researching the vital topic of athlete welfare, sporting environments, toxic relationships and expectations in coaching and sport.

In doing so, Tristan is shining a light on the corrosive ethos that has underpinned some British Olympic Sports programmes since the inception of lottery funding (more medals = less oversight); how toxic cultures develop and are perpetuate (like hires like); and how to develop cultures that still deliver medals, but which looks at and builds the whole human rather than their medal-winning capacities.

We at Broken Oars Podcast are no stranger to hyperbolic language. However, this is a must-listen for anyone with a genuine interest in sport, coaching, and creating an inclusive, positive environments that redefine success in broader and more impactful terms while still delivering podium finishes.

Bowside holding … strokeside’s heads under. Until the bubbles stop coming up.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Broken Oars Podcast returns with Episode 7 – a Fosbury Flop of an effort to match the impossibly high bar set by our recent guests Sir Terence of Chipchase and Sir Peter of Brewer.

(You haven’t listened to Episodes Five and Six yet? Shame on you! Download them now! You know it makes sense. After all, those 3 x 6k’s will go far easier with some quality listening material in your headphones).

After the wonderful ramble through the highways and byways of rowing undertaken by Terence and the ‘guys, here’s how a grown adult talks: in complete, well-thought through paragraphs’ common-sense, inclusive vision of rowing as a sport for all offered by the inimitable Pete, we’ve reverted to type: your genial hosts, Lewin (posh, well-educated, southern) and Aaron (northern, dragged up, barely literate) saying stuff about the wonderful sport about rowing that might be considered libellous if anyone actually listened to us.

It starts well. For the first time in the podcast’s history, Lewin rather than Aaron suffers the now-traditional biweekly injury and in a controversial move the Broken Oars Podcast begins the campaign to rehabilitate Lance Armstrong back into polite society on the grounds that in a world gone mad (der), his complete and utter unrepentance and blunt acknowledgement that he would do it all again if given the chance offers a refreshing change to the cant, hypocrisy and fudging offered by most cheats and bullshit artists when they get caught.

Controversy nimbly provoked, we declare our keywords for the now-traditional Thames Tradesmen’s Broken Oars Podcast Drinking Game. Anyone with the words Frodo, Anduin, and Slaine the Avenger is in for a heavy night. Lock up the cat. Cancel all calls.

And then, housekeeping done, we get stuck into the main topic of discussion: who would make it into our fantasy rowing eight.

Now, if you know us, and you’ve listened to us before you know that we take this sort of thing incredibly seriously. Broken Oars Podcast’s Episode Four discussed Britain’s Coxless Fours triumphs through the ages in such forensic detail that British Rowing actually asked for a copy of the tape; and our comments on the relative merits of genuine giants of the sport split opinion to the point where oarsmen who won their Olympic gold medals in the same boat no longer speak to each other.

But being us, our calm, measured approach to a question deserving both rapidly descends into a welter of claims, counter-claims, questionable humour, a discussion of the cars in the Henley Royal Regatta carpark; why dyslexics rarely hang out together (we both are: we never see each other); rowing as a quest narrative; and what really, when you get right down to it, constitutes a fantasy rowing eight.

In the process, Aaron make claims for the necessity of opposable thumbs in a five-man; Lewin makes a case for why Anna Watkins should be in the boat with such passion that he calls her Anna Williams; we both ask whether singing ability is an accurate measure of rhythm and timing when it comes to rowing (hint: no); and ask the serious and pertinent central question: if James Cracknell makes the boat, will his seat have to be able to accommodate the camera crew and production company that will film the inevitable accompanying miniseries?

And does his hair deserve its own seat?

All of this?

And it’s out in time for the weekend?

Get some!

Front six rowing on, bow pair, out – of the boat, the crew and our lives. Swim home.

Broken Oars Podcast returns!

Breaking a long-standing tradition (that we invented a few weeks ago) and in a radical break from our usual programming style, we haven't followed up Episode Five's stellar interview with Terence Chipchase (What? You haven't listened to it yet? Shame on you! Go and download it now) with an episode of us talking about rowing.

Instead, we've brought you another interview - and yet again, it's an absolute howitzer of one. Episode 6 features the incredible, the inimitable and the unforgettable Pete Brewer, former Head Coach of Putney School for Girls (and still coaching there), rower, deep thinker and all 'round positive force for good in a world gone mad, bad and dangerous to know.

Some elements remain. It wouldn't be a Broken Oars podcast without some light badinage and back-and-forth quippery between your hosts. The usual, familiar references to the North are in place to make you feel right at home. Showing our usual appreciation for doing our research, we even manage completely forget which episode we're up to (Hey! It's hard. We're running out of fingers) and then identify your key words for the now-traditional Thames Tradesmen’s Broken Oars Drinking Game.

(This evening, they include: Pete, Putney, Inclusion, Fun, Squirrels and Panthers alongside the usual suspects).

Essentially on this occasion, however, we just shut up and let Pete talk. The reasons for this will become clear when you listen to it. 'Why?' we hear you say.

Well, as the kids on the street would put it, drop the needle on this anywhere and it's all good. This is an episode of Broken Oars podcast you should simply listen to as our guest drops knowledge bombs and truth throughout (apparently these are the terms the kids also use to describe insights and ideas nowadays) left, right and centre. Putting it bluntly, this is something that every rower, coach, parent and child involved in a sporting programme of any description should listen to.

Covering Pete’s introduction to rowing and positioning rowing as a place to foster inclusion and belonging, Pete moves seamlessly into what a rowing club is actually for (hint: it isn’t not what you think) and illustrates why one-size does not fit all in sport.

Going on to explore the reality that fun in sport is as viable and important an outcome (if not more so) than high-performance ambitions, we also learn the difference between panthers and squirrels; why memories matter as much as medals; and what rowing could change to accommodate itself to the people who want to do it rather persisting with a model that forces individuals to accommodate themselves to the sport - and why this is important for the sport's future.

We at Broken Oars are no strangers to inflationary rhetoric and repetitive hyperbole - we do after all live in the UK, which has suffered a ever-escalating explosion of both recently. However, it's reassuring to know that despite our interesting journey in recent months, there are still people in this country who are calm, well-qualified, community-minded and pragmatic; and who don't have to reduce complex issues down to a three-word slogan in order to get their points across.

Not only will you hear the rare sound of us listening (for once), but we'll learn why that the slightly nerdy kid on the chess team or the weedy kid waiting for his growth spurt could be just what you're looking for (and looking for just what rowing at its best provides).

In short, this is the perfect episode to listen to as the UK and rowing moves into whatever it will be post-Covid and into the uncertain times ahead.

And it's out in time for the weekend?

GET SOME!

Bow Four, holding. Stern Four, backing. GO! Not you, five, you know it muddles you up.

Broken Oars Podcast returns with its third episode in three weeks!

After the glory that was Episode Four and the fireworks that was our 'Jurgengate, Trolls and the Two Billy Goats Gruff Episode', we have returned to our roots with an engaging, informative and insightful interview with Terence Chipchase - member of City of Sheffield RC, Leander Club, and Ardingly RC, he is a rower, coach, umpire, member of the Stewards Enclosure, long time volunteer and all round good egg.

After some light badinage from your genial hosts, in which the Southern one clarifies some of the effects of Turinabol pertinent to the Jurgengate episode (What? You haven't listened to it yet? Go and download it - it's a cracker) and the Northern one clarifies that those playing Thames Tradesman's infamous (and now traditional) Broken Oars Drinking Game should watch out for the words: Peterborough, pitch, pin, set and Fisa - we let Terence take over.

Starting with his introduction to rowing, and discussing why good sculling is like flying (although your hosts can't really lay claim to knowing much about either), we chat about fingerrolls, the mild obsession that characterises early rowing careers when the bug bites hard, the importance of strong role models in the sport, and why women tend to respond to coaching better in the early days (hint: women don't think they know it all already and aren't obsessed with showing off their muscles).

We talk about the transition to other aspects of the sport, and find out that sometimes even international coaches don't actually know if their boats are set up correctly or not, and why every rower and every coach should learn about about and take responsibility for their seat, their set-up and their boat.

We learn about some of the intricacies involved in keeping Henley Royal Regatta - rowing's showpiece event and one of the iconic landmarks of the global sporting calendar - going every year, including: how the timing system works; what the people in the launches actually do; what you should do if a herd of rampaging buffalo makes it past Remenham and invades the enclosures; why even the best A-line short hem just won't make it past the skirt police; why you should wear your blazer hard and with pride; and the wonders that are the army that keeps the Henley machine running smooth - and that's before we get to the Oxbridge porters.

We learn why umpires should never shout; and the things that all good rowers, coaches and clubs should take ownership of to keep this sport that we know and love safe, enjoyable and inclusive for everyone.

It's an entertaining ramble through some of the less-explored highways, byways and curios of a landscape known by us all - this wonderful world of rowing that we all love.

Perfect for the weekend?

We couldn't possibly say.

(But yes, it is).

Bow Four? Come back in. The Meatwagon need your help. Stern pair? Drop out, and shut up.

GET SOME!

As promised, Broken Oars Podcast returns on its week off to address the accusations levelled at Jurgen Grobler and British Rowing following the release of Episode Four.

If you haven't heard it yet (Why not? We're on Apple now - there's no excuse. Go and listen), Episode Four discussed Britain's Coxless Four Olympic Finals successes and performances. It dropped (as we believe the kids say to signify digital releases) on the same day that Jurgen Grobler stepped down as Head Coach of British Rowing after 29 years.

Barely had Episode Four hit the worldwide web before a very vocal group of trolls lumbered out from beneath their bridges and onto our Twitter feed, drawn by the trip-trapping sound of their trigger words: 'Jurgen Grobler', 'British Rowing' and 'Gold Medals.'

Although we tried to address the points raised by these individuals on Twitter, we realised that we'd stirred up something that needed addressing.

So here we are, addressing it. Never let it be said that the Broken Oars Podcast runs from a tough session. We have, after all, survived Runcorn in the rain and Green Lake in the first round at Henley Royal.

Just.

In this episode, then, we resolve where Lionel Messi is going after Barcelona, we settle the 'Rule Britannia' Farageo, and we thank Thames Tradesmen for inventing the Broken Oars Podcast Drinking Game.

(WARNING: ANYONE WITH THE WORDS 'JURGEN', 'GDR', 'DOPING', AND 'TROLLS' ON THEIR CARD FOR THIS EPISODE IS IN FOR A HEAVY NIGHT).

Then, we address the comments, one-by-one and point-by-point.

We examine the subtext that a global, overarching conspiracy was launched from Henley-in-Thames to turn British Rowing into the dominant force in World Rowing (spoiler alert: it might not have been).

We discuss at Jurgen's appointment, his past in the GDR, and his subsequent stewardship of British Rowing, addressing how the narrative of his past has been presented and asking if it could have been more nuanced (hint - yes). We compare what is known now to what was known then, and assess the difficulties in clearly defining and apportioning blame and responsibility given the circumstances.

We look at the evaluatory principles of 'beyond reasonable doubt' and 'on the balance of probability' that underpin all of our safeguarding institutions in the UK; and discuss the relevance of the rehabilitative principle in Jurgen's case before moving on to examine the UK's approach to doping testing, comparing British Rowing to its counterparts in the wider field of Team GB. In doing so, we talk about 'positive', 'negative' and 'negative but' testing in this context.

Going on to look at the known impact of doping regimes on athlete performance, athlete welfare and the medal table, we look at British Rowing's performances since Jurgen Grobler's arrival, particularly in terms of the development of the men's and women's squads and our Olympic returns. We ask if there could be any other reason for Britain's steadily but not dramatically improving success on the rowing lake beyond doping (spoiler alert: it might have something to do with the creation of a World Class Start Programme and the arrival of funding and centralisation rather than little blue pills).

We talk athlete physiology and the impact of doping on that, and note that British Rowing would be an entirely clean sport were it not for the antics of a couple of idiots from the Headington Road Young Offenders Institute Rowing Club.

We discuss the importance of rowing culture vs. other sporting cultures and its significance in keeping doping in the sport at bay (we believe in doing the work, not shortcuts) and express a hope that it long continues (while acknowledging that we must not be complacent: it only takes two idiots to ruin the reputation of an entire sport).

Stern Four ... Drop Out. You're making Bow Four look bad.

After the magnificence that was Di Binley and Episode Three, Broken Oars is back with a humdinging corker of an Episode Four (they said modestly).

Released on the day that Jurgen Grobler, the greatest high performance coach in sporting history, stepped down from his role as Head Coach of British Rowing either through luck, insider knowledge of what was coming or happenstance we find ourselves celebrating some of the greatest hits of his legacy.

Let's be honest, it was luck.

In Episode Four, then, one of us breaks the other foot, the other laughs about it, we do our housekeeping (or as we're now calling it, airing our dirty laundry in public), and we stop John Inverdale and other salaried BBC presenters from stealing the catchphrases and insights Broken Oars has generated so far by pointing out that they're ours and they're copyrighted.

We float the idea of launching an official Broken Oars 'No James Cracknells Left Behind' t-shirt; and ask Hypatia from York to step in to settle the debate as to whether it was the ancient Greeks or Romans who originated the bath house culture, thus giving rise to the word 'bathetic' (could have something to do with drama, but we're rowers, so we aren't sure).

Then, and only then, do we get to the main course: a full and frank discussion of which GB Heavyweight Men's Coxless Four Olympic win was the best. We argue about judging criteria (purely and simple, which was the best row from a rowing perspective), we say things icons of the sport that means they'll probably never come on Broken Oars, but we also say things about other icons of the sport that means they might.

We discuss the glory and the dream that was Redgrave's Last Stand; we give props to a mighty Canadian boat at Athens; one of us (for the first time ever) says nice things about an Australian crew in the context of Beijing and then promptly ruins his reputation by going on to say equally nice things about the Australian crew at London 2012. We rhapsodise about the dominance of Louloudis et al at Rio and then we choose a winner before asking you to disagree with us on the Twitter feed.

Or agree with us, but you're all rowers, so that will never happen.

We go on to talk about the dangers of triumphalism and hubris with the future of British Rowing's Elite Programme up in the air, and ask if the future will be as glorious as the past.

It's almost like we knew Jurgen was going.

And then we bugger off.

No James Cracknells were harmed in the making of this episode.

Full crew ... come forward to row.

A coming-of-age for Broken Oars Podcast as one of us works out how to edit audio; another of us breaks a foot; and we welcome our first guest to the pod: Di Binley, formerly of Rock the Boat and still of general rowing awesomeness joins us to talk about her background in rowing; Rock the Boat's founding and development; the evolution of the sport during her time in it; the importance of community; volunteers; being nice and having fun to this wonderful sport that we all know and love. We also give a big shout-out to Rebecca Caroe and open our arms to the worldwide rowing community.

Ladies and Gentleman, full crew, from backstops ...

Welcome to the second Broken Oars Podcast, for rowers everywhere who believe that rowing was better a dozen years ago regardless of the current year.

In our sophomore effort, we make the necessary factual corrections from the first effort; ensure that no dictatorships were harmed in the making of the podcast; apologise for our 'indie' sound quality; discuss whether there's a certain lack of personality in the current GB rowing set up; provide some background to the rowing careers of both hosts; and address the welcoming nature of rowing clubs to outsiders (hint - could do better); and ask finally 'whither 2K? - should the gold standard distance actually be the gold standard?'

Full crew, come forward to row ...

Welcome to the inaugural Broken Oars Podcast, for Rowers everywhere that believe that rowing was better a dozen years ago regardless of the current year.

In our first episode we introduce the hosts, discuss their technical and renal inadequacies; address the reality that Redgrave couldn't have been that good because he never won Runcorn Head in the rain; how auctioning off GB National Squad rowers to provincial clubs for a racing season would make everyone love the sport more; and why no tears should be shed for the passing of lightweightism.

So it begins ...