Ross is also embracing an impending move from Penrith to Canberra, where she will take up a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport.

The 28-year-old Beijing Paralympics silver medallist yesterday expressed concern at the lack of suitable candidates to replace her former rowing partner John Maclean. Under the fledgling adaptive program, trunk and arms rowers are limited to competing in double sculls at international level.

"It's a year since Beijing and they have been looking for people constantly," Ross said yesterday.

"There's a couple of people they're looking at but they just have to get them up to scratch.

"It's very frustrating because it's very hard to look forward and continue to put the efforts in knowing it's all on a maybe. I'm still putting in 100 per cent at training."

Ross has even appealed to Maclean to consider a comeback so they can target gold at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

She said Maclean was planning to contest a triathlon later this year but still rated him a 50-50 chance to take up the offer.

National Rowing Centre of Excellence high-performance director Andrew Matheson is hopeful a rowing partner for Ross can be found within the next six to eight months.

Matheson stressed the process was constrained by the field of suitable prospects, who had to fit the right physical classifications.

As well as looking within the adaptive rowing program and other paralympic sporting categories, he said the centre was working closely with the Australian Paralympic Committee's talent search program.

"Ideally we would have a boat with Kathryn competing at the 2010 world championships in New Zealand," Matheson said.

Ross showed her competitive instincts remained strong at the World Masters Games, where rowers can compete from the age of 27.

Because of her relatively young age, she had to give her opponents a nine-second start in the trunk and arms 500-metre race and 16 seconds in the 1000-metre event.

Ross used the games for a hit-out before the domestic season, which will be highlighted by state, national and world titles.

With the AIS absorbing rowers from the national adaptive program, she said there would be significant advantages in moving her base to Canberra.

As well as significant financial benefits, Ross said an AIS scholarship would put adaptive rowers on the same footing as Australia's senior A team in terms of preparation and support.

"It is very exciting."