Asian Rowing Virtual Indoor Rowing Championships 2022

Asian Rowing Virtual Indoor Rowing Championships 2022

WORDS: MATTHEW LAI | CECILIA HUI | IMAGES: CECILIA HUI | HONG KONG, CHINA ROWING ASSOCIATION

he “2022 Asian Indoor Rowing Virtual Championships” was successfully held on the 15 of January 2022. More than 600 indoor rowers from different countries and regions (including Hong Kong, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, etc.) competed in the race. Hong Kong achieved outstanding results in the competition. Fourteen Hong Kong rowing team athletes and ten local athletes including Club Members won a total of 12 golds, four silvers and eight bronzes, for a total of 24 medals.

The Asian Indoor Rowing Championships is an annual rowing event organized by the Asian Rowing Federation (ARF). Due to the latest development of the epidemic and international travel restrictions, the indoor Asian Rowing Championships been held in the form of virtual competitions for the first time. All people with Asian nationality, including national teams, affiliated clubs and individual competitors, required only a Concept2 indoor rowing machine with the latest display to register and compete in real time. The distance of the event is divided into 500 meters, 1000 meters and 2000 meters, and there are adult groups, youth groups, lightweight groups, master groups and performance groups.

The Indoor Asia Race combines elements of a "real-time and virtual" competition format, using a virtual platform developed by the Dutch team – Time Team to allow rowers to compete across regions, whether at home, in the gym, at the National Federation Center, or anywhere, just connect to the indoor rowing machine and compete online directly.

Our RHKYC Rower, Matthew Lai won the Lightweight Men’s Masters 30-39 2000m.

“The COVID restriction imposed in early January posed a challenge to my race preparation because it was just two weeks right before the 2022 ARVIC. With the gym closure, I continue to go running and have body-weight exercise with elastic band to maintain my fitness.

Mental preparation is the trickier part because the indoor race was held in a virtual format. Without the crowd support and live competitive atmosphere, I had to rely on my visualization and meditation for that extra adrenaline boost. My target was to perform my best in the race, while finishing the first was a bonus to me.” Matthew said.

Matthew was first introduced to rowing at university. With no water sports background, he gave rowing a try and became quickly passionate about the sport. After four years fine rowing on the Shing Mun River, he tried coastal rowing through the Club and then went on to represent RHKYC and Hong Kong at the 2018 World Rowing Coastal Championships held in Victoria, British Columbia. “I love rowing because I enjoy the speed and the sense of control. It is a fair sport that hard work has its rewards. One thing that I really enjoy in RHKYC is everyone are sport lovers. I truly enjoy the camaraderie within the club and treasure the countless support received from other members.” Matthew said.