A Scull Session On Age And Teamwork

Richard Galway and Carol Hermansen row a double scull in the Canadian Rockies in 2010. Despite a 17-year age difference and a difference in "purpose" they make a successful pair. What can they teach us about teamwork? Plenty.

 

By Ray Glier

Carol Hermansen, 62, and Richard Galway, 79, have been a mixed doubles pair in rowing for over 20 years. They sit just three feet apart in the scull, yet they never intrude on one another’s sovereignty. 

Carol’s purpose is to train hard and win. Richard’s purpose is to train hard and have fun.

Hermansen and Galway, who belong to the Calgary, Alberta Rowing Club, have finished as high as second in their races at the World Rowing Masters Regatta. Their age spread doesn’t get in the way of success. Carol is younger, with less wear and tear on her body, but Galway’s muscle mass as a man and regular training means he can keep up with Hermansen, one of the best female masters rowers in the world. Both are technically sharp with the oar.

They will compete in the 2025 World Rowing Masters Regatta in Banyoles, Spain (Sept. 10-14) in mixed doubles.

What is interesting to Geezer Jock™ is how Galway and Hermansen have leveraged their strong suits into success as a team, even with the age and physical differences. Her competitiveness and his reveling in the sport make a dynamic duo.

We are reminded almost daily of the bitterness between young and old in the workforce, and that bitterness is liable to get worse with chaotic economic policy around the world. Younger workers want graybeards to get going toward the rocking chair. Older workers snipe back, “The kids know more than us. Just ask them.”

Galway and Hermansen, meanwhile, have an expansive view of their team. It’s not that one makes up for deficiencies of the other. They underscore each other’s talent. They do not demand the other be someone they are not. We should have more of that in the work environment.

Richard knows all about Carol’s fierceness on the water, but says she is never “overbearing”. Galway may look like a kindly man with spectacles (picture below), but Hermansen knows he is one of the first to slide a scull into the chilly Elbow River when the season starts May 1 in Alberta.

Their separate gratifications for rowing are their own. Success follows.

“Many of them are younger, some of them significantly younger than I am but, still, we have just a wonderful community feeling about it,” Richard said about the Calgary Rowing Club, which he has belonged to since 1999. “So it's fun to go and do things with them. There are many who are really keen to be the best they can be at rowing. That's fun, that's challenging.”

Carol says her fun comes after racing in places like Spain, Germany, and France because she and her husband, Brian, travel and see the world after the event.

“As we get older, we all need purpose in life and training for rowing is hard, there’s a lot of work trying to be competitive and having goals. That’s my purpose,” Hermansen said. “It keeps you motivated. As you get older, your body needs that work. It’s very rewarding competing and pushing myself. The fun part comes after.”

There can be as many as 700 clubs at a world regatta. Carol and Richard lost their race by four seconds last fall in Brandenburg, Germany. Teams are classified by age and Richard gets what rowers call “geezer points”, a sort of handicapping system for racing with a younger teammate.

Galway and his men’s double partner, Sandy Smith, won a gold medal in 2023 in France. Meanwhile, Carol and her female doubles partner, Wanda Murin, have won multiple gold medals at the world event. 

“She is at the top of her class and that’s a bit of a challenge for me, so I want to keep up with skill and determination,” Galway said. “She has a huge commitment to be the very best that she can be and it’s never overbearing.”

Hermansen’s zeal does not squash what Galway cherishes about rowing. He grew up in Ireland where rowing is pastime. Richard went to Queens College in Belfast and rowed for the university while getting a degree in Geology.

Galway worked in oil exploration in Africa and The Middle East, moved on to The Hague in the Netherlands, and settled in Calgary. Managing a career and helping to manage a family meant sliding into in the water at 5:30 a.m. to get his rowing fix. These days Richard has more sensible start times for his rowing, which he does six days a week.

“I took quite a long time off from it. It all came back, the pleasure of being on the water, the fun, and the working hard,” he said. 

Hermansen marvels over Galway’s work ethic, which is not unlike her own.

“Richard's amazing. He'll be 80 years old this year and trains like he’s 60,” she said. “Everybody respects his training and his ability. I'm honored to row with him.”

Carol also had a long break from the sport. She started rowing in Vancouver where she earned a degree in physical education and science. Hermansen’s first full-time job was running a food and nutrition program for schools and children in need. Her second full-time job was raising a family. 

Carol got back in a scull when she was around 45 years old. She had no expectations to be world-class. She just wanted to row.

I wanted to tell part of their story because Carol and Richard, in some ways, have built an unfair advantage over competitors meshing their different skills. They are different in many ways, yet the same in many ways. It is respect that closes any age or "purpose" gap. It's a lesson for all of us, whether in sports, business, or life.

Richard (glasses) and doubles partner Sandy Smith in France in 2023 where they won a gold medal at The World Rowing Masters Regatta.

Wanda and Carol at the World Rowing Masters Regatta in France in 2023.