Saturday's Launceston of Tamar Regatta presented as a great way for youngsters to get their first taste of competition and for experienced rowers to start preparing for the Australian Masters Rowing Championships in Ballarat in May.
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The masters national titles, which were originally going to be in Western Australia, were relocated in the past fortnight due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The shift of venue has Launceston rower Richard Norton considering making the trip to Ballarat's Lake Wendouree.
"I haven't decided, I've only just heard that it's been moved," he said.
"I wasn't going to go to Perth but I'm considering going to Ballarat."
Tamar Rowing Club's Norton enjoyed rowing in the mixed masters eights and mixed masters quad in what he described as perfect conditions on Saturday.
It was his first regatta of the season but he's had a busy summer.
He's competed in 42 races on either still water or the ocean.
Norton has been part of surf boat crews with Burnie surf club.
"I originally rowed eights with the university in Hobart and after uni I was into surf boats for a while," he said.
"Then when I moved to Launceston about 20 years ago, I got back into still water rowing and joined Tamar about 10 years ago."
He's had a blast since joining the club and praised the people involved.
So what motivates Norton to get in a still water or surf boat so often?
"With rowing on the river and smooth conditions like today, it's really exhilarating," he said.
"And rowing on West beach in Burnie or any beach around Tasmania where we compete, that's exhilarating but different because you're often rowing in surf.
"So that can get quite exciting and challenging. It's fun to do both."
Rowing Tasmania (RTAS) chief executive officer Rob Prescott explained how Saturday's event came to fruition.
"The Launceston and Henley Regatta would normally be on this weekend and they made the decision not to hold it because of volunteers and time and just all the other bits and pieces," he said.
"So Rowing Tasmania decided we would conduct an event on this weekend.
"It's Launceston and Henley's centenary next year - it's one of the last community regattas left in Tasmania."
Prescott said RTAS wanted to give nearby clubs and schools the opportunity to participate in a small regatta.
Rowers competed from North Esk, Tamar and Ulverstone rowing clubs as well as Riverside High School.
Prescott said the regatta, which featured seven races, had a great atmosphere.
"We had a number of our volunteers come out of the woodwork and it's just a nice community event with the support of the Tamar Rowing Club," he said.
Prescott said there had been increased interest in rowing since Australia's success at the Tokyo Olympics.
"Our Olympic rowing team performed brilliantly last year so we're seeing a nice uplift in our entries," he said.
"And were putting that down to the sport having a higher profile."
Schools Regatta 3 is at Lake Barrington next weekend.
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