Gig Rowers Represented At Indoor Champs

The British Rowing Indoor Championships (BRIC) 2025 held at the NEC, Birmingham on 6th and 7th December was a thrilling showcase of indoor rowing, with numerous world and age-group records broken across a range of categories. The event featured races over 2,000m, 500m, and short-distance sprints, as well as adaptive events and team relays, drawing thousands of competitors from juniors to masters. Excitement peaked on Super Sprint Sunday, creating a lively and unforgettable atmosphere celebrating the depth of British indoor rowing talent.

Thanks to Queenie Martin of Paignton Amateur Rowing Club for this article sharing her experience of the event.

We all love rowing on the water, whether it’s the sea or the river. But with winter nights and unpredictable weather, much of our training for part of the year ends up on the dreaded ergo. I’m here to tell you, stick with it, find a training program that works for you, and before you know it, you’ll start to love it. That’s exactly what happened to me, and judging by the number of gig rowers in Birmingham this weekend, I’m not alone.

Representatives came from Weymouth, Truro, Paignton, Bristol, Lyme Regis, and Tamar Tavy, with some making it onto the podium. Well done Helen from Truro. We’d love to see even more gig rowers competing next year.

Why train on an indoor rowing machine?

It’s versatile: you can do 10-minute sessions or 42km marathons (some crazies do!) depending on your goals and available time.
It’s fairly easy to avoid injuries: with a little technique practice, you’re off and rowing safely.
It works out all the main muscle groups.
For data fans, there are apps and metrics galore.
It’s a very supportive community, much like gig rowing, with lots of experts online who are happy to share advice.

Back in spring 2024, after a break for holidays and life in general, I returned to rowing a bit too hard and ended up with a frozen shoulder (connected or not, that’s up for debate). So in winter 2024/25, I started regular ergo training to keep moving and try to avoid new injuries. I trained at least twice a week in the mornings, and some of those around me might say I became slightly obsessed. I also completed the British Rowing indoor coaching course last month and watched countless online videos. Slowly but surely, my times improved, and my training became more serious.

All that hard work culminated at the British Rowing Indoor Championships in Birmingham, and spoiler alert, I won the women’s 55-59 category with a personal best of 7:32.7.

It was a wonderful event, full of beautiful people, and I can’t wait to return, hopefully with a few more gig rowers next year.