RMB National Rowing Squad: Pulling together in isolation

In 2016 Roger Barrow, head rowing coach of the RMB National Squad, took a team facing financial crisis and illness to the Rio Olympics, and came home with a silver medal. In the same year he was named World Rowing Coach of the Year and recognised for his contribution to South African sport.

Now, like businesses and individuals across the world, he has been grappling with the challenges presented by a global health and economic crisis due to Covid-19. But for Barrow the solution is clear: keeping the national rowing squad race-ready and fit.

“Three weeks is a long time in the life of a world-class athlete,” says Barrow. “If the squad was to stop training for 21 days it would literally take months to catch up.”

So Barrow has put squad sponsor RMB’s ethos of “Solutionist Thinking” into play.

“We have managed to gather enough equipment and tech to set each of the 18 athletes up with a home gym,” Barrow says. “Each squad member has a Concept 2 ergo rowing machine, weight equipment and a stationary Wattbike to use at home, as well as fitness wearables and connectivity. This way the entire coaching team can keep track of their training schedules and fitness stats,” he explains.

Each of these pieces of equipment had to be sourced, collected, sanitised and delivered to the athletes’ homes during the short period leading up to the nationwide lockdown.

“We really had a very short time to prepare for the lockdown, having arrived back from a three-week high-altitude training camp on the Katse Dam in Lesotho on 22^nd March.  This gave us three days to get the squad ready in their homes across the country for the 26 March lockdown,” says Barrow.

At the same time, the International Olympic Committee announced the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to 2021.

“The challenges at hand initially seemed endless, with athletes in isolation and no regattas confirmed for the foreseeable future. But teams around the world are faced with the same challenge - everyone needs to stay fit. The RMB National Squad’s resilience is laudable. They might not be able to train together in a boat, but they can still train ‘together’, even in isolation.”

Says Alison Badenhorst, Head of Marketing and Communications at RMB: “It takes decisive action to prepare mentally and logistically for a lockdown situation. We recognise and celebrate Roger and the RMB National Squad’s commitment and courage. At a time when many athletes’ hopes and dreams might unravel, they inspire hope and optimism, and encourage all of us to keep going and stay focussed. They have demonstrated how a small group of people can use “innovate ideas” to stay on track during trying times.”

“We look forward to the day when we can once again attend a regatta and see these talented and determined athletes compete on the water.,” she says.

For now, Barrow’s primary focus is the team’s health – especially that of Lawrence Brittain, who is vulnerable to Covid-19 after having undergone chemotherapy in 2015… just 18 months before he and Shaun Keeling won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

“We are in this together,” he says. “We all have to stay home and flatten the curve while innovating and finding solutions to doing business – and keeping fit – differently.”

End.