San Diego Rowing Club’s Dave Frost was one of 16 local rowers to compete at U.S. Rowing’s Southwest Regional Regatta in Oakland on July 11. Frost, who competed in five events and medaled in four, contributed to SDRC’s 10 overall awards (one gold, four silver and five bronze) in as many 1,000-meter races. Mission Bay’s own masters rowers competed against other club racers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. “This regional event, feeds the U.S. national event, which is often held in Camden, N.J., but we decided we wanted to go to the world event, which is in Ontario on Labor Day,” Frost said. “You don’t win Lance Armstrong kind of money. You just get the satisfaction of participating in a pretty grueling sport, having fun, meeting nice people and those kinds of things,” Frost said. While masters rowing is an extra-curricular activity for most, the sport itself is quite organized. “For any of these official regattas, we have to belong to U.S. Rowing for safety and insurance, so it’s not like a pickup game on the asphalt,” Frost said. “It’s officially sanctioned.” Masters rowing consists of men and women rowers college age and older. Rowers are grouped in five-year brackets, which avoids a 25-year-old racing against someone 60 years their senior. “For instance, I’m 57, so I’ll row against people between the ages of 55 and 59, which kind of levels the playing field,” Frost said. At any age, competing at masters level requires commitment in both time and finances. Traveling to regattas is on the rowers’ dime and preparations are made on their own time as well. “Well, like most sports, if you want to do it well, you have to invest the time to get that little bit extra,” Frost said. “The time between first place and third place is often less than 1 percent.” The training schedule adapts to the rower. “Because it’s a pretty intense sport we take a day off, so most masters practice a minimum of five, the most six days a week, either on the water or land training,” Frost said. “It’s kind of a gnarly culture, rowing, as you have to learn how to row in the dark. So, it’s when you can fit it in. Some people do two-a-days. Some days I do two-a-day workouts. It just depends when you can do it with your day job, your life and your family and those kinds of things.” For more information, call (858) 488-1893, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.sdrc-row.org.
