The benefit of regular exercise on physical well-being is well established. Regular exercise improves muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness, and improves bone health. It also reduces the risk of several diseases including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes. However, exercise also plays an important role in mental well-being by reducing feelings of stress and anxiety, and by helping to lift mood state.

Serotonin is often referred to as the body’s natural “feel good” chemical

Firstly, exercise triggers the release of chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters. Endorphins are one of many neurotransmitters released when you exercise and they play an important role in regulating mood state. Endorphins interact with opiate (pain) receptors in the body, acting as natural pain killers and boosting pleasure, which results in feelings of positive well-being. You will also feel a lift in mood state following exercise thanks to a boost in a neurotransmitter called serotonin. Serotonin is often referred to as the body’s natural “feel good” chemical and plays an important role in regulating mood and anxiety amongst a several other functions.

Exercise also helps to improve concentration, memory, and learning which may help to minimise distractions in your new working environment. The exercise-induced increase in blood flow to the brain, increases the activity of neurons. Neurons are essential structural units of the brain that process and transmit information around the body. Advances in neuroimaging have also shown that regular exercise can lead to structural changes in the brain. For example, regular aerobic exercise has been shown to play an important role in neurogenesis, the growth of new neurons. One recent Harvard study (1) found that regular exercise promotes cell growth of the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with memory and learning, by doing just 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.

Regular exercise can lead to structural changes in the brain

There are a host of other ways that exercise promotes positive mental well-being, including relieving muscular tension which you may have built up throughout the day, improving sleep quality, and boosting energy levels.

Exercise doesn’t have to mean running marathons every day, there are lots of ways to be active and finding a physical activity regime to suit your new lifestyle is key. Exercise shouldn’t be something we ‘have to do’, but something that we enjoy doing because it makes us feel good and we recognise the value that it has on our physical and mental well-being.

The fitter children also performed better in memory recognition tasks.

Five top tips for mental and physical well-being

1. If you are feeling periods of heightened stress and anxiety go for a short (as little as 30 minutes) walk, jog, or a bike ride, outside if you can. If you don’t want to leave the house, try a home workout like gardening or yoga.
2. Try to think of physical activity as a lifestyle choice, rather than a chore. Choose activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good as this will help you to sustain a consistent exercise routine.
3. Make exercise fun and social by including the people in your household – that includes children too. American researchers (2) found that children aged 9-10 with high levels of fitness had a greater hippocampal volume, compared to children with a lower level of fitness. Interestingly, the fitter children also performed better in memory recognition tasks.
4. Fitness trackers and apps can help you stay connected and motivated during this time. Tracking your progress will give you a sense of accomplishment and an emotional boost to keep going.
5. Many gyms and apps are offering virtual sessions and classes which may help to give you a social connection.

Take it further – the references

(1) Thomas et al (2016). . NeuroImage, 131, 162–170.

(2) Chaddock et al. (2010). , 1358, 172–183.

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I have been interested in sport for as long as I can remember and been lucky as a child and as a young adult to have been encouraged to participate by my mom in as much as I could.

I was a gymnast, played football, tennis, I boxed, did athletics, but rowing was as far of my spectrum as an inner-city kid as you can imagine.

I remember as a boy watching the Boat Race on television and seeing the Oxford and Cambridge crews race on the Thames, and I loved the history and the excitement of seeing if either of the boats might sink!

I was aware as a kid that no one participating in the races looked like me. My parents come from the Caribbean a small but beautiful island called St Kitts.

The Boat Race looked tough even to me back then, but I was intrigued and fancied having a go, little did I know that many years later I was to race on the Thames.

As I grew older, I realised that rowing was for a different group and certainly not something I thought I would ever have a chance to try.

I did not have an opportunity to try rowing until I moved from Birmingham to Cornwall to do my general nurse training in 1987.

A friend of mine talked about Cornish gigs and her dad, who was a boatbuilder. I went along with her to the boat yard and had a go at rowing with some of her friends and I loved it. It was great fun and you ached, as my mom would say, from arse to elbow. But a good ache.

Being out on the sea and the team spirit and the sights and smells of the sea was fantastic, but being a rower requires dedication, training, and commitment and at the time I could not commit as I wanted my qualification and there were other distractions.

I found rowing again in 2003, when I moved from Bristol to the Devon town of Dawlish in 2003.

“One of my best memories was that my mom came down from Birmingham to watch me race with my crew”

A friend of mine who was also a nurse lived in Teignmouth and had joined a rowing club called the River Teign Rowing Club (RTRC) and I met some of his friends and we formed a team called the Oarsome Foursome and it was great to be back in a boat.

We rowed Seine boats, which are a fixed-seat four-rower vessel with a cox, they are not very dynamic through the water, but fantastic fun to be in, with great crew banter.

I rowed in several boats but the two I remember were called Freya and Mr Christian, fantastic boats with many happy memories.

The RTRC had regular rowing races/regattas and I loved taking part in them, if not always the quality of the finishing places myself and the crew finished in.

One of my best memories was that my mom came down from Birmingham to watch me race with my crew – it’s a memory that I am very fond of now she is no longer here. She thought we should cover up and eat more of her fried chicken for power and sustenance!

Stu pictured with his mom, Mary 

Whilst there I did my cox’s course and spent two years on the rowing club committee. We had over 600 members including some rowing and others not rowing.

It was a very welcoming club and I still have friends there.

“The race was amazing, full of colourful costumes and for the first time in my rowing experience, there were people of mixed ethnic diversity”

Devon is not a place of great ethnic diversity, but it did not matter. It was just a group of people who liked tough exercise and being graced by beautiful surroundings, while spending time on the water.

Some of the great sights I saw whilst in the boats were seals, dolphins, and a myriad of different birds.

As a member of the RTRC, I was lucky enough to row the Thames as part of the Great London River Race in 2010. Our crew was mixed – just a bunch of friends called Gulls & Buoys.

The race was 21.5 miles and we started at Tower Bridge and went under all the great bridges of London, cheered on by bystanders on the riverbank and from the bridges. There were all sorts of rowing boats on the Thames, and it was a fantastic advert for diversity of crafts as well as people and crews. At the end of the race in Richmond, a cannon was fired, and it meant you had completed the race

The race was amazing, full of colourful costumes and for the first time in my rowing experience, there were people of mixed ethnic diversity. I think rowing is a sport for all and, if the appeal could be widened, it would benefit from a greater pool of diversity, talent, and opportunity.

Celebrating his 50th birthday at the 2014 Great River Race

I was lucky enough to row the Great London River Race, three times in 2010, in 2014 – as the only male in a female crew on my 50th birthday – and again in 2016 with a bunch of guys.

In 2016, we did the race in sub three hours and finished ahead of many larger boats with greater numbers in their crew.

I still have rowing ambitions. I would like to row the Great River Race again – perhaps on my 60th birthday!

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More than £90,000 has been awarded to 24 organisations promoting watersports around London with six rowing clubs receiving grants totalling almost £26,000 collectively. Fulham Reach BC, Globe RC, Gravesend RC, London Youth Rowing, the Royal Dolphins RC and Thames Barbarians Pilot Gig Club have all been awarded much-needed grants from in this new initiative led by the Port of London Authority (PLA).

Launched last September, the Active Thames fund aims to encourage groups that are less likely to engage in physical activity on the river, including individuals from ethnically diverse communities, lower socioeconomic groups, and those with disabilities.

In a survey last year, more than 900 people involved in watersports across the region voiced their desire to see improvements in diversity and inclusion, and there was a high demand for coach and volunteer development.

The Active Thames partners working to better serve the watersports community include British Rowing, Active Essex, Kent Sport, London Sport, British Canoeing, RYA, Canal & River Trust, Thames Path National Trail and the PLA.

Jenny Cooper, PLA sports manager, said: “Active Thames is supporting access, diversity and inclusion in sports and every recipient is ambitious about making watersports open to all.

“The grants will see new communities on the water in London, Kent and Essex and will help develop the next generation of coaches and volunteers.”

“We are all looking forward to a more active 2022 on the Thames, thanks to the PLA and other supporters of this initiative”

(FRBC) will receive £5,000 to support learn to row courses for secondary school pupils in Hammersmith and Fulham and broaden the appeal and accessibility of rowing and the great outdoors now and into the future.

Julia Philipson from FRBC said: “We are so grateful to Active Thames for supporting our ongoing mission and purpose to improve lives through rowing by providing ‘Rowing for All’.

“Our inclusive state-school rowing project supports young people through complex transitions during their secondary school life. Through rowing we teach the true meaning of teamwork, focus and confidence and see participants build resilience and form safe new communities in which to express themselves through the power of sport.”

Aiming to diversity their membership, Globe plans to attract and retain more women, youngsters and people from ethnic minorities. Their grant of £4,000 will also support their coaching programme.

Bronwyn Hill said: “ is proud to support the Active Thames partnership. We are a friendly and inclusive rowing club based on the river at Greenwich and at the Royal Albert Dock in Newham.

“This Active Thames grant will help us to develop coaches so that we can increase the quality coaching provided to our rowers. We offer free taster sessions for young people so that we can bring in new rowers from more diverse backgrounds and provide great coaching for all in our rowing community.

“We are all looking forward to a more active 2022 on the Thames, thanks to the PLA and other supporters of this initiative.”

Their new grant of £3,300, will enable coaches to deliver more rowing courses as they need an engine for their safety boat. This will help get more local people from all backgrounds onto the river safely.

Based at the Royal Docks Adventure in Newham, the is a disability rowing group, with their £3,172 grant supporting coach development and the provision of taster sessions to more disabled people from across East London.

Speaking on behalf of the Royal Dolphins, Simon Goodey said: “With this additional resource, the Royal Dolphins will be able to offer the opportunity to take part in rowing to more people with a disability from across East London. New members will be able to make new friends, become part of a new community, take part in a regular physical activity, improving their physical and mental wellbeing.

“We anticipate being able to support up to another 16 members, establishing vibrant and inclusive rowing opportunities in the heart of East London.”

One of the newest rowing clubs in the region, was awarded a grant of £2,500 from Active Thames.

Jon Averns said: “Thames Barbarians Pilot Gig Club aims to bring Cornish Pilot Gig rowing to the eastern tidal Thames and estuary. Founded in 2019, the club is based in Gravesend with members from south-east London, the Lower Thames and beyond.

“As an ambitious and inclusive club, Thames Barbarians is committed to offering a wide range of experience on the water, while developing a diverse membership from its local community. This includes taster sessions, weekly training, adventure rowing on neighbouring rivers and the estuary as well as competition in local and national gig rowing leagues.

“The Active Thames grant will enable Thames Barbarians to grow as a club by supporting the training and development of its own coxes and coaches alongside the delivery of five community open days – complete with Cornish Pasties!”

Away from rowing, (LYR) will build their stand up paddleboard (SUP) offer and develop their coach programme, with multi-skilled watersports coaches something that Active Thames is keen to encourage.

Chief Executive Matt Roston said: “The funding will allow us to purchase six stand up paddleboards and, working in partnership with Active 360, allow members of the LYR workforce to become qualified to lead SUP sessions. This will add to the flexibility and diversity of the workforce in East London and enable the multi-sport offer planned for the Olympic Park site, which we believe is the UK’s most important stretches of waterway to be opened up in recent times.”

Thanks to Active Thames for the report. Find out more about the Active Thames Fund .����

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I’d always been a hockey player, a sport which dominated my school days and my first year at university. As a child I’d longingly watch rowers on the canal in Leicester, but thought it wasn’t a sport for me, only for people far wealthier and more privileged than I was.

But at the start of my second year at university, wandering round the students union gazing at all the sports’ notices offering new opportunities. I paused at the rowing club notice. ‘Want to join,’ a voice behind me said. ‘I’ve never rowed,’ I replied, thinking the club would only be interested in those with experience. ‘We’ll take anybody,’ the voice said. To this day, I’m not sure how I took that comment!

I joined.

So, on a late October Wednesday afternoon I sat in the bow position in my first rowing boat, a four. I was hooked. And if you are hooked on the River Hull – a muddy, smelly, tidal river – on a grey, cold, and drizzly day, there’s a good chance you will be hooked for life. As I was. And I have never picked up a hockey stick since.

I rowed through the rest of my university days, but then as work and a family demanded more of my time, I found it difficult to commit to crew outings. But the sport does not let go of you easily, rowing felt locked into my body.

“I loved the idyllic early mornings in a single scull on the River Barwon”

Unexpectedly back in Hull for my job, I joined Hull Rowing Club and started single sculling which allowed me to choose times on the river to suit work and family. There is not a straight stretch of river on the Hull, but despite the endless twists and turns and setbacks once again I was hooked, perhaps even more so as I loved being out alone on the river and the motion of rowing a single scull. I felt a sense of separation from the rest of the world, more a part of the landscape. Dan Topolski, ex-Oxford coach, perfectly describes the feeling: ‘Some find inner calm and peace with yoga, poetry, or painting; I find it through spending a couple of hours daily sculling alone on the river… It creates a delicious sense of wellbeing and contentment.’

Fifteen years of hard training and competing followed, one of those years during a stint working in Australia. I loved the idyllic early mornings in a single scull on the River Barwon in Geelong, Victoria, and a few evenings each week in a double scull when the heat of the day had diminished. I loved the Barwon and the pelicans that landed beside me. I loved the long winter training sessions down to Barwon Heads where the river widens and quietly enters the sea.

I returned to the UK and moved to York. Most people I knew thought I was jubilant because I’d landed my dream job as college librarian, I knew I was jubilant because I’d bought my first sculling boat, a fine wooden George Sims called Wombat, from a member of York City Rowing Club (YCRC) on the day I’d accepted the job.

So on the day I started work in York 35 years ago I joined YCRC and have been a member ever since. Over that time I have developed a huge attachment to the River Ouse. During the early days of my time with York I continued to race in my single scull, and for a while combined this with competing in a double scull with the first friend I met in York, Caroline Sherlock.

“I watch the fox wandering stealthily along the bank, he eyes me as much as I eye him”

I competed in Nat Vets (as it was known then) for a number of years, both in my single and the double. I competed at the first Women’s Henley in June 1988. My life revolved around rowing, and there was a time when I could never imagine not competing, not training hard. But time passes, and we change. A change of job brought with it less time for training. I stopped competing, but I’ve never stopped single sculling, only now it is for pure pleasure.

I love my early mornings on the River Ouse, as much now as I did when I moved to York all those years ago. I love to watch the kingfishers, sometimes goosanders, the skeins of geese in autumn, and once, on one very special occasion, 10 whooper swans, winter visitors from Iceland and Scandinavia, flew straight over my head. I marvel as mute swans take off alongside me; I watch as they fly up or downstream, and I lose myself in the sound of their wings beating, the music of nature epitomised. I pause and watch the fox wandering stealthily along the bank, he eyes me as much as I eye him. I stop and watch the flocks of long-tailed tits flitting from tree to tree, and sometimes I just sit still in Wombat, in the middle of the river, drifting with the flow and enjoy the solitude and silence all around me.

My work often takes me to locations where there is a lake, a loch, a stretch of coast, or other rivers – I have bought a wider Liteboat, and I love her. She will never replace Wombat in my affections nor Wombat’s place of the River Ouse, but Liteboat (Ullswater Lady is her name) is easily transportable on my car and allows me to broaden the places I row and continue to indulge my passion, my way of life, my involvement with rowing wherever I am and wherever I choose to take her.

I am thankful for the part rowing has played in my life; my life would have been poorer without it.

The post ‘If you are hooked on the River Hull, there’s a good chance you will be hooked for life’ appeared first on British Rowing.

With so many nominations for British Rowing Awards from clubs up and down the country, it’s been a tough job for our judging panels to narrow them all down to this year’s shortlist. Thank you to everyone who made a nomination and congratulations to the coaches below who have been selected.

The following are winners of the Coach of the Year categories and will form the shortlist for national Coach of the Year.

• Coaching Team: Wayne Curry, Lauren Barclay – Agecroft Rowing Club (North West Region)
• Club Development: Rob Mayes – Broxbourne RC (Eastern Region)
• Club Performance: Chris Williams – Tideway Scullers’ School (Thames Region)
• Education Development: Daniel Grant – University of Leeds BC (Yorkshire Region)
• Education Performance: Samuel Tuck – University of Surrey BC (Thames Region)

Coaching Team: Wayne Curry, Lauren Barclay – Agecroft Rowing Club

Wayne Curry and Lauren Barclay have shown immense commitment to the advancement of junior rowing at Agecroft RC.

For many of us, the past year and a half has been a trial of dedication and resilience in the backdrop of a continuously changing ‘new-normal’ and constant uncertainty. Despite these challenges, the junior coaching team at Agecroft has remained unwavering in their approach to maintaining and improving the programme of rowing that our squad so enjoys. As restrictions were eased in 2021, Wayne set out upon the task of breathing new life into the junior programme. Within three months, the junior squad grew by over 20 members.

Wayne in particular has shown significant commitment to running club sessions almost every weekend without fail, going above and beyond to hold not only four weekend sessions, but multiple training sessions on week days too. He is diligent in coaching both on water and land, and pushing the squad to achieve their best, with more juniors than ever entering racing events in 2021 – and winning many medals too!

Lauren has also shown outstanding commitment, sacrificing valuable hours to coach the junior squad, while also managing immense study commitments. Many of Agecroft’s junior squad fondly remember her lockdown Zoom training sessions while we trained on rowing machines at home.

Additionally, Lauren has been vital in running the weekday evening training sessions and motivating the juniors both on and off water in a positive and constructive manner.

Wayne and Lauren have more than quadrupled the number of juniors in the club, and increased the capability of the existing juniors massively. They are extremely friendly and approachable, and clearly care about everyone. They give up huge portions of their time to help the club. They have made our club into a much better place.

Club Development: Rob Mayes – Broxbourne RC

Rob Mayes has created a successful development programme, development team and development squad at the club. This has been a new initiative, which has successfully met the demand to row and drawn in many from the local community.

Initially, Rob ran extremely popular online fitness sessions, using his personal training knowledge for the club. Feedback from many was that this was what kept them going in lockdown when they could not row. As we had no water sessions Rob also added some additional weekly sessions at different times of the day and with different content to help reach as many members as possible.

When restrictions allowed, Rob supported many members to gain skills and confidence in single sculling. Once crews were back on the water, he helped reconfigure the club learn to row system, drawing in a specific 17-30 age cohort. This also led to a new squad – the development squad. This is historically a group with poor retention, but there have already been three courses and the retention is close to 100%.

This squad has already grown to well over 20 and with a focus on fitness and technique in land sessions, followed up by a team approach on the water, the squad has already entered some races and achieved their first win.

Rob is very aware of keeping people motivated and has organised social events outside of training. All in all, the development squad has met a local need, is thriving and successful, and motivated under his inspirational coaching.

Club Performance: Chris Williams – Tideway Scullers’ School

Chris Williams has been coaching juniors with unfailing commitment for almost a quarter of a century or so. Closely involved with the formation of the Tideway Scullers’ School (TSS) junior squad, he has continued to work with the group inspiring young athletes to compete and win.

Chris coaches regularly during the weekdays as well as at weekends. His success in coaching TSS’s junior men to win the Fawley Cup at Henley in 2021, despite a year punctuated by coronavirus and A-levels for the crew, bears testimony to this. The win was a major achievement for a community amateur sports club, competing against top private schools who enjoy superior funding for rowing.

Every junior men’s crew that Tideway Scullers entered at National Schools Regatta/Junior Sculling Regatta reached the A final with a win in the Championship 4x+ while three other crews took silver at the top level.

Chris communicates with the adolescents in a way that wins respect and creates inspiration. His presence at the club, whether mending boats, repairing racks, towing trailers is a constant and has been a given over many years, as the testimony below shows. Chris is also the club safety officer.

Parents of one of the juniors, Alex and Antony Oliver say: “Chris coached our son Albie for four years or so in the junior men. Chris inspired enormous confidence and trust in Albie.”

Chris selflessly volunteers his time to coach at TSS and receives nothing for his work other than the joy of helping young rowers improve. The junior athletes here at Tideway Scullers want to thank him wholeheartedly for his work to allow us to be the very best rowers we can be and want him to know that we would be nowhere without him.

Education Development: Daniel Grant – University of Leeds BC

Dan Grant has helped the club achieve its aim of being the best club for performance and participation simultaneously, whilst focusing on directly coaching beginners and senior performance crews and ensuring a pathway for development for those focused on rowing recreationally.

Last year after lockdown Dan implemented and got all members learning to scull following the “return to rowing” in which we used a newly implemented skills-based monitoring to develop the ability of athletes at all levels.

He leads regular coaching meetings for our volunteer team to help with their development. Additionally, he was the force behind building our strong programme for coaches which last year was awarded the Coaching Team of the Year and this has continued to grow in strength.

With the support of the club’s volunteer team we were able to develop the beginners who won three medals in the women beginner 1 events at BUCS Regatta.

Furthermore, Dan is a Student Mind Mental Health in sport trainer and has trained up every committee and coaching scholar to be able to support the members of the club. He also ran the webinars for British Rowing’s university series helping others to run learn to row programmes.

Education Performance: Samuel Tuck – University of Surrey BC

Samuel Tuck is entering his seventh year of coaching at the University of Surrey Boat Club (USBC). When he joined, membership numbers were minimal. There weren’t enough men to boat an eight, and there were only a couple of women. So, when Tuck approached the Director of Sport with a five-year plan which detailed winning BUCS medals, winning Henley Women’s Regatta and competing in the latter stages of Henley Royal Regatta, no one really believed that it would be possible.

Instilling belief in athletes and the people around him is one of Tuck’s most valuable attributes. This year USBC finished fourth in the overall provisional BUCS Regatta medal table – beating many heavily funded institutions. The club took 34 athletes to BUCS and came away with 44 medals, spanning beginner, intermediate and championship categories.

Sam has curated a winning culture at Surrey which promotes equal opportunities at all levels of the squad. The club is inclusive, supportive and operates as a family – everybody is there for each other and everyone works together.

Once the severity of the pandemic had set in, Sam used the time away from non-stop coaching on the water to develop areas of the club that would usually not take precedent. He also developed himself further as a coach – from an 18-month UK Coaching Performance Foundation course to attending workshops about the menstrual cycle for female athletes. He set-up support systems for the Surrey athletes and ran a whole campaign for Age UK leading into Christmas where rowers delivered hampers to local elderly.

From charity work to personal development, USBC is always trying to get better – and this is all because of Samuel Tuck.

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After receiving a huge number of nominations for British Rowing Awards from clubs up and down the country, it’s been a tough job for our judging panels to narrow them all down to this year’s shortlist. Thank you to everyone who made a nomination and congratulations to the volunteers, coaches, clubs, crews and other rowers who have been selected.

There are five regional winners for the COVID Hero award and all are now shortlisted for national awards. They are:

• Aidan Hunt – Runcorn Rowing Club and North West Umpires (North West Region)
• Aline Heyerick – Birmingham RC (West Midlands Region)
• Chris Elder and Hayley Shipton – Peterborough City Rowing Club (Eastern Region)
• Clay Knowles – Ardingly Rowing Club (Thames Region)
• Zoom Ergos

Aidan Hunt (Runcorn Rowing Club and North West Umpires)

Aidan has kept the club going through COVID, but also, as the club’s unpaid boatman, he has put in new security and kept us vigilant over social distancing as well as also contributing to the COVID working group. At the same time he has repaired all our boats, completing most of the day-to-day maintenance on an aging fleet – all for free and while feeling poorly himself. He has also volunteered at the region’s COVID centres, organising the use of our gazebos where needed.

On top of this, as an umpire he has kept and maintained the North West Region’s radios and umpiring equipment, ensuring that it is kept clean and inventoried.

Aline Heyerick (Birmingham RC)

In March last year when all club activity ceased overnight, Aline spent a lot of time developing a weekly club newsletter and coordinating a series of activities to keep members entertained with quizzes and informed with webinars on coaching and performance.

She motivated members to take part in the British Rowing challenges – the club won most of these. All her great work and enthusiasm played a huge part in keeping the club cohesive and ready to get back on the water when restrictions made this possible.

Chris Elder and Hayley Shipton (Peterborough City Rowing Club)

Chris Elder and Hayley Shipton are a married couple and are the men’s and women’s captains at Peterborough City RC (PCRC). When the first lockdown came into effect they formed part of the club’s COVID Management Panel and played a leading part in restarting rowing in the summer of 2020, including setting up and managing an online booking system for members. This was an important part of establishing procedures to comply with Government guidelines.

When their 12-month term of office came to an end, they volunteered to remain in post to continue to help the club through the difficulties created by COVID. After the third lockdown they again played a leading part in getting rowing activity going. They have encouraged former members to get back into the sport in 2021 and helped devise rules for members to participate safely.

In September 2021 they both agreed to stand for a third year as captains at a time when rowing activity was still recovering at the club and there were no strong candidates to take over. They have shown great resilience in helping the club through this unprecedented period.

Clay Knowles (Ardingly Rowing Club)

The Reverend Canon Clay Knowles, pastorally called Father Clay, is a mainstay of Ardingly RC. Clay is actually retired, but has been locum priest at St Edward the Confessor in Burgess Hill for nearly two and a half years. Clay was in the extremely vulnerable age group of the over-70s during the pandemic.

In the first lockdown he had to do everything from home. When allowed to get back into Church, he managed to live stream services with reasonable success. Parishioners were encouraged to stay in contact with each other through WhatsApp or other social media which helped maintain the sense of parish cohesion during the enforced isolation, particularly benefiting the lonely.

Clay kept fit and involved with the rowing club throughout lockdown – fully participating in our online activities and was often the first to report his distance rowed in our Virtual Row to Tokyo. As one of our two welfare advisors, he was always available for a guiding hand and a word of wise counsel. He finally returned to sculling himself in the summer and has been coaching our taster sessions and taking out the safety launch again. We can’t wait to have him christen our boats at an upcoming boat naming.

Zoom Ergos

Zoom Ergos, which started in lockdown in November 2020, has helped and inspired both rowers and non-rowers in so many ways – improving fitness, sharpening technique, understanding motivation, and simply sharing the joy of non-competitive indoor rowing with others (which has helped greatly with loneliness and mental health issues too) – and all for absolutely no charge.

Guin, Jonny, Lucy and the other fabulous hosts – many of them Olympians and world-class athletes – have given, and continue to give, their time and their expertise free of charge, and are always so open, friendly and helpful.

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After receiving a huge number of nominations for British Rowing Awards from clubs up and down the country, it’s been a tough job for our judging panels to narrow them all down to this year’s shortlist. Thank you to everyone who made a nomination and congratulations to the volunteers, coaches, clubs, crews and other rowers who have been selected.

There are five regional winners for Rowing Project of the Year and these are now shortlisted for the national award. They are:

• Fairlop RC
• Fulham Reach BC – Junior Community Course
• Lea RC – iBelong
• Race the Thames
• Warrington Youth Rowing

Fairlop RC

The club, and in particular, head coach CJ White have worked hard to reach out to the wider community. This is the first time women from the Muslimah Sports Association have tried rowing. CJ helped build up their skills, strength and, most importantly, confidence – while respecting their boundaries and still making them feel safe and empowered.

The women had such a positive experience that many of them have gone on to enter races and some wish to continue rowing in the long term.

Fulham Reach BC – Junior Community Course

The Junior Community Course (JCC) is a free summer holiday course to introduce young people from all backgrounds, who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to row, to the sport of rowing. It is part of our unique vision to improve lives through rowing by providing ‘Rowing for All’ and supports British Rowing’s strategic vision of being Open to All.

We ran three weeks of free summer holiday courses from Monday 2 August to Friday 20 August 2021 for local young people who are in receipt of free school meals during term time. Each day, each child was given breakfast, a hot lunch and a healthy afternoon snack.

We created a safe, fun and all inclusive environment, using the power of sport to boost participants’ physical, mental and social health whilst addressing summer learning loss, food insecurity and involvement with anti-social behaviour and knife crime.

For each week, 20 children aged 11-18 joined the course from 9am to 4pm every day and enjoyed a variety of different activities. The course had a 100% retention rate with a 25% return rate, which would have been higher if we could have accommodated everyone. A total of 80% of participants were from ethnic minorities and 86% were girls.

The JCC provides young people with somewhere to be, with something to do and some good food to eat. As well as providing a fun and fully inclusive approach to rowing, it gives young Londoners fair access to the power of sport and expands their beliefs about what is possible in life.

Lea RC – I Belong

The Lea Rowing Club recognises that rowing is not an ethnically diverse sport and is on a mission to change this. The I Belong project is going to make the club more representative of the ethnically diverse communities of Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest

Rewind to the summer of 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement has taken off. In August 2020, Lea members form a Diversity Working Party to focus on engaging the ethnically diverse communities within the local boroughs of Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest as people living in these boroughs would be able to travel fairly easily to the club.

In order to establish a sense of belonging and understanding of the project, presentations were made to club members and a forum was started for feedback and discussion.

Over the past year I Belong initiatives have included the following:

• Learn to row short and long courses for 18-35 year olds culminating in a learn to row regatta. Twenty-one people from ethnically diverse backgrounds took part and many other people, having seen a diverse group on the water, joined our learn to row courses. Participants were invited to join the club’s competitive and recreational pathways.
• Indoor rowing courses were held to support fitness and enable non-swimmers to be part of the club – 12 people from the local community have taken part over the two courses so far.
• Drop-in on-water sessions for people wanting an hour on the water, just to have a go – 33 people from the local community attended.
• Ensuring coaches from diverse communities are part of the club’s coaching team.
• Working with local organisations including Hackney Council, Waltham Forest Council, Larm Fitness, the Canal and River Trust and the Hackney Migrant Centre.
• A workshop for the club on engaging diverse groups was delivered by Halima Khan from Street Games.
• A team of buddies who can offer support to new club members.

Race the Thames 2021

Race the Thames was a real light in the lockdown darkness. It brought together people from all over the country and all walks of life in a glorious, life-affirming event combining three key elements: motivation to exercise, community spirit and fundraising – all of which were thin on the ground in the depths of the pandemic.

The event took place in the final week of March 2021, towards the end of the winter lockdown. A virtual event, it aimed to bring together a wide range of companies, rowing clubs and charities, many for the first and only time. By giving teams the opportunity to come together, a new audience was introduced to rowing, while at the same time raising money for grassroots rowing and other causes close to hearts.

The event was led and promoted by Andy Triggs Hodge who, at the time, was volunteering for London Youth Rowing (LYR). Over 180 teams and more than 1,000 people ultimately took part. The event ran virtually over eight days, with each team taking on either the River Thames Challenge (346km) or the Tidal Thames Challenge (72km). To encourage the widest possible participation, it was possible to row, run cycle, walk or even trampoline the distance!

Overall, Race the Thames exceeded all expectations. LYR were aware that other charities had experienced a very challenging time during the COVID crisis, and the event helped them by raising over £120,000. This was shared between LYR and over 40 other charities and causes nominated by the teams taking part, an incredible achievement given the challenges of lockdown.

Warrington Youth Rowing

The Warrington Youth Rowing project has formed an impressive link between a rowing club and local school to provide the opportunity to row for disadvantaged children in the Warrington area. It has grown from strength to strength, training teachers as coaches and giving so many children a different view of life.

Juniors have competed in indoor rowing competitions, including NJIRC, and some have gone on to join the club and race at the British Rowing Junior Championships. The project now has two more local projects in Merseyside and Northwich and the hope is to extend it beyond the North West eventually.

The post British Rowing Awards: Rowing Project of the Year shortlist appeared first on British Rowing.

After receiving a huge number of nominations for British Rowing Awards from clubs up and down the country, it’s been a tough job for our judging panels to narrow them all down to this year’s shortlist. Thank you to everyone who made a nomination and congratulations to the volunteers, coaches, clubs, crews and other rowers who have been selected.

There are five regional winners for the Club of the Year award and all are now shortlisted for national awards. They are:

• Bristol Ariel RC – Wilts, Avon, Gloucs & Somerset (WAGS) Region
• Fulham Reach BC – Thames Region
• Isle of Ely RC – Eastern Region
• Lea RC – Eastern Region
• Vesta RC – Thames Region

Bristol Ariel RC

Bristol Ariel is an innovative and progressive club, delivering a successful Go Row Indoor Club offer.  Through their hard work, Bristol went from delivering two to then seven indoor classes a week, encouraging new people of all ages to the sport of rowing through weekly Go Row Indoor classes.

Through this new offering the club has generated new income (up to £4K a year), as well as creating a case-study model of how clubs can open up facilities to allow the sport to be reached to wider audiences in the local area.

Even with the pandemic putting things on hold, the club has continued to ensure they keep those participants engaged throughout lockdown and are back delivering as we return to the new normal. A great example of how clubs can open up the doors to a new and diverse audience through delivering an inclusive indoor offering. This would not be possible without the dedication and efforts by all members of the club.

Fulham Reach BC

Fulham Reach BC (FRBC) is a thriving rowing club with community rowing at its heart. We give access to rowing to a cross-section of our community, especially those who are most in need because of financial hardship or social circumstance and help them realise their full potential, both on and off the water.

Despite a pandemic from September 2020-September 2021, the club introduced more adults and juniors to rowing, with highlights including the following:

• The grass roots-led membership base for adults and juniors rose to its highest ever level giving opportunities to take part in regular, safe and enjoyable sessions on the river without the pressure of committing to a racing training programme.
• Eighteen learn to row courses were held, introducing rowing to 157 adults of all ages and abilities.
• Over 600 state-school children had the opportunity to row with 41% from ethnic minorities and a gender split of 62% female/38% male.
• Sixty young people from low-income families aged 11-18, who are eligible for free school meals, attended our free Junior Community Course this summer which addresses food insecurity. We had a 100% retention rate; 80% of participants were from ethnic minorities, 86% were girls.
• The club supported over 25 boat clubs across the UK during 2021 lockdowns by running the online Strava Boat Club.
• FRBC were instrumental in campaigning for the safety of all river users, particularly rowers, on the Tideway amidst the Hammersmith Bridge closure and ferry proposals.
• The  Boats not Bars (BnB) prisons programme resumed, with one fully integrated BnB member starting university at LSE.

The club worked in partnership with the RNLI, the Met Police, schools, PRUs, London Sport’s Trust, St John’s Ambulance, StreetGames, Key4Life, London Sport, Nike, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and Let Me Play increasing awareness of the benefits of rowing whilst supporting diversity and inclusion in our sport.

Isle of Ely RC

The Isle of Ely Rowing Club was established in 2004. It is a charitable incorporated organisation and is run voluntarily by the committee and members. The club has faced the same challenges as everyone else during the pandemic, but the things that we have always considered our greatest weakness, not having a boathouse, or changing facilities or indoor toilet facilities, we turned into our greatest strength.

As we came out of lockdown we were able to restart rowing immediately as all our boats and equipment were stored outside and could be disinfected between outings. Most members, at the time, were lacking confidence in single sculls, so we introduced 1:1 coaching sessions to build their confidence and continued until crew rowing was reintroduced. As a consequence we now have a much higher proportion of members who row regularly in singles.

Since April 2021 we have established a rowing programme with Ely College to introduce over 100 students to rowing. The success of this programme has recently been rewarded with a grant from Gemini and the Boat Race Company, which allows us to move to the next phase for 32 students to continue rowing as a school sport.

Our junior section is supported by dedicated coaches who provide weekly sessions for up to 30 juniors. This year we have completed five learn to row courses for 80 adults, 51 of these have since become full members of the club.

Lea RC

Lea Rowing Club was founded in 1980 by the members of five Hackney rowing clubs, continuing a tradition of rowing on the River Lea in London which goes back 200 years. We have grown to be one of the largest clubs in the country, with 450 active members aged 12 to 100.

The Lea has serious competitive ambitions.

• In 2021 they sent 150 athletes of all ages and experience to regattas nationwide.
• Lea qualified five crews for Henley Royal Regatta, including the club’s first ever women’s crew.

But they are also a serious community club, open to all, with highlights including the following.

• A very successful junior section catering for almost 100 local children. This includes a programme for local state schools, financial support for families who need it, and a fast-track programme for budding racers.
• Recreational rowing for over 100 local people who enjoy a paddle (and the occasional tour further afield) in stable Explorer boats. Their numbers have grown by 50% this year.
• A thriving Jewish ladies’ group caters for 20 women from the local Charedi community. They’re building up to their first race this winter.
• Since lockdown the club has taught 200 people to row. They have launched new drop-in sessions and indoor rowing classes to cater for more people.
• A new #IBelong project has created further opportunities for our local diverse community to try rowing. The club has run funded sessions and outreach events with great success, as well as developing new partnerships with local organisations including Hackney Council, the Canal & River Trust, and the Hackney Migrant Project.

The Lea is a unique club, catering for many kinds of people with very different needs and ambitions. Their model is a great example of running a performance rowing programme while promoting diversity, inclusion, and community.

Vesta RC

Vesta Rowing Club has had a sensational year on many fronts, maintaining and even building on the development of previous years over the course of the pandemic. It has managed to not only maintain, but to expand membership during this period, with the largest number of regularly participating members ever before.

The club has made considerable steps forward in making the club more accessible. Central to this is ensuring the club is accessible and relevant to as broad selection of individuals as possible. This included redesigning the learn to row to ensure easier routes into the club. This year has also included rowers with a disability for the first time.

The club been working with a local charity, Regenerate, who work with local young people at risk of finding themselves in long-term unemployment or crime. Operating a coffee stall from the premises, the young people are able to contribute and feel part of the club community.

Promoting conversation on diversity has been a key part of the club’s ethos and outward facing communications. This has sat alongside speaking about issues that are likely to encourage greater involvement from a broader ethnic background.

Performance-wise, the club qualified the most athletes ever for Henley Royal Regatta with the most women qualifying for Henley Women’s Regatta since 2012. Over 60 members competed across these regattas.

The club has also been able to start up its learn to row programme in earnest this summer, with over 40 participants on our course leading to the formation of a competitive novice squads.

The post British Rowing Awards: Club of the Year shortlist appeared first on British Rowing.

Welcome to 2022 – a year when we hope things will return to a greater normality both within our rowing community and beyond.

Back in November, I joined British Rowing as interim CEO with my main focus being to implement our updated strategy ‘Rowing: Everyone’s Sport’. Thank you to everyone who has shared their feedback on this – and if you haven’t yet, then it’s not too late, so please do get in touch.

As the new year gets underway, it’s exciting to consider the huge number of opportunities available to truly make rowing everyone’s sport.

In early December I visited Stratford upon Avon BC, Evesham and Stourport with Jo Atkinson, our Community Support Manager receiving a warm welcome from members. It was great to talk to everyone at each club, learn about their community, as well as hearing how we can support them more as the year unfolds.

I have also just returned from a day out in the South West meeting at Studland with the Coastal Rowing Centre and the team at Lymington before going to meet the clubs that populate the South West Coastal Rowing League, kindly hosted by Exmouth Rowing Club. Despite the wet and windy conditions it was inspiring to see the opportunity that coastal rowing has ahead of it and it would be great to see more and more clubs lining the 7,000 + miles of British coastline like these in the years ahead.

With further visits to clubs planned, I’m very much looking forward to meeting more people around the country over the coming weeks.

Access to your Go Rowing membership portal is also now available in the Android and IOS App stores so your great rowing benefits can be with you on your mobiles from here on in.

We were delighted to receive a huge number of nominations from clubs for the British Rowing Awards and it’s been gratifying to see so many clubs keen to spotlight their members. Thank you to everyone who made a nomination and congratulations to the volunteers, coaches, clubs, crews and rowers who have been selected.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve been spotlighting many of the volunteers and rowers nominated by their regions across our website and social media. You can see the shortlist here. It’s a timely reminder of the importance of community in rowing, the bedrock of our sport.

While we can’t hold the British Rowing Awards in person, as we would like, we look forward to celebrating our national winners when these are announced in a live webcast on Thursday 20 January. Please do join us – and look out for more details on our website and social media.

As always, the new year is also a time for honours and it was fantastic to see Paralympic rowing champions Ellen Buttrick, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ollie Stanhope and Erin Kennedy receive MBEs in the 2022 New Year Honours List. The four Paralympic debutants won a brilliant gold at this summer’s Games with Rio 2016 gold medallist James Fox, already an MBE, also in the crew.

Staying with the GB Rowing Team, in December Louise Kingsley was appointed as the new Director of Performance after beating a field of top applicants from across the globe.

Louise was formerly the Deputy Director of Performance Pathways and Paralympic Programme leading the Para GB Rowing Team to two gold medals at the Tokyo Games. She brings a huge depth of experience to this key leadership role and is passionate about steering the GB Rowing Team as it evolves into a contemporary and world-leading programme.

Recently announced as the new Men’s Olympic Head Coach, Paul Stannard has worked with British Rowing for over 18 years and has led the men’s sculling team since 2013. At the delayed Tokyo Games, the men’s quad won GB’s first ever Olympic medal in this boat class while the men’s double finished fourth, making this the most successful Olympics for men’s sculling since 1948.

Recruitment for the Women’s Olympic Head Coach is ongoing and an announcement on this appointment will be made as soon as possible.

A new year also brings an opportunity to reflect and focus on different things. It’s a time to assess our goals and plan for the season ahead.

As part of this, if you’re looking for a daily training regime then it’s not too late to join the ROW31 crew. Our free daily workout schedule is guaranteed to keep you fit throughout January! Don’t forget to check out our ROW31 Facebook group of like-minded people for extra support.

Moving to membership, I know many of you may be coming to the end of your current membership and so if you have valued the guidance and support that we’ve provided clubs over the last year, please do renew your membership. Every part of your membership fee is invested into supporting our sport and allows us to protect it for generations to come.

Finally, with cases of the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, rising around the country we would advise clubs to reassess their policies on face coverings and would recommend that they are used at all times indoors when not exercising. Clubs may also wish to request that members take a lateral flow test before attending the club over this period. Check out our guidance which reflects the latest guidance from the Government here.

Wishing you all the best for the coming year.

Alastair Marks
British Rowing CEO

The post CEO Membership Column – January 2022 appeared first on British Rowing.

In February 2021 the inaugural EnduRow Challenge took place, raising £27,000 for spinal cord injury research and featuring 1,000 athletes from 11 different countries.

Event founder Steven Dowd had a cycling accident in 2016 that left him paralysed from the neck down. He underwent a clinical research trial and incredibly regained some sensation, making a remarkable recovery.

Since then, Steven has been involved in creating – and taking part in – charity challenges to support research to help others defy the odds, and the EnduRow Challenge is part of this.

Watch Steven talking about the EnduRow Challenge ’22 below…

The second annual will be on 5 February 2022 from 12:00 to 16:00 GMT. This time fundraising is for the Para Rowing Foundation which helps athletes with impairments globally become the best athlete they can be through rowing.

Steven says: “Whilst you can tune in and row at home (MicRow) we are encouraging everyone to row at a venue together with friends/family (MacRow) where safe to do so. A party within a party!

“Ask your club, school, gym, workplace etc to loan you a space and some ergs and set up your own MacRow… because it’s really fun together!”

Steven’s on-water rowing journey

Steven said: “Whether club presidents, competitors on the world stage or just your average rower, almost everyone I met insisted that at some point I should get into an actual boat.”

Marlow coach Bruce Lynn introduced him to the team at Guildford Rowing Club and Steven and wife Helen soon found themselves on their way to the club.

“What a gorgeous little scene awaited us. 800m of windy river, a canal lock to the far end and a weir,” said Steven.

After warming up on the rowing machine, his coach for the day, Robert Hall, introduced him to a sleek red-and white Wintech single scull.

Steven said: “She looked big! I felt small!”

The pontoons were attached and he was helped into the boat.

He recalled: “Taking hold of the ‘skinny’ Concept 2 oars, with my thumb covering the end cap as instructed, I pushed away from the bank and out into the river. Just the water, the boat and me. Floating. Weightlessly.”

Taking his first stroke, he gently reached the oars forwards and placed the blades into the water behind, easing back into the hips. The boat immediately responded, and he glided silently backwards.

As the stroke count increased so too did his speed and confidence, with constant checking from the coach on the bank taking any fear out of the equation.

He was in the middle of a beautiful river on a serene and crisp November morning surrounded by ancient trees, in a boat I was wholly in control of.

Steven said: “Sheer joy welled inside me and spilt over. That ‘first-timer smile’ spread across my face and I understood what it was about.

“Now I have the basics enough to move around, I’m looking forward to spending many years perfecting the stroke.

“I’ll be mixing it up as we approach EnduRow Challenge ‘22, but no matter whether I’m out on the water or at home on the WaterRower, my smile is just a little bigger because of this experience.

“Sign up at EnduRowChallenge.com today and let’s pull together!”

Get involved with the EnduRow Challenge

You can book your place

The post Pull together in the EnduRow Challenge 2022 appeared first on British Rowing.