Nordiska Roddföreningen i Zürich

Nordiska på SM - at the Swiss Championships

This year Nordiska participated in the Swiss Championships with four boats: MM1x, MM2x, MM8+ and a MW8+. 

Bringing back two medals, we can see our participation as a resounding success — here the stories from the perspective of respective boats. 

The 1x and 2x by Kristofer Skantze

Det var fint väder och viss medvind under Schweiziska mästerskapsregattorna i rodd som pågick fredag till söndag 3-5 juli på Rotsee utanför Luzern. Med mycket trevlig stämning och god kamratskap mellan olika klubbar, var det dags att visa vem som är snabbast på vattnet. 

Singelskuller 1xMM kat D
Nordiska deltog med en singelskuller i masters kat D för män. På grund av många deltagare delades tävlingen upp i flera heat och därefter A-final. 
Nordiskas deltagare gick vidare till A-finalen och knep där silvermedalj efter att ha rott 1000m på 3:38 eller 1:49 split (tid per 500m). På 1000m sträcka är det avgörande att inte ta ut sig för mycket första 500m utan har reserver kvar  I finalen höll Nordiskas båt 1:32-1:36 split första 200m med slagtal 40, därefter ner till race pace 32 slag i minuten och 1:45 split första 500m . Sista 500m var stabilt slagtal 32 men med reducerad kraft. Vinnaren vann på 3:31.5 vilket får anses vara mycket snabbt för män över 50 som kategorin handlade om. Med silvermedaljen tog Nordiska sin 4e singelskullermedalj på lika många SM race. 

Dubbel 2xMM kat C
Nordiska deltog för första gången på över 20 år (?) med en skullingdubbel på SM som inkluderade Nordiskas guldmedaljör i indoor rowing (ergometer). Att gå från ergometer till på-vatten-rodd är en mycket stor teknisk utmaning. Till sin hjälp stod både extern coach som deltog i OS 2024 samt roddkollegan i 2x.  På 3 månader gick resultatet från ca 2:30 split med max slagtal 24 till att få till en klart godkänd roddteknik och förmåga att ro under 1:35 med slagtal 40 under korta intervaller. En extrem utveckling på mycket kort tid.
På grund av de många föranmälningar till SM-gruppen blev det även här uppdelning i kvalifikationsheat. Nordiskas lag lyckades avancera till A final.  Från för-heat till final förbättrade sig Nordiskas 2x med nästan 10 sekunder, vilket var ett direkt resultat av noggrant följd race planering som gick ut på att ta det betydligt lugnare första 200m eftersom tekniken ännu saknas för att vara effektiv och stabil vid höga slagtal. Nordiskas båt kom sist i A finalen, men med en tid som låg i linje med satt målsättning  3 månader tidigare, 
Det har varit ett spännande projekt att få en medlem utan tidigare roddteknik att ta sig till A-final i SM med anständigt resultat efter bara 30 roddtillfällen i en 2x båt. En mycket lyckad kombination av ambition, realism, anpassning och engagemeng.
Efter att ha deltagit i totalt 4 stycken 1000m race på 24h, var Nordiskas deltagare i både 1x och 2x tidigt i säng.

The MM8+ by Philipp Candreia

After Basel Head in late autumn 2025, the Men’s Master 8+ underwent what is best described as a thorough decomposition. Winter training was hampered by a chronic shortage of coxes and the departure of several Finnish power units. Rhythm is difficult to build when the crew changes every outing, spirits are low and frustration is high. By early spring the shape of our regatta season was reasonably clear: there would not be one.

Then, "ex machina" (deus or diabolus?), entered Till, a seasoned and highly decorated oarsman who returned wearing precisely the same vintage rowing shirts in which he had last been seen sometime in the 1990s. With Till aboard we also managed to coax Jokke out of winter hibernation in Ibiza and back into the boat.

At much the same time, Michele's coaching reintroduced us to the basic skill of rowing together. Technique duly (re)discovered, we entered Greifensee with minutes to spare before the registration deadline.

The race at Greifensee began cautiously. We soon settled into a calm, unhurried rhythm - Loose as a Goose - and reeled in almost everything ahead of us. Only the younger Basel crew stayed out of reach. We crossed the line second overall and first in category, earning the prestigious Greifensee Golden Blades, also known as ice cream spoons.

Buoyed by this unexpected competence, we entered the Swiss Championships. All seven lanes were occupied, promising a heated race feeling. Having mastered the concept of rowing in a straight line off the start during the final pre-race outing, we were reasonably confident that the Swiss Championships would not become the first Swiss bumps race. Greifensee, it turned out, was not repeatable on demand. We stayed with the field early on but never found the effortless flow. The goose declined to fly and we crossed the line sixth. Our generously sponsored lucky socks produced no measurable gain on the water, though they did attract the attention of the police ashore.

All in all, the season exceeded expectations, although expectations had been set at a helpfully low level. Few would have predicted in early April that this crew would race the national championships at all, still less that the prestigious ice cream spoons would be added to the cutlery drawer.

Finally, thanks to everyone who kept this boat on the water: Martin in the stroke seat, who sets the rhythm in every sense and who keeps pushing us to enter regattas, Michele for the coaching, Till and Jokke for returning, Knut for steering us straight and for remaining conspicuously calm while doing so, and of course the rest of the boat, who supplied the power, the patience, and the diplomacy required to keep strong opinions pointing in the same direction.
 
  
The MW8+ by Teresia Björnberg

This could be a story about a WM8 bronze medal at the Swiss Championships. More importantly, this is a story of sisterhood. A story of women that have formed an almost magical union — a happy place, a safe space — first and foremost being there for each other. 

What had been a dear hobby, slowly but surely evolved to more regular and focused trainings, culminating in the courage to enter the SM regatta scene. Two weeks before the race we took a leap of faith and registered for the Swiss Championships. 

Coming in as an underdog is a wonderful place to be. Our main aim has always been to have fun, to gather experience and possibly come in as the last, but always the happiest boat. Our motto: “There is always champagne at the end” stays true. This time, after a break of 22 years, the Nordiska women did not only take part in the SM, but rowed a bronze medal. The celebration in our boat made our competitors give us puzzled looks; we did understand we didn’t win, right? 

To us, it was so much more than that. It was the pure joy and pride of something we had created and worked for together. Something that would have made us the happiest crew that day, medal or no medal. A big milestone, and yet only just that, a milestone on our journey together. 

We have a crew saying “Our team isn’t just the people in the boat on a given day — it’s all of us”. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all crew sisters rowing their best race, to crew sisters cheering us on, as well as everyone else who has been part of this journey. 

The medal was fantastic, the bubbles tasted so good. The real achievement is the sisterhood.