RAF Rowing Club – World Rowing Masters Regatta 2026
Team Forces was proud to support the Royal Air Force Rowing Club Masters Squad with a grant towards their participation in the 2026 World Rowing Masters Regatta at Lake Bled, Slovenia – the largest World Rowing Masters Regatta ever staged.
Held from 9–13 September, the regatta brought together more than 4,700 athletes from 51 countries, with over 20,000 racing seats across 981 races. Competitors ranged in age from 28 to 80+, demonstrating the enduring appeal of rowing and the ability to remain active, competitive and connected through sport throughout life.
The RAF Masters Squad fielded men’s and women’s crews across 16 events, including coxed fours, quad sculls, double sculls and single sculls. With 11 rowers representing a mix of serving and retired RAF Rowing Club athletes, the squad brought together considerable experience, competitive ambition and a shared Service ethos.
Their participation was the culmination of six to eight months of dedicated training, undertaken at Station gyms, local rowing clubs and UK regattas. Racing every day at Lake Bled provided a demanding test of the squad’s preparation, requiring precision, synchronisation, endurance and resilience across a packed programme.
For Team Forces, supporting the RAF Masters Squad is about more than enabling participation in an international sporting event. Masters sport provides an opportunity for serving and former Service personnel to maintain physical fitness, develop friendships and remain connected to the Armed Forces community through shared sporting endeavour. It also demonstrates that competitive achievement and personal development can continue throughout a lifetime.
The squad is part of a proud 79-year legacy of RAF Rowing Club sport, which has supported athletes competing at national championships, Henley Royal Regatta, Inter-Service regattas and civilian competitions across the UK. Their participation at Lake Bled continues this tradition while representing the RAF on an international stage.
The wider Masters rowing community also reflects the power of sport to create lasting connection. The 2026 regatta brought together athletes from across the world not only to compete, but to renew friendships, build new relationships and celebrate a sport that continues to provide challenge, camaraderie and fulfilment well into later life.
Team Forces’ grant helped enable the RAF Masters Squad to take its place among this international community, supporting continued participation, sporting excellence and lifelong engagement in Service sport. With the RAF Rowing Club approaching its 80th anniversary in 2027, the squad’s performance at Lake Bled represents another chapter in a long-standing sporting legacy – and a foundation for the next generation of RAF rowers.
