Seventy-four young rowers from trained alongside six GB Para-rowers in a Saturday morning session entitled the Giza Pyramid Complex.

Paralympic champion Lauren Rowles joined world champions Ellen Buttrick, Giedre ‘G’ Rakauskaite, Ollie Stanhope and Erin Kennedy, together with world finalist Ben Pritchard, in the session. They were keen to provide something fun for juniors to do, while also keeping them in touch with the sport during the pandemic.

High Performance Coach Nick Baker said: “Since lockdown we’ve encouraged our group to use the time they gain back from not having to travel and a slightly reduced training programme to give back to the community in creative ways.”

After the session Ollie Stanhope said: “It was nice to see that people in the rowing community are keen to take part and that kids are still being active. As a whole group it felt good that people were appreciating the work that Tom [Dyson], especially had put in, but also the guys from our squad in taking part.”

Posting on Twitter, Ellen Buttrick said: “Just had one of the best mornings of solo training, joined by 74 LYR athletes as we tackled a tough pyramid session on the ergo. Thank you for tuning in and rowing along with us, it definitely made the minutes fly by.”

With an Egyptian theme, the session included three different pyramids of varying lengths with each pyramid increasing in intensity followed by the final twist – a tough climb up the head of the Great Sphinx of Giza!

Tom Dyson, Lead Coach Paralympic Pathway, had prepared some eye-catching graphics to keep the rowers engaged.

Just had one of the best mornings of solo training, joined by 74 LYR athletes as we tackled a tough pyramid session on the ergo

Nick said: “We have been creating adventure challenges since the team had to move away from centralised training at Caversham.

“As well as the��pyramids of Giza we have taken trips up Alpe d’Huez, climbed the Galibier, traversed the three peaks and climbed Everest.

“These sessions still hit the physiological outcomes we are looking for from the training, but keep the rowers interested and challenged – massively important given we still have over a year to Tokyo and could be limited to the rowing machines for a little while yet.”

Nick was thrilled to see the positive feedback on social media afterwards with many of the juniors and their parents telling the rowers directly how much they had enjoyed it.

He added: “My favourite part of the webinar was seeing the picture��from a parent afterwards of a youngster on his ergo at home following the session on a laptop and loving it. That young lad and the 73 others that could make the call is who this was for.”

After taking part, Daisy, a junior rower at Thames Tradesmen Rowing Club, said: “I never thought I would be able to have the opportunity to train with the GB Para Rowing Team and it gave me a bit of insight into how they train, which has confirmed that this is something I definitely want to pursue.

We have taken trips up Alpe d’Huez, climbed the Galibier, traversed the three peaks and climbed Everest

“It also gave me a lot of motivation to continue and keep up with my training during lockdown. The training was the perfect amount of difficulty and I was able to complete it. This was a very good way to spend a Saturday morning!”

Her parents also appreciated the opportunity, with one saying: “Daisy loved the session this morning and was completely chuffed to have had a response to a message she sent to Lauren Rowles!

“Thanks for all this stuff, it really does help to motivate.”

Meanwhile, a parent of another junior rower from Active Row commented: “Thanks for arranging the session this morning. My son really enjoyed it and it was something a bit different for him to do as the days are feeling very monotonous.”

Ollie Stanhope added: “We owe a big thank you to the people at London Youth Rowing who got as many people involved as they could.

“As a publicly funded programme there is a sense within the squad that wherever possible we should try to give back to the community. This row along was a great opportunity to do that.

I never thought I would be able to have the opportunity to train with the GB Para Rowing Team

“Along with that, a simpler aim was just to help kids and people that may want to go further in the sport by mixing up their training and keeping them motivated, which in turn keeps us motivated.”

Speaking for London Youth Rowing, CEO Matt Rostron said: “London Youth Rowing has been providing young people with amazing opportunities and experiences for many years.

“We get the chance to work with some fantastic partners, supporters and friends that help us do this, and this collaboration with GB Para-Rowing has certainly been one of the best experiences to date.

“To be able to provide an opportunity to train with top athletes and for them in turn to engage and inspire dozens of our young people, was a real pleasure and a privilege to be part of.

“The GB Paralympic Team were incredibly generous with their time and so open to supporting from the start. These amazing athletes have now built a budding fan base with our rowers, and we hope to be part of more sessions like this in the future.”

You can watch the Giza Pyramid Complex workout session ��

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During Ellen’s second year of university, she noticed that her sight started to deteriorate. With no luck from the opticians, Ellen visited Newcastle hospital where she was informed that “it wasn’t something that could be fixed by glasses, and it probably would get worse.” She sat there, took it all in, and instinctively replied with “does this mean I can row at Paralympics?” Just 12 months after attending a Para Talent ID day, Ellen joined the GB Para-Rowing Senior Squad and within 3 months, won Gold at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four.

Ellen has Stargardt’s Disease, a form of juvenile macular degeneration, meaning her central vision is deteriorating. This doesn’t hinder her performance in the boat, however. “I can’t see the person in front of me, but I can see their blades. I can hear where it is and I can feel the run of the boat.” Each person in the Four has a different rig, whether that’s a different seat height, span, inboard or outboard, and this allows the team to row together harmoniously, regardless of their impairment.

Ellen embraced the squad environment and explains in her video how socializing and training with the team made her into the athlete she is today.

Watch Ellen’s video in full to find more out about her visual impairment, as well as tips for new rowers.

We are looking for new talented athletes to join our elite GB para-rowing team. To find out more about our athletes’ journeys into rowing and the ‘GB Para-Rowing – Not For Everyone’ campaign, head over to .

The post Ellen Buttrick on the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four appeared first on British Rowing.

Throughout her younger years, Lauren “took PE like it was the Olympics” – attending running club three times a week, she dreamed of being a professional athlete. However, at the age of 13, a rare neurological disease left her with paralysis from the waist down and from that day, she knew she was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life: “I lost my way completely. I was never going to make it anywhere in life. My dream of being an Olympic champion was over.” But then she found sport.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games inspired Lauren to give wheelchair racing a go. She was England’s under-16 champion for the 100m, 200m and 1500m, resulting in her competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and being the youngest competitor in the team. However, Lauren said, “I realised at that point I wasn’t fulfilling my passion or my purpose in life” and so switched wheelchair racing for rowing after meeting the GB Para-rowing scouts at her old spinal centre, Stoke Mandeville. Six weeks later she found herself sitting in a boat in the Thames, and 18 months after that she was crowned Paralympic Champion at the Rio 2016 Games, with her partner Laurence Whiteley, in the Trunk-Arms Mixed Double Scull.

We are looking for new talented athletes to join our elite GB para-rowing team. To find out more about our athletes’ journeys into rowing and the ‘GB Para-Rowing – Not For Everyone’ campaign, head over to .

Keep an eye out for part 2 of Lauren Rowles’ story where she discusses setbacks and what motivates her to stay focused.

The post Lauren Rowles looks back on her journey in Para-rowing appeared first on British Rowing.

A squad of ten athletes has been selected for the 2019 Gavirate International Regatta (18-19 May), including three Paralympic champions, four world champions and multiple medallists from the Para-rowing event’s 2018 edition.

Two Paralympic champions feature in the same boat, with Laurence Whiteley and Lauren Rowles reprising their Rio 2016 gold medal-winning combination in the PR2 mixed double. Lauren missed the 2018 Gavirate International Regatta due to injury, but Laurence claimed a gold and a silver in last year’s PR2 men’s single.

Both Andy Houghton and Ben Pritchard return to compete individually in the PR1 men’s single event, with Andy claiming a strong silver medal and Ben taking sixth place in the same final last year.

The GB Rowing Team is fielding a PR3 mixed coxed four, with Ollie Stanhope, and cox Erin Wysocki-Jones all returning from winning gold at the 2018 World Championships in the same category. They are joined by Paralympic champion James Fox in the three seat, with 2017 PR3 mixed coxed four World Champion Giedre Rakauskaite completing the line-up.

Paralympic lead coach Tom Dyson said: “We’re delighted to announce this squad to kick off our 2019 regatta season. With Tokyo 2020 Paralympic boat qualification on the line at the World Championships later this summer, it’s great to be able to field a squad with such strength.”

Debutant Gregg Stevenson was also due to take to the water in a single scull, competing for GB for the first time in the PR2 men’s single, however he has been withdrawn on medical grounds.

You can follow the action from Gavirate across British Rowing’s social media channels over the course of the weekend.

Great Britain squad for 2019 Gavirate International Regatta – Gavirate, Italy (18-19 May)

PR1 M1x

Andy Houghton��(Club: Maidenhead RC / Hometown: Newbury)
Ben Pritchard (City of Swansea RC / Swansea)

Coach: Tom Dyson

PR2 M1x

Gregg Stevenson (Agecroft / Colne) (withdrawn on medical grounds)

Coach: Tom Dyson

PR2 Mix2x

Laurence Whiteley��(Tees RC / Northallerton)
Lauren Rowles (Worcester RC / Bromsgrove)

Coach: Tom Dyson

PR3 Mix4+

Oliver Stanhope (Molesey BC / London)
James Fox (Leander / Peterborough)
Giedre Rakauskaite (Worcester RC / Worcester)
��(Leeds RC / Leeds)
Erin Wysocki-Jones (cox)��(Leander Club / Wantage)

Coach: Nick Baker

Coaches/support

• Tom Dyson
• Nick Baker
• Ella Willott
• Pat Dunleavy
• Tom Rusga
• Brendan Purcell

The post Great Britain team announced for 2019 Gavirate International Regatta appeared first on British Rowing.

Three years ago Rob Sargent didn’t even realise he qualified as a Para-rower, now he’s getting ready to go on his first overseas training camp with the Para Development Programme alongside multiple Paralympic champions.

Born with a club foot, it took a conversation with a physio at his Cambridge ‘99 RC for Sargent, now 29, to even consider attending an adaptive classification, which he did in November 2014.

Having graduated from university, travelled in the USA and struggled to find a job that inspired him, Sargent found it was joining his local rowing club that gave his life structure and meaning, with his preconceptions of an elitist sport dashed in his first session.

“I started rowing out of the desire to meet people and that has ended up giving me this ambition and drive, which has really helped me out mentally,” he said. “I feel like I have a place that I belong, now. When you’re in a boat with other people you are working together for a common goal.

“I did not see this coming and it’s given me a new lease of life and I now see a lot of things differently. It’s made me complain a lot less and start taking responsibilities for my actions. I now push through those challenges that I would have previously run away from.”

Sargent admits he ran away from a few challenges before he found rowing, although he never wanted to be judged for his disability.

Having been initially apprehensive about exploring the opportunity that Para-rowing offered, Sargent got in touch with the coaches at British Rowing’s national training centre in Caversham, who soon invited him down to be assessed.

“I had been rowing by this point for a year and I didn’t really realise that my club foot would classify me [as a Para-rower],” he said. “When it comes to disability, there are a lot of people who have it worse than I do, so I didn’t want to go [to classification] under the auspices of ‘I’m a disabled person’.

“I can walk around and everything, so I never thought of myself as someone who would qualify as a Para-rower. It wasn’t until my physio said to me that my ankle range would probably classify me.

“I went down [to Caversham] and I was at the Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake. A year beforehand I didn’t really know about the sport, and here I am at one of the most prestigious rowing establishments in the world. I got a bit overawed by the amazing fleet and then had the physio bend me all sorts of ways in the most professional way possible.

“I was amazed by how relaxed it was – another really welcoming experience that I didn’t really expect”

“Again, I was overawed by how knowledgeable and supportive everyone was. I was amazed by how relaxed it was – another really welcoming experience that I didn’t really expect. It felt good to be there; it felt right.”

Having been challenged to reach the target times set by the world-class coaches and support staff on the Development Programme, Sargent returned to his home club and battled back from illness to hit the required time at the British Rowing Indoor Championships in 2015.

Now he’s packing his bags for his first Development Programme camp in Cerla, northern Spain, and wants to encourage any other potential Para-rowers to follow in his footsteps.

“There are probably people out there who have a condition like club foot, or are slightly visually impaired, or something else that would classify them as a Para-rower,” he said.

“I honestly would encourage these people to just try rowing out. You’ll get to meet some amazing people and you never know where it’ll lead. Two years ago I would never have expected to be on the Development Programme and preparing to go on these training camps.”

Have you got what it takes to be a Paralympic champion? No rowing experience is require; just the willingness to give rowing a go. Click here to find out more about our Para-rowing Talent ID.

The post ‘I can walk around and everything, so I never thought of myself as someone who would qualify as a Para-rower’ appeared first on British Rowing.

Ekow Otoo hadn’t taken to the water in a Para-rowing competition before, but the Marlow RC man rowed away from the British Senior Championships with a gold medal in his first event.

Otoo took gold in the open trunk-arms single scull having been introduced to rowing through the Para-Rowing Talent ID programme in 2015.

He was one of four Para-rowers to take gold in the Championship in Nottingham with 11-time Paralympic Games gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson on hand to award the medals.

“I was nervous. I was trying to play in my mind how the stroke motion goes, but at the same time I felt that because it was my first time there was nothing else I could do but try my best and see what happens, and try not to fall in the water!” Otto said.

“It’s been hard trying to get the technique down – I’m still learning that – and the gym work is very gruelling, but nothing that I can’t handle. Nothing that I’m not prepared to handle.”

Getting ready for my first race for ! ! Thanks to for the video #2020#Hopeful

— Ekow Otoo (@Echo_T_T)

The long hours, hard work and mental fortitude needed to reach the top of the sport is not something that fazes Otoo, who hopes to find a coach closer to home in north London to help him improve faster in the coming months.

November sees Otto and��other athletes competing for a place in the Para-rowing elite squad and the new gold medallist already has his sight set on Paralympic glory at Tokyo 2020.

“[Watching the success of the Rio 2016 Paralympians] was a very proud moment for me, because they are the ones paving the way and I want to follow in their footsteps,” he said.

“I was even talking to [Para-rowing talent ID coach] Hannah [Lawton] about what makes the best rower and she was telling me it’s about how much you’re willing to dedicate to training. At some levels it means you have to give up your social life, and that’s something I would not mind doing to be the best.

“In 2020 I am going to Tokyo and bringing home a gold.”

The post ‘I didn’t expect to win a medal. If anything it’s given me motivation to get more’ appeared first on British Rowing.

The 2016 Paralympic Gold Medallist has come a long way in five years. First taking up the sport in 2011, following a successful international swimming career, Laurence progressed quickly through the British Rowing Talent ID Pathway, winning several British and European events in the Trunk Arms Single Scull category.

In 2015 he made his international debut with newcomer Lauren Rowles in the Trunk Arms Mixed Double Scull (TAMix2x) at the World Championships in Aiguebelette, scooping a silver medal and making history as the first GB crew to qualify for Rio 2016.

In 2012, Laurence reflected on his experience of the transition to rowing and his subsequent success through the British Rowing Talent ID Pathway:

“I started rowing in the beginning of 2011, after wanting a change from disability swimming.

After going down a few times to Tees Rowing Club and meeting both the coach, Greg Beswick, and Caroline Mcdonald, ��the only adaptive Rower at the time, I found the atmosphere to be very friendly and welcoming and so began going out on the water.

“Since then I have won the British and European Indoor Rowing Championships (2012), the British National Championships (2012), and the Home International Regatta (2011) while also being selected for GB development.

I’ve always been interested in water sports, so rowing appealed to me in that respect. Being a disabled person, I enjoy the fact that my leg doesn’t hinder my ability to row at a high level, which it still does when I swim competitively. I also enjoy being out on the water with my other adaptive squad mates, there’s always plenty of chatter during our UT2 10k rows and good banter. Long story short; it’s a great sport to be a part of and I’m glad I decided to give it a try when I did.”

Para-Rowing Talent ID pathway

Do you have what it takes to be the next Paralympic rower?

The biggest multi-sport talent identification campaign, Discover Your Gold has launched, a campaign aimed at��targeting promising athletes to be fast-tracked into the exciting world of high performance sport. Discover Your ParaPotential is one of the five strands of the campaign and targets those people with a physical impairment. No rowing experience is necessary, so don’t hesitate to sign up and get involved at .

The post From Talent ID Pathway to Paralympic Champion appeared first on British Rowing.

Rachel Morris will be the first GB rower to race on the Lagoa de Freitas tomorrow at the 2016 Paralympic Games when her heat of the arms-shoulders women’s single scull starts at 12.50 BST.

Morris is drawn in lane 1 in a heat which features former World Champion, 2015 World finalist and local favourite Claudia Santos of Brazil.

The Guildford rower has made remarkable progress since transferring to the sport from hand-cycling in early 2013 and whilst she admitted to always having a few pre-race nerves she said: “I will focus on the moment and the processes and only worry about my own performance”.

She also had praise for the Rio set-up:���� “The Village and the Lagoa venue are both really top quality and the Rio committee have done a fantastic job getting everything ready for us”.

Tom Aggar races in the equivalent men’s event and is also a World silver medallist and 2008 Paralympic Champion but underlined the progress made by the sport since winning that inaugural Paralympic gold in Beijing.

He said:�� ��“It’s crazy, I was only thinking the other day that I am one of the few survivors of the Beijing Games in terms of athletes.�� The sport has changed dramatically since then. The standards just to qualify are pretty high and to medal the standard has moved on too.

“The sport has become more professional across all the events and the bandings are so much tighter. Medals are so much more hard fought and the races are much closer so from a spectator point of view, it is exciting racing to watch.�� But when you are out there it’s really stroke by stroke, side by side, top racing”.

The Londoner races in heat two at 13.30 BST and will line up on the start line with�� the reigning World Champion, Erik Horrie of Australia, with only one place available in Sunday’s final and all other contenders racing a repechage on Saturday.

Heat two of the trunk-arms mixed double scull could also be a GB v Australia affair.�� Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley are World silver medallists but a very new crew on the international scene.

Gavin Bellis and Kathryn Ross beat the GB duo by just under a second in France last year to take World gold setting the scene for an exciting heat tomorrow including contenders from China and the Ukraine. Only one crew can go through to the finals.

Rowles only took up rowing in early 2015 after ��switching from athletics.�� She has also juggled A level studies this year with training for Rio.

Recently she talked of�� her passion for her “new” sport and said:�� “The first moment that I got in a boat I knew that it was for me. It was amazing, I loved the sense of freedom and, maybe, if I’d carried on with athletics I would have made progress but this the sport for me”.

Pamela Relph, Grace Clough, Daniel Brown, James Fox and cox Oliver James are the World Champions in the mixed coxed four and will keep a wary eye on China and South Africa who could prove the main opposition in the heat.�� They will be favourites, though, to move into Sunday’s final direct.

Channel 4 will carry a highlights package of tomorrow’s racing in their afternoon show between 16.00 – 19.00 BST.�� Fans can follow the action through live graphics on the www.worldrowing.com

Results will be posted on Twitter via @gbrowingteam

The post The draw is done and the Rio scene is set appeared first on British Rowing.

It is not long now until Tom Dyson, our Lead Coach for para-rowing, and the powers that be select their team for the Rio Paralympic Games.

Talking of which; 159 days is all that separates us and the opening ceremony on the 7th of September. 159 days. Not long at all is it?�� That day will come around before we know it, which is bone chillingly exciting but there is work to be done between now and then.

This weekend hosts our final trials. The Olympic squad had theirs last Tuesday and Wednesday and now it’s our turn.

Many of you will be aware of the term ‘Speed Order Testing’ especially if you have trialled for regional or national teams before but, for those who haven’t, the term refers to racing in set crews (as opposed to swapping in and out like seat racing) over racing distance to gauge each boat’s speed in comparison to the predicted gold medal time (PGMT) at the Paralympics for their event.

It levels the playing field and is a great way to compare performances within the squad or even from previous years. This weekend we have speed order testing over 1km. For the coaches this trial will consolidate all of the data they have gathered on us over the year and will help to form a decision about who will make the boats go fastest this summer and, ultimately, who deserves a seat at the Paralympics. As I say, exciting times.

In other news; I’m sure many of you have been ‘enjoying’ what Storm Katie has been offering us. The kind of wind that makes you feel like you got lost along the way and pottered right outside of the Thames estuary.

It reminds me of James Cracknell capsizing on his first attempt to cross the channel in a single scull. It clearly happens to the best of us. Perhaps we should stay in eights – the guys at the weekend in the Boat Race did alright didn’t they!

Congratulations to all the Boat Races winners and also to the Cambridge women for finishing in the most adverse of conditions. A serious amount of grit was on show there.

Meanwhile, if you want to know how Grace Clough, a World Champion with me in the mixed coxed four, was identified into rowing then there’s a good piece on the BBC website: ��

The post Blog: James Fox – speed order and true grit appeared first on British Rowing.

With the second of the winter assessments out of the way, it’s time to give you the low down on who’s who and what’s what ahead of this summer’s racing.

All three boat classes (arms and shoulders [AS] single scull, trunk and arms [TA] mixed double scull and legs, trunk and arms [LTA]mixed coxed four) were racing this time round, although the format for each class differed slightly.

Tom Aggar historically represents GB in the AS men’s single and in fact has dominated this event nationally and has worn the vest at every World Championship and Paralympic Games since the debut of Paralympic rowing at the 2008 Beijing Games.

At the assessment, he time-trialled along with Rachel Morris who has represented GB in the AS women’s single at the last two World Championships after transferring from hand-cycling a few years ago. They raced down the track against the clock and put down a strong marker to push on from for the rest of the season.

Laurence Whiteley was a lone ranger looking for companionship in 2013 and 2014 but has since found a female double scull partner to team up with in the form of Lauren Rowles who transferred from wheelchair track racing after competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Together they won a silver medal in the TA double at last year’ss World Championships after training together for just four months. This season Laurence has competition for his place in the boat and will be seat racing against Scott Meenagh, an eager Scotsman who joined our squad after sustaining injuries serving in Afghanistan, and the recent assessment was the first of those races.

In the coxed four, things are being shaken up a bit. I have stroked the boat at the last three World Championships but there is no reason to say that is the fastest combination and so we’ve been playing a bit of musical chairs.

For the last fortnight or so Pam, Gold medallist from London 2012 and four times World Champion, has been stroking the four with me sitting behind in the three seat and on training camp we tried a few other combinations too.

There are still four seats in this particular game of musical chairs though which is a relief. We seat raced this time around too but, for us, it is as much about going fast in every order and combination as it is about finding which individuals make the boat go fastest at the moment.

The results from the recent assessment won’t necessarily lead to selection for Rio but they will give our coaches and selectors a general impression of how things are going. A kind of data collection exercise, if you like, ahead of final trials. If nothing else it certainly provided a chance to open the lungs after a winter of rate 18!

The post BLOG: From low-downs to lone-rangers appeared first on British Rowing.