A rowing beach sprint crew in action. Photo: CROSNIER JULIEN / AFP
A change from the lake to the sea has kept Bay of Plenty rower Matt Dunham in the sport, but also highlighted some issues he had with the more established discipline.
Dunham is one of a small group of Kiwi rowers competing at this week's World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Turkey.
The sport which comes under the umbrella of coastal rowing, involves a beach sprint followed by an out and back row and another sprint.
It has grown in popularity in recent years and will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles 2028.
Thirty-one-year-old Dunham first represented New Zealand in 2013 and won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships.
However in recent years he has been attracted by the difference Beach Sprint offers from the routine of regular rowing on a lake.
"I'd been doing flat water for so long and I was a bit over it and my partner said why not move to the farm and I could do that and some beach sprint training at the same time, Dunham told RNZ.
"You can't do it in flat water because you have to be committed to it full time."
Dunham first heard about Beach Sprint in 2019, saw some YouTube videos and was hooked because of the fun element.
He won the Mixed Double title in 2023 alongside his now partner Jackie Kiddle.
That same year it was confirmed as a new Olympic sport and that was the tipping point in his decision to change his focus to the new discipline.
Matt Dunham, training with the NZ Elite Rowing Team training on Lake Karapiro, Cambridge, New Zealand. 22 March 2021. Photo: Photosport
He left flat water rowing in 2023, but responded to a plea to return for the World Championships as an injury replacement.
Dunham admits money is always an issue and beach sprint being what it is they can't really share resources at the High Performance Centre at Cambridge.
"It's tough going from a centralised system where you have everything laid out for you to do the hard work, whereas here you have to be so much more self-motivated to work and train," Dunham said.
He drives 30 minutes from just outside Tauranga to get to surf training with Mixed Double partner Erin James, who is based in Taupō.
They try to have three training sessions a week together in the sea and then do their own gym type work.
He admits he probably doesn't have the mental attitude for flat water any more.
"How perfect can I do the same stroke in a straight line over and over... so it's cool to be able to take the skills you've developed over the last ten years and add running and just keep changing things, which Kiwis are good at."
Dunham, who now also works as a farm hand to help pay the bills, doesn't mind training on his own anyway.
"It is pretty much all I've known since I've been doing coastal (last three years), going out by yourself and figuring it out and making it happen.
"I'd love the funding just to make living easier, but I believe the problem with the centralised system is that you sometimes get people that shouldn't be there.
"When you have to have athletes who are self motivated and they make it happen against all odds, you only end up with natural athletes and people with that X factor."
Dunham believes that is why New Zealanders "tend to do way better than we should, for what we're given".
He feels that deters what he calls "lifestyle athletes".
Emma Twigg, Women’s Single Scull of New Zealand wins the rowing single sculls silver medal at 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Photo: Steve McArthur / www.photosport.nz
The New Zealand Beach Sprint team at the World Championships also includes five-time Olympian Emma Twigg, who has also had international success in coastal rowing.
She and Erin James first rowed together in the early 2000s.
James has returned to the sport after more than a decade away and is now a mother of three.
Dunham said the venue for the Beach Sprint World Champs tends to be a bit flat, which isn't ideal for them.
"It's normally pretty flat (in Antalya) which won't really suit us as we train in big waves and the flatter water suits big erg rowers rather than technique rowers.
"You've got to be good enough to win, but you've also got to be lucky enough.
"Any wave is far stronger than any human capacity ever and so you've got to be making the right decisions to make less mistakes."
The Beach Sprint rowers are now part of the Rowing New Zealand set-up, but they'll need to get sufficient results at these world championships to get funding.
While the LA Olympics are just under three years away, Durham believes all those athletes in the current squad will be motivated to keep at it until 2028.
New Zealand team at World Beach Sprint Finals in Turkey, 6-9 November.
Women's Solo - Emma Twigg
Men's Solo - Finlay Hamill
Mixed Double - Erin James & Matthew Dunham
Team Reserves - Holly Chaafe & Sebastian Fulton
Team Coaches - Gary Reid, & Joe Sullivan
Team Manager - Maxine Hughes
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