Image Credit: Scottish Rowing
Earlier this season, I spoke with Scottish Rowing dynast Ben Parsonage of Clydesdale Rowing Club, reflecting on his personal history with the Home International Rowing Regatta (HIRR) and his time with the Scotland rowing team. Now looking ahead to his sixth appearance, having four previous event wins under his belt (Lwt 1x and 4x 2016, Lwt 2x 2018 and Lwt 1x 2024), Parsonage is more than just a local legend. He is known far and wide as one of the country’s top lightweight rowers who can still dominate the domestic scene, the perfect person to tell us about his experiences in the build up to this year’s event.
Ben spoke about his views towards this wonderful end of season celebration of rowing, how he has progressed from the beginning of his career to where he is now and what his plans are for the coming seasons.
Having begun his rowing career on the River Clyde in Glasgow as a student at Strathclyde University, initially coached by his dad George Parsonage, Ben’s potential was quickly established not only given his parents successes (his mother, Stephanie, also having international rowing experience) but also due to the speed with which he progressed during his first years in the sport. Shortly after he began rowing, Parsonage sought selection for the Scotland Team at the Home International Regatta, narrowly missing out on selection at the Scottish championships. However, he returned the following year with a mission to rectify that result and sure enough, he made the team.
“That year [Cardiff, 2016] I was initially selected in the lightweight double with Gregor Maxwell, before a last minute swap into the lightweight single a few days before the regatta” Ben mentioned. This regatta would see Ben win his first gold medals at HIRR, in both the single and the quad with Jack Burns, Matthew Mole and Ryan Morrison.
This process of setting a firm goal and achieving it through dedicated effort, no matter what, was a pivotal discovery in Bens’ rowing career. He explains “Everything that happened after that, it was all the same pattern”. Parsonage believes that this moment has been the main sole contributor to his subsequent successes and mentions that so many of his goals have been achieved due to an innate belief that it was possible for him to do so, a result of his first experience with HIRR.
Ben has had a large number of individual goals through the years, describing them as “almost like a bucket list, where I’m ticking some off and finding new ones to chase”. He admits that nowadays his main motivation is “really just trying to compete at the highest level I possibly can, or at least to try and discover what I’m actually capable of”.
“I’ve been trying to get to some of the higher level European regattas the last couple of years (such as the Memorial Paolo D’Aloja regatta in Piediluco, and the Ghent International regattas), but there’s a few that are still on my list to attend for sure”.
Although he didn’t state clearly that it was a goal in itself, Ben was certain that he would be racing in the future, whether lightweight rowing experiences a resurgence of support or not. He mentioned that he has always loved racing, and will race until he can’t. A similar approach in essence to his dad, George, who raced well into his 50s, becoming one of the most prolific names in Scottish rowing in the process.
Ben says his current rowing career “is a process and it’s a lifestyle that I’ve gotten quite used to and that I enjoy” and says he will try to keep it that way for the foreseeable future. “Basically just pushing myself to see how far I can go is what I really want to do, it’s become quite important to me”.
The Home International Regatta used to offer Parsonage’s category of choice as part of it’s programme. We asked Ben what his thoughts were on the recent conflict around lightweight rowing as a category in the sport. His response was deep and profound.
Ben states that “HIRR used to offer the lightweight single, double and pair. For men and women, 4 teams, that’s potentially 40 people. Every year 40 average-sized people that could have the opportunity to race for their country.”
“With these events being cut out, I think ultimately the pool of athletes that countries can, or will, select from has been significantly narrowed”
Ben mentioned that the overall reasoning behind the removal of these events is largely unclear, or perhaps even flawed fundamentally.
For example, some point to health concerns regarding athletes maintaining an unhealthy weight. Ben argues that a healthy approach to diet and recovery is paramount to an athlete’s lifestyle regardless of size, and the lightweight events are there for the smaller athletes that find themselves naturally in that weight range anyway. In another sense, pressure to adjust an athlete’s diet and training to gain weight in an unhealthy way can be just as damaging, particularly with regards to injury and wellbeing. The responsibility falls to educators, coaches or mentors to help athletes decide the best approach for them and how to go about that in a healthy way.”
“Less opportunities for average-sized people ultimately means that fewer people will be willing to try (or stay with) the sport. Rowing will become more exclusive, geared towards those at the more extreme end of national height and weight stats. The damaging part really being the trickle-down effects of that on grassroots clubs”, Ben explains.
Rowing should be looking to grow, not shrink. Limiting the athlete pool is not good for the sport, reason enough for the lightweight category to survive, particularly at events like HIRR. But overall, the impression people might now be getting is “unless you’re very tall, rowing might not be for you”.
To conclude the interview, Ben was asked how he believes HIRR itself as an event could improve in the coming years.
Ben hopes that the event could be treated more as a destination in itself, rather than just a mere stepping stone to the Olympics, for example. “It’s a very special event, and competing for your country is always a great honour. It’s something you can carry with you for the rest of your life.” Whether or not the pride of competing is becoming less apparent, he believes that if the event began to increase the number of athletes able to compete, added more opportunities for the event to be publicised or broadcast, or even simply allowing more scope for the athletes from each nation to meet and get to know each other, would altogether amount to a more engaging and fulfilling atmosphere for all involved. The hope being to further cement HIRR as a genuine, desirable career goal, rather than simply a ‘pathway regatta’, which seems to be the thrust of recent marketing.
Obviously, Ben maintains that the re-addition of at least one lightweight event would increase the number of athletes able to be selected for their country, given the apparent lack in average sized athletes even with the addition of the new U23 1x event. “The pool of athletes that the open and U23 events are drawing from are largely overlapping. The lightweight events offer opportunity to those who might never be eligible for either the junior, u23 or senior seats.”
Overall, Ben’s career is one to dream of, whether it continues in the lightweight scene or moves into the heavyweight division. Parsonage has already gained the title of legend in the domestic rowing scene in recent years. I personally hope that Ben can continue to race in his preferred category and isn’t forced to move into the openweight division, but by the sounds of it, he is prepared for whatever the future holds.
