Baz Moffat

Baz Moffat is one of only a handful of rowers in the senior British team who has not come through the junior and under-23 programmes. Yet, despite never representing her country at either of the usual development stages, Baz won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in the women’s eight. So how does someone get into contention for a coveted senior squad place outside of the usual channels? TEAMTALK spoke to Baz about her less-than-usual route into the sport.

“It’s really, really hard,” is Baz’s overwhelming response to my question. “There are dark times when you’re on the edge of the squad. The year breaking into the squad was the hardest year of my life. But now I look back at last year and all that effort was worthwhile, every single thing was worthwhile.”

“It’s a constant battle in your mind. I’m not very big so I couldn’t come in and wow people with my physiology. And technically I’m a bit scrappy around the edges. I didn’t have a strength or endurance base. I did high jump when I was at school, which is eight strides and over a bar, so it’s not exactly endurance. There’s been a lot of people telling me I couldn’t do it.

“I was trying to hold down a full–time job throughout 2006 because I had no funding. But that was difficult. After all, rowing is an outdoor sport so things change, times change, venues change. You have to keep up. So you’ve got early mornings and are arriving into work late. You’re trying to juggle a job and keep up with girls who are full time athletes.

“I think because I came in and hit it hard – I was consistently in the top ten at trials, not the twenties or thirties – I made people sit up. Otherwise breaking in is hard. If you go to trials and you’re having a bad day, the coaches don’t think you’re having a bad day. You’re judged on that one performance. That’s right too, it’s a performance sport.”

Baz’s route into the sport was certainly unusual. “I started late, at 22 years old. I joined Lea Rowing Club in September 2000, then went to do a Masters in Bristol. I graduated and got a job in Edinburgh in an attempt to settle down. I even bought a house! But then I decided to take a chance and I accepted an offer to go to Tasmania to learn to scull.”

Tasmania, however, is half way around the world. Was that not daunting? “Actually going to Tasmania was a relatively easy decision: I knew if it all went wrong it wouldn’t be the end of the world. It was daunting in that I didn’t know anybody there. But I wasn’t scared of going. I knew it could be a real turning point, that it could change the outlook of my life. It was a risk worth taking.”

And so it turned out to be. Baz now has a World Championships medal to her name and admits that her can–do attitude is something that she brings to the squad as a whole. And what of that bronze medal, the reward for such effort? “I knew there was something special in our crew. I went into that race 100% certain that we would produce the best performance we could.”

And so to the future… With ten girls currently battling it out for eight seats, how does Baz rate her chances? Unsurprisingly, Baz’s positive attitude shines through: “It’s there for sure, there is no doubt the pressure is on. Every person wants to go to the Olympics – that’s real pressure. But I am confident in myself.” And Baz’s self–confidence has paid off so far for her.