Coastal rowing

Soccer field swapped for beach and sea

Tabea Minichmayr is getting better and better at coastal rowing.(Bild: CHRISTOS SERRANO)

Tabea Minichmayr only switched to rowing six years ago, and to coastal rowing in December. Now she is already taking part in the European Championships. She benefits from her past as a footballer. In the long term, she could even make it to the Olympics.

From the soccer pitch to the beach and into the water? Normally only lower league footballers do that when they fly to Mallorca after the season. In the case of Tabea Minichmayr, however, this change of scenery has other reasons. The 25-year-old is involved in the sport of coastal rowing. This focuses on rowing in waves and wind on the open sea. "You start on the sandy beach, walk 50 meters to the boat, row 250 meters slalom around three buoys, turn around, then head back and finish again on the beach," says Minichmayr, explaining her sport.

Tabea Minichmayr as she gets out of the boat and sets off.(Bild: Luca Pagliaricci)

Only completed three regattas
As a former footballer (including LAZ in Wels, Union Kleinmünchen), the fact that sprinting skills are also required comes in handy. "I have good prerequisites from my soccer past." She has already proven this. After just three regattas with good results, she has qualified for her first European Championships in Gdansk (Poland). There she will be competing against the best coastal rowers on the continent from Thursday. Because it is not enough financially to just do the sport, the sports science student is about to graduate and is starting her own business as a rowing coach.

This could possibly change in the coming years. After all, coastal rowing will be included in the Olympic program in Los Angeles in 2028. "So it's definitely in the back of my mind. But it's still difficult for me to estimate how I'll perform internationally at the moment," says the Altmünster native. However, there is one point that makes her doubt her ability to compete in the future: "I'm definitely curious to see whether we as 'landlocked' athletes have a chance compared to the nations that can train by the sea every day."