088 SPORT


Oar-some!


Getting outdoors and back to nature is one of the best ways to de-stress, so how about combining it with a new water-born activity?


David Leck Sport England; Canoe Wild; Sport England


n the history of the Olympic Games – up to and including Rio 2016 – the GB Rowing Team has brought home an impressive 68 medals. Add to that headlining names such as Steve Redgrave, Katherine Grainger and Matthew Pinsent – not to mention the 300,000 people who line the banks of the Thames every spring for the annual battle of academic titans Oxford and Cambridge – and it’s clear that here’s a sport with a wider appeal than might at fi rst seem apparent. Mark Davies is governing body British


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Rowing’s new chairman and he feels there’s more to be done to capitalise on the success of what is one of the country’s most successful ever Olympic sports. “One challenge is to maintain our position at the top of international rowing in a world where the margins are getting ever smaller,” he says. “And, at a club level, we


ABOVE | Steve Redgrave (courtesy of Flickr © Ollie Harding)


RIGHT | Katherine Grainger (courtesy of Flickr © Joanne_H.)


have to increase the diversity and inclusivity of the sport in order for it to grow. These are two very separate challenges but, ultimately, the national governing body sits across them and they feed each other, so they are challenges we can address.” As for opportunities, the 47-year-old


who learned to row at Cambridge, has many other priorities for his three-year tenure at the head of British Rowing. “One of the obvious things is the number of people involved in some way in rowing who aren’t our members. There are a lot who jump on rowing machines and who are involved from a fi tness perspective which presents us with a big opportunity to try and engage them more directly.”


A sport for all


Phil Pring, British Rowing’s Area Participation Manager for London, Kent and Sussex, is equally as positive: “More people are currently rowing than ever before and the sport is more accessible than it has ever been. We have an equal gender split, the GB rowing team is internationally renowned and, crucially, the sport is now much more accessible. It’s open to all ages and abilities and is a great way to have fun, to enjoy the outdoors and it can be done


on inland waterways, lakes and rivers, and on the coast.”


Rob Miller is the captain of Bewl Bridge Rowing Club (BBRC) at Lamberhurst and also a talent coach for British Rowing charged with identifying, recruiting and developing potential medal-winning athletes. “I work with the national team, British Rowing, local schools, gyms and most importantly selected men aged 14 to 20 and women aged 14 to 22,” explains Rob. “What’s really signifi cant is that in Bewl Bridge we have not only a thriving club with active members ranging in age from 11 to 80-plus but also, through a leading start programme in Kent, we are providing opportunities for talented young people with specifi c aptitudes for rowing


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