Rowing demands dedication. To succeed, elite rowers need to give it time and energy - generously. Their life is planned around rowing,
and not the other way around. This begs the question: what happens when rowing is over? World Rowing met with two former elite
rowers and asked them how they made the leap from rowing back into “normal” life.
Baz Mo;at and Carla Ashford rowed in Great
Britain’s women’s eight over a number of years,
winning bronze together at the 2007 World Rowing
Championships, and for Carla, racing in the Beijing
Olympic Final. Other than being accomplished
rowers, both had built up a strong set of skills for
their after-rowing-life. While Baz earned a Masters
in health and exercise, Carla became a qualified
physiotherapist.
to workplaces with varied goals and motives,”
say Baz and Carla.
Their team spirit helped them step into the future,
and when it was time to retire from elite sport, Baz
and Carla decided to keep on being a crew: “Having
trained together for several years, supporting each
other through the highs and lows, plus deciding
to retire at the same time, working together was
an obvious decision. We also have a good mix
of physical skills and academic qualifications,
so believed that setting up and running
www.point2fitness.co.uk would be totally
achievable,” they explain.
to improve it is essential to have a goal and work
towards it e;ectively by constantly reviewing each
training session and setting new targets.”
Carla Ashford (left) and Baz
Mo;at cycling.
Carla admits that combining elite sport and
studying had been a challenging experience:
“During university, my organisational skills improved
through sheer necessity; unless I had planned
my meals, snacks, lectures and training schedules
meticulously I stood no chance of achieving both
my sporting and academic goals. Once I became
a full-time athlete, I always wondered how I had
managed to fit everything in, but you can make
anything happen with enthusiasm, dedication and
determination.”
But even when prepared, leaving an athlete’s
life behind can be difficult. “Transitioning from
the world of sport is challenging. It’s hard to
move from a place where you have been part
of a world-class team with no compromise,
Starting up a fitness centre matched the
duo perfectly, not only because of their
complementary skills, but also because
they can now communicate what they
learnt in rowing to a whole new group of
people. “Our clients really benefit from the input
we received as GB athletes from the crew’s
support team that was built around us,”
they say. “Specifically, our training taught
us the importance of core stability and
strength training which we encourage all
our clients to do, in addition we know that
