11 young West Midlands rowers spent two weekends in December on British Rowing’s Rowing Leader course at SuABC. The 16 hour programme enables participants to conduct a simple risk assessment, explain basic rowing techniques, and plan, deliver and evaluate sessions and activities under the supervision of a qualified coach. The course was led by our Head Coach, Andy Roe.

“Personal and crew safety are paramount in rowing”, said Paul Hazelwood, our Safety Advisor. “Risk assessments and recognising your responsibility for those you are coaching heightens safety awareness.” Our Junior Co-ordinator, Will Bird, shared his enthusiasm ”Because they have only recently learnt to row themselves, rowing leaders find really effective ways of talking to aspiring rowers. They are a valuable part of our team”

Well done to everyone who took part today. A fantastic day’s rowing including FIVE golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes for our own crews and 2 silvers and 3 bronzes for our KES boys.

Division 1:-

WJ18.4x  Weston  (10:50:3) 5th of 5

OP Jun 17.1x. Lewry  (11:20:0) 6th of 9

WJ18.4+  Winter (10:53:4)  1st of 3  WIN

WJ14.4x+ Ward (11:54:2) 2nd of 5

WJ14.4x+ Connelly (12:19:2) 4th of 5

WJ15.2x Solomon (11:53:8) 9th of 17

WJ15.2x Tiller (12:53:9) 17th of 17

OP Jun 14.1x Beishon (12:34:5) 3rd of 4

OP.IM3.4+ KES crew (9:51:1) 3rd of 4

Division 2:-

OP Jun 17.2x Appleton (10:09:6) 5th of 11

OP Nov 4+ Stirling (9:38:8) 1st of 4  WIN

OP Nov 4+ KES crew (9:53:6) 2nd of 4

OP Nov 4+ KES crew (10:33:8) 3rd of 4

WJ15.4x+ Flambert (10:59:1) 4th of 21

WJ18.1x Gardner (12:55:6) 2nd of 3

WJ17.1x Lodge (14:49:8) 8th of 8

WJ17.1x Holden (12:25:3) 1st of 8  WIN

WJ17.1x Winter (13:21:9) 7th of 8

OP Jun 14.2x Bird (11:24;7) 1st of 5  WIN

WJ14.1x Cherry (13:18:5) 1st of 3  WIN

WJ14.2x Cox (14:29:8) 2nd of 3

Division 3:-

OP Jun 18.4+ KES crew (9:51:0) 2nd of 3

OP Jun 18.4+ KES crew (10:21:5) 3rd of 3

OP Jun 15.2x Skuse (12:48:7) 12th of 13

WJ18.2x Higginson (12:45:4) 9th of 10

WJ18.2x Buckley (12:19:7) 8th of 10

OP Jun 14.4x+ Herring (10:59:3) 4th of 7

WJ14.2x Battersby (13:06:7) 4th of 6

WJ14.2x Hansen (13:32:4) 6th of 6

WJ15.1x Jones (13:25:5) 5th of 13

WJ15.1x Stratton (12:43:4) 3rd of 12

WJ15.1x Mackey (13:45:1) 9th of 12

WJ15.1x Cann (13:32:9) 6th of 12

Club member Camilla Hadland talks about what rowing means to her as she celebrates being Durham University’s Athlete of the Week. As always inspirational!

http://youtu.be/sYX-67ppnWE

NB: Competing at the highest level in any sport will boost your weekly shop and other bills. For most of us mere mortals rowing is a very affordable.

Both the conditions and competition were tough so no wins but some great performances including Imogen North WJ16 1x who came 3rd of 27 and Franklin Hamilton/Harry Stirling who finished 4th in J18 2x. Esme Booth also produced a fine row to finish 6th and in the top half of the field at WJ15 1x. Special mention should go to all of our J14 entrants who produced some plucky performances in really challenging conditions with gusting headwinds making it virtually impossible at times to keep a single sculling boat moving.  All our crews put in strong competitive rows including seniors Phil Marshall and Jo Wyles who decided to keep going at the finish for a scenic row up the Thames.  Results below:

Division 1

J18A.2x Hamilton (0:12:56) 4th of 14

Mx.MasD.2x Wyles (0:15:57) 2nd of 3

W.J14A.4x+ Ward (0:16:17) 6th of 7

W.J15A.2X Flambert (0:17:51) 12th of 16

W.J15A.4X+ Ngombe (0:14:55) 10th of 14

W.J184x- Buckley (0:15:03) 6th of 7

Division 2

J18A.1x Lewry (0:16:36) 38th of 46

J18A.1x Hamilton (0:17:30) 42nd of 46

J18A.1x Stirling (0:18:43) 45th of 46

W.J16A.1x North (0:16:42) 3rd of 27

W.J18A.1x Holden (0:18:51) 16th of 20

W.J18A.1x Gardner (0:19:52) 19th of 20

Division 3

IM2.1x Gittus-Smith (0:15:49) 9th of 13

IM2.1x Hamilton (0:16:05) 11th of 13

IM2.1x Stirling (0:16:55) 13th of 13

J14A.1x Herring (0:20:17) 7th of 16

J14A.1x Bird (0:20:51) 8th of 16

J14A.1x Beishon (0:23:35) 10th of 16

W.J14A.1x Cherry (0:22:15) 3rd of 6

W.J15A.1x Booth (0:19:24) 6th of 13

Former Club Captain, Bill Collins, wrote an impressive history of the Club (1874 to 1974). When the River & Rowing Museum in Henley found out about it, they asked for a copy and some of our Juniors members were happy to help. As we get ready to celebrate our 140th Anniversary next year, if you would like to help build our archive please contact us.

Kate Burt, Chief Executive Officer of British Rowing, the sport’s national governing body, and Jo Atkinson, Regional Development Officer, visited us on Wednesday 23 October to meet our members and discuss our plans for the future. Read more.

Jane Hadland, Helen Smith, Rachel Key, Kate Burt, Felix Badcock, Jo Atkinson and Glyn Hawkins (Left to Right)

Kate Burt, Chief Executive Officer of British Rowing, the sport’s national governing body, and Jo Atkinson, Regional Development Officer, visited the Club on Wednesday 23 October during a tour of West Midlands’ Clubs.

“It was great for our Explore Rowing members to have a chance to talk to British Rowing’s CEO,” said Glyn Hawkins, the Club’s Masters’ Vice Captain. “Nationally the aim is help more people to row, including on the river during the week and indoors, just what we are doing here in Stratford”.

“Building capacity to meet the huge interest in rowing is a national issue as well as being the reason behind our redevelopment plans,” said Felix Badcock, the Club’s President. “In the under 16s, the greatest increase has been with girls. In the West Midlands more Juniors and Seniors take part in competitions than the national average. We know that the demand is there, if only we had the space.”

The group also discussed the perception of rowing as a sport for the wealthy but as the parent of one Junior Member said “At less than £5 a week for three training sessions, it is really affordable and offers lots of other benefits as well as becoming seriously fit!”

In terms of access, indoor rowing opens up the sport for people with limited time. Kate described how mobile technology was being used to take this “beyond the gym” so that athletes could compete against rowers across the globe.

Glyn Hawkins shows Kate Burt designs for the new boathouse

After Kate had seen the designs for the new boathouse they discussed how the Club was approaching the task of raising £500k. With considerable fundraising experience and local knowledge between them, Kate and Jo’s support will be invaluable to the project’s success. If you would like to know more about the appeal please email us.

J16 Imogen North with coach Mark Holden

Thanks to their talent and our hardworking volunteer coaches, our Junior Squad is going from strength to strength.