"We will be training on the way to the start line," Carmen Howard said as she prepared to grace a unique crew at this week's Australian Masters Rowing Championships.
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A total of 199 events featuring 4946 racing seats will be contested at Lake Barrington but few will have such a family feel as one particular trans-Tasman crew.
Carmen, 37, and her regular Tamar Rowing Club crewmate Bridget Steenkamer, 31, jumped at the opportunity to row a mixed quad with their respective fathers Alan Howard and Gerry Steenkamer.
While Alan, 61, is another long-time member of Tamar, 65-year-old Gerry has flown over from his native New Zealand to complete the awesome foursome.
"It's a bit of a novelty," Carmen added. "It could be very interesting but will be quite unique.
"It's just a great opportunity to do this together. We don't have masters in our home state very often but the timing lined up and the opportunity to row with our parents was there so we went for it."
Carmen regularly rows doubles with both Bridget and Alan and embraced the challenge of forming the father-daughter combo when 810 competitors converge on the venue for the 1990 rowing world championships.
"It's hard when you have men and women in a crew together but we will try and work out the best combination to make it work. It's a work in progress.
"Bridget suggested we all row together and I had to ask the hard questions about how big her father is but we are winging it.
"We will be racing against other crews that are very fit and train all year together whereas we are a scratch crew that have been thrown together and doing it for a bit of fun. I reckon there's going to be pretty tough competition."
Having started rowing while at Riverside High School at the age of 12, Carmen has been involved in the sport for a quarter of a century and her involvement in this week's championships also includes organising the catering for Rowing Tasmania.
"I've got a huge week coming up," she said. "The event goes for four days but I will be there for about seven.
"The rowing will be an opportunity to get out there myself. Stepping out from the work to the sport should be a relief.
"But I just love being part of a crew and there's nothing better than being out on the water. Once you are in, you're hooked."
The Australian Masters Rowing Championships are being held at Lake Barrington from Wednesday to Saturday (May 8-11).
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
