02 · UX Design · Product
Designed and launched a platform connecting 3,200+ masters athletes for the World Rowing Championships — simplifying crew formation across 50+ countries.
3,200+
Masters athletes connected
at launch
50+
Countries represented across
the Masters community
[#]
[Add a third metric —
seats filled, matches made, etc.]
Background
World Rowing governs the sport internationally and hosts the World Rowing Masters Regatta — one of the largest rowing events by participant count, drawing athletes from 27 to 80+ across age categories spanning Masters A through J.
For masters athletes, competing often means assembling a crew across countries and time zones. There was no official tool to do this. Athletes relied on word of mouth, email chains, and Facebook groups to find open seats in boats or crew members for events.
"I want to race. I just can't find anyone to race with."
Athlete Connect — built as part of the World Rowing Masters Portal in partnership with RegattaCentral — was designed to solve this: a structured platform for athletes to find and form crews, built into the same system they use to register and compete.
The Problem
Masters rowing is uniquely complex: athletes compete in age-specific categories, in specific boat classes, and often need to assemble crews across clubs, countries, and disciplines — sometimes weeks before an event.
Goals
Process
Masters athletes are not a monolith. They span 50+ years of age, row in a wide range of boat classes, and have wildly different levels of experience and competitive ambition. The system had to be flexible enough to serve a 28-year-old competitive sculler and a 74-year-old recreational sweep rower.
[Describe research methods here — interviews, user surveys, competitive analysis, etc.]
Research
Competitive Landscape
The core challenge was designing a filtering and matching system flexible enough to handle the combinatorial complexity of masters rowing — dozens of boat classes, multiple age categories, different seat positions, and event-specific availability — without overwhelming users.
[Describe your iteration process — lo-fi wireframes, testing with athletes, key feedback you received and how it shaped the design.]
Lo-Fi
Mid-Fi
Hi-Fi
The Solution
Athlete Connect gives any masters rower the ability to find or offer crew spots — with the specificity the sport demands and the simplicity athletes actually need. It launched as part of the World Rowing Masters Membership portal, piloted at the 2025 regatta in Banyoles.
Impact
Learnings